Lesson video

Hello, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Ms. Marx, and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today we're gonna be doing about the Muslim beliefs to do with the Imamah.

And now this is a belief that's particularly held within the Shi'a branch of Islam.

We're going to get quite philosophical and theological as we do this.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain the importance of the Imamah within Shi'a Islam.

So let's start with our keywords.

Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the first Imam in Shi'a Islam.

Imam, a title for a leadership position within Islam.

Infallible, free from error or mistake.

Shi'a, a branch of Islam believing Ali was the correct direct successor of the Prophet Muhammad.

And Imamah, a belief in Shi'a Islam in the authority of the appointed Imams. So look out for those in today's lesson.

So today's lesson, we'll have three sections, the successor to the Prophet Muhammad, the Imamah in Shi'a Islam, and the importance of the Imamah in Shi'a Islam.

So let's start with our first section, the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

What qualities do you think can make a person a great leader? Have a think.

Pause the video and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

So you might have said, honesty, authority, knowledge, wisdom, kindness, empathy.

Are these the things that you think would make a person a great leader? These are all qualities which Muslims believe Ali had as a leader of the Muslim community, and Ali was the first Imam for Shi'a Muslims. So how does a belief in the Imamah relate to other key beliefs in Islam then? Well, all Muslims believe Muhammad was the final prophet of Allah.

So when we're talking about the Imamah, we're not talking about further prophets in Islam.

They are not, because Muhammad was the final prophet of Allah.

That's a key Muslim belief.

After the Prophet Muhammad died, there needed to be a new leader for the Muslim community.

So all different Muslim branches agree that there needed to be someone to lead the community after the Prophet Muhammad, who wasn't a prophet because he was the last one.

Now Shi'a Muslims believe that Allah chose Ali to be the leader, and then the Prophet Muhammad announced him as a successor and the first Imam.

So Allah has chosen Ali to be the leader, not a new prophet, but the leader of the faith, and Prophet Muhammad announces this before he dies to be his successor.

And after Ali was the leader of the Muslim community, others were divinely appointed, so chosen by Allah and appointed to be the leaders of the religion.

And these were all Imams, and they were from the bloodline of the Prophet Muhammad because Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

All the Imams following that were from that bloodline.

So let's remind ourself, how was Ali connected to the Prophet Muhammad? Well, we had Prophet Muhammad was married to Khadija and they had daughter, Fatemeh.

And Fatima married Ali, who was the Prophet Muhammad's cousin.

Some Prophet Muhammad and Ali are related by blood as cousins, and then Ali and Fatima get married.

So he's also his father-in-law.

Ali and Fatima then had children, and two of these were Hassan and Hussain, who also come up in discussions about Imam.

Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

So this is according to Shi'a accounts as to the successorship of the Prophet Muhammad.

At the time of the Prophet Muhammad's death, his daughter, Fatima, and son-in-law, Ali, were by his side.

As they were preparing the funeral arrangements, other Muslims were gathered and discussing who should be the success of the Prophet Muhammad because there needed to be someone who could lead the religion and the community.

There needed to be someone, and they were discussing who should this be.

But Fatima and Ali were not there at this time.

And the term Shi'a Muslim comes from those Muslims who believed it should have been Ali who was appointed to be the success of the Prophet Muhammad, not the person that the other Muslims agreed upon in that discussion that they were having.

So why might Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali should have been appointed as the successor? What is it about Ali, which might be why he was supposed to have been appointed? Pause the video and have a think.

And you could talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

We will come back to that in a moment.

But for now, let's do a quick check.

Who Shi'a Muslims believe Allah chose to be the successor of the Prophet Muhammad? Pause the video and have a think and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

It was Ali, his cousin and son-in-law.

While there are different Shi'a teachings about why Ali was the right successor to the Prophet Muhammad, not only because Allah chose him to be, here's some of the reasons.

Ali was the successor because he's considered the bravest of all the Muslims and he put his life on the line when fighting beside the Prophet Muhammad.

He was the prophet's cousin and son-in-law.

So he was connected to the family and he knew the Prophet Muhammad well.

He was a very early revert to Islam and he supported the community a great deal.

So in the very early days in Mecca, as the revelations of the Qur'an was sort of just beginning, he was one of the early converts or reverts to Islam.

So he knew it from those early stages.

And as the community was growing, he supported it greatly and he looked after many of the new people who were becoming Muslim.

He had been chosen by Allah and it was announced by the Prophet Muhammad.

He also risked his life to support the Prophet Muhammad.

When there was an assassination attempt, he risked his life to make sure that the Prophet Muhammad survived.

So all of these add up to reasons why Shi'a Muslims believed that Ali was the right person to succeed the Prophet Muhammad.

