WHO ARE THE ITHNA ‘ASHARIYYAH?
THE QUR’ANIC PATTERN OF TWELVE, THE SUNNI HADITH OF TWELVE LEADERS, AND THE SHIA IDENTIFICATION
“Ithna ‘Ashariyyah” means “Twelvers.”
اثنا عشر
means:
“Twelve.”
The Ithna ‘Ashariyyah are Muslims who believe that after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the divinely designated leadership and protection of his final religion continued through twelve Imams from his Ahl al-Bayt, beginning with Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib a.s and ending with Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi a.s.
They do not believe that the Imams are prophets or that they brought a new religion. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the final Prophet, the Qur’an is the final Book and Islam is the final religion. The Imams preserve, explain and guide people according to the religion brought by the Prophet ﷺ.
The word “Shia” itself means followers or supporters and is Qur’anic Arabic. “Ithna ‘Ashariyyah” identifies which Shia school is being discussed: the followers of the Twelve Imams.
THE NUMBER TWELVE IN THE QUR’AN
The Qur’an does not explicitly say in these verses, “These are the Twelve Imams of the Muslim Ummah.”
That would be an overstatement.
However, the Qur’an repeatedly uses the number twelve for divinely organised communities, appointed leaders, divisions, provisions and sacred time. Twelve is therefore not an unusual or meaningless number in divine administration.
The number twelve appears in four Qur’anic verses, with five total occurrences.
1. TWELVE SPRINGS FOR TWELVE GROUPS
Arabic:
وَإِذِ اسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ ۖ فَانْفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا ۖ قَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ مَشْرَبَهُمْ
English:
“When Moses prayed for water for his people, We said: ‘Strike the rock with your staff.’ Then twelve springs burst forth from it, and every group knew its own drinking place.”
Reference:
Qur’an 2:60.
Allah did not provide one disorganised source for everyone. He provided twelve distinct springs so that every group knew its appointed place.
2. TWELVE LEADERS APPOINTED UNDER ALLAH’S COVENANT
Arabic:
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا ۖ وَقَالَ اللَّهُ إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ
English:
“Allah certainly took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We raised from among them twelve leaders. Allah said: ‘Indeed, I am with you.’”
Reference:
Qur’an 5:12.
This is the most directly relevant verse.
Allah connects three things:
A divine covenant.
Twelve leaders.
Allah’s support.
The word used is:
نَقِيبًا
A naqib is a leader, chief, representative, supervisor or guardian responsible for his people.
This becomes especially important because a Sunni hadith later compares the twelve leaders of the Muslim Ummah to the twelve chiefs of the Children of Israel.
3. TWELVE TRIBES AND TWELVE SPRINGS
Arabic:
وَقَطَّعْنَاهُمُ اثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ أَسْبَاطًا أُمَمًا ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰ إِذِ اسْتَسْقَاهُ قَوْمُهُ أَنِ اضْرِبْ بِعَصَاكَ الْحَجَرَ ۖ فَانْبَجَسَتْ مِنْهُ اثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا
English:
“We divided them into twelve tribes as separate communities. When the people of Moses asked him for water, We revealed to him: ‘Strike the rock with your staff.’ Then twelve springs gushed forth from it.”
Reference:
Qur’an 7:160.
The number twelve occurs twice in this verse:
Twelve organised communities.
Twelve corresponding springs.
Once again, twelve represents divinely ordered structure, not accidental arithmetic.
4. TWELVE MONTHS IN ALLAH’S DIVINE ORDER
Arabic:
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
English:
“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the Book of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth.”
Reference:
Qur’an 9:36.
The twelve-month order is not a later human convention. The verse says it existed in Allah’s decree from the creation of the heavens and the earth.
THE QUR’ANIC PATTERN
The Qur’an presents:
Twelve springs.
Twelve tribes.
Twelve leaders.
Twelve months.
These verses alone do not prove the names of the Twelve Imams.
But they establish an important Qur’anic pattern: Allah repeatedly uses twelve to organise and preserve a complete divinely ordered structure.
Now compare this with what Prophet Muhammad ﷺ authentically said about the leadership of his Ummah.
THE PROPHET FORETOLD TWELVE LEADERS AFTER HIM
1. TWELVE RULERS AFTER THE PROPHET
Arabic:
يَكُونُ مِنْ بَعْدِي اثْنَا عَشَرَ أَمِيرًا، كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ
English:
“After me there will be twelve rulers, all of them from Quraysh.”
References:
Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, hadith 2223.
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadiths 7222–7223, with the wording:
يَكُونُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ أَمِيرًا
“There will be twelve rulers.”
Al-Tirmidhi graded his version:
حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ
“Hasan Sahih.”
The wording is important:
مِنْ بَعْدِي
“After me.”
The Prophet ﷺ was speaking about a defined group of twelve leaders belonging to the post-Prophetic period, not twelve random respected Muslims.
2. ISLAM WILL REMAIN MIGHTY THROUGH TWELVE CALIPHS
Arabic:
لَا يَزَالُ هَذَا الدِّينُ عَزِيزًا مَنِيعًا إِلَى اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً، كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ
English:
“This religion will continue to remain mighty and protected through twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh.”
Reference:
Sahih Muslim, hadith 1821.
Grading:
Sahih.
This version does not merely predict that twelve politicians will sit upon thrones.
It connects the twelve with the continued strength and protection of the religion:
عَزِيزًا مَنِيعًا
“Mighty and protected.”
The religion itself remains established through them.
3. THE RELIGION WILL REMAIN ESTABLISHED THROUGH TWELVE
Arabic:
لَا يَزَالُ الدِّينُ قَائِمًا حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ، أَوْ يَكُونَ عَلَيْكُمُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً، كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ
English:
“The religion will continue to remain established until the Hour comes, or until there have been over you twelve caliphs, all of them from Quraysh.”
Reference:
Sahih Muslim, hadith 1822.
Grading:
Sahih.
The authentic wordings describe them as:
أُمَرَاء
Rulers or leaders.
خُلَفَاء
Caliphs or successors.
They are connected with:
The continuation of religion.
The soundness of the Ummah’s affair.
The strength and protection of Islam.
4. TWELVE LIKE THE CHIEFS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
Masruq reported:
Arabic:
كُنَّا جُلُوسًا عِنْدَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ وَهُوَ يُقْرِئُنَا الْقُرْآنَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ:
يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، هَلْ سَأَلْتُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمْ تَمْلِكُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ مِنْ خَلِيفَةٍ؟
فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ:
نَعَمْ، وَلَقَدْ سَأَلْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ:
اثْنَا عَشَرَ، كَعِدَّةِ نُقَبَاءِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
English:
“We were sitting with Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud while he was teaching us the Qur’an. A man asked him:
‘O Abu Abd al-Rahman, did you ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ how many caliphs would rule this Ummah?’
He replied:
‘Yes. We asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said:
“Twelve, like the number of the chiefs of the Children of Israel.”’”
References:
Musnad Ahmad, hadith 3781.
Musnad al-Bazzar.
Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani.
Ibn Hajar wrote in Fath al-Bari that Ahmad and al-Bazzar transmitted it:
بِسَنَدٍ حَسَنٍ
“With a Hasan chain.”
This report directly connects the Prophet’s twelve with Qur’an 5:12:
وَبَعَثْنَا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقِيبًا
“We raised among them twelve chiefs.”
The comparison points toward structured leadership and covenant—not simply twelve kings who happened to seize political power.
WHAT DO THE AUTHENTIC SUNNI REPORTS ESTABLISH?
When the authentic versions are collected, they establish that:
There will be twelve leaders after the Prophet ﷺ.
Their number is specifically twelve.
They are called rulers and caliphs.
They are all from Quraysh.
The religion remains mighty, protected and established through them.
A Hasan narration compares them to the twelve chiefs of the Children of Israel.
These reports are found across:
Sahih al-Bukhari.
Sahih Muslim.
Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi.
Sunan Abi Dawud.
Musnad Ahmad.
Musnad al-Bazzar.
Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani.
Sahih Ibn Hibban.
This is not an obscure Shia narration.
The Prophet’s prediction of twelve post-Prophetic Qurayshi leaders is an established part of the Sunni hadith corpus.
THE SUNNI PROBLEM: WHERE ARE THEIR NAMES?
The authentic Sunni hadith gives:
The number twelve.
Their Qurayshi identity.
Their connection with the strength and establishment of Islam.
But it does not give an agreed list of their names.
There is no Sahih or Hasan Prophetic narration that says:
“The twelve are Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Hasan, Muawiyah, Yazid, Abd al-Malik, al-Walid, Sulayman, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz…”
No such Prophetic list exists.
The different Sunni political lists were produced later by scholars attempting to fit Islamic political history into the number twelve.
That is why the lists differ.
Some include Muawiyah and Yazid.
Some include Ibn al-Zubayr.
Some include Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz.
Some exclude rulers whose reigns were too short.
Some count only rulers upon whom people allegedly united.
Some say the twelve are not consecutive.
Others say some of them have not yet appeared.
This difficulty was openly admitted by major Sunni scholars.
Al-Muhallab, as quoted in the Sunni commentaries, said:
لَمْ أَلْقَ أَحَدًا يَقْطَعُ فِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ بِشَيْءٍ مُعَيَّنٍ
“I did not meet anyone who could state anything definite concerning this hadith.”
In other words, he did not find a scholar who could decisively identify the intended twelve.
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
قَدْ أَطَلْتُ الْبَحْثَ عَنْ مَعْنَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ، وَتَطَلَّبْتُ مَظَانَّهُ، وَسَأَلْتُ عَنْهُ، فَلَمْ أَقَعْ عَلَى الْمَقْصُودِ بِهِ
“I spent a long time researching the meaning of this hadith, searched its likely sources and asked about it, but I did not arrive at what was intended by it.”
Reference:
Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari, Book of Judgements, chapter concerning succession.
This is the central Sunni difficulty:
They possess an unquestionably authentic hadith concerning twelve.
But they do not possess an authentic Prophetic list naming their proposed twelve political rulers.
Later scholars therefore produced competing historical reconstructions.
THE SHIA ANSWER: THE TWELVE ARE THE IMAMS OF AHL AL-BAYT
The Ithna ‘Ashari Shia identify the Twelve as:
1. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib a.s
2. Imam Hasan ibn Ali a.s
3. Imam Husayn ibn Ali a.s
4. Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin ibn Husayn a.s
5. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ibn Ali a.s
6. Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq ibn Muhammad a.s
7. Imam Musa al-Kazim ibn Ja‘far a.s
8. Imam Ali al-Rida ibn Musa a.s
9. Imam Muhammad al-Jawad ibn Ali a.s
10. Imam Ali al-Hadi ibn Muhammad a.s
11. Imam Hasan al-Askari ibn Ali a.s
12. Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi ibn Hasan a.s
Unlike the later Sunni political lists, this is one stable and continuous sequence:
Ali.
Hasan.
Husayn.
Nine descendants from the line of Husayn.
The final one is al-Qa’im, Imam al-Mahdi.
EARLY SHIA REPORTS PRESERVE THE SEQUENCE
1. HADITH AL-KHIDR IN AL-KAFI
Al-Kulayni records an early narration in the chapter:
بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي الِاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ وَالنَّصِّ عَلَيْهِمْ
“The reports concerning the Twelve and the explicit designation of them.”
In the narration, al-Khidr testifies to the sequence:
Arabic:
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ وَصِيُّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَالْقَائِمُ بِحُجَّتِهِ
He points to Imam Ali a.s.
Then:
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّكَ وَصِيُّهُ وَالْقَائِمُ بِحُجَّتِهِ
He points to Imam Hasan a.s.
He then continues:
وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ الْحُسَيْنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ وَصِيُّ أَخِيهِ وَالْقَائِمُ بِحُجَّتِهِ بَعْدَهُ
“And I testify that Husayn ibn Ali is the successor of his brother and the one who will uphold the divine proof after him.”
