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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Truth About Shia Ithna Ashari Faith Imāmate Imāmate or caliphate means leadership. It has become a term for leading the Muslims after the demise of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ), a term which nobody can deny because leadership is an instinctive need for any group of people. Muslims, Sunnis or Shī’ahs, disagreed with regard to how to appoint an imām, or a caliph, and what role he should assume.

This is one of the most serious of their disagreements, and other disagreements are no more than a natural outcome of this great difference. This is so because Imāmate, as viewed by the Shī’ahs, has to be supported by a text from the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ), and it is specifically relevant to the Twelve Imāms from among Ahlul Bayt (‘a).

Knowing the Islamic injunctions, following the departure from this world of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣ), is achieved only by referring to these Imāms (‘a) or to accurate transmissions reported about them. When their statements disagree with those of others, what Ahlul Bayt (‘a) state must be accepted, since they are the safe custodians of the Sunnah of the Chosen One (ṣ).

With regard to Imāmate, the Sunnis say that an imām is to be elected according to the principle of shūra (mutual consultation), but they do not object if such an imām is appointed through the recommendation of an outgoing caliph to the one who would be his successor, as was the case with caliph Abū Bakr who recommended ‘Umar to be his successor. Also, they permit caliphate to be taken by force, by the sword, as was the case with the Umayyad, ‘Abbāside and Ottoman caliphates.

As regarding learning the Islamic injunctions, it according to them is to be acquired by consulting what is “authentic” of what the sahābah had narrated, without making any distinction among these sahābah .

They, thus, regarded all sahābah as equitable and trustworthy despite the fact that many of them became involved in both battles of the Camel and of Siffeen, and they took part in killing each other on those and other occasions, something which places a question mark about the “equity” of many of them and raises many questions. You will review ample details about the “equity” of the sahābah in a chapter to come, by the Will of Allāh.