How Does the Current Imam Lead SHIA

After the death of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him , Abu Bakr siddique raziallhutalanhu was elected by Shurah (mutual consultation) as Caliph of the Ummah.

The Shia reject Abu Bakr’s election, and say that only Allah can decide the leadership of the Ummah.

The Shia further argue–and this they do emphatically–that it is not justice from God to leave us without any divine leadership, and that this divine leader is the Infallible Imam.

To further emphasize this argument, the Shia ask the Ahlus Sunnah pointedly: “How is it possible that Allah would leave his Ummah without a leader?”

And they categorically state that it would indeed not be possible for Allah to leave his Ummah leaderless after the death of the Prophet.

Let us assume for the time being that the Ahlus Sunnah accepted the fallacious assumption that we need an Infallible Imam to lead us, and that it would not be justice from God to leave us without divine leadership.

This means that the theory of Justice of God in terms of guidance worked only for about three hundred years (before the occultation)! Indeed, if the Shia want to argue that there is no way that the Ummah could be left leaderless after the death of Prophet Muhammad, then why would Allah leave his Ummah leaderless after the death of the eleventh Imam and the sudden disappearance of the twelvth Imam?

If the Ahlus Sunnah accepts this, then would it not be fair to ask the next relevant question, which is: “Where is this divine leader now?”

Where is the Infallible Imam today?

To this, the Shia will respond: “Oh, he has been hidden for more than 1,000 years and will come out near the end of the world.” Nice!

Imam means “leader;” how can a person be led when the leader is not contactable and accessible?

Nobody has had direct contact with the Imam Mahdi during his Greater Occcultation which has lasted over 1,000 years. So what is the point of all this debate?

The Shia believe in Imamah and accuse the Ahlus Sunnah of not having a leadership system; well, at the end of the day, we all ended up at the same point, didn’t we?

The Shia had no leadership system up until the Iranian Revolution, and the Irani system of “Wilayat ul-Faqih” (the current leadership system in Iran) is nothing but a man-made system in certain scholars do Shurah (mutual consultation) in order to elect a leader for them.

Well, this is exactly what happened at Saqifah when people elected Abu Bakr, so what is all the fuss about?

If the Shia are willing to accept Ayatollah Khomeini as the leader of the Ummah, then why not Abu Bakr?

Why do the Shia find it OK for Khomeini to be the elected representative of the Hidden Imam, but they do not find it OK for Abu Bakr to be the elected representative of the Prophet?

The main pillar of Shi’ism is that we need a divinely appointed Imam and the leadership of the Muslims is divinely appointed. Without this pillar and buttress, the entire faith of Shi’ism collapses on itself.

If someone becomes a Shia these days, nothing will be changed for him in terms of guidance. He will combine the prayers and attend ceremonies for Imam Hussain and pay Khums to scholars…

but nothing in terms of being directed by a divine Imam.because there is not CONTACT with this hidden IMAM

Why have the Shia been living without any Imam for over 1,000 years?

Why has Allah left the Ummah without a divinely appointed leader for over a thousand years?

To respond to this question, the Shia will say that the Hidden Imam still guides them while he is in occultation,

but our question is:

if the Hidden Imam (Mahdi) can guide the Shia without being alive with them physically,

why couldn’t our Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him guide us without being with us physically?

Shias response The benefit of the Imam in occultation is like the benefit of the sun when it is behind a cloud.

This is nothing but a poetic justification of the problem. What is exactly meant by the sun behind clouds? The sun behind the clouds has many benefits; in fact, there are too many to list. What then are the benefits of the Imam in occultation?

How has the Imam Mahdi been of any benefit while he is in hiding?

Did he help in any way in the leadership and ruling of Iran?

There are a lot of controversial issues in Iran nowadays, and the Shia scholars are at loggerheads over them. Some of these controversial issues include the extent of Wilayat ul-Faqih, modernism and Islam, television, freedom of speech, and many other pressing concerns.

There are even certain Shia scholars (Mujtahids) that are under house arrest because they do not agree with the current policies and leader.

Were there any letters, voices, or emails from Imam Mahdi to clear up a bit of these difficulties?

Which one of these Mujtahids who are in severe disagreement with each other are directed and led by the Imam Mahdi and how are the Shia people expected to realize this ? Where is the benefit from the “sun behind the clouds?”

Shias another defence

The following hadith corroborates the point we are trying to make, namely, that the actual reason for occultation was not explained for the people, and except for the Imams themselves no one knew anything about it.”

Imam Sadiq said: “The one entrusted with the command will necessarily live an invisible life…” I asked the Imam the reason. He said: “I am not permitted to reveal the reason.” (Shia Hadith, reported by ‘Abd Allah b. Fadl Hashimi)

Finally, the Shia will admit that they do not know the reason their Imam went into hiding or what benefit the Imam gives in occultation. Of course, this is not an answer but rather the lack of an answer.

The Shia repeatedly declare the importance of the Hidden Imam, but when the Ahlus Sunnah asks “why do we need him and what benefit does he give you right now”, then the Shia will say: “We don’t know!”

This is the mentality of a school child who pretends to know something, and when another child asks what it is, then he will say “I am not telling!” The reality is that the child could not say anything because he knew nothing to begin with.

Likewise, the reality is that the Shia Imams could not give a reply to the question of why we need an Imam if he is in hiding, so they simply said “I am not telling!”