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Imamat, or belief in the divine guide, is a fundamental belief in the Twelver Shia doctrine and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance. [ 6 ] According to Twelvers, there is at all times an Imam of the era who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim ...
The Shia clergy are the religious leaders of Shia Islam. Shia Islam places great importance on the guidance of clergy , and each branch of Shi'ism maintains its own clerical structure. The most well-known Shia clergy belongs to the largest branch of Shia Islam, Twelver Shi'ism .
By Shia, acting according to religion is incumbent on every one, but if the expression of a belief endanger one's life, honor and property, he can conceal his belief as the verse 16: 106 implies. It is as a weapon for the weak before the tyrants. [ 178 ]
Those clerics who reach the apex in the hierarchy of theological rank in the centers of Shi'a learning become marja-i taqlids. [ 2 ] [ 4 ] Since around 1940, marja-i taqlids are often referred to by their followers with the honorific title of Ayatollah al-`Uzma (Grand Ayatollah – "ayatollah" meaning "sign of God"). [ 2 ]
Shia Muslim scholars emphasize that the notion of authority is linked to the family of the Abrahamic prophets as the Quranic verses 3:33 and 3:34 show: "Indeed, Allah chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham, and the family of ’Imrân above all people. They are descendants of one another. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing." [12]
Marja ' (Arabic: مرجع, romanized: marjiʿ ; plural marājiʿ ; lit. ' source to follow ' or ' religious reference ') is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia religious cleric, with the authority given by a hawzah (a seminary where Shi'a Muslim scholars are educated) to make legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law for followers and clerics below him in rank.
Ayatollah (UK: / ˌ aɪ ə ˈ t ɒ l ə /, also US: / ˌ aɪ ə ˈ t oʊ l ə /; Arabic: اية الله, romanized: ʾāyatu llāh; Persian: آیتالله, romanized: âyatollâh [ɒːjjætˌolˈlɒːh]) is an honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. it came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Later events such as Husayn's martyrdom in the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) further influenced the development of Shia Islam, contributing to the formation of a distinct religious sect with its own rituals and shared collective memory. Shia Islam is followed by 10–15% of all Muslims. The three main Shia branches are Twelverism, Isma'ilism and ...