The Islamic community is divided into two main branches: Shiism and Sunniism. 

One of the significant differences between these groups lies in the concept of “Imamate”. Imamate is a religious doctrine embraced by Shiite Muslims, which asserts that after the holy Prophet (PBUH & HP), Allah almighty did not leave his servants without guidance. According to Shiite belief, the holy Prophet (PBUH & HP) designated successors who would guide the people, interpret the verses of the Quran and propagate the teachings of Islam. The number of these successors are 12 and they all are the descendants of the Messenger (PBUH & HP). The hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH & HP), accepted by all Muslims for their authenticity, confirm the existence of these successors.

Twelve successors 

According to a hadith narrated by Sunni recorders the Prophet (PBUH & HP) stated:

Indeed, this religion will not end until twelve successors [of me] rise among the people. 

The narrator says that after that, the Prophet said something that he didn’t hear so he asked his father what did the Messenger say and his father replied: “the Prophet said that they all are from Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet. (1)

The holy Prophet (PBUH & HP) also said:

Indeed, I leave you two kinds of successor: one is the Book of Allah (The Quran) and the other one is my household. And indeed, they do not depart from each other until they meet me near the Kother pool [on the Judgement Day]. (2)

These reliable hadiths clearly show that the successors of the Prophet (PBUH & HP) are twelve men from his family.

The names of the twelve Imams on a tablet

There is a hadith narrated by the Shiite hadith recorders that mentions the names of all these successors. This hadith provides valuable insights into the Shiite Imams. 

Imam Sadiq (AS), the sixth Shiite Imam, narrates that his father, Imam Baqir (AS), once asked Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari (one of the Prophet’s most important companions) to recount the story of the tablet he had seen in the hands of Lady Fatimah (AS), the beloved daughter of the Messenger, and tell him about the things that was written on that tablet. 

Jabir said “I swear to Allah, once during the Prophet’s lifetime, I visited the house of lady Fatimah (AS) to congratulate her on the birth of her son, Hussain (AS). Then I saw a green tablet on her hands, which I assumed to be made of emerald and it had white text resembling the light of the sun. So, I asked her what it was and she replied, ‘This is a tablet that Allah has bestowed upon my father, containing the names of my father, my husband, my sons and the successors of my father who are my descendants. The Messenger gave it to me to cheer me up.’” 

Jabir further added, “Your mother gave it to me, and I read it and copied it on another tablet.” Imam Baqir (AS) then asked “Can you show me your copy?” and Jabir replied “Yes.” 

The text was as follows:

In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful.

This is a writing from Allah, the Almighty, the Wise, to Muhammad (PBUH & HP), His Prophet, His Light, His Messenger, His Mediator and the Guide to Him. The Trustable Spirit [Gabriel] has brought it from the Lord of the people. 

O Muhammad! Respect my names and be thankful of my gifts and do not deny my favors. Indeed I am Allah and there’s no deity but me. I am the annihilator of the oppressors and the helper of the oppressed and I am the Judge of the Judgement Day. So I punish the ones who desire the kindness of the others or dread the justice of others with a punishment I punish no one alike. Then worship only me and trust only on me. 

Indeed, I sent no Prophet whose time came to end except that I chose someone as their successor and I made you better than all the prophets and made your successor better than all the successors. And kindly gave you your two grandsons: Hassan (AS) and Hussain (AS). 

Then I chose Hassan as the repository of my knowledge after his father [Imam Ali (AS)] and I chose Hussain as the source of my revelations and made him a great one by giving him martyrdom and I made his destiny with salvation then he is the noblest martyr and the highest-ranked among all martyrs… 

Afterward, Allah almighty proceeds to mention all the successors of the Prophet (PBUH & HP) in this lengthy text as follows:

Ali (AS) the son of Imam Huassain (AS), also known as Sajjad, Muhammad al-Baqir, Jafar as-Sadiq, Musa al-Kazim, Ali ar-Ridha, Muhammad al-Javad, Ali al-Hadi, Hassan al-Askari. And the last of them is Imam Mahdi (AS), the savor of all Muslims. (3) He is still alive and will appear again in the future alongside Jesus, establishing justice on Earth full after it has been plagued by tyranny and oppression. (4)

All Shias believe that these twelve men are the successors of the Prophet and after the Prophet (PBUH & HP) they all came and taught people the teachings of Islam but the last of them is now alive and unknown by people. All Muslims, whether Shiite or Sunni, share the belief that Imam Mahdi (AS) will eventually emerge as the ruler of all the entire Earth, bringing justice to prevail. The Holy Quran says:

Certainly, We wrote in the Psalms, after the Torah: ‘Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.’ (21:105)

Resources 

1. Sahih al-Muslim, Muslim an-Neishaburi, vol.3, pg.1452
2. Musnad Ahamd, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, vol.35, pg.512
3.  Al-Kafi, Sheikh Koleini, vol.1, pg.528
4.  Al-Kafi, Sheikh Koleini, vol.1, pg.338
    

The word “hijab” mostly reminds people, especially the non-Muslims, of some women who wear special clothes which cover all of their body parts to hide from leer and pervert men. 

