The procedure of selecting leader for governing the nation and country in Islam
Skip to main content Toggle navigation Imamate And Leadership Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi Lari TABLE OF CONTENTS ▼ 18 minutes read Lesson 24: The Method of Choosing the Imam or Leader One of the topics which have been constantly under discussion among Muslims since the very rise of Islam is the question of selecting the Imam or the Leader; it is in fact this question that brought about the division of the ummah into Shi'ah and Sunni. The Shi'ah are committed to the principle that the right to designate the Imam belongs exclusively to God, and that the people have no role to play in this respect. It is the Creator alone Who selects the Imam and identifies him to the people by means of the Prophet. The attachment of the Shi'ah to this understanding of the Imamate, and the attention they have Lavished on the belief that God and the Prophet alone may choose the Imam who serves as God's proof in each age, spring, however, from a profound respect for the rights and dignity of man...