Shia answers: Why should the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) appoint a successor?
Imamate is one of the basic principles necessary for guiding human beings and according to Shia, it is one of the five Principles of Religion (Usul al-din). Just as man needs a prophet to teach the Sharia (Islamic law) and Wisdom, so he needs someone to protect and preserve that holy law.
The successor of the Prophet, through learning from the Prophet or through the knowledge given to him by God, has the ability to comprehend all the knowledge of the Prophet and as it should be, he reveals the secrets of the Quran and explains and interprets the heavenly verses in the best way. The absence of a successor with divine knowledge and infallibility, undermines God’s purpose in guiding mankind. According to the Shia, since the foreknowledge and infallibility of the Imams and Prophets is one of the Divine Secrets and intrinsic affairs and no one has authority over them except God, therefore, the Imam and the Prophet are not determined except through God.
Imamate is one of the pillars of Islam and one of the basic principles necessary for human guidance, and for this reason, according to the Shia, it has been introduced as one of the five Usul al-din (principles of religion) which are: Tawhid (Monotheism), ‘Adl (Justice of God), Nubuwwat (Prophethood), Imamate and Resurrection.
Just as man needs a prophet to teach the Sharia (Islamic law) and Wisdom, so he needssomeone to protect and preserve that sacred Sharia. On the other hand, the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was not enough to interpret the message of revelation, because during his blessed life, in addition to conveying the revelation to the people, he repelled the conspiracies of the hypocrites and also countered the enemies’ wars. Also, the Quran did not explain all the rules in such a way that it could go into the details of the rules of the religion and eliminate the need for the Imam in references.
In addition, there are verses in the Book of God that have different possibilities for their apparent meaning, and there are secrets that it is not possible for the general public to know about them.
Shia Answers, Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali
The successor of the Prophet, through learning from the Prophet or through the knowledge given to him by God, has the ability to comprehend all the knowledge of the Prophet and as it should be, he reveals the secrets of the Quran and explains and interprets the heavenly verses in the best way. The absence of a successor with divine knowledge and infallibility, undermines God’s purpose in guiding mankind.
According to the Shia, since the foreknowledge and infallibility of the Imams and Prophets is one of the Divine Secrets and intrinsic affairs and no one has authority over them except God, therefore, the Imam and the Prophet are not determined except through God.
Just as the position of prophecy is a divine position that should be given by God to the prophets, so is the position of Imamate; That is, the Imam, who is the successor of the Prophet, must be appointed by the Prophet with the permission and order of God, and the importance of this issue is such that God Almighty says to the Prophet in the Quran:
“O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message.”(Quran 5:67)
For this reason, the Prophet (PBUH) emphasized this important issue in different situations and introduced his successors with God’s permission.
