Hadiths of the Prophet, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever dies without pledging allegiance to anyone has died the death of ignorance.” The meaning of allegiance is the allegiance of the Imam, and this is a clear reason for the necessity of installing an Imam; because when the pledge of allegiance is obligatory on the Muslim and the pledge is given only to the Imam, it is necessary to install an Imam.
Abu Saeed Khedri, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “When three of you went out on a journey; So, appoint one as the Amir.”
It is frequently established from the Companions that after the death of the Prophet, (PBUH), they pledged allegiance to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq for the caliphate, and after that, Hazrat Umar became the caliph. Then Umar, (MAPH), appointed that six-member committee, and they also chose Hazrat Osman, may Allah be pleased with him, and after his martyrdom, they pledged allegiance to Hazrat Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, and this was the tradition of the rightly caliphs, (may Allah be pleased with them), regarding the issue of the caliphate and not being weak in its position; Therefore, it is necessary to follow them according to the order of the Prophet, may Allah ‘s prayers and peace be upon him.
Consensus (Ijma’)
One of the most important reasons for the obligation of Imamate is the consensus on it by the Ummah, and the first consensus in this regard is the consensus of the Companions on appointing a caliph and successor for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, after his death, rather, it was before the burial of that Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
Hitami says: “Know that the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, agreed that it is obligatory to install an imam after the end of the time of prophet hood; Rather, they have made it one of the most important responsibilities to the extent that it was before the burial of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him”.
A group of scholars have narrated this consensus, among them: Maverdi says: “Contracting it (Imamate) is obligatory for the one who takes this responsibility with consensus.”
Imam Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “[Scholars] agree that the installation of a caliph is obligatory on Muslims, and its obligation is through the Sharia, not through reason.”
Then, the consensus is that Appointing an imam is obligatory, and the difference is whether this obligation is on Allah Almighty or on His creatures with auditory and intellectual reasons? According to Ahl al-Sunnah and Jamaat, it is obligatory to install it on the creatures in an auditory manner; because the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH), said: “Whoever dies but does not know the Imam and Amir of his time, has died the death of ignorance.” Another thing is that the Ummah made the installation of Imamate after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him) the most important issue to the extent that they prioritized the burial of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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