The Imamiyah believe that spiritually they are with 'Ali (a.

The Imamiyah believe that spiritually they are with 'Ali (a.s.) and are his followers; anyone who takes 'Ali as a friend, we too are friends of that person, and of whoever takes 'Ali (a.s.) as an enemy, we also are his enemy.

This faith is based on the Holy Prophet's words: "Oh God, be a friend of the one who loves 'Ali (a.s.) and be an enemy of the one who is an enemy of 'Ali (a.s.)." The Imamiyah Shi'as believe that Almighty God never leaves the world without a Prophet or an Imam whether this "proof of God" is apparent or hidden. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.), through an explicit ordinance, made 'Ali al-Murtada (a.s.) his successor.

'Ali (a.s.) made al-Hasan (a.s.) his successor, and Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) made his brother Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) his successor. In this way this chain continued until the eleventh Imam. The Eleventh spiritual guide Imam al-Hasan al-' Askari (a.s.) was succeeded by his son the twelfth Imam, the Imam of the Age, the Awaited One (a.s.), vicegerent of God.

This belief is not an innovation of the Shi'as, rather it is a divine practice, which started with Adam (a.s.) and continued until the last Prophet (s.a.w.). There are innumerable books written by eminent 'ulama' on this topic. We give below the names of some 'ulama' of early centuries who have written on the topic of "wasiyah" (succession). 1). Hisham ibn al-Hakam. 2). Husayn ibn Sa'id 3). 'Ali ibn Miskini 4). 'Aliibn al-Mughirah 5). 'Aliibn Husayn ibn Fadl. 6).

Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sa'id 7). Ahmad ibn Muhammad Khalid al-Barqi, the author of "al-Mahasin". 8). The great historian 'Abdu 'l-'Aziz ibn Yahya al-Judi. Most of these writers belong to the first and second centuries, but the number of writings from authors of the third century hijri is also large: 1). Yahya ibn Mustafad. 2). Muhammad ibn Ahmad as-Sabuni 3). 'Ali ibn Ra'ab 4). Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Farukh 5).

The well known historian, Ali ibn al-Husayn alMas'udi, the author of "Muruj adh-Dhahab". 6). Shaykh at-Ta'ifah Muhammad ibn al-Hasan at-Tusi 7). Muhammad ibn, Ali ash-Shalmaghani 8). Musa ibn al-Hasan ibn, Amir Books written after the fourth century can hardly be counted. al-Mas'udi wrote in his famous book "Ithbatu 'l-wasiyah". "Every prophet had twelve successors".

The writer also gave the names of all of them, and wrote brief life-sketches of each; at the end of the work he writes in more detail about the twelve Imams.