The report then gives the sequence:
Ali ibn al-Husayn.
Muhammad ibn Ali.
Ja‘far ibn Muhammad.
Musa ibn Ja‘far.
Ali ibn Musa.
Muhammad ibn Ali.
Ali ibn Muhammad.
Hasan ibn Ali.
Then:
وَأَشْهَدُ عَلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْ وُلْدِ الْحَسَنِ لَا يُكَنَّى وَلَا يُسَمَّى حَتَّى يَظْهَرَ أَمْرُهُ فَيَمْلَأَهَا عَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا
“And I testify concerning a man from the descendants of Hasan whose name and kunyah will not be publicly mentioned until his affair appears, and he will fill the earth with justice just as it was filled with oppression.”
Reference:
Al-Kulayni, al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of al-Hujjah, chapter 126, hadith 1.
This report provides the sequence from Imam Ali through Imam Hasan al-Askari and then points to the concealed final Imam who will fill the earth with justice.
2. THE REPORT EXISTED BEFORE THE PERIOD OF CONFUSION
Al-Kulayni then preserves another route for the same report.
Muhammad ibn Yahya expressed a wish that the narration had reached him through someone other than Ahmad ibn Abi Abdullah al-Barqi.
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar answered:
لَقَدْ حَدَّثَنِي قَبْلَ الْحَيْرَةِ بِعَشْرِ سِنِينَ
“He narrated it to me ten years before the period of confusion.”
Reference:
Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of al-Hujjah, chapter 126, hadith 2.
This statement is historically important.
It means that the sequence was being transmitted before the crisis surrounding the beginning of the occultation. It therefore cannot simply be dismissed as a list suddenly invented after the occultation to solve a later problem.
Individual scholars may still debate individual chains, but the claim that the entire named sequence first appeared only after the occultation is contradicted by al-Kulayni’s explicit transmission history.
3. TWELVE EXECUTORS, THE LAST BEING AL-QA’IM
Al-Kafi also records from Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari:
Arabic:
دَخَلْتُ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَ عَلَيْهَا السَّلَامُ وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا لَوْحٌ فِيهِ أَسْمَاءُ الْأَوْصِيَاءِ مِنْ وُلْدِهَا، فَعَدَدْتُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ، آخِرُهُمُ الْقَائِمُ
English:
“I entered upon Fatimah a.s and before her was a tablet containing the names of the successors from her descendants. I counted twelve of them, the last of them being al-Qa’im.”
Reference:
Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of al-Hujjah, chapter 126, hadith 9.
This report connects:
The number twelve.
The descendants of Fatimah.
The final Qa’im.
4. NINE IMAMS AFTER IMAM HUSAYN
Imam al-Baqir a.s is reported to have said:
Arabic:
يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ تِسْعَةُ أَئِمَّةٍ، تَاسِعُهُمْ قَائِمُهُمْ
English:
“After Husayn ibn Ali there will be nine Imams. The ninth of them will be their Qa’im.”
Reference:
Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of al-Hujjah, chapter 126, hadith 15.
The structure is clear:
Imam Ali.
Imam Hasan.
Imam Husayn.
Nine Imams after Imam Husayn.
Total: Twelve.
The ninth descendant after Imam Husayn is the Qa’im.
5. HASAN, HUSAYN AND THE IMAMS FROM HUSAYN’S DESCENDANTS
Another report states:
Arabic:
نَحْنُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ إِمَامًا، مِنْهُمُ الْحَسَنُ وَالْحُسَيْنُ، ثُمَّ الْأَئِمَّةُ مِنْ وُلْدِ الْحُسَيْنِ
English:
“We are Twelve Imams. Hasan and Husayn are among them, and then the Imams are from the descendants of Husayn.”
Reference:
Al-Kafi, vol. 1, Book of al-Hujjah, chapter 126, hadith 16.
The Shia case therefore does not stand upon one isolated report.
It is cumulative:
There are Twelve.
They are from the family of Muhammad ﷺ.
Hasan and Husayn are included.
Nine come after Husayn.
The ninth from Husayn is the Qa’im.
Early reports preserve the complete sequence.
Specific designation was also transmitted from each Imam to the Imam following him.
SUNNI HADITH ALSO PLACES THE FINAL MAHDI IN AHL AL-BAYT
Sunni hadith states:
Arabic:
الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ عِتْرَتِي، مِنْ وَلَدِ فَاطِمَةَ
English:
“Al-Mahdi is from my progeny, from the descendants of Fatimah.”
References:
Sunan Abi Dawud, hadith 4284.
Sunan Ibn Majah, hadith 4086.
Al-Albani graded it:
صَحِيحٌ
“Authentic.”
This Sunni report does not, by itself, prove that the Mahdi is the son of Imam Hasan al-Askari. That identification requires separate evidence.
But it does establish that the final righteous guide and ruler belongs to:
The Prophet’s ‘Itrah.
His Ahl al-Bayt.
The descendants of Fatimah a.s.
Another Sunni narration says:
الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنَّا أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ، يُصْلِحُهُ اللَّهُ فِي لَيْلَةٍ
“Al-Mahdi is from us, the Ahl al-Bayt. Allah will prepare him in one night.”
Reference:
Sunan Ibn Majah, hadith 4085.
Al-Albani graded it:
حَسَنٌ
“Hasan.”
THE TWO COMPETING IDENTIFICATIONS
The Sunni political interpretation has:
An authentic number: twelve.
No authentic Prophetic list of names.
Multiple incompatible scholarly lists.
Later historical calculations.
Lists that sometimes include Umayyad rulers, including Yazid.
Uncertainty openly admitted by major Sunni commentators.
The Ithna ‘Ashari Shia interpretation has:
A stable sequence of exactly twelve.
All connected to the Ahl al-Bayt.
Imam Ali as the first.
Hasan and Husayn included.
Nine Imams after Husayn.
The final Imam identified as al-Qa’im and al-Mahdi.
Early Shia reports preserving the sequence before the occultation crisis.
A final Mahdi from the descendants of Fatimah—also confirmed in authentic Sunni hadith.
THE FINAL QUESTION
The Sunni books authentically establish:
Twelve post-Prophetic leaders.
All from Quraysh.
The religion remains mighty and established through them.
They correspond in number to the twelve chiefs of the Children of Israel.
But where is the authentic Prophetic narration naming the proposed Sunni political list?
Where did the Prophet ﷺ say:
“Include Yazid, Abd al-Malik, al-Walid, Sulayman and the Umayyad kings among my Twelve”?
No such Sahih or Hasan Prophetic list exists.
That is why Sunni scholars disagreed and continued producing different lists.
The Ithna ‘Ashari Shia do not need to force twelve political kings into the hadith.
They identify the Twelve as the continuous line of guidance from the Prophet’s own Ahl al-Bayt:
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib a.s
Imam Hasan ibn Ali a.s
Imam Husayn ibn Ali a.s
Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin a.s
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir a.s
Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq a.s
Imam Musa al-Kazim a.s
Imam Ali al-Rida a.s
Imam Muhammad al-Jawad a.s
Imam Ali al-Hadi a.s
Imam Hasan al-Askari a.s
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi a.s
The Qur’anic verses concerning twelve do not prove this identification by themselves.
The Sunni Twelve-Caliphs hadith does not name the Imams by itself.
But when the evidence is collected together:
The Qur’anic pattern of twelve.
The twelve chiefs of Bani Israel.
The authentic Sunni prediction of twelve Qurayshi leaders.
The Prophet’s command to hold firmly to the Qur’an and Ahl al-Bayt.
Imam Ali’s wilayah.
The Mahdi being from the descendants of Fatimah.
The early Shia reports giving the number, structure and sequence.
Then the Ithna ‘Ashari identification becomes coherent and powerful.
The Sunni tradition has the authentic number twelve but no Prophetic names for its political list.
The Shia tradition has the number twelve—and preserves the names and sequence from Imam Ali to Imam al-Mahdi.
That is who the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah are:
The followers of the Twelve Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Who Are the Ithna 'Ashariyyah (Twelvers)?
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