The Twelver Shiites.

The majority of Shiites in the world today are Twelvers. They were originally the same group of friends and supporters of Ali who, after the death of Prophet Mohammed, in order to defend the right of the Household of the Prophet in the question of the caliphate and religious authority, began to criticise and protest against the prevalent views and separated from the majority of the people.

During the caliphate of the "rightly-guided caliphs" (632-656 AD) the Shiites were under pressure which became much greater during the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) when they were no longer protected in any way against destruction of their lives and property.

From the middle of the 2nd/8th century when the Abbasid caliphs established their dynasty, Shiism was able to gain a mew life as a result of the languid and weak state prevailing at that time. Soon, however, conditions became difficult once again and until the end of the 3rd/9th century became ever more stringent (see RIM 5).

The Twelvers, many of whom live in Iran, believe that the position of Imam was passed down through Ali to eleven other family members. According to them, the twelfth and final Imam was born in 868 and went into hiding. The Twelver Shiites believe that he still lives and await his return. In their view, the final Imam (or Mahdi) is in a state of occultation and will reappear at a moment determined by Allah. He is the Awaited One who will spread justice throughout the world.

According to the Twelvers, the fundamentals of their belief involve the following concepts: (1) Tawhid (The Oneness of Allah), (2) Adl (Divine Justice), (3) Nubuwwah (The Prophethood), (4) Imamah (The Imamate), and (5) Qiyamah (The Day of Judgement).

The main pillars of their belief can be classified as follows: (1) Salat (Prayer), (2) Sawm (Fasting), (3) Zakat (alms of 2.5%), (4) Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca), (5) Khums (The Charity of 20%), (6) Jihad (To Struggle in the Path of Allah), (7) Amr bil Maaruf (to promote virtue), (8) Nahy 'an Al Munkar (to prevent vice), (9) Tawalla (Loving the Prophet's Family), and (10) Tabarra (Shunning the Enemies of the Prophet's Family). It is important to note that that several of these concepts and tenets are not different from those of Sunnism.

Zaidism: The Zaidis are the followers of Zaid Al Shahid, the son of Imam Al Sajjad. Zaid rebelled in 737 AD against the Umayyad Caliph Hisham Abd Al Malik and a group paid allegiance to him. A battle ensued in Kufa between Zaid and the army of the caliph in which Zaid was killed. The followers of Zaid regard him as the fifth Imam of the Household of the Prophet. After him his son, Yahya Ibn Zaid, took his place. Yahya rebelled against the Caliph Walid Ibn Yazid and was also killed. After Yahya, Mohammad Ibn Abdullah and Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah were chosen as Imams. They revolted against the Abbasid caliph Mansur Al Dawaniqi and were killed as well.

As a result, for some time there was disorder in Zaidi ranks until Nasir Al Utrush, a descendant of the brother of Zaid, came into prominence in Khurasan. Being pursued by the governmental authorities in that region, he fled to Mazandaran. He began to be acknowledged as an Imam. For some time thereafter, his descendants continued to rule as Imams in that area.

According to Zaidi belief any descendant of Fatimah (the Prophet's daughter) who begins an uprising in the name of defending the truth may become Imam if he is learned in the religious sciences, ethically pure, courageous and generous. Yet for some time after Utrush and his descendants there was no Imam who could bring about an insurrection with the sword until the first half of the 20th century, when Imam Yahya revolted in Yemen, which had been part of the Ottoman Empire, made it independent, and began to rule there as Imam.

At the beginning the Zaidis, like Zaid himself, considered the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, as their Imams. But after a while some of them began to delete the name of the first two caliphs from the list of Imams and placed Ali as the first Imam. The Zaidis can be said to follow a path close to that of the Mutazilites, while in the branches or derivative institutions of the law they apply the jurisprudence of Abu Hanifah, the founder of one of the four Sunni schools of law. The Zaidis also differ among themselves concerning certain doctrinal specifics.

Ismailism: Imam Jaafar Al Sadiq had a son named Ismail who was the oldest of his children. Ismail died during the lifetime of his father who summoned witnesses to his death, including the governor of Medina. The starting point of Ismailism can be attributed to some Shiites who at the time believed that Ismail did not die but went into occultation, that he would appear again and would be the promised Mahdi. They further believed that the summoning of witnesses on the part of Imam Jaafar Al Sadiq for Ismail's death was a way of hiding the truth in fear of Al Mansur, the Abbasid caliph.

Another group believed that the true Imam was Ismail whose death meant the imamate was transferred to his son Muhammad. A third group also held that although he died during the lifetime of his father he was the Imam and that the imamate passed after him to Muhammad Ibn Ismail and his descendants. The first two groups soon became extinct, while the third branch continues to exist to this day and has undergone division of its own.

According to some theological experts, the Ismailis have a philosophy in many ways similar to that of the Sabaeans (star worshippers) combined with elements of Hindu gnosis. In the sciences and decrees of Islam they believe that each exterior reality (zahir) has an inner aspect (batin), and that each element of revelation (tanzil) has an esoteric exegesis (taawil).

The Ismailis believe that the earth can never exist without Proof (hujjah) of God. The proof is two kinds: "speaker" (natiq) and "silent one" (samit). The speaker is a prophet and the silent one is an Imam or Guardian (wali) who is the inheritor, or executor of the testament (wasi) of a prophet. The principle of the Proof of God revolves constantly around the number seven. A prophet (nabi), who is sent by God, has the function of prophecy (nubuwwat), of bringing a Divine Law or Shariah. A prophet, who is the perfect manifestation of God, has the power of initiating men into the divine mysteries (walayat). After him there are seven executors of his testament (wasayat) and the power of esoteric initiation into the divine mysteries. The seventh in the succession possesses those two powers and also the additional power of prophecy (nubuwwat). The cycle of seven executors (wasis) is then repeated with the seventh a prophet.

The Ismailis say that Adam (the biblical first human) was sent as a prophet with the power of prophecy and of esoteric guidance and he had seven executors of whom the seventh was Noah, who had the three functions of nubuwwat, wasayat, and walayat. Abraham was the seventh executor (wasi) of Noah, Moses the seventh executor of Abraham, Jesus the seventh executor of Moses, Muhammad the seventh executor of Jesus, and Muhammad Ibn Ismail the seventh executor of Muhammad.

They consider the wasis of the Prophet to be: Ali, Hussein Ibn Ali, Ali Ibn Hussein Al Sajjad, Muhammad Al Baqir, Jaafar Al Sadiq, Ismail Ibn Jaafar, and Muhammad Ibn Ismail. After this series there are seven descendants of Muhammad Ibn Ismail whose names are hidden and secret. After them there are the first seven rulers of the Fatimid caliphate of Egypt the first of whom, Ubaydallah Al Mahdi, was the founder of the Fatimid dynasty. The Ismailis also believe that in addition to the Proof of God there are always present on earth twelve "chiefs" (naqib) who are the companions and elite followers of the Proof.