Don’t these ‘interpreters’ think that the Holy Prophet (S)...

Don’t these ‘interpreters’ think that the Holy Prophet (S) did not merely use the word ‘Imam’ but said ‘Imam of the time’? It means, one should recognize the ‘Imam of his time’, which clearly implies an Imam who changes with different times, an Imam succeeded by another. Did the Quran change or would change with the changing times? Or one Quran shall succeed another?

Second tradition A tradition, accepted as authentic by all sects of Islam and found in Sahih Bukhari and other books of traditions through various chains is as follows: “There will be twelve Imams after me who all would be from Quraish.” Complete chapters are devoted in books of traditions for traditions on this topic. This tradition is also a complete code of law which we could apply to every system of caliphate to judge its correctness or invalidity.

The clear aim of this tradition is that any series of caliphate which is not from Quraish (e.g. Turkish empire) or which is within Quraish but has less than twelve Imams is not a Divine series. Since it is impossible that Allah wrongly declared the number of Prophet’s caliphs as twelve while they are less than that, or that He later changed His decision, or the Prophet (S) predicted it without getting a divine revelation.

If none of these possibilities exist why the number of caliphs declared by the Prophet seems to be incorrect? Indeed we have to agree that a caliphate founded on Ijma (consensus), Istikhlaf (nomination), Shura (consultative committee), and force after the passing away of the Prophet (S), none of whose series had twelve caliphs, cannot be a cherished and chosen system of the Prophet (S).

I challenge the majority of Muslims to prove any of their caliphates (‘Rightly Guided’[^4] caliphate, Bani Abbas caliphate, Spanish caliphate, Turkish caliphate and Egyptian empire etc.) valid and in accordance with the above tradition of the Messenger of Allah (S) but fulfilling the condition that all the twelve caliphs should be in a continuous serial order and they should be in power from the time of the passing away of the Prophet till the Day of Judgment without any break, so that no period should be without an Imam as mentioned in the captioned tradition.

“But if you do (it) not and never shall you do (it), then be on your guard against the fire of which men and stones are the fuel…” [^5] However, Shias can proudly present their series of caliphs (Imams) according to the criteria of this tradition that their number be exactly twelve.