Responsibilities
Shias believe that an imam has several responsibilities. An imam must lead Muslims in all aspects of life. In addition, they believe that because an imam was appointed by God, like prophets and messengers, they are infallible. Shias accept the imams as perfect human beings. Shi'ism teaches that imams must be obeyed. A prophet can also be an imam, but not all prophets are imams. Muhammad is considered by Muslims to be God’s final prophet. Shias do not consider the twelve imams to be prophets. They believe that these twelve imams are greater in status than all of God’s prophets except Muhammad.
The Shi'a scholar Mohamed Baqer Al-Majlisi, widely considered as the greatest and most influential Shiite scholar of the Safawid era, states:
| “ | The Imams are superior to the prophets (except Muhammad) and the entire creation. The Covenant of the Imams was taken from them (the prophets), the angels and the entire creation. The (major prophets called) ulul-‘Azm (Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and ‘Isa ) attained the status of ulul-‘Azm on account of loving the Imams. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Imamah (Shi'a Twelver Doctrine)