Islam Guidance

1. The Hadith on Twelve Imams

1. The Hadith on Twelve Imams

 After studying about the leadership of Imam ‘Ali and briefly reviewing the khilāfat of Saqifah, it is now advisable to refer to several parts of the 77th chapter of Yanābi‘u ’l-Mawaddah of a famous Sunni scholar al-Hāfiz Sulaymān al-QundÅ«zi al-Hanafi (d. 1294AH/1877AD).

 Al-QundÅ«zi first quotes a well known hadÄ«th of the Prophet that: “There will be twelve caliphs, all from the Quraysh.” This hadÄ«th has been quoted by many books of ahadith including that of Bukhāri, al-Muslim, Abu Dāwud and at-Tirmidhi.

 Then al-QundÅ«zi quotes many traditions to the effect that the Prophet said, “I, ‘Ali, Hasan, Husayn and nine of the descendants of Husayn are pure and sinless.” Then the author quotes that the Prophet said to Imam Husayn bin ‘Ali: “You are a chief, brother of a chief; you are an Imam, son of an Imam, brother of an Imam; you are Proof (of Allah), son of a Proof (of Allah), brother of a Proof (of Allah), and father of nine Proofs (of Allah), the ninth of whom will be al-Mahdi.”

 After quoting many such traditions, he writes: “Some scholars have said that the traditions (which show that the caliphs after the Prophet would be twelve) are well known, from many chains of narration. Now, with the passage of time and through historical events, we know that in this hadÄ«th the Prophet has referred to the Twelve Imams from his family (Ahlu ’l-bayt) and descendants, because:

 “This hadÄ«th cannot apply to the four al-khulafā’u ’r-rāshidun from among his companions, as they were less than twelve.

“And it cannot apply to the caliphs from the tribe of Umayyad, because (a) they were more than twelve; (b) all of them were tyrants and unjust (except ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdi ’l-‘AzÄ«z); and (c) they were not from the Banu Hāshim as the Prophet has said in a hadÄ«th that `all of them will be from the Banu Hāshim'...

 “And it cannot apply to the caliphs from the ‘Abbāsids, because (a) they were more than twelve; and (b) they did not comply with (the demands of) the verse Say, `I do not ask of you any recompense for it except the love for (my) near relatives' (42:23), nor with the tradition of the Mantle.

 “Therefore, the only way to interpret this hadÄ«th is to accept that it refers to the Twelve Imams from the Holy Prophet's Ahlu 'l-bayt and descendants, because they were, in their times, most knowledgeable, the most illustrious, the most God-fearing, the most pious, the highest in their family lineage, the best in personal virtues, and the most honoured before Allah; and their knowledge was derived from their ancestor (the Prophet) through their fathers, and by inheritance and by direct teachings from Allāh.”*

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