Reply: During his lifetime, the Holy Prophet (S) declared that after him there shall be twelve caliphs all of whom will be from Quraysh, and through whom Islam shall be exalted.
Jabir ibn Samurah narrates:
اثÙÙÙ° Ø¥ÙÙÙ° Ø¹Ø²ÙØ²Ø§Ù Ø§ÙØ¥Ø³Ùام ÙØ§Ùزا٠ÙÙÙÙ â”ÙØ³Ùْم {ÙØ¢ÙÙ} عÙÙ٠اÙÙ٠صÙÙ’ÙÙ°â”Ø§ÙÙ٠رسÙ٠سمعتâ
â.ÙØ±ÙØ´ Ù…Ù ÙÙÙ’ÙÙÙ… :ÙÙØ§Ù Ø ÙØ§Ù ما ÙØ£Ø¨Ù ÙÙÙØª Ø£Ø³Ù…Ø¹ÙØ§ ÙÙ… ÙÙمة ÙØ§Ù ثمْ Ø®ÙÙÙØ©Ù عشر
I heard the Messenger of Allah (S) saying: âIslam will keep its honor through twelve caliphs.â Then, he said a statement which I failed to catch. So I asked my father, âWhat did he (S) say?â He (my father) replied that he (S) said: âAll of them will be from Quraysh.[49]
In the history of Islam, there are not twelve caliphs who preserve the honor of Islam except the twelve Imams in whom the Shiâah believe; for they are the twelve caliphs whom the Prophet (S) introduced as his successors.
Now, let us see who the twelve caliphs are. If we say that they are the four caliphs who are known by the Ahl as-Sunnah as âRightly-Guided Caliphsâ {khulafaâ ar-rashidun}, there are no other caliphs who contributed to exalting Islam.
The biography of the âUmayyad and âAbbasid caliphs is a testimony to this fact. As for the twelve Imams in whom the Shiâah believe, they were a clear manifestation of piety and virtue during their respective periods.
They were also preservers of the Messenger of Allahâs (S) Sunnah and the people to whom Sahabah {Companions} and Tabiâun {Followers} were attracted,[50] and whose knowledge and trustworthiness are acknowledged by historians. These twelve Imams are:
1. âAli ibn Abi Talib;
2. Hasan ibn âAli (al-Mujtaba);
3. Husayn ibn âAli;
4. âAli ibn al-Husayn (Zayn al-âAbidin);
5. Muhammad ibn âAli (al-Baqir);
6. Jaâfar ibn Muhammad (as-Sadiq);
7. Musa ibn Jaâfar (al-Kazim);
8. âAli ibn Musa (ar-Rida);
9. Muhammad ibn âAli (at-Taqi);
10. âAli ibn Muhammad (an-Naqi);
11. Hasan ibn âAli (al-âAskari); and
12. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (al-Mahdi).
There have been mutawatir traditions related from the Prophet (S) regarding the last Imam who is known as the âPromised Mahdiâ transmitted by Muslim hadith scholars {muhaddithun}.
For further information about the life of these great leaders, whom the Messenger of Allah (S) himself has named, one may refer to the following books:
1.Tadhkirat al-Khawas (Tadhkirah Khawas al-Ummah);
2.Kifayat al-Athar;
3.Wafiyat al-Aâyan; and
4. Aâyan ash-Shiâah (by Sayyid Muhsin Amin al-âAmili), which is the most comprehensive of the four books.
— taken from the book “The Shi’ah Rebuts” by Sayyid Rida’ Husayni Nasab. Written under the supervision of Ayatullah Ja’far Subhani
Notes:
[49] Muslim, Sahih (Egypt), vol. 6, p. 2.
Abdul-Hamid Siddiqui (trans.), Sahih Muslim (English Translation), vol. 3, hadith no. 4480. {Trans.}
[50] Tabiâun {âFollowersâ or âSuccessorsâ} refers to the second generation of Muslims who came after the Companions, who did not know the Prophet (S) but who knew his Companions. {Trans.}
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