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Who are the Imams?
By: Sayyid Rida' Husayni Nasab
Reply: During his lifetime, the Holy Prophet (S) declared that after him there shall be twelve caliphs all of whom will be from Quraysh, and through whom Islam shall be exalted.
Jabir ibn Samurah narrates:
ÇËäìٰ Åáìٰ ÚÒíÒÇð ÇáÅÓáÇã áÇíÒÇá íÞæá –æÓáøã {æÂáå} Úáíå Çááå áøìٰ–Çááå ÑÓæá ÓãÚÊ”
“.ÞÑíÔ ãä ßáøåõã :ÝÞÇá ¿ ÞÇá ãÇ áÃÈí ÝÞáÊ ÃÓãÚåÇ áã ßáãÉ ÞÇá Ëãø ÎáíÝÉð ÚÔÑ
I heard the Messenger of Allah (S) saying: ‘Islam will keep its honor through twelve caliphs.’ Then, he said a statement which I failed to catch. So I asked my father, “What did he (S) say?” He (my father) replied that he (S) said: “All of them will be from Quraysh.[45][49]
In the history of Islam, there are not twelve caliphs who preserve the honor of Islam except the twelve Imams in whom the Shi‘ah believe; for they are the twelve caliphs whom the Prophet (S) introduced as his successors.
Now, let us see who the twelve caliphs are. If we say that they are the four caliphs who are known by the Ahl as-Sunnah as “Rightly-Guided Caliphs” {khulafa’ ar-rashidun}, there are no other caliphs who contributed to exalting Islam.
The biography of the ‘Umayyad and ‘Abbasid caliphs is a testimony to this fact. As for the twelve Imams in whom the Shi‘ah believe, they were a clear manifestation of piety and virtue during their respective periods.
They were also preservers of the Messenger of Allah’s (S) Sunnah and the people to whom Sahabah {Companions} and Tabi‘un {Followers} were attracted,[46][50] and whose knowledge and trustworthiness are acknowledged by historians. These twelve Imams are:
1. ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib;
2. Hasan ibn ‘Ali (al-Mujtaba);
3. Husayn ibn ‘Ali;
4. ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (Zayn al-‘Abidin);
5. Muhammad ibn ‘Ali (al-Baqir);
6. Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (as-Sadiq);
7. Musa ibn Ja‘far (al-Kazim);
8. ‘Ali ibn Musa (ar-Rida);
9. Muhammad ibn ‘Ali (at-Taqi);
10. ‘Ali ibn Muhammad (an-Naqi);
11. Hasan ibn ‘Ali (al-‘Askari); and
12. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (al-Mahdi).
There have been mutawatir traditions related from the Prophet (S) regarding the last Imam who is known as the “Promised Mahdi” transmitted by Muslim hadith scholars {muhaddithun}.
For further information about the life of these great leaders, whom the Messenger of Allah (S) himself has named, one may refer to the following books:
1. Tadhkirat al-Khawas (Tadhkirah Khawas al-Ummah);
2. Kifayat al-Athar;
3. Wafiyat al-A‘yan; and
4. A‘yan ash-Shi‘ah (by Sayyid Muhsin Amin al-‘Amili), which is the most comprehensive of the four books.
Why do you regard your Imams as “infallible” {ma‘sum}?
Reply: There are numerous proofs which confirm the infallibility {‘ismah} of the Imams who are all members of the Prophet’s Household {Ahl al-Bayt}. We shall mention only one of them: According to a narration related by both Shi‘ah and Sunni scholars, during the last days of his life the Prophet (S) said:
ÈíÊí Ãåá æ Çááå ßÊÇÈ ÇáËøÞáíä ÊÇÑßñ Ýíßã Åöäøí”
“.ÇáúÍæÖ Úáíøó íÑÏÇ ÍÊøìٰ íÝÊÑÞÇ áä ÃäøóåõãÇ æ
Verily, I am leaving among you Two Weighty Things: the Book of Allah (the Qur’an) and the members of my Household {Ahl al-Bayt}, and they will never separate from each other until they meet me at the Pond {Al-Hawd} (of Kawthar on the Day of Resurrection).[47][54]
Here is an interesting point: without an iota of doubt, the Glorious Qur’an is free from any form of deviation and error. How could an error approach the divine revelation when the Sender is God, the messenger is the Angel of Revelation (‘a) and the receiver is the Prophet of God (S)?
Since the infallibility of these three is as crystal clear as the sun; the Muslims of the world regard the Holy Prophet (S) as immune from committing error with respect to receiving, preserving and conveying the revelation and it is clear that the Book of Allah has such a constant and veracious immunity, then the Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah (S) are also immune from any sort of lapse and error. For, in this hadith, the progeny {‘itrah} of the Prophet have been described as equal to the Glorious Qur’an in guiding and leading the ummah, which means that they both are equal in terms of infallibility {‘ismah}.
In other words, it is absurd to regard a person or persons who are not infallible as equal to the Book of Allah.
The most explicit testimony to the infallibility of the Imams (‘a) is the following expression of the Prophet (S):
 ÇáúÍæÖ Úáíøó íÑÏÇ ÍÊøìٰ íÝÊÑÞÇ áä ÃäøóåõãÇ æ 
“And they will never separate from each other (in guidance and leadership) until they meet me at the Pond {Al-Hawd} (of Kawthar on the Day of Resurrection).”
Once the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (S) were not free from lapses and errors, they would be separated from the Qur’an which is free from error and they would go astray, whereas the Holy Prophet (S) has emphatically negated it.
Of course, the “Ahl al-Bayt” according to the statement of the Prophet (S) does not refer to all his consanguineous and affinitive relatives for not all of them were free from lapses.
Therefore, only a specific group of his progeny has such an honor and this station and status is applicable to a limited members of his relatives, and these are the very Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) who, throughout history, have been the light of the path of the ummah, the preservers of the Prophet’s Sunnah and the guardians of the Shari‘ah.
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