In his lifetime, the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his

descendants) specified that twelve persons would rule as Caliphs after

him, and that they all would be from Quraysh tribe. He also added that

the Islam‟s glory would be protected under their Caliphate.

 Jabir Ibn Samareh said,

سمعت رسول هللا )ص( يقول اليزال االسالم عزيزا الي اثني عشر خليفة ثم قال كلمة لم

* اسمعها فقلت البي ما قال؟ فقال : كلهم من قريش

(I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants)

saying, “Islam will be revered by the twelve caliphs and

leaders”. And then said a phrase I did not hear, so I asked my

father, and he replied, “The Prophet (peace be upon him and

his descendants) said that they all were from Quraysh”.)

 In the history of Islam, the twelve Caliphs as the protectors of

Islam‟s glory are, indeed, the twelve Imams, in whom the Shia

believes, because the twelve Caliphs, the Prophet (peace be upon him

and his descendants) introduced, were soon appointed as Caliphs after

him.

Now, who are these twelve persons?

*

 Sahih, Moslim, vol. 6, p.2.

Apart from the four Caliphs, known as „Rashedin‟ in the Sunnite

terminology, the other caliphs were not an honor to Islam. The history

of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs certifies this fact, but, on the

contrary, the twelve Imams of Shia have always been the symbol of

piety and virtue in their own eras and thereafter. As a consequence,

they preserved the Prophet‟s traditions and were honored by their

disciples, followers, and the next generations. The historians have

certified their immense knowledge and authority, and….

They are as follows:

1- Ali Ibn Abi Talib

2- Hasan Ibn Ali (Mujtaba)

3- Hussein Ibn Ali

4- Ali Ibn Hussein (Zein Ul-Abedin)

5- Mohammad Ibn Ali (Baqir)

6- Jafar Ibn Mohammed (Sadeq)

7- Musa Ibn Jafar (Kazim)

8- Ali Ibn Musa (Reza)

9- Mohammed Ibn Ali (Taqi)

10- Ali Ibn Mohammed (Naqi)

11- Hassan Ibn Ali (Askari)

12- Imam Mahdi (Ghaem).

 The Islamic narrators have narrated a successive number of

traditions, called „Mahdi, the Promised‟ from the holy Prophet (peace

be upon him and his descendants). For further study on the lives of

these honored leaders, whose names have been stated by the Prophet

(peace be upon him and his descendants), refer to the following books:

1- Tazkeratul-Khavas

2- Kefayatul-Athar

3- Vafiyatul-Ayan

4- Ayan Ul-Shia (by Seyed Mohsen Amin Ameli), which is more

comprehensive than the above-mentioned books.