ABSTRACT
twelve-imam shĪʿism is the name of the second largest denomination of Muslims. They derive their religious code and spiritual inspiration, after the Prophet, from the twelve Imams who were among the descendants of the Prophet. The members of the denomination consider the Imams to be the only authoritative interpreters of the Quran and the Sunnah. Within the matrix of Islam and the totality of the Muslim Community, the term Shīʿah (party or followers—hence, the followers of the house of the Prophet) distinguishes them from the Sunni majority. The qualifying adjective twelve (in Arabic ithnā ʿashar, “twelve,”—hence, ithnā ʿashariyyah, “Twelver”) differentiates them from the other smaller branches of Shīʿism such as the Zaydīs and the Ismāʿīlīs, who, although they believe that religious guidance is to be drawn only from the family of the Prophet, differ from the Twelvers concerning the number and the various members of his descendants whom they accept as the legitimate Imams.
