Muhammad...

Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, is the Final Prophet; anybody claiming prophet hood after him is liar and imposter. Imamat To lead the people to the Straight Path, and to preserve the religion of Islam, Allah appointed twelve successors - one after another - of the Prophet of Islam. They are called Imams. Imam literally means leader. Plural aimmah (Wl = Imams; leaders). First of them was Ali son of Abu Talib, and the last one is al-Mahdi (a.s.). All Imams are ma'sum.

The names of the twelve Imams are as follows:- 'Ali, son of Abu Talib Hasan, son of 'Ali Husayn, son of 'Ali 'Ali Zaynul 'Abideen, son of Husayn Muhammad Baqir, son of 'Ali Zaynul 'Abideen' Ja'far Sadiq, son of Muhammad Baqir Musa Kazim, son of Ja'far Sadiq 'Ali Rida, son of Musa Kazim Muhammad Taqi, son of 'Ali Rida 'Ali Naqi, son of Muhammad Taqi Hasan Askari, son of 'Ali Naqi Muhammad Mahdi, son of Hasan 'Askari Imam Mahdi, the twelfth Imam, is alive, but is hidden from our eyes by order of Allah.

He will re-appear, when Allah allows him, to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth. It will be near the end of the world, when he will establish justice and equity in the world after it had been devastated by Injustice and oppression. Qiyamat After that will come Qiyamat, the day of resurrection, the day of judgement. All people will die; then the whole mankind will be resurrected to face the reckoning of their faith and deed.

People having correct belief and doing good deeds will be placed in the paradise; while people having wrong belief will go to the hell. To know and believe in the above-mentioned usul al-deen is the first and foremost responsibility of a mukallaf. As explained just now, neglecting them throws one in ever-lasting punishment of the hell.

If one does not believe in the usul al-deen, then his acts of worship are not accepted by Allah; also he is not entitled to receive khumus, zakah, fitrah, radd al-mazalim and kaffara[^1]. As described earlier, a minor child of a Muslim parent is treated as Muslim; but as soon as he/she becomes baligh, he/she must have the correct belief with firm faith. If at that time he/she was oblivious of these fundamental beliefs, or had doubt about them, it would create a real problem.

Mere verbal confession is not enough. One must have firm belief in heart. Also, it is very much emphasized in Shi'a Ithna 'ashari faith that one should acquire the knowledge of usul al-deen with proofs and arguments.