Introduction
The Shia further believe only these A'immah have the right to be Caliphs, meaning that all other caliphs, whether elected by consensus Ijma or not, are usurpers of the Caliphate.
All Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad had said: "To whomsoever I am Mawla, Ali is his Mawla." This hadith has been narrated in different ways by many different sources in no less than 45 hadith books of both Sunni and Shia collections. This hadith has also been narrated by the greatest collector of hadiths, al-Tirmidhi himslf, 3713; as well as Ibn Maajah, 121; etc. There is no doubt about its authenticity because of the many different sources of its narration. The major point of conflict between the Sunni and the Shia is in the interpretation of the word 'Mawla'. For the Shia the word means 'Lord and Master' and has the same elevated significance as when the term had been used to address the Prophet himself during his lifetime. Thus, when the Prophet actually (by speech) and physically (by way of having his closest companions including Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman publicly accept Ali as their Lord and Master by taking Ali's hand in both of theirs as token of their allegiance to Ali) transferred this title and manner of addressing Ali as the Mawla for all Muslims at Ghadiri Khum Oasis just a few months before his death, the people that came to look upon Ali as Prophet Muhammad's immediate successor even before the Prophet's death came to be known as the Shia. However, for the Sunnis the word simply means the 'beloved' or the 'revered' and has no other significance at all.
Based on the same Shia principle that Ali is the true successor to Prophet Muhammad, the Shia assert that Ali was the first 'Imam' to teach the correct interpretation of the Quran according to the changed conditions during his lifetime. After Ali's death this principle was extended to assert that every successor 'Imam' will interpret the Quran according to his time.
Read more about this topic: Shi'a Imams
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