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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Shiism in Sunnism An Introduction to: Recognition of the Imams in The Light of Traditions Imamate and leadership are among the significant issues of which every Muslim should have a clear understanding and to which should recognize his/her responsibility. Imamate is a subject to which the Holy Prophet has paid special attention.

The Prophet has mentioned it frequently in his speeches and it has been discussed in various times and places and in different ways. Its significance is to such an extent that according to traditions, agreed upon by the Shi’a and the Sunni—some of which will follow—the great Prophet of Islam (a.s) warned sharply: “One who dies without knowing the Imam of his age dies as a pagan,” and hence will be raised beside apostates and disbelievers on the Resurrection Day.

Moreover, the Muslim community would have naturally faced this issue after the tragic demise of the Holy Prophet (a.s), since the question then was that who would be the Prophet’s successor and how the Muslims’ affairs should be managed. Therefore, seeking and finding the truth about Imamate, unscathed by pagan bias, is an inevitable necessity for the Muslims. Discussions on Imamate are presented in three main ways, each having its own characteristics.

These are as follows: Logical Method : In this method, the necessity of Imamate and Imam’s infallibility is proved via for example Lutf (benevolence) principle and logical understanding and then by this principle and its results, consequences of Imamate are stated. Miracle Method : Here, individuals make sure of the Imams’ truthfulness by seeing directly or getting information about their miracles.

Nass (wording) Method : In this case, the Imams’ Imamate is determined by the Prophet’s introduction or stipulation or each Imam’s introduction of his next successor (s). In various books written about Imamate, Imam Ali’s leadership after the Prophet (a.s) has been stated in all the above-mentioned ways. But the leadership of other Imams has been proved via the first (Logical) and the second (Miracle) methods.

The purpose of this book is to prove Imamate via the third method ( Nass ) and mostly traditions narrated by the Sunnis and is organized in such a way to be helpful for most people. To begin with, is there any leadership after the Prophet (a.s) at all? Attempts to find the answer to this question is the start of our research.