Imam

“ God would not suffer it any longer. As soon as the time was ripe that time could not be far off—He would send a saviour—and out of the house of the Prophet, the Mahdi, who would restore Islam to its original purity. All who desired to co-operate in this holy purpose must pledge themselves to unlimited obedience to the Imam, and place their lives and property at his disposal. As a proof of their sincerity they were required at once to pay a fixed sum for the Imam. The missionaries had great success, especially among the non-Arabic inhabitants of Khorasan and Transoxiana. ”

“ It is not necessary to share the religious convictions of the Shiahs to take a side in the hopeless battle under the burning sun, or realize the tragic picture of the Imam sitting before his tent-door with the dead child in his arms, or lifting the tiny measure of water to lips pierced through by an arrow-shot—a draught almost as bitter as the sponge of vinegar and hyssop. ”

“ A person of whom I thought more than the Mudir, and who interested me more as a type, was the Imam. A more kindly, honest, simple, delightful old man it has seldom been my luck to meet. He was a Turk of the old school, without an atom of Europe in his composition. ”

“ The Feast of the Ramezan came. The young man, a faithful Mussulman, possessed the art of singing so perfectly, that he was able to fulfil with dignity the functions of the Imam. [14] He dressed himself in his faragi, and went to the principal mosque. There the King, with all his Court and the grandees of the kingdom, were present at the noonday service. The young man took his place near the King, and when the Athib [15] mounted the pulpit and began to chaunt the Falhea, [16] Achib repeated three times, Alla Akbar.
[14] Imam is a priest who reads and explains the Koran. ”

“ It is certain that the illiterate Bedouins of our day do not always understand the real meaning of the words recited by the Imam, but the rhythm, the cadence, the harmony of the assonances animating the wonderful verses, echoing in their breasts to the beatings of their hearts, convey to them an explanation, vague perhaps, but truly in accordance with the spirit of the text, and above all, full of incomparable suggestion. ”

“ Abu Hasan laughed and took up the quaint conceit. 'The dearest wish of my heart?' said he; 'I will tell it thee in a trice. Yonder, at the cast of a stone, stands a mosque, and the imam of that mosque is a hypocrite of an exalted degree. Indeed, among hypocrites he stands at the head of his profession. He lords it over the whole neighbourhood, and especially over me, for, when he hears music and revelry during the hours that every self-respecting imam should be asleep, he ceases not to persecute me on the matter until I have no stomach for anything that is his. ”

“ The order of their succession in the office of Imam was according to the order of their excellence.
An example of what was said about the ancients is to be found among the possessors of the sacred sayings, the Imam Ahmed Hanbal [515] and Dáúd Ebn Ali Muhammed Jsfahánî [516] and the Jamáâtî of the ancients (the blessing of God be upon them!) who proceeded as leaders upon the high road of the ancients, such as Málik Ans and Makábil Ben Solîman, and persevered upon the high road of peace, saying: “We made oath by the book and the Sonna, and we were no opposers to the interpretation;” ”

“ Under them the nave is striated by lines of worshippers, their darkness varied by the white of turban or robe, men all, all shoeless, standing one close to the next with hands folded and heads down. There is not an exception to the universal attitude of devotion—save among the chattering spectators. The imam, from his high hooded pulpit with the sword and the banners of conquest, recites the prayers of the evening. Choirs, sitting cross-legged on raised platforms, chant responses from the Koran in a soaring minor that sounds like the very cry of the spirit. ”

“ We hold by the love of the early [297] Believers (salaf) , whom God chose to be Companions to the Prophet, and we praise them with the praise with which God praised them, and we carry on their succession. We assert that the Imam succeeding the Apostle of God was Abu Bakr; that God through him made the Religion (din) mighty, and caused him to conquer the Apostates (murtadds) . The Muslims made him their Imam, just as Muhammad had made him Imam at prayers. Then followed [as legal Imam] Umar ibn al-Khattab; then Uthman ibn Affan; his murderers killed him out of wickedness and enmity ”

