Necessity of knowing the imam of the time According to the...

Necessity of knowing the imam of the time According to the first tradition (from among the said three successively reported traditions), everyone who dies without knowing the imam of his time dies the death of ignorance. Every time there is a need for an imam. It is necessary for all to know him, believe in his imamate and it is obligatory for every Muslim to follow him. If a Muslim dies without knowing the imam of his time he dies the death of ignorance.

This has been reported through numerous chains from reliable transmitters. I do not think there is anyone who dares cast doubt on the chain or meaning of these traditions. These traditions have appeared in Sahih Bukhari , Sahih Muslim , Musnad , Sunan and other tradition books. They are accepted by Shias and Sunnis alike.

Muslims unanimously agree that the Holy Prophet (s) said: من مات و لم یعرف امام زمانه مات میته جاهلیه He who dies without knowing the imam of his time dies the death of ignorance. This tradition has appeared with the same wording in some reference books.

Taking it for granted, Sheikh Sa'ad al-Din Taftazani centers his discussions on imamate in his Sharh al-Maqasi on this tradition.[^26] This tradition has appeared (in tradition books) in other wordings as well, but we believe that all conveys the same message. The Holy Prophet (s) intends to say that Muslims are always in need of an imam who guides them and it is obligatory upon all Muslims to follow him and seek guidance from him.

In his Musnad , Ahmad for example quotes the Holy Prophet (s) as having said: من مات بغیر امام مات میته جاهلیه[^27] He who dies without having an imam dies the death of ignorance. The same is reported by by Abu Dawood Tiyalisi in his Musnad and Tabarani in his al-Mu'ajam al-Kabir . Ibn Hayyan in his Sahih maintains: من مات و لیس له امام مات میته جاهلیه[^28] He who dies without having an imam dies the death of ignorance.

There are also books that have added something to this tradition saying: من مات و لم یعرف امام زمانه فلیمت ان شاء یهودیا و ان شاء نصرانیا[^29] He who dies without knowing the imam of his time should die as he wishes – as a Jew or as a Christian. A number of scholars have reported this tradition with this wording from al-Masael al-Khamsun written by Fakhr Razi.

Though this tradition has also appeared in other wordings as well in Sahih , Sunan and Musnad hadith collections we suffice to what we have thus far reported.