Taqavi Posted June 12 Share Posted June 12 How many Imams are there after the Prophet Muhammad (s), and who are they? According to the narrations from the Prophet Muhammad (s), which are present in both the Sunni and the Shia sources, there are twelve Imams after the Prophet. One narration states that "there will be twelve guardians for this nation, and whoever adheres to them will not suffer harm, all of whom are from the Quraysh tribe".[1] Ibn Athir notes that even in the Torah that, there is a statement implying that God blessed Abraham with the existence of Ishmael, promising to make him grow, to multiply his progeny, and to place twelve magnificent individuals among his descendants. According to existing narrations, this Torah statement refers to the twelve Shia Imams.[2] Juwayni has narrated that the Prophet (s) said his successors would be twelve in number, with the first being his brother and the last being his son. When asked who his brother was, he named Ali ibn Abi Talib (a), and when asked about his son, he referred to Mahdi (may God hasten his noble advent).[3] Additionally, it is mentioned that the Prophet (s) proclaimed, “Myself and Ali, Hassan, Husayn, and nine of Husayn's sons are pure and infallible.”[4] In a narration from Shia sources, the Prophet (s) mentions that after him will come twelve Imams, starting with Ali, followed by Hassan, Husayn, Ali ibn Husayn, Muhammad ibn Ali, Jafar ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Jafar, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hassan ibn Ali, and ending with Al-Hujjat ibn al-Hassan.[5] Therefore, based on this, the twelve Imams following the Prophet Muhammad (s) are twelve individuals, starting with the commander of faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (a), followed by the two grandsons of the Prophet (s), and subsequently the nine descendants of Imam Husayn (a), whose names have been mentioned in these narrations. [1] . Kanz al-Ummal; Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Vol: 12, P: 33. [2] . Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah; Ibn Kathir,P: 179, 178. [3] . Faraid al-Simtain Mu'allif; al-Hamuyi al-Juwayni, Ibrahim; vol: 2 p: 312. [4] . ibid, p: 313. [5] . Sadooq; Kamal al-Din, vol: 1, pp: 254-253 / Khazaz Razi; Kifayah al-Athar, pp: 53-55. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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