And that the Chiefs of the Prophets are five - and they are...

And that the Chiefs of the Prophets are five - and they are (called) “ulul `azm” - and they are Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (be blessings of Allah upon them all) and that Muhammad is their Chief and best of all." Imams The Shi'ahs say that Imam must be appointed by God; that appointment - may be known through the declaration of the Prophet or the preceding Imam.

The Sunnis say that Imam (or Caliph, as they prefer to say) can be either elected, or nominated by the preceding caliph, or selected by a committee, or may acquire power through a military coup. If he is elected, it is enough that one man should do bay’ah (allegiance) to him. The Shi’ahs say: That Imam must be ma’sum (sinless). The Sunnis say (including the Mu’tazilites) that ‘ismah is not a condition for caliphate.

Even if he is a tyrant and has sunk himself in sins, Hanbalites, Shafi’ites and Malikites forbid people to rise against that caliph. They say that they should preserve. The Shi’ahs say that Imam must possess above all such qualities as knowledge, bravery, justice, wisdom, piety, love of God etc. The Sunnis say it is not necessary. A person inferior in these qualities may be elected in preference to a person having all these qualities of superior degree.

The Shi’ahs say that ‘Ali was appointed by Allah to be the successor of the Prophet, and that the Prophet declared it on several occasions. The Sunnis say that the Prophet did not appoint anybody to be his successor.…