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Brief Answer

Brief Answer

According to the undisputed belief of Imami Shi’ism taken from numerous verses and Prophetic traditions, the Imamate is a Divine position. So if it is established that someone has been divinely appointed to this position a Muslim must submit to his command and authority without question obeying Allah (awj) as He says, “Allah best knows where to place His messengership.”

 There are several ways to ascertain whether Allah (awj) has appointed a particular person to this position:

 1. Prophetic traditions.

 2. Being introduced and specified by other Imams, particularly the previous Imam.

 3. Possessing the other conditions of Imamate, such as inherent knowledge, more knowledge than anyone of their time, infallibility, soundness and moderation of body and spirit, and ability to perform miracles and extraordinary deeds.

 The Shi’as contemporary to young Imams—that is, Imam Muhammad b. ‘Ali al-Taqi (ع) at eight years, Imam ‘Ali b Muhammad al-Naqi (ع) at nine years, and Imam al-Mahdi (ع) at five years—were not unaware of these things, and it was after great searching and effort that they attained certainty about their Imamate and submitted to their authority. Later generations in turn rely on research, historical records, and traditions. On the other hand, the position of Imamate, unseen Divine endorsement, and manifestation of extraordinary deeds at the hands of these personages prevent them from being compared to normal human beings.

 In addition, for a Muslim who believes in the Qur`an, the granting of a Divine station on the basis of Divine wisdom, knowledge, and grace to someone of young age should not be surprising, since the prophethood of ‘Isa (ع), Yahya (ع), and Sulayman (ع) also took place at a young age. This is why the noble verses that indicate this point were frequently cited by the Imams (ع).

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