Meaning and interpretation
Every observant and devout Muslim, who has lived through the rise and fall of the Muslim age, can witness the current dilemma Muslims and the Islamic world face. No one at the time could have foreseen the significance of an honest and fair Caliph and their Caliphate in the Islamic system. Considering this need, there is now a demand to study Caliphates. What exactly are Caliphs and Caliphates? What is the significance of the Caliphate period in Islam? The study will solely look at the Islamic democratic system (Daur-e-Khilafat), not the current democratic system.
In light of Islamic teachings, let’s discussed the literal and terminological definitions and their various aspects.
Literal definition of Imam and Imamat
“Imam” (Imamat) is the source of the verb “umma”, it means to move forward, and Imam means someone whom everyone should follow, whether he is the leader of the nation or someone else.
(Al-Firouzabadi, Majid al-Din Muhammad bin Yaqub, Al-Qamoos al-Muhait: 4/78, Dar al-Jail, Beirut)
Ibn Manzoor Afriqi writes:
“For the imam of everyone who is trusted by a people, whether they were upon the straight path or were astray, and the plural: imams․․․and the caliph is the imam of the subjects.”
(Ibn-e-Manzoor, Jamal-ud-Din Muhammad bin Mukarram, Lasan al-Arab: 12/24, Dar Sadir, Beirut)
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Such as Imam refers to any person whom a nation follows, whether that nation is guided or misguided, and its collective Imams. And the Caliph is the imitate (exemplary person) of the subjects (people).
The same thing has been quoted by Sahib “Taj al-Aros” (Al-Zubaidi, Muhammad Murtaza, Taj al-Aros min Jawahar al-Qamoos: 8/193, Al-Hayat Library, Beirut).
Feroze Al-Laghat has also mentioned:
“Imam are called as leaders and religious guider”.
(Firoz Al-Lugad, Urdu (Jami) Pg: 126, Feroze Sons Private Limited)
Terminological definition of Imamate and Khilafat
The term “Imam” has been defined in different ways, for example in “Sharh Aqeed”:
“Their representative, from the Messenger of Allah in the establishment of al-Din, as he is the one who is responsible for the Imams and followers.”
(Al-Tiftazani, Saad-ud-din Masoud bin Umar bin Abdullah, p. 108, Mir Muhammad Library, Karachi).
Like this Imamate refers to the representativeness of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the process of establishing the religion.
Attainable Objectives Rate is:
“It is a general presidency in matters of religion and the world, succession to the prophets”
(Al-Tiftazani, Saad al-Din Masoud bin Umar bin Abdullah, Sharh al-Maqasid: 3/469, Isha’at-e-Islam Library, Peshawar)
Like this and they refer to the public state and the caliphate of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in matters of religion and world.
Use of the word “Imam” in The Holy Quran and Hadith Sharif
The word “Imam” has appeared in many places in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith Sharif, which has been used in different meanings according to its context. Below, without going into their meanings, only some of these Quranic verses and Hadith words are mentioned, so that the readers can understand their entry in the light of the Holy Quran and Hadith at a glance.
Quranic verses:
He said, “Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people”.
(Al-Baqarah: 124)
“And we made the pious to be Imams”․
(Al-Furqan: 74)
“And we made them imams to guide by our command”.
(Al-Anbiya: 73)
“And we made them Imams and we made them inheritors”.
(Al-Qasas: 5)
“So fight the leaders of disbelief, for they have no faith”.
(Al-Touba: 12)
Hadith Sharif:
“The greatest imam is who, he is a shepherd over people”.
(Al-Sahih by Imam Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Ahkam (Hadith Number: 7138), p.: 1229, Dar al-Salaam, Riyadh)
“Imams from Quraysh”.
(Musnad of Imam Ahmad bin Ahmad, Musnad of Anas bin Malik: 4/29, Number of Hadith: 12489, Dar Ihya Al-Tarath Al-Arabi)
”God will place all seven in his shade on the day when there will be no shade except his shade, one of them is Imam e Adil”.
(Al-Sahih ll-Imam Muslim, Kitab al-Zakwa, Chapter Fazl al-Ghanayn al-Sadaqah, p. 415, Dar al-Salaam, Al-Riyadh)
Aside from these narratives, the term “Imam” has been adopted in hundreds of hadiths with several other contexts.
Necessary justification
In Shariah, the term “Imam” means the caliph of the Muslims and their ruler. In order to differentiate between Imamat (Khilafat) and Imam of the Muslims in prayer, Caliphate and Imam are sometimes referred to as Imamat-e-Uzma and sometimes as Imamat-e-Kubra. According to , Ibn Hazm, when the word “Al-Imamah” is spoken, it refers to Imamat-e-Kubra, or Imamat-i-Amaa (i.e., Caliphate). One thing must be explained here, that the word “Imam” is generally used by Ahlul-Sunnah wal-Jama’at. The word “Imam” is used in religious and jurisprudential debates, and the word “Khalifa and Khilafat” is mentioned in the books of history. The reason for this is that false sects like the Kharijites and Rawafiz have been refuted in the books of faith. , who use the word “imamat” and refer to it as members of the faith, they consider the Caliph to be innocent and prescribed by Allah, while this is completely wrong, it has been refuted and discussed in detail in the books of faith and other books.
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