Editing Shia Islam (section)

===Imamate of the ''Ahl al-Bayt''===
{{main|Imamate in Shia doctrine}}

[[File:Sword and shield reproduction from Bab al Nasr gate Cairo Egypt.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Zulfiqar]]'' with and without the shield. The [[Fatimid art|Fatimid depiction]] of ʿAlī's sword is carved on the gates of [[Old Cairo]], namely ''Bab al-Nasr'' (shown below). Two swords were captured from the temple of the [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arabian deity]] [[Manāt]] during the [[Raid of Sa'd ibn Zaid al-Ashhali]]. Muhammad gave them to ʿAlī, saying that one of them was "Zulfiqar", which became famously known as the sword of ʿAlī and a later symbol of Shīʿīsm.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMVkAAAAMAAJ |title=Religious trends in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry |first=Ghulam |last=Mustafa |year=1968 |page=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906045928/https://books.google.com/books?id=tMVkAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=6 September 2015 |quote=Similarly, swords were also placed on the Idols, as it is related that Harith b. Abi Shamir, the Ghassanid king, had presented his two swords, called Mikhdham and Rasub, to the image of the goddess, Manat....to note that the famous sword of Ali, the fourth caliph, called Dhu-al-Fiqar, was one of these two swords}}</ref>]]
[[File:Sword and shield from the Bab al Nasr gate, Cairo Egypt.jpg|thumb|Depiction of ʿAlī's sword and shield carved on the ''Bab al-Nasr'' gate wall in [[Islamic Cairo]], [[Egypt]]]]
Later, most denominations of Shia Islam, including [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelvers]] and [[Isma'ilism|Ismāʿīlīs]], became [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imamis]].<ref name="jaarel 2015" /><ref name="franc46">{{cite web |date=13 January 2015 |title=Lesson 13: Imam's Traits |url=http://www.al-islam.org/principles-shiite-creed-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini/lesson-13-imams-traits |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150209161456/http://www.al-islam.org/principles-shiite-creed-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini/lesson-13-imams-traits |archive-date=9 February 2015 |work=Al-Islam.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title=Ahl al-BMatt |entry=Ahl al- Bayt |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |publisher=Brill |editor=P. Bearman |edition=2nd |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0378 |author2=van Arendonk, C. |author3=Tritton, A.S. |author=Goldziher, I. |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs}}</ref> Imami Shīʿītes believe that Imams are the spiritual and political [[Succession to Muhammad|successors to Muhammad]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=امامت از منظر متکلّمان شیعی و فلاسفه اسلامی|url=http://ensani.ir/fa/article/69853/%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AA%DA%A9%D9%84%D9%91%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B9%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C|access-date=2021-08-28|website=پرتال جامع علوم انسانی|language=fa|archive-date=28 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828162637/http://ensani.ir/fa/article/69853/%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AA%DA%A9%D9%84%D9%91%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%B9%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%81%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C|url-status=dead}}</ref> Imams are human individuals who not only rule over the Muslim community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret the divine law and its [[Esoteric interpretation of the Quran|esoteric meaning]]. The words and deeds of Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin, and must be chosen by [[Nass (Islam)|divine decree]] ({{transliteration|ar|nass}}) through Muhammad.<ref name="Nasr_a">Nasr (1979), p. 10</ref><ref name="Momen 1985, p. 174">{{harvnb|Momen|1985|p=174}}</ref> According to this view peculiar to Shia Islam, there is always an Imam of the Age, who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim community. ʿAlī was the first Imam of this line, the rightful successor to Muhammad, followed by male descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=عسکری|first=سید مرتضی|title=ولایت علی در قرآن کریم و سنت پیامبر، مرکز فرهنگی انتشاراتی منیر، چاپ هفتم}}</ref>
[[File:Santuario de Fátima bint Musa, Qom, Irán, 2016-09-19, DD 15.jpg|left|thumb|[[Fatima Masumeh Shrine]] in [[Qom]], [[Iran]], which contains the mausoleum of [[Fatima bint Musa|Fatima Masumeh]], the daughter of [[Musa al-Kazim]] and sister of [[Ali al-Rida|Imam Reza]], the 7th and 8th [[Imamah (Shia doctrine)|Imams]] in [[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shīʿīsm]].]]
This difference between following either the ''[[Ahl al-Bayt]]'' (Muhammad's family and descendants) or pledging allegiance to Abū Bakr has shaped the [[Shia–Sunni relations|Shia–Sunnī divide]] on the interpretation of some Quranic verses, [[Hadith|hadith literature]] (accounts of the sayings and living habits attributed to the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] during his lifetime), and other areas of Islamic belief throughout the [[history of Islam]]. For instance, the [[List of hadith collections|hadith collections]] venerated by Shia Muslims are centered on narrations by members of the ''Ahl al-Bayt'' and their supporters, while some hadith transmitted by narrators not belonging to or supporting the ''Ahl al-Bayt'' are not included. Those of [[Abu Hurairah]], for example, Ibn Asakir in his ''Taʿrikh Kabir'', and Muttaqi in his ''Kanzuʿl-Umma'' report that [[Umar ibn al-Khattab|ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb]] lashed him, rebuked him, and forbade him to narrate ''ḥadīth'' from Muhammad. ʿUmar is reported to have said: "Because you narrate hadith in large numbers from the Holy Prophet, you are fit only for attributing lies to him. (That is, one expects a wicked man like you to utter only lies about the Holy Prophet.) So you must stop narrating hadith from the Prophet; otherwise, I will send you to the land of Dus." (An [[Tribes of Arabia|Arab clan]] in [[Yemen]], to which Abu Hurairah belonged). According to Sunnī Muslims, ʿAlī was the fourth successor to Abū Bakr, while Shia Muslims maintain that ʿAlī was the first divinely sanctioned "Imam", or successor of Muhammad. The seminal event in Shia history is the martyrdom at the [[Battle of Karbala]] of ʿAlī's son, [[Husayn ibn Ali|Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī]], and 71 of his followers in 680 CE, who led a non-allegiance movement against the defiant caliph.

It is believed in Twelver and Ismāʿīlī branches of Shia Islam that [['Aql|divine wisdom]] (''ʿaql'') was the source of the souls of the prophets and Imams, which bestowed upon them [[Hikmah|esoteric knowledge]] (''ḥikmah''), and that their sufferings were a means of divine grace to their devotees.<ref>Corbin 1993, pp. 45–51</ref><ref>Nasr (1979), p. 15</ref> Although the Imam was not the recipient of a [[Wahy|divine revelation]] (''waḥy''), he had a close relationship with [[God in Islam|God]], through which God guides him, and the Imam, in turn, guides the people. [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imamate]], or belief in the divine guide, is a fundamental belief in the Twelver and Ismāʿīlī branches of Shia Islam, and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance.<ref name="Imamat">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam and the Muslim world; vol.1 |last=Gleave |first=Robert |title=Imamate |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-865604-5|year=2004 }}</ref>