“ The two types differ in the meaning of this Imamate, the one group contenting itself with maintaining that 'Ali and his descendants have a divine authority whereby the Imams are the only legitimate rulers of Islam and its infallible guides; of this moderate type of Shi'a is the religion of Morocco and the form prevalent about San'a in South Arabia. The other group presses the claim that the Imam is the incarnation of a divine spirit, sometimes asserting that it was only by fraud that the prophet Muhammad interposed and acted as spokesman for the divine Imam 'Ali. ”

“ The jurisconsults were followed by the doctors of theology and law, or, as they were styled, Imams, or founders of the four orthodox sects. Now, among the Sunni Muslims an Imam may be described as a high-priest, or head, or chief in religious matters, whether he be the head of all Muhammadans—as the Khalifah—or the priest of a mosque, or the leader in the prayers of a congregation. This title, however, is given by the Shias only to the immediate descendants of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, and they are twelve in number, Ali being the first. ”

“ In early times it had been a duty of the Caliphs to appoint in all the provinces of Islam Imams or deputies to represent their spiritual authority, and it was suggested that these should once more be appointed. An Imam, or leader of their public prayer, is a necessity with orthodox Mussulmans, and in default of legal appointment from the Caliph, who is himself the supreme Imam, the faithful had been constrained to apply either to the local governments for such appointment or to elect the functionary themselves. ”

“ The world is never without a living Imam whether visible or invisible. The 12th Imam, according to the Shi'ahs, suddenly disappeared near Kufa, but he will come again and fill the world with peace and prosperity. In the meantime he communicates his will, from time to time, through certain favored individuals — called Gates — who hold mysterious intercourse with him. Now this doctrine of the absence of the Imam has a very important political aspect which few students of Islam have fully appreciated. Whether the Imam really disappeared or not, I do not know ”

“ The chief imam has precedence over the other imams, the muezzins (callers to prayer) , the khatibs, hodjas, and other servants of the mosque.
In small mosques, however, all these functions are performed by the imam and the muezzin. Imams are allowed to marry, and their title is hereditary. Should the son be unlettered, he appoints a deputy who performs his duties. Imams, generally speaking, are coarse and ignorant, and belong to the lower-middle class of Turkish society. ”

“ This article of faith is based upon the words of the Prophet—"He who dies without recognizing the authority of the Imam of his time, is judged to have died in ignorance and infidelity."
The law goes on to say—"All Moslems ought to be governed by one Imam. ”

“ He must be a scrupulous observer of the law himself, and diligent in enforcing it upon others. The election of an Imam is imperative. ... The qualities requisite in an Imam are four: knowledge, integrity, mental and physical soundness. ”

“ In the possession of that alone can any one make good a claim to be the Imám, the Guide of the Believers. The terrible disorders of the early days of Islám can only be understood when we realise to some extent the passionate longing which men felt for a spiritual head—an Imám. It was thought to be impossible that Muhammad, the last—the seal—of the prophets should leave the Faithful without a guide, who would be the interpreter of the will of Allah. ”

“ The Imam must be visible to men; he cannot lurk in a cave like the Mahdi, for whose coming the heretical Shiites look. It is discreetly provided that the Imam need not be just or virtuous, or the most eminent man of his time; it is requisite only that he should be able to enforce the law, defend the frontiers, and sustain the oppressed. ”

“ It is one of the fundamental principles of Islam that all Muslims shall be governed by a single Imam, and that Imam must be a member of the Koreish, the tribe of the Prophet. At this time the Imamship was in the hands of a shadow, Mohammad Abu Jafar of the race of Hashim, who kept up the semblance of a court at Cairo. The last of the Caliphs of the Abbasid line, he resigned the caliphate to the Sultan Selim. This formal transference is the basis of the claims of the Sultans of Turkey to be the Imams or supreme rulers of Islam, though they have not a drop of Koreish blood in their veins. ”

“ The imams do not form a priestly sect; they generally have other occupations, such as teaching in a school or keeping a shop, and may at any time be dismissed by the warden, in which case they lose the title of imam. ”

