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Imam

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An imam (إمام, امام) is an Islamic leader, often the leader of a mosque and/or community.

Imam is an Islamic term, Imam is the person who leads the prayer at the mosque. More often the community turn to the Mosque Imam, if they have an Islamic question. In smaller communities an Imam could be the community leader based on the community setting.

Clerical "Imams"

Shi'a "Imams"

In the Shi'a context, Imam has a meaning more central to belief. The Shi'a believe that an Imam is someone who is able to lead mankind in all aspects of life. In addition, Shi'a believe that an Imam is a perfect example in everything. According to the Shi'a, an Imam is a leader who must be followed since he is appointed by Allah (God). There are many Imams in Africa, United States, Middle East,Europe,Russia,Asia and China.Each of these Imams control thousands to millions of muslims. They are unknown. Each of these Imams can get word of a Jihad and attack the countries they are in as said in the Quran.

Here follows a list of the Shi'a Imams:

  1. Ali ibn Abi Talib (600–661), also known as Ali, Amir al-Mu'minin
  2. Hasan ibn Ali (625–669), also known as Hasan al-Mujtaba
  3. Husayn ibn Ali (626–680), also known as Husayn al-Shahid, also known as Sah Hüseyin
  4. Ali ibn Husayn (658–713), also known as Ali Zayn al-Abidin
  5. Muhammad ibn Ali (676–743), also known as Muhammad al-Baqir
  6. Jafar ibn Muhammad (703–765), also known as Jafar al-Sadiq
  7. Musa ibn Jafar (745–799), also known as Musa al-Kazim
  8. Ali ibn Musa (765–818), also known as Ali al-Raza
  9. Muhammad ibn Ali (810–835), also known as Muhammad al-Jawad (Muhammad at-Taqi), also known as Taki
  10. Ali ibn Muhamad (827–868), also known as Ali al-Hadi, also known as Naki
  11. Hasan ibn Ali (846–874), also known as Hasan al-Askari
  12. Muhammad ibn Hasan (868- ), also known as al-Hujjat ibn al-Hasan, also known as Mahdi; believed to be hidden by Allah (Occultation).

Fatimah also Fatimah al-Zahraa daughter of Muhammed (615–632), she is infallible but not a leader.

See Imamah (Shi'a Ismaili doctrine) for Ismaili list of Imams

Sunni "Imams"

The term is also used for a recognized religious leader or teacher in Islam, often for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of religious jurisprudence (fiqh). It may also refer to the imams of the sciences related to Hadith or to the heads of the Prophet's descendants in their times. In other words, Imam Ali is a phrase used by both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, though with different connotations.

The Sunni sect does not have imams in the same sense as the Shi'a sect. The imam in the Sunni sect of Islam is the leader of prayers; the sermon is most often given by the Sheikh.

However, there are some people whom Sunnis call "Imams" who are not prayer leaders. They are not Imams in the Shi'a sense of the word, but they are those who started the four Sunni Madhabs. List:

{| class="wikitable" width="60%" |- |Madhhab |Aqidah |Science of hadith |- |Imam Abu Hanifa |Imam al-Ashari |Imam Bukhari |- |Imam Malik |Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi |Imam Abu Dawood |- |Imam Shafi'i | |Imam Fakhr al-Razi |- |Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal | |Imam Abu Dawood

an-Nasaf writes:

bgcolor=#F0FFF0|The Muslims cannot do without an Imam who shall occupy himself with the enforcing of their decisions, and in implementing their hudud (penal code) and guarding their frontiers, and equipping their armies, and receiving their alms, and putting down robberies and thieving and highwayman, and maintaining the Friday and 'id prayers, and removing quarrels that fall between people, and receiving evidence bearing on legal claims, and marrying minors who have no guardians and dividing booty.

Zaidi Imams as rulers of Yemen

In the Zaidi Shiite sect, Imams were temporal as well as spiritual leaders, who held power in Yemen for more than a thousand years. In 897, a Zaidi ruler, Yahya al-Hadi ila'l Haqq, founded a line of such Imams, a theocratic form of government which survived until the second half of the 20th century. (See details under Zaidi, History of Yemen.)

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 18:55:32 PDT (GMT -0700)
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