These will be the leaders after me .

These will be the leaders after me .”[^14] To the above effect, there are numerous traditions recorded by both the Sunnis and the Shias with reference to the twelve Imams (a.s.) mentioned in Traditions and exegesis as successors to the Prophet (S), which are collected in Gulpaigani’s voluminous book ‘The Hidden Imam’. [^15] Az-Zuhri relates that the Prophet (S) went to the tribe of Bani Aamir to invite them to accept Islam.

A man from the tribe, Bayhara by name, asked, “ If we accept all your commands and you conquer your enemies with our help, do you promise that after your death the leadership will pass on to us? ” The Prophet (S) replied, “ The matter of governance belongs to God; He will appoint whomsoever He wills .” The man replied, “ Are we to endanger ourselves in helping you against your enemies, only to see the rulership pass on to some one other than us? ”[^16]