The Necessity of the Imam After the Prophet (A Companion to "Where is Imamat Found in the Qur'an?")
Revealing Qur’anic Evidence for Imamat and Unveiling its Deeper Significance
Ya ‘Ali Madad to all readers and seekers of Ismaili Gnosis. Many of you may have seen our major article published at the end of 2024, “Where is Imamat Found in the Qur’an?” While organizing the sources that informed our research, we came across an exceptionally concise and remarkable Q&A passage by ‘Allāmah Naṣīr al-Dīn Naṣīr Hunzai. Despite its brevity, the passage — supported by parenthetical Qur’ānