Shia



Shia believe that Ali is the successor of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Shiites are 10-15% of adherents to the Muslim faith. Shias are also known as Shi'atu Ali (Followers of Ali). Shias believe that only God can chose leaders for the Ummah and no one else has the right to do this. They believe God chose Muhammad's family to be guides for Muslims after Muhammad.

Etymology
The word  Shia  ( Arabic :  شيعة ‎  shīʻah   /ˈʃiːʕa/ ) means follower  and is the short form of the historic phrase  shīʻatu ʻAlī  ( شيعة علي   /ˈʃiːʕatu ˈʕaliː/ ), meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali". Shi'a  and  Shiism  are forms used in English, while  Shi'ite  or  Shiite, as well as  Shia , refer to its adherents.

History
Shia orgins go back to after the Prophet's death and they were Muslims who wanted Ali to be the caliph after Muhammad's death. Shias were not a sect at the time but a poltical movement. It later evolved into a religious doctorine. The Shia caliphates were the Fatimids and the Safavids.

Fatimid Caliphate

 * Fatimids (909–1171 CE): Controlled much of North Africa, the Levant, parts of Arabia and Mecca and Medina. The group takes its name from Fatima, Muhammad's daughter, from whom they claim descent.

Safavid Dynasty
A major turning point in Shia history was the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) in Persia. The Safavids forced Twelver Shiism on all Persians including Sunnis & Zaidi Shia.

With the fall of the Safavids, the state in Persia – including the state system of courts with government-appointed judges (qadis) – became much weaker. This gave the Sharia courts of mujtahids an opportunity to fill in the slack and enabled "the ulama to assert their judicial authority". The Usuli School also increased in strength at this time.
 * The ending of the relative mutual tolerance between Sunnis and Shias that existed from the time of the Mongol conquests onwards and the resurgence of antagonism between the two groups.
 * The beginning of the emergence of an independent body of ulama capable of taking a political stand different from the policies of the state.
 * The growth in importance of Iranian centers of religious learning and change from Twelver Shiaism being a predominantly Arab phenomenon.
 * The growth of the Akhbari School which preached that only the Quran, hadith are to be bases for verdicts, rejecting the use of reasoning.

Demography
Shias are 10-15% of the Muslim community. The majority Shiites are Iran, Iraq, Azerbajan, and other places.

Holidays
A procession of Shia Muslims in Bhopal.Both Sunni and Shia, celebrate the following annual holidays: The following days are some of the most important holidays observed by Shia Muslims:
 * Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of fasting during the month of Ramadan
 * Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca
 * Eid al-Ghadeer, which is the anniversary of the Ghadir Khum, the occasion when Muhammad announced Ali's Imamate before a multitude of Muslims.   Eid al-Ghadeer is held on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah.
 * The Mourning of Muharram and the Day of Ashura for Shia commemorates Husayn ibn Ali's martyrdom. Husayn was a grandson of Muhammad who was killed by Yazid ibn Muawiyah. Ashurah is a day of deep mourning which occurs on the 10th of Muharram.
 * Arba'ein commemorates the suffering of the women and children of Husayn ibn Ali's household. After Husayn was killed, they were marched over the desert, from Karbala (central Iraq) to Shaam (Damascus, Syria). Many children (some of whom were direct descendants of Muhammad) died of thirst and exposure along the route. Arbaein occurs on the 20th of Safar, 40 days after Ashurah.
 * Mawlid, Muhammad's birth date. Unlike Sunni Muslims, who celebrate 12th of Rabi' al-awwal as Muhammad's birthday or deathday (because they said that birth & death both is in this week), Shia Muslims celebrate the 17th of the month, which also coincides with the birth date of the sixth imam, Ja'far al-Saadiq.   Note that, not all Sunni Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday, stating it as a  bid'ah.
 * Fatimah's birthday on 20th of Jumada al-Thani. It's also considered as the "Women and Mothers' day".
 * Ali's birthday on 13th of Rajab. It's also considered as the "Men and Fathers' day".
 * Mid-Sha'ban is the birth date of the 12th and final Twelver imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. It is celebrated by Shia Muslims on the 15th of Sha'aban.
 * Laylat al-Qadr, anniversary of the night of the revelation of the Quran.
 * Eid al-Mubahila celebrates a meeting between the Ahl al-Bayt (household of Muhammad) and a Christian deputation from Najran. Al-Mubahila is held on the 24th of Dhu al-Hijjah.

Holy sites
The holiest sites common to all Muslims are Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. For Shias, the Imam Husayn Shrine, Al Abbas Mosque in Karbala, and Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf are also highly revered.

Other venerated sites include Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery in Najaf, Al-Baqi' cemetery in Medina, Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Kadhimiya Mosque in Kadhimiya, Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, Sahla Mosque and Great Mosque of Kufain Kufa and several other sites in the cities of Qom, Susa and Damascus.

 Most of the Shi'a holy places in Saudi Arabia have been destroyed by the warriors of the Ikhwan, the most notable being the tombs of the Imams in the Al-Baqi' cemetery in 1925. In 2006 a bomb destroyed the shrine of Al-Askari Mosque.

Succession of Ali
The Shia believe that Ali is the successor of Muhammad. They believe that Prophet Muhammad declared Ali's succession to him in al-Ghadeer.

The Shia say that Muhammad mentioned this in his final sermon.

"I am leaving with you two weighty things that if you hold to them you will never go astray. The first is the Book of Allah and the other is my family. I one hand lies the Quran and my family and the other lies your destruction. I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate. Allah is my Lord and Master and I am the leader of the believers, so who ever I am the leader of, Ali is also his leader." -Sermon of Muhammad (according to Shias)

Other Muslim sects reject this belief and that the Prophet Muhammad ever claimed Ali was his successor.

Imamah
The Shia believe that God chose Muhammad's family to be guides for the Muslims after Muhammad's death. Their Imams start with Ali and continue on. Twlever Shia Imams ends with Mohammad al Mahdi, Zaidi Imams end with Zayd ibn Ali, and the Ismailis have a contiuous line of Imams, Shiites also believe that their Imams have knowledge of the Unseen, know past, present, and future, have sacred objects of Prophets. They also believe that their Imams are better than prophets, that they have the holy books of past Prophets before Muhammad, that the Imams knew when they would die, and that they have knowledge of the Prophets and Angles. Many Shia believe that their Imams were had devine attributes. This contradicts the Quranic verses of only God having knowledge of the unseen. Shias believe their Imams were lights before being created into humans.Majority of Sunnis condemn Shias for such beliefs. Shias believe all their Imams were murdered by tyranical caliphs.

Quran
The Shia like other sects of Islam believe that God revealed the Quran to Muhammad. Many Shia believe the Quran was changed and was altered by some of Muhammad companions. This contradicts the Quran which says that God promised to protect the Quran. Some Shias reject this belief.

Theology
The Shia Islamic faith is vast and inclusive of many different groups.Shia theological beliefs and religious practises, such as prayers, slightly differ from the Sunnis'. While all Muslims pray five times daily, Shias have the option of always combining Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha', as there are three distinct times mentioned in the Quran. The Sunnis tend to combine only under certain circumstances. Shia Islam embodies a completely independent system of religious interpretation and political authority in the Muslim world. The Shia identity emerged after the lifetime of Muhammad,and Shia theology was formulated in the 2nd century AH, or after Hijra (8th century CE).The first Shia governments and societies were established by the end of the 3rd century AH/9th century CE. The 4th century AH /10th century CE has been referred to by Louis Massignon as "the Shiite Ismaili century in the history of Islam".

Hadith
Shias believe many hadiths proves thier believe of Walayat (leadership) of Ali such as, the Hadith of the Pond of Khum, Hadith of two weighty things, Hadith of the Pen and Paper, Hadith of the Cloak, and Hadith of invitations of Families. The Shias like Sunnis have hadith except the Shias don't find some of Muhammad's companions to be trustworthy. For this reason, Shia have their own hadith collections seprate from Sunni collections. Their hadith contains attributed sayings of the Shia Imams. The Shia hadiths are each induvidually examined as Hadith are collected by fallible people and have some mistakes and authentic hadith. Shia believe the only sahih book is the Qur'an.

Testimony of Faith
The testimony of faith of Shias are different from the Sunni shahadah. The Sunni shahadah says: I bear witness that their is no god but Allah (God), and I bear witness Muhammad is his slave and messenger. The Shia add to shahadah, wa ashadu anna Ali-yun wali Allah (   علي ولي الله) which means "and I bear witness that Ali is the vicigerent/frined of God." In Shia Islam the shahadah has three part, Tawhid (Monotheism), Prophethood of Muhammad, and the Wilayat (leadership) of Ali,

Infallibility
Ismah  is the concept of  infallibility  or "divinely bestowed freedom from error and sin" in Islam. Muslims believe that Muhammad and other prophets in Islam possessed  ismah. Twelver and Ismaili Shia Muslims also attribute the quality to  Imams  as well as to Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad, in contrast to the Zaidi, who do not attribute 'ismah to the Imams.

According to Shia theologians, infallibility is considered a rational necessary precondition for spiritual and religious guidance. They argue that since God has commanded absolute obedience from these figures they must only order that which is right. The state of infallibility is based on the Shia interpretation of the verse of purification.Thus, they are the most pure ones, the only immaculate ones preserved from, and immune to, all uncleanness. It does not mean that supernatural powers prevent them from committing a sin, but due to the fact that they have absolute belief in God, they refrain from doing anything that is a sin.

They also have a complete knowledge of God's will. They are in possession of all knowledge brought by the angels to the prophets (nabi) and the messengers (rasul). Their knowledge encompasses the totality of all times. They thus act without fault in religious matters. Shias regard Ali as the successor of Muhammad not only ruling over the community in justice, but also interpreting Islamic practices and its esoteric meaning. Hence he was regarded as being free from error and sin (infallible), and appointed by God by divine decree (nass) to be the first Imam. Ali is known as "perfect man" (al-insan al-kamil) similar to Muhammad, according to Shia viewpoint

Occultation
The Twlelver Shia believe their twelth imam Mohammad al-Mahdi went into occultation when he was five years old. They believe his is the Mahdi who will re-appear to fill the earth with peace and justice in the endtimes. They believe he kills those who oppose him and will punish Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and that he will flog Aisha and that they will be resurrected for punishment from thier Mahdi. Nizari Ismailis reject the belief of a hidden Mahdi. Fatimid/ Bohra/  Dawoodi Bohra  believe the same as Twelvers in occultation but for their 21st  Tayyib. Whereas Sunnis believe the future Mahdi has not yet arrived on Earth.

Twlevers
The Ithna Ashari'iyya or the Twelvers are 85% of Shiites. The Twlever Shia believe that God appointed 12 Imams (leaders) to lead the Muslims. Twelvers constitute the majority of the population in Iran (90%), [104]  Azerbaijan (85%), [9] [77]  Bahrain (70%), Iraq (65%), Lebanon (65% of Muslims).

Beliefs

 * 1) Monotheism, God is one and unique.
 * 2) Justice, the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, fairness, and equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics.
 * 3) Prophethood, the institution by which God sends emissaries, or prophets, to guide mankind.
 * 4) Leadership, a divine institution which succeeded the institution of Prophethood. Its appointees (imams) are divinely appointed.
 * 5) Last Judgment, God's final assessment of humanity.

More specifically, these principles are known as Usul al-Madhhab (principles of the Shia sect) according to Twelver Shias which differ from Daruriyat al-Din (Necessities of Religion) which are principles in order for one to be a Muslim. The Necessities of Religion do not include Leadership (Imamah) as it is not a requirement in order for one to be recognized as a Muslim. However, this category, according to Twelver scholars like Ayatollah al-Khoei, does include belief in God, Prophethood, the Day of Resurrection and other "necessities" (like belief in angels). In this regard, Twelver Shias draw a distinction in terms of believing in the main principles of Islam on the one hand, and specifically Shia doctrines like Imamah on the other.

Jurisprudence
The Twelver jurisprudence is called Ja'fari jurisprudence. In this jurisprudence Sunnah is considered to be the oral traditions of Muhammad and their implementation and interpretation by the twelve Imams. There are three schools of Ja'fari jurisprudence: Usuli, Akhbari, and Shaykhi. The Usuli school is by far the largest of the three. Twelver groups that do not follow Ja'fari jurisprudence include Alevi, Bektashi, and Qizilbash.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In Ja'fari jurisprudence, there are ten ancillary pillars,

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">According to Twelvers, defining and interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence is the responsibility of Muhammad and the twelve Imams. As the 12th imam is in occultation, it is the duty of clerics to refer to the Islamic literature such as the Quran and hadith and identify legal decisions within the confines of Islamic law to provide means to deal with current issues from an Islamic perspective. In other words, Twelver clerics provide Guardianship of the Islamic Jurisprudence, which was defined by Muhammad and his twelve successors. This process is known as Ijtihad and the clerics are known as Marja', meaning reference. The labels Allamah and Ayatollah are in use for Twelver clerics. known as Furu' ad-Din, which are as follows:
 * 1) Prayer
 * 2) Fasting
 * 3) Pilgrimage
 * 4) Alms giving
 * 5) Struggle
 * 6) One Fifth (One Fifth) (20% tax on yearly earnings after deduction of household and commercial expenses.)
 * 7) Directing others towards good
 * 8) Directing others away from evil
 * 9) Love those who are in God's path
 * 10) Disassociation with those who oppose God

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<h3 style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Zaidis Zaidiyya ,  Zaidism  or  Zaydi  is the second largest branch of Shia Islam. It is a Shia school named after Zayd ibn Ali. Followers of the Zaidi fiqh are called Zaidis (or occasionally  Fivers ). However, there is also a group called  Zaidi Wasītīs  who are Twelvers (see below). Zaidis constitute roughly 40–45% of the population of Yemen.

Doctrine
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Zaydis, Twelvers and Ismailis recognize the same first four Imams; however, the Zaidis recognise Zayd ibn Ali as the fifth. After the time of Zayd ibn Ali, the Zaidis recognized that any descendant of Hasan ibn Ali or Hussein ibn Ali could be imam after fulfilling certain conditions. Other well-known Zaidi Imams in history were Yahya ibn Zayd, Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya and Ibrahim ibn Abdullah. In matters of Islamic jurisprudence, the Zaydis follow Zayd ibn Ali's teachings which are documented in his book Majmu'l Fiqh (in Arabic: مجموع الفِقه). Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, founder of the Zaydi state in Yemen, instituted elements of the jurisprudential tradition of the Sunni Muslim jurist Abū Ḥanīfa, and as a result, Zaydi jurisprudence today continues somewhat parallel to that of the Hanafis.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Zaidi doctrine of Imamah does not presuppose the infallibility of the imam nor that the Imams receive divine guidance. Zaidis also do not believe that the Imamate must pass from father to son but believe it can be held by any Sayyiddescended from either Hasan ibn Ali or Hussein ibn Ali (as was the case after the death of Hasan ibn Ali). Historically, Zaidis held that Zayd was the rightful successor of the 4th imam since he led a rebellion against the Umayyads in protest of their tyranny and corruption. Muhammad al-Baqir did not engage in political action, and the followers of Zayd believed that a true imam must fight against corrupt rulers.

Timeline
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Idrisids (Arabic: الأدارسة‎) were Arab Zaydi Shia dynasty in the western Maghreb ruling from 788 to 985 C.E., named after its first sultan, Idris I.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;"> A Zaydi state was established in Gilan, Deylaman and Tabaristan (northern Iran) in 864 C.E. by the Alavids;  it lasted until the death of its leader at the hand of the  Samanids  in 928 C.E. Roughly forty years later the state was revived in Gilan and survived under Hasanid leaders until 1126 C.E. Afterwards, from the 12th to 13th centuries, the Zaydis of Deylaman, Gilan and Tabaristan then acknowledged the Zaydi  Imams of Yemen  or rival Zaydi Imams within Iran.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;"> The Buyids were initially Zaidi as well as the Banu Ukhaidhir rulers of al-Yamama in the 9th and 10th centuries. The leader of the Zaydi community took the title of Caliph. As such, the ruler of Yemen was known as the Caliph, al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi Rassids (a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali the son of Ali) who, at Sa'dah, in 893-7 CE, founded the Zaydi Imamate, and this system continued until the middle of the 20th century, when the revolution of 1962 CE deposed the Zaydi Imam. The founding Zaidism of Yemen was of the Jarudiyya group; however, with increasing interaction with Hanafi and Shafi'i rites of Sunni Islam, there was a shift from the Jarudiyya group to the Sulaimaniyya, Tabiriyya, Butriyya or Salihiyya groups. Zaidis form the second dominant religious group in Yemen. Currently, they constitute about 40–45% of the population in Yemen. Ja'faris and Isma'ilis are 2–5%. In Saudi Arabia, it is estimated that there are over 1 million Zaydis (primarily in the western provinces).Currently the most prominent Zaydi movement is  Houthis  movement, known by the name of  Shabab Al Mu'mineen  (Believing Youth). They have been the subject of an ongoing campaign against them by the Yemeni Government in which the army has lost 743 men, and thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or displaced by government forces causing a grave humanitarian crisis in north Yemen.

