In the Twelver Shia tradition, the Fourteen Ma‘sumin (Urdu: Chahardah Masoomeen) are the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his daughter Sayyida Fatima al-Zahra سلام اللہ علیہا, and the Twelve Imams عليهم السلام from Imam Ali to Imam al-Mahdi عجل الله تعالى فرجه الشريف. They are regarded as the perfect exemplars of faith and the authoritative guides to the Qur’an.
What does ma‘sum mean?
Ma‘sum means “protected”. In Twelver theology, ‘isma is a quality granted by God through which the Prophet, Fatima and the Imams are protected from sin and from error in matters of religion. It is not understood as a removal of free will, but as a perfection of knowledge and of devotion that makes wrongdoing unthinkable to them.
The belief is grounded in the Qur’an and the Sunna as understood by the Imams. Its fullest early statements are found in the works of al-Kulayni, al-Saduq, al-Mufid and al-Sharif al-Murtada.
Qur’anic foundations
The Verse of Purification (33:33)
“God only wishes to remove all impurity from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you completely.” Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet gathered Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn under his cloak in connection with this verse — the event known as al-Kisa.
Sources: al-Qur’an al-Karim (33:33); al-Sahih (Kitab Fada’il al-Sahaba, virtues of the Prophet’s household)
The Verse of Mutual Invocation (3:61)
When the Christians of Najran disputed with the Prophet, he was commanded to call “our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves”. He went out with Hasan and Husayn, Fatima and Ali.
Sources: al-Qur’an al-Karim (3:61); al-Sahih (Kitab Fada’il al-Sahaba, virtues of Ali)
The Verse of Affection (42:23)
The Prophet is told to say that he asks no reward for his message except love for his near kin. Shia commentators, and some Sunni commentators, identify these as Ali, Fatima and their sons.
Sources: al-Qur’an al-Karim (42:23)
The Verse of Authority (5:55)
“Your guardian is only God, His Messenger, and those who believe — who keep up the prayer and give alms while bowing.” Shia commentators, and a number of Sunni exegetes, report that it was revealed when Imam Ali gave his ring to a beggar while bowing in prayer.
Sources: al-Qur’an al-Karim (5:55); Asbab al-Nuzul
The Imamate
Twelver Shia believe that, after the Prophet, God appointed twelve Imams to guide the community, each designated (nass) by the Prophet or by the previous Imam. The Imam does not receive new revelation; he preserves, interprets and lives the message in its fullness. Reports in both Shia and Sunni collections speak of twelve successors from Quraysh after the Prophet.
Sayyida Fatima is not an Imam, but she holds a unique station: she is the daughter of the Prophet, the wife of the first Imam and the mother of all the Imams after him.
Why study their lives?
For believers, the lives of the Fourteen are a living commentary on the Qur’an: patience in Mecca, statesmanship in Medina, justice in Kufa, sacrifice at Karbala, devotion in Medina’s quiet decades, scholarship in the circles of al-Baqir and al-Sadiq, endurance in Abbasid prisons, and the hope of the awaited Imam. For every reader they open a window onto the formation of Islamic civilisation.
Sources
- al-Qur’an al-Karim
- al-Kafi — al-Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub (d. 329 AH / 941 CE). Kitab al-Hujja
- Kitab al-Irshad fi Ma‘rifat Hujaj Allah ‘ala al-‘Ibad — al-Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Nu‘man (d. 413 AH / 1022 CE)
- Shi‘ite Islam — Tabataba’i, Muhammad Husayn
- An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism — Momen, Moojan
- The Divine Guide in Early Shi‘ism — Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali