In addition...

In addition, there are other affairs related to the expansion of Islam across the globe which are issues related to people's religion. For instance, one of the missions of an Imam is to secure Islamic borders and to spread monotheism across the globe through holy wars with an army equipped with powerful weapons. You might ask who is responsible for people's religious questions.

They would answer: the Prophet's close friends, who have learned such issues from the Prophet, are responsible for such affairs. If the Imam's task was only to settle such mundane affairs, he would not need any moral virtues except for social capabilities, let alone widespread knowledge or immunity against sins.

Unfortunately, from a Sunnite perspective the Imam's spiritual position has so drastically degenerated that an individual such as Baghiani is allowed to speak of a caliph as the Prophet's successor, an individual who can engage in sins and still remain the leader of an Ummah.

He writes: [^2] “لايخلع الإمام بفسقه و ظلمه بغصب الأموال و تناول النفوس المحترمة و تضييع الحقوق و تعطيل الحدود” An Imam is never removed from his position because of involvement in the disobedience of God, or for confiscation of people's possessions, or for killing people or for disruption of people's rights. Rather, it is the people's job to make his wrongdoings right or even to lead him towards the right direction!

We will not even wonder when we see a scholar such as Mohaqiq Taftazani judge the caliph of the Prophet in the following manner: It is never required for Imams to be immune against sins or to be the best of the Muslims. The Imam's disobedience and his lack of Islamic knowledge would never end in his resignation[^3]. The reasons for such judgments concerning the caliph of Islam lie in the assumption that an Imam should be elected as a usual governor.

His only requirement is the ability to manage people's affairs and to suppress the aggressors. His moral corruption or his involvement in sins are not considered relevant to his job. The Shiite point of view The Shiite scholars rely on another view. This view states: Imamate is a kind of divine jurisprudential guardianship or walayah which is bestowed upon the Imam by God. In other words: Imamate, like prophethood, is assigned to an individual by God.

Based on this assumption, Imamate is a continuation of Prophethood with the difference that the Prophet is the founder of shariah (i.e.