Please wait while we load your article...

Home > Imams

Learn more about "Imams"

Imam

An '''imam''' (, ) is an Islamic leadership position. Often the leader of a mosque and the community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads the prayer during Islamic gatherings. More often the community turn to the mosque imam, if they have an Islamic question. In smaller communities an imam could be the community leader based on the community setting.

Shi'a imams

In the Shi'a context, '''''Shia Imam|Imam''''' has a meaning more central to belief, referring to leaders of the community. Twelver and Ismaili Shi'a believe that these Imams are chosen by God to be perfect examples for the faithful and to lead all humanity in all aspects of life. They also believe that all the Imams chosen are free from committing any sin and have a status directly parallel to those of a prophet, infallibility which is called ''ismah''. These leaders must be followed since they are appointed by God.

Twelver

Here follows a list of the Twelver Shi`ism|Twelvers Imams:

Zaidi imams as rulers of Yemen

In the Zaidi Shia Islam|Shiite sect, Imams were temporal as well as spiritual leaders who held power in Yemen for more than a thousand years. In 897, a Zaidi ruler, Yahya al-Hadi ila'l Haqq, founded a line of such Imams, a theocratic form of government which survived until the second half of the 20th century. (See details under Zaidi, History of Yemen.)