Leader at the worship service in the mosque In Shi'ite Islam, it refers to the Leader who is a descendant of Ali, the fourth caliph After a certain number of Imams (7 or 12), the last one disappeared without dying and will return at the end of time to bring justice to the world through the spread of Shi'ite Islam
Arabic term meaning the leader of ritual prayer The term is applied to the prayer leader at public prayers, to the spiritual head of a congregation or school, and especially to the leader of the whole Islamic community For Shiites, the word refers to the spiritual leader of the community
Word used in several senses In general use, it means the leader of congregational prayers; as such it implies no ordination or special spiritual powers beyond sufficient education to carry out this function It is also used figuratively by many Sunni (q v ) Muslims to mean the leader of the Islamic community Among Shia (q v ) the word takes on many complex meanings; in general, however, and particularly when uppercased, it indicates that particular descendant of the House of Ali who is believed to be God's designated repository of the spiritual authority inherent in that line The identity of this individual and the means of ascertaining his identity have been major issues causing divisions among Shia Among the Ibadis of Oman, the imam was elected to office and was regarded by all as the spiritual leader of the community and by some as the temporal ruler as well Claims of various Omani imams to secular power led to open rebellions as late as the 1950s
An Islamic religious leader who leads the congregation in prayer; in the Ashirra sect, the Imam is the vampire who provides religious leadership to the local Cainite community; often the local vampiric imam and sultan are one and the same, or they have some sort of agreement
Leader In the specific sense, Imam refers to those 12 successors appointed by the prophet, on Allah's instructions, to lead the Muslims after him The first of them being Imam Ali and the last of them Imam Mahdi, who has been promised by the prophet to emerge to establish peace and justice throughout the world
In Islam, an imam is a religious leader, especially the leader of a Muslim community or the person who leads the prayers in a mosque. a Muslim religious leader or priest. Head of the Muslim community. In Sunnite Islam the imam was identical with the caliph, designating the political successor of Muhammad. The Sunnites held the imam to be a man capable of error but deserving obedience provided he maintained the ordinances of Islam. In Shite Islam the imam became a figure of absolute religious authority, possessed of unique insights into the Qurn and divinely appointed and preserved from sin. With the historical disappearance of the last imam, there arose a belief in the hidden imam, who is identified with the mahdi. The term imam is also given to Muslims who lead prayers in mosques and has been used as an honorary title
Generally the leader of congregational prayers, implying no ordination or special spiritual powers beyond sufficient education to carry out this function The word is also used figuratively by many Sunni (q v ) Muslims to mean the leader of the Islamic community Among Shia (q v ) Muslims, it indicates the particular descendant of the House of Ali who is believed to have been God's designated repository of the spiritual authority inherent in that line The identity of this individual and the means of ascertaining his identity have been the major issues causing divisions among the Shia
A religious leader; specifically, one of the hereditary successors of Muhammad, venerated Shiite Islam A religious leader; specifically, one of the hereditary successors of Muhammad, venerated Shiite Islam
or Imaam (pl A'immah) "A leader " This word has slightly different meanings in different contexts For example, (1) the person who leads the congregational salah is referred to as the Imam; (2) the great scholars of Islamic jurisprudence or hadith are also given the title, Imam