|
IMAM (ih-MAHM)
In
Islam, a recognized leader or a religious teacher
Common
clues:
Shi'ite leader; Islamic holy man; Prayer leader; Mosque
leader; Priest of the Mideast; Mosque priest; Muslim religious
leader
Crossword
puzzle frequency:
4 times a year
Frequency
in English language:
30796 / 86800
News:
ACLJ
Calls on U.S. State Dept. to End Sponsorship of Ground Zero Imam
for Globe-Trotting Journey
Video:
Imam
Khomeini Interviewed about Shah & Sadat of Egypt
Imam
is an Arabic word
meaning "Leader". The ruler of a country might be
called the Imam, for example. The term, however, has important
connotations in the Islamic tradition.
Imam
Sayyid Ruhollah al-Musavi al-Khomeini
Prayer
leader
The
common everyday use of the word is for a person leading Muslim
congregational prayers. In this meaning Imam is not required to
be a cleric.
Sunni
"Imams"
The
term is also used for a recognized religious leader or teacher in
Islam, often for the founding scholars of the four Sunni
madhhabs, or schools of religious jurisprudence (fiqh).
For example, Imam
Abu Hanifa.
Or the Imams of the sciences related to Hadith such as Imam
Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Abu Dawood. Or the heads of the
Prophet's decendants in their times such as Imam Jafar Sadiq.
Shia
"Imams"
In
the Shia context, Imam
also has a meaning
more central to belief.
The
Shia interpretation is that the Quran clearly says that only God
can appoint an Imam
and no one else has
the power to designate one. The incident of Ghadeer-e-Khum is
referenced as when Muhammad declared Ali as the leader of the
community after him.
According
to the Twelve-Imam Shiite dogma, imam is a divine status, greater
than the status of a Prophet. According to this ideology this
title is reserved for only twelve early leaders of Islam—Ali,
Hasan, Husayn, and nine of Husayn's descendants.
Following
is a listing of the rightful sucessors of Muhammad, as recognized
by ("Twelver") Shias. Each Imam was the son of the
previous Imam, except for Husayn who was the brother of Hasan.
Ali
ibn Abu Talib (600 - 661)
Hasan
ibn Ali (625 - 669)
Husayn
ibn Ali (626 - 680)
Ali
ibn Husayn (658 - 713), also known as Zainul
Abideen
Muhammad
al Baqir (676 - 743)
Jafar
as Sadiq (703 - 765)
Musa
al Kazim (745 - 799)
Ali
ar Rida (765 - 818)
Muhammad
at Taqi (810 - 835)
Ali
al Hadi (827 - 868)
Hasan
al Askari (846 - 874)
Muhammad
al Mahdi (868 - ?))
The
Ismailis trace a different line of Imams, branching at one of
Husayn's descendants, Ismail bin Jafar.
The
Zayidis trace a different line, branching at Husayn's grandson,
Zaid.
This
article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Imam".
|