So here I've got a map, showing some really important sites in the story of Islam, in what's now modern-day Saudi Arabia.

We've got Mecca and Madina there, you can see it on the map.

And Mecca is where the revelations of the Qur'an first started.

And where we got the Kaaba and where the Hajj rituals happens today.

And then Madina as the city of the Prophet Muhammad where the Muslim community had migrated to.

And in between the two on this map, I've got Ghadir Khumm, which is an oasis, where people would stop when they were travelling between Mecca and Madina.

The Prophet Muhammad was once travelling with Ali and other Muslims between Mecca and Madina.

And this is kind of getting near towards the end of his life.

He's travelling between the two cities.

And they stopped at that oasis, Ghadir Khumm, I've mentioned to you.

And so this was a place where you could stop and have a pause on this journey, and sometimes people would leave and go, and you could speak to your group when they were there.

And Muhammad chose this moment to bring Ali to the front of the group, and he raised his arm to make a statement.

So he raises Ali's arm and he says something to the group of Muslims who were there with him.

And he says, "For whomever I am his Mawla, Ali is his Mawla." And this is in Hadith.

So these are narration of the what the prophet had said and did.

So it is reported that he said this, "Whomever I am his Mawla, then Ali is his Mawla." Shi'a Muslims believe the term, Mawla, means someone with authority and who can be a guardian and a leader.

So this has special importance in Shi'a Islam.

This idea that whoever I am his Mawla, then Ali is his Mawla.

How could this Hadith support belief that Ali was the successor to the Prophet Muhammad? Have a look again at the phrase, "For whomever I am his Mawla, then Ali is his Mawla," how could that support the idea that Ali was the successor of the Prophet Muhammad? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Well, it's got this idea of Mawla.

So if the Prophet Muhammad is the Mawla, the leader, the guide, someone with authority for the Muslims, then Ali will be that person who has that leadership role and being the guide.

I've got here, Ali has said to be the Mawla, leader, authority figure, just as Muhammad is for the Muslim community.

Shi'a Muslims also accept this Hadith that the prophet Muhammad said this, but they don't interpret it in exactly the same way.

Also, close to when the Prophet Muhammad was going to die, he said this to the Muslim community, "O people, I'm leaving among you two weighty things.

The first of which is the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and the members of my household." So these two things are being left behind after the Prophet Muhammad is going to die, the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and the members of his household.

How could that Hadith support the belief that the people from the prophet's bloodline would have special authority after he died? So who is the Prophet Muhammad speaking about here as members of his household? We've got Fatima, his daughter, and Ali, his son-in-law, Hassan and Hussain as his grandsons.

And then from that, people born from that bloodline.

How could this Hadith support that they would have special authority? Pause the video and have a think, and we can see what you come up with in a moment.

While there's this idea that even though the Prophet Muhammad is going to be passing away, there are things left behind to guide people.

We've got the Book of Allah, the Qur'an, and the members of the household who will be there as a guide for people.

The Qur'an and the family of the prophet are being left behind by him, and the members of the household include Ali.

Let's do another check.

In which Muslim source of authority did it say, "For whomever I'm is Mawla, then Ali is his Mawla"? Which source of authority did we have a look at for that? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you do in a moment.

Well done.

That was in the Hadith.

Let's do a practise task to see what we've learned then Andeep and Izzy are discussing why Shi'a Muslims believe Ali was chosen as a successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

Develop each point they make with an explanation or a piece of evidence.

And Andeep says, "Shi'a Muslims believe Ali was appointed to be the successor of the Prophet Muhammad because of what was said at Ghadir Khumm." And Izzy says, "Shi'a Muslims believe Ali was appointed to be the success of the Prophet Muhammad because he knew Islam very well and was very close to the Prophet Muhammad." So for each of those points, you're going to give an explanation or a piece of evidence.

Pause the video, off you go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Some great thinking there.

So I asked you to develop each point that Andeep and Izzy have made here with the piece of evidence or an explanation, and they're answering why Shi'a Muslim believe Ali was appointed to be the successor.

Andeep said, "Shi'a Muslims believe Ali was appointed to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad because of what was said in Ghadir Khumm when he said, "For whomever I am his Mawla, then Ali is his Mawla." And Izzy says, "Shi'a Muslims believe Ali was appointed to be the successor of the Prophet Muhammad because he knew Islam very well and was close to the Prophet Muhammad.

Ali was his son-in-law and had been an early revert to Islam.

Well done.

So on to our second section then, the Imamah in Shi'a Islam.

The term Imamah is from Arabic and has this root, Imam.

From Imam, meaning leader, guide, and authority in Islam.

The term imam, without a capital letter, is also used in the Sunni branch of Islam to refer to the leader of congregational prayers and local Muslim communities.

