Twelver Shi'ism

Twelver Shi'ism (Arabic: اِثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة, romanized: Ithnā ʿAshariyya; Persian: دوازده‌ امامی, romanized: Davāzdah-emāmī) is the largest denomination of Shia Islam and a major Islamic tradition. It holds that the Twelve Imams from the household of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, beginning with his cousin and son-in-law Ali and ending with the twelfth Imam Mahdi, are divinely appointed as both religious and political successors to the prophet, and that the Mahdi will appear in the End Times alongside Isa (Jesus) to establish justice. Belief in the Mahdi is shared by both Shia and Sunni Muslims. According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams possess special knowledge and authority to guide the Muslim community (Ummah). They are regarded as exemplary human beings who lead the Muslim community with justice and are entrusted with preserving and interpreting the Islamic law (Sharia) and the esoteric meanings of the Quran.

The words and deeds of Muhammad (Sunnah) and the Twelve Imams are a guide and model for Muslims to follow. Muhammad and the Twelve Imams are free from error and sin, a doctrine known as Ismah (infallibility), and are chosen by divine decree (Nass) through Muhammad. The Fourteen Infallibles consist of the prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima al-Zahra, and the Twelve Imams. Twelver theology emphasizes the principles of Tawhid (oneness of God), divine justice, prophethood, Imamate, and resurrection. Its religious law is based on the Jaʿfari school of Islamic jurisprudence, named after the sixth Imam, Jaʿfar al-Sadiq.