Wearing hijab is indeed a way to protect women and keep them safe from different dangers that threaten them during their life in society, but it should be mentioned that it is not the only reason. In fact, wearing scarves and the like shows men that they should keep their distance and behave properly with the woman wearing it, but it’s not the only thing that Hijab denotes.

Hijab is a symbol of faith

As you may know, the culture of a nation is one of the most important things that binds the members together. Beliefs, traditions, language, and even the costumes of a nation keep that nation alive and strong by preserving the identity of its people. It can be said that changing this identity will lead to catastrophic consequences for the nation. For example, if people of a nation try to get culturally more similar to the people of another nation, they gradually would start to change in thoughts and make their country an easy target to be invaded. This might happen as people of the nation do not feel enough animosity against them. Actually, people might become alienated from the cultural traditions and heritage of their country. 

For the Islamic nation, the hijab is one of the most significant signs of this religion alive in the community. Imagine that every Muslim woman starts to withdraw her hijab. It will clearly change the identity of the Muslims to the non-Muslims because their clothing has got so similar to non-Muslims’ style. In this regard, Imam Sadiq (AS) says

Once Allah almighty told one of His prophets to tell the faithful people:

“DO NOT WEAR THE CLOTHES OF MY ENEMIES, and do not eat their food and do not follow their ways because in this way you turn into my enemies as well.” (1)

As you see, if the enemies of the Muslims succeed in changing Muslims’ culture and convincing them to wear, eat and live as they do, it would be so much easier to influence their way of thinking and finally submit to the enemies. Perhaps this is the reason why Prophet Muhammad (PBUH & HP) said
The downfall of my nation’s women is the effect of two things: Gold (Jewelry) and bodycon clothing. (2) 

Aren’t you pretty, remove your veil

History always gives us good lessons if we scrutinize them. Between 1954 and 1962, Algerians fought with French colonizers and tried to become independent. As you may know, the revolution of Algeria like the revolutions of France and Russia, is one of the most important revolutions in the 20th century. The French Army won the war, but the efforts of the Algerians made their country independent. 

During the Algerian revolution, a French Poster was distributed with this message, “Aren’t you pretty, remove your veil.”

During wartime, French military officers’ wives unveiled some Algerian Muslim women in many ceremonies who covered their faces. This was done to show that they support their oppressed Algerian SISTERS and that they side with them. 

It was the strategy of the French government to make the Algerian Muslims submit and they started by deceiving women. Frantz Fanon, one of the contributors to the post-colonial theory discusses the strategy of the French colonizers:

“If we want to destroy the structure of Algerian society and its capacity for resistance, we must first conquer the women; we must go and find them behind the veil where they hide themselves and, in the houses, where the men keep them out of sight.” (3)

The French put this idea into the Muslim women’s heads that they are oppressed by men and wearing hijab, while surprisingly, the French can save them. This was all a plan to weaken the Islamic society so that they would accept the false civilization of the French colonizers and submit to them. As you see, the change of thoughts and cultures can destroy a nation forever. 

Hijab is a shield against invaders

The enemies of Muslims always try to convince Muslim women that wearing a hijab prevents them from being fruitful and becoming active members of society. They hypocritically say to Muslim women that they are so talented and yet oppressed and confined by the tough laws and traditions of Islam, especially the hijab. It could be observed that they are pursuing the old strategy they implemented in their colonized countries. 

The best way to resist their cultural invasion is for Muslim women to prove them wrong by being active just like a standard Muslim woman in society and by progressing in different fields while they accomplish their Islamic duties, as well. 

Resources 

1.   Man la Yahzurohu al-Faqih, Sheikh Saduq, vol.1, pg.252
2.   Irshad al-Qulub, Hassan ibn Muhammad ad-Dailami, vol.1, pg.346
3.   https://www.amaliah.com/post/61394/ibrahim-frantz-fanon-french-muslim-women-colonial-reign