ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Examining the Ismaili Imams & the Bohras Following the ‘Right’ Imam Importance of following the ‘Right’ chain First of all, we all accept that we are the slaves (Ibaad) of Allah (swt). As Muslims, we must submit and obey Him, as He is our Master. We know that as Muslims, we must believe in all of the Prophets and all of the books that were sent by Allah (swt) in order to be Muslims. If one believes in some Prophets only, then he is not a Muslim.

For example if one does not believe in Yusuf (as) or Nuh (as), then he is not a Muslim. In other words, we must believe in all the Prophets in order to be a Muslim, whether we know all of their names or not. In Quran, only a few names of the prophets are mentioned. The Holy Quran informs us only about some of the Prophets.

Quran clearly says in Surah Ghafir verse 78: وَلَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْہُمْ مَّنْ قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْہُمْ مَّنْ لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ “Certainly We have sent apostles before you. Of them are those We have recounted to you and of them are those We have not recounted to you….” [^1] In order to be a Muslim, one must believe in all the prophets, the whole chain of prophets; one cannot pick and choose and only believe in some.

As Muslims, we believe that the last messenger of Allah (swt) was our Holy Prophet (sawa) and there are not going to be any more prophets after him. Does this mean that there is no divine guidance after the Holy prophet (sawa)? After the Holy Prophet (sawa) what? As Muslims, we believe that Allah (swt) has never left humanity without a divinely appointed guide as His representative on earth. Holy Quran, Surah Ra’ad verse 7 says, وَّلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ ہَادٍ۝۷ۧ There is a guide for every nation.

[^2] Who is the guide after the demise of the last messenger of Allah (swt)? The Shias believe that an Imam is the guide after the demise of the Holy Prophet (sawa). As per the belief of the Ithna Ashari Shias (The Twelvers), the Holy Imams, the successors of the Holy Prophet (sawa), are divinely appointed and are infallible. Shias believe that Imamate is one of the Usool e Deen[^3]; it is an essential part of the religion.

Imamate, as per the Twelvers, has all the characteristics of prophethood, except that the Imams do not bring any changes in the religion. They preserve the religion that was brought by the Holy Prophet (sawa), and they need to be obeyed at the same level as we obey the Holy Prophet (sawa).

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