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Imam is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide religious guidance. Thus for Sunnis, anyone can study the basic Islamic sciences and become an Imam.
Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdi is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam.
The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi.
In Shia Islam, Qāʾim Āl Muḥammad is an epithet for the Mahdi, the eschatological figure in Islam who is widely believed to restore the religion and justice in the end of time. The term was used as early as the eighth century to refer to a future member of the family of the Islamic prophet Muḥammad who would rise against tyranny in the end of time and restore justice. This term was already common by the end of the Umayyad caliphate and largely replaced the term Mahdi in Shia literature. The term was often qualified as al-Qa'im bi 'l-sayf or al-Qa'im bi-amr Allah.
Narjis is believed by the Twelvers to have been the mother of their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. His birth is said to have been providentially concealed by his father, Hasan al-Askari, out of fear of Abbasid persecution as they sought to eliminate an expected child of the eleventh Imam, whom persistent rumors described as a savior. After the death of his father in 260 AH, al-Mahdi is believed by the Twelvers to have entered a state of occultation which continues until his rise in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. The origin of Narjis is recorded as the Byzantine or Nubia and her tomb is believed to be located in the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, Iraq.
The Fourteen Infallibles in Twelver Shia Islam are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra, and the Twelve Imams. All are considered to be infallible under the theological concept of Ismah. Accordingly, they have the power to commit sin but by their nature are able to avoid doing so, which is regarded as a miraculous gift from God. The Infallibles are believed to follow only God's desire in their actions because of their supreme righteousness, consciousness, and love for God. They are also regarded as being immune to error in practical matters, in calling people to religion, and in the perception of divine knowledge. Some Twelver Shia believe the Fourteen Infallibles are superior to the rest of creation and to the other major prophets.
The Mahdi is a prominent figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Time to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad, who will appear shortly before the Prophet ʿĪsā and will lead the Muslims to rule the entire world.
Rajʿa, also known as ḥashr khāṣṣ, is a doctrine in Shia Islam positing that some of the dead will return to life before the Resurrection to avenge their oppression.
The Minor Occultation, also known as the First Occultation, refers in Twelver Shia Islam to a period of nearly seventy years during which the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is believed to have communicated regularly with his followers through four successive agents. This period was followed by the Major Occultation (941–present), where there is no agent of the Hidden Imam, whose reappearance is expected by the Twelvers to fill the earth with justice and peace in the end of time.
In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. While various sects disagree about the identity of the eschatological Mahdi, the belief in him remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.
Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi al-Amri was the first of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Uthman is also said to have been a trusted representative of the tenth and eleventh Imams, Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, respectively. The date of his death is not certain, though it is believed that Uthman did not survive al-Askari for long.
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Uthman was the second of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Abu Ja'far in this role succeeded his father, Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi, the first deputy. After some forty years in office, Abu Ja'far died in 304 or 305 AH and was succeeded by Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti, the third deputy. Abu Ja'far has been credited with the unification of the mainstream Shia.
Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti was the third of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Ibn Ruh in this role succeeded Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Uthman in 917 CE. After some twenty years in office, Ibn Run died in 937 CE and was succeeded by Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri, the fourth and final deputy.
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri was the last of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation. Al-Samarri in this role succeeded Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti in 937.
Occultation in Shia Islam refers to the eschatological belief that the Mahdi, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has already been born and he was subsequently concealed, but he will reemerge and he will establish justice and peace on earth at the end of time. The signs of his (re)appearance are largely common in Shia and Sunni, , and the belief in the eschatological Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.
The Kaysanites were a Shi'i sect of Islam that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They traced Imamate from Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendants. The name Kaysaniyya was most likely derived from the name of Mukhtar's chief guard, Abu Amra Kaysan.
Ḥakīma bint Muḥammad al-Jawād, also known as Ḥakīma Khātūn, was the daughter of Muhammad al-Jawad, sister of Ali al-Hadi, and paternal aunt of Hasan al-Askari, who were the ninth, tenth, and eleventh Imams in Twelver Shia Islam, respectively. Her mother was Samana, a freed slave of Moroccan origin. A revered figure in Twelver Shia, she is buried in the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, located in modern-day Iraq, which has been targeted by Sunni militants as recently as 2007.
The final letter of Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the Hidden Imam in Twelver Shi'ism, to his agent, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri, predicted his imminent death and announced the beginning of the Major Occultation (941–present). In Twelver belief, the Major Occultation concludes with the rise of al-Mahdi in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. This letter belongs to the Tawqīʿāt, a collection of signed letters and pronouncements attributed to the Hidden Imam.
The reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi is the Twelver eschatological belief in the return of their Hidden Imam in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. For Twelvers, this would end a period of occultation that began shortly after the death of Hasan al-Askari in 260 AH, the eleventh Imam. While the miraculously prolonged life of the eschatological Mahdi is specific to Shia, the signs of his (re)appearance and his career are largely common in Shia and Sunni, and the belief in a messianic Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.
The Najaf Seminary, also known as the al-Hawza Al-Ilmiyya, is the oldest and one of the most important Shia seminaries (hawza) in the world. It is located near the Imam Ali Mosque in the city of Najaf in Iraq, and also operates a campus in Karbala, Iraq. It was established by Shaykh al-Tusi, and continued as a center of study after the establishment of modern Iraq in 1921.
References
- ↑ "An interview with Abdulaziz Sachedina on His Life and Scholarship". The Levant News. 2017-09-28. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
- ↑ Howzeh magazine, Spring and Summer 2006, Number 18
- ↑ The Presentation Submitted to the Marja'.
- ↑ Abdulaziz Sachedina. "What happened in Najaf?". University of Georgia. Archived from the original on 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ↑ "Original text" (in Persian). Abdulaziz Sachedina, University of Virginia. Archived from the original on March 17, 2004.
- ↑ "Abdulaziz Sachedina, Faculty page". University of Virginia. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008.