“ I was exceedingly angry, but weak in health and spirits; besides, I despised the Imam heartily, and was determined to be silent. But directly addressing himself to me, which he hitherto had not done, "I wonder, says he, how a Kafr like you, a man of no more worth than the dust under a mussulman's feet, should dare to wear a white turban, which none are permitted to do but true believers, and men of consideration in learning, or in the law!" I could hold no longer. "Kafr! said I, do you call me? You are a Kafr yourself. ”

“ According to the doctrine of the Ismailites, the imam, even though a youth, is always considered as having attained his majority, and the efficiency of his commands is neither enfeebled by the age of childhood156 nor the childishness of age. His orders require unlimited obedience, as emanating from the higher power, centered in the vice-gerent of the Deity, and the Ismailites blindly followed the deadly behests of the young prince, by which their hands, for twelve years unused to the dagger, again became accustomed to it. ”

“ The Chief Imam is a slim-built, sharp-looking individual of about forty summers, with a face pale, refined, and intellectual; hands white and slender as a lady's, and a foot equally shapely and feminine. ”

“ If thou keep the secret thou art certain of thy felicity, but if thou speak of it thou wilt incur the resentment of the imam. If thou die thou art a martyr; but beware of relating this to any person whatever. Thou hast entered by one of the gates to the friendship of the imam, and art become one of his family; but if thou betray the secret, thou wilt become one of his enemies, and be driven from his house.' Thus this man became one of the servants of the chief Ismaïl, who in this manner surrounded himself with trusty men, until his reputation was established. ”

“ On one of the Turkish prisoners captured, we found a copy of a divisional order, in which the O.C. stated:—"I have many times been round the fire trenches, but have never met any Imam. I lately gave an order that Imams were to be constantly in the trenches, in order to keep up the morale of the men by preaching and exhorting; and whenever possible men should be assembled for prayer, and the call for prayer should be cried by a fine-voiced Imam." ”

“ Bab declares himself to be Imam Mehdee, the last Imam, who disappeared from human sight but is to reappear on earth—His decrees supersede the Koran among his disciples, who not only revere him as the head of their faith, but also obey him as the temporal Sovereign of the world, to whom all other monarchs must submit—Besides this inconvenient doctrine, they have adopted other tenets pernicious to society.... ”

“ Soon, however, the Turks drafted a large army into the Yemen and re-taking Sana once more, drove the Imam northwards, scattering his followers and forcing him to come to terms. But though subdued, the Imam has never owned the Turkish sway; and as his followers believe that it is their duty to listen to and approve of all the Imam's orders, whether they like them or not, and declare that if in any way they cause dissent to spring up in their midst, they will die like the heathen, and on the day of judgment will appear before God without proof of their faith ”

“ The inland parts have assumed the Sclavonian names of Croatia and Bosnia." E. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter 1. See, also, ROME: A. D. 394-305. IMAGE-BREAKING IN THE NETHERLANDS. See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1566-1568. IMAMS. THE IMAMATE. "When an assembly of Moslems meet together for prayer, an Imam is chosen, who leads the prayer, and the congregation regulate their motions by his, prostrating themselves when he does so, and rising when he rises. In like manner, the khalif is set up on high as the Imam, or leader of the Faithful, in all the business of life. ”

“ In Ibn Jubayrs time the Zaydi sect was allowed an Imam, though known to be schismatics and abusers of the caliphs. Now, not being permitted to have a separate station for prayer, they suppose theirs to be suspended from heaven above the Kaabah roof. [FN#38] The Makam al-Maliki is on the west of, and thirty-seven cubits from, the Kaabah; that of the Hanbali forty-seven paces distant. [FN#39] Only the Muezzin takes his stand here, and the Shafeis pray behind their Imam on the pavement round the Kaabah, between the corner of the well Zemzem, and the Makam Ibrahim. ”

“ There was Ismail, the son of the sixth Imam after Ali and descendant from Ali's line. And Kaddah, who was a master of mystic lore, ingeniously evolved the theory of hidden and revealed successors to the Prophet. Ismail, he claimed, was the last revealed, and since his death the succession continued through hidden or unincarnate imams. But he, Kaddah, awaiting the psychological moment, harbored the secret purpose, the ambition of proclaiming himself to Islam the first revealed imam and khalif after Ismail. He died, however, a disappointed man. ”