Ismaili (Sevener)
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Ismailis get their name from their acceptance of Isma'il ibn Jafar as the divinely appointed spiritual successor (Imam) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelvers, who accept Musa al-Kadhim, younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imam.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">After the death or Occultation of Muhammad ibn Ismaill in the 8th century, the teachings of Ismailism further transformed into the belief system as it is known today, with an explicit concentration on the deeper, esoteric meaning (bāṭin) of the faith. With the eventual development of Twelverism into the more literalistic (zahir) oriented Akhbari and later Usuli schools of thought, Shiaism developed in two separate directions: the metaphorical Ismailli group focusing on themystical path and nature of God and the divine manifestation in the personage of the "Imam of the Time" as the "Face of God", with the more literalistic Twelver group focusing on divine law (sharī'ah) and the deeds and sayings (sunnah) of Muhammad and his successors (the Ahlu l-Bayt), who as A'immah were guides and a light to God.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;"> Though there are several sub-groupings within the Ismailis, the term in today's vernacular generally refers to The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim (Nizari community), generally known as the Ismailis, who are followers of the Aga Khan and the largest group among the Ismailiyyah. Another community which falls under the Isma'il's are the Dawoodi Bohras, lead by a Da'i al-Mutlaq as representative of a hidden imam. While there are many other branches with extremely differing exterior practices, much of the spiritual theology has remained the same since the days of the faith's early Imams. In recent centuries Ismailis have largely been an Indo-Iranian community,   but they are found in India, Pakistan, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia,Yemen, China,Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, East Africa and South Africa, and have in recent years emigrated to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America.

Ismaili Imams
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">After the death of Isma'il ibn Jafar, many Ismailis believed that one day the messianic Mahdi, whom they believed to be Muhammad ibn Ismail, would return and establish an age of justice. One group included the violent Qarmatians, who had a stronghold in Bahrain. In contrast, some Ismailis believed the Imamate did continue, and that the Imams were in occultation and still communicated and taught their followers through a network of dawah "Missionaries".

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;font-family:sans-serif;"> In 909, Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah, a claimant to the Ismaili Imamate, established the Fatimid Caliphate. During this period, three lineages of imams formed. The first branch, known today as the Druze, began with Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Born in 386 AH (985), he ascended as ruler at the age of eleven. The typical religiously tolerant Fatimid Empire saw much persecution under his reign. When in 411 AH (1021) his mule returned without him, soaked in blood, a religious group that was forming in his lifetime broke off from mainstream Ismailism and did not acknowledge his successor. Later to be known as the Druze, they believe al-Hakim to be the incarnation of God and the prophesied Mahdi who would one day return and bring justice to the world. The faith further split from Ismailism as it developed very unusual doctrines which often class it separately from both Ismailiyyah and Islam.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The second split occurred following the death of Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah in 487 AH (1094). His rule was the longest of any caliph in any Islamic empire. Upon his passing away, his sons, Nizar the older, and Al-Musta'li, the younger, fought for political and spiritual control of the dynasty. Nizar was defeated and jailed, but according to Nizari tradition, his son escaped to Alamut, where the Iranian Ismaili had accepted his claim.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DaftaryShort1998p106_135-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[134]  From here on, the Nizari Ismaili community has continued with a present, living Imam.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Mustaali line split again between the Taiyabi (Dawoodi Bohra is its main branch) and the Hafizi. The former claim that At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim (son of Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah) and the imams following him went into a period of anonymity (Dawr-e-Satr) and appointed a Da'i al-Mutlaq to guide the community, in a similar manner as the Ismaili had lived after the death of Muhammad ibn Ismail. The latter (Hafizi) claimed that the ruling Fatimid Caliph was the Imam, and they died out with the fall of the Fatimid Empire.

Pillars
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Ismailis have categorized their practices which are known as seven pillars: <p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Shahada (profession of faith) of the Shia differs from that of Sunnis due to mention of Ali
 * Walayah (Guardianship)
 * Taharah (Purity)
 * Salat (Prayer)
 * Zakāt (Charity)
 * Sawm (Fasting)
 * Hajj (Pilgrimage)
 * Jihad (Struggle)

Contemporary leadership
<p style="line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">The Nizaris place importance on a scholarly institution because of the existence of a present Imam. The Imam of the Age defines the jurisprudence, and his guidance may differ with Imams previous to him because of different times and circumstances. For Nizari Ismailis, the imam is Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV. The Nizari line of Imams has continued to this day as an unending line.

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<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Divine leadership has continued in the Bohra branch through the institution of the "Unrestricted Missionary" Dai. According to Bohra tradition, before the last Imam, At-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim, went into seclusion, his father, the 20th Al-Amir bi-Ahkami l-Lah, had instructed Al-Hurra Al-Malika the Malika (Queen consort) in Yemen to appoint a vicegerent after the seclusion – the Unrestricted Missionary, who as the Imam's vicegerent has full authority to govern the community in all matters both spiritual and temporal while the lineage of Mustaali-Tayyibi Imams remains in seclusion (Dawr-e-Sitr). The three branches of the Mustaali, the Alavi Bohra, Sulaimani Bohra and Dawoodi Bohra, differ on who the current Unrestricted Missionary is.

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