Twelve Imams

The Twelve Imams (Arabic: ٱلْأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر, al-ʾAʾimmah al-ʾIthnā ʿAšar; Persian: دوازده امام, Davâzdah Emâm) from the family of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt), are the twelve religious and political successors to the Islamic prophet, recognized by Twelver Shia Islam. They were divinely appointed leaders of the Muslim community, beginning with Ali and ending with the Mahdi, who entered occultation and will return in the End Times to establish justice alongside Isa (Jesus). Belief in the Mahdi is shared by both Shia and Sunni Muslims. The Twelve Imams are regarded as authoritative interpreters of the Quran and Islamic law and as exemplars of faith and conduct. Their teachings form the central and foundational basis of Shia theology and Ja'fari jurisprudence. The Twelve Imams are also highly revered in Sunni Islam as family members of Muhammad and as highly important figures in Islamic history, and Sunnis too visit their shrines out of veneration. The existence of twelve divinely appointed Imams was foretold by Muhammad in the Hadith of the Twelve Successors. The hadith, transmitted in several Sunni and Shia collections, reports that Muhammad foretold that twelve leaders would succeed him. The hadith is recorded in major Sunni collections, including Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, as well as in major Shia collections such as Kitab al-Kafi and Kitab al-Ghayba.