So you may have heard of the imam at a local mosque, because the word comes from the Arabic, meaning guide or somebody with authority.

When it's capitalised, we're talking about the Imams in Shi'a Islam.

So the Imams in Shi'a Islam are believed to be infallible, which means protected from error and sin.

And one source of authority that supports this belief is the Qur'an.

And in the Qur'an, in Surah 33, it says, "God desires to remove all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you thoroughly." How could this passage support a belief that the Imams are infallible then? Remake the passage, and pause the video, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Well, we have this phrase here, "People of the Household." So these are the people who were living in the household of the Prophet Muhammad, and Shi'a Muslims be believe this continues down through the bloodline of the Prophet Muhammad through the Imams. The Imams are all born from the prophet's bloodline.

And to purify means to have no sin or error, to be infallible.

Let's do a quick check.

In which source of authority does it say that the people of the prophet's household would be purified from sin? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

That was in the Qur'an.

Now different branches of Shi'a Islam believe there've been different numbers of Imams. For example, sevener and twelver Shi'a Muslims. Two important Imams that relate to Shi'a Muslim beliefs and practises are Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, and Hussain, the youngest son of Ali and Fatima, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

So these are two of the Imams which hold particular importance for different Shi'a Muslim beliefs and practises.

So, Ali, the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who was the first Imam, his appointment and that kind of announcement that's made by the Prophet Muhammad at Ghadir Khumm is celebrated each year with the annual festival of Eid-al-Ghadeer.

And Hussain, who's the youngest son of Ali and he's the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, his death, his martyrdom is remembered each year with the annual commemoration of Ashura.

So this is a commemoration and an act of remembrance for when he was martyred.

And this is remembered with Ashura each year.

So Zainab, Rasool, and Fatima, all Shi'a Muslims, and they're discussing what a belief in the Imamah means to them.

Zainab says, "They're a sign of Allah's justice that the community were not left without guidance and support.

Rasool says, "They were given authority from Allah to help us understand Islam more and to follow it." And Fatemeh says, "They're worthy of my respect, along with the prophets of Allah, they lead me to Allah in my life." So we could see the significance and the importance of the Imams to Zainab, Rasool, and Fatemeh there.

Let's do another check.

All Shi'a Muslims believe there have been 12 Imams. Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

That is false, isn't it? But why? Well we've got that word, all Shi'a Muslims, there, which is a bit of a clue because not all Shi'a Muslims believe there've been 12.

Twelver Shi'a Muslims believe there've been 12 Imams, but other branches believe there have been other numbers of them.

Let's do another practise task to see what we've learned.

You're going to explain two Shi'a Muslim beliefs about the Imamah.

And you're going to refer to writings or another source of Muslim religious belief and teaching in your answer.

And your guidance is that for both beliefs about the Imamah, you're going to give a point and develop it.

But for one of those, you're also going to name a source of authority, say what it teaches, and apply it to the Imamah.

So you're going to do two Muslim beliefs about the Imamah.

You can think about what we've just covered together, pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Some great thinking there.

So I asked you to explain two Shi'a Muslim beliefs about the Imamah.

And you might have said, "One Shi'a Muslim belief about the Imamah is that they're infallible and without sin or error." The Qur'an says, "God desires to remove all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you completely." And this means that the Imams who were all born from the prophet's bloodline were free from impurity or sin, and therefore infallible.

A second Shi'a Muslim belief about the Imamah is that the first Imam was Ali, he was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shi'a Muslims belief he was appointed to be his successor.

Well done.

So onto our third and final section then, the importance of Imamah in Shi'a Islam.

Now there are many ways that a belief in the Imamah is important for Shi'a Muslim.

The guidance from the Imams can guide Shi'a Muslims into how to understand the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad.

So the Qur'an is the direct words of Allah, the Prophet Muhammad is the perfect example to follow, and the Imams are there to help Muslims understand how to do this.

This also means that the Imams can guide Shi'a Muslims into how to apply the teachings from the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet Muhammad to newer situations, because after the Prophet Muhammad passes away, lots of things change in society, and different Imams have been able to offer guidance for these things.

Also, a belief in the Imamah is gonna influence different beliefs, thoughts, and actions of Shi'a Muslims. We've already spoken about a celebration and a commemoration that happens in relation to the different Imams, and there's different beliefs, thoughts, and actions that might be influenced by this belief for Shi'a Muslim.

What beliefs, thoughts, and actions could a belief in the Imamah influence for a Shi'a Muslim them? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Well, now Zainab, Hassan, and Rasool are gonna tell us three actions that they do that are influenced by their belief in the Imamah.

So, a celebration, Eid al-Ghadeer.

Zainab says, "Along with other Eids in Islam, my family celebrates Eid al-Ghadeer each year.

In this festival, we celebrate when the Prophet Muhammad announced Ali to be his successor, the first Imam." So Allah had chosen Ali to be the successor and the Prophet Muhammad announces this at Ghadir Khumm.

How is Zainab influenced by belief in the Imamah then? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Well, here, her influence is in the Eid that she celebrates due to when the Prophet Muhammad announced that Ali was going to be his successor.

A pilgrimage, Karbala What Hassan says, "Along with the once in a lifetime pilgrimage of Hajj, I've also taken part in a pilgrimage to the site where Imam Hussain was martyred and is buried.

This is a special journey for me because he inspires me as a Muslim to stand against injustice no matter how hard it feels." So Imam Hussain was the third Imam, and he was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was martyred.

He was standing up against an unfair and an unjust ruler, and he lost his life.

And that action that he did, sacrificed for justice, is remembered each year by Shi'a Muslims. And Hassan has taken the steps to even go to where he is buried and pray at the shrine of his burial.

So how is Hassan influenced by belief in the Imamah? Pause the video, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Here, we've got that Hassan has taken a pilgrimage to Karbala.

And finally, a commemoration, Ashura.

And Rasool says, "Each year, I remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussain through attending special services, where we retell the story of what happened to him.

He was the prophet's grandson and the correct leader, and yet he was martyred when he stood against an unjust leader.

I hope I would've fought by his side as the correct Imam and leader of Islam and I mourn his death." And here, we have Rasool with a hand on his chest, taking part in that commemoration of Imam Hussain's martyrdom.

So how has Rasool influenced by a belief in the Imamah then? Pause the video, and you can have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Well, here, we've got Rasool influenced by his belief in the Imamah, influencing him to take part in the remembrance of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain with Ashura.

Let's do another check.

Which Imam's martyrdom is commemorated each year with Ashura in Shi'a Islam.

Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

It's Imam Hussain.

Is a belief in the Imamah, the most important belief for Shi'a Muslim? Well, there can be different answers to this in Shi'a Islam, and Rasool and Fatemeh are gonna explain why.

Rasool says, "A belief in the Imamah is the most important belief because it's distinct from the other branches of Islam.

This shows how significant it is for me as a Shi'a Muslim." Because it's not something that other branches necessarily believe, it makes it very distinct for Shi'a Islam.

Fatemeh says, "Other beliefs in Islam are more important to me, but a belief in the Imamah helps me understand them.

I know the oneness of Allah through the prophets and the Imams." For Fatemeh, perhaps a belief in God and a belief in prophecy is more important, but she knows that through the guidance that she's had from the Imams. Which of these do you think has the most convincing argument and why? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you, or talk to me.

Let's do a quick check.

Shi'a Muslim all believe that belief in the Imamah is the most important belief in Shi'a Islam.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've done in a moment.

That is false, isn't it? But why? Well again, we've got this word, all, the Shi'a Muslims all agree on this, and that can be a clue for us to take care.

There's a diversity of views in Shi'a Islam on this.

Some may believe it because they Muslims in their religion, but others may believe Tawhid, the oneness of Allah, is more important.

Well done.

So let's do a practise task to see what we've learned then.

For each point that Andeep and Izzy make about the importance of a belief in the Imamah, give an explanation.

Andeep says, "A belief in the Imamah is the most important belief for a Shi'a Muslim because." And Izzy says, "A belief in the Imamah is not the most important belief for a Shi'a Muslim because." And you are going to give an explanation for each.

Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Some great thinking there.

So for each point that Andeep and Izzy made, I asked you to write an explanation, and your response might not like this.

Andeep says, "A belief in the Imamah is the most important belief for Shi'a Muslim because it's distinct to Shi'a Islam and has shaped different Shi'a beliefs and practises because it's so important.

And Izzy says, "A belief in the Imamah is not the most important belief for Shi'a Muslim because belief in the oneness of Allah is more important.

Allah sent revelations to prophets and appointed the Imams, showing a belief in Allah is more important." And I wonder which side you agree with more.

Let's summarise what we've learned today then about the Imamah.

The Imamah refers to Imams in Shi'a Islam who are infallible guides to the Muslim community.

The Imams have all been from the bloodline of the Prophet Muhammad and are a sign of the justice of Allah to ensure the Muslims continued to have a guidance after the Prophet Muhammad's death.

Shi'a Muslims believe that Ali had been chosen by Allah to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad before his death.

Imam Hussain was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and was martyred when he opposed an unjust ruler.

And a belief in the Imamah is important within Shi'a Islam and can influence Shi'a Muslims in many ways.

So well done for your hard work today, and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye-bye.