Hujja (Shia Islam)
Arabic Shia term meaning "proof (of God, in the form of a prophet or Imam)"
A term used in Shi'i terminology, "hujja" means "proof [implied: proof of God]." It is usually used to refer to a single individual in any given human era who represents God's "proof" to humanity. The hujja is an Islamic prophet or an Imam who possesses a relationship with God that is greater than anyone else. The Imam who is the hujja of his time functions as the ultimate mediator between God and humanity, giving the Imam the greatest precedence for interpretation of the Qur'an. As the mediator between God and humanity, the Imam is the only one who can properly resolve conflicting interpretations of the Qur'an's words, giving the Imam ultimate authority over divine knowledge. The Quran cannot speak for itself, thus, the fundamental mediator between God and humanity must be a person, the hujja. In Twelver shi'ism the title "hujja" is specifically applied to the Twelfth Imam who is believed to be in hiding and is attributed with the tradition of using Shi'i hadith to guide the religious community. The word Imam and hujja do not necessarily refer to the same person because an Imam may not be hujja but may keep the title of Imam.
Alleged proof of Hujja
The Imam that is hujja is hujja for several reasons in Shi'i Qur'an interpretation and Shi'i hadith. The first is presented by the Imam's role as mediator between God and humanity. The divine appointment of the Imam, according to Shi'i belief, was passed down from Muhammad to 'Ali and his sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn, who passed it onto their sons and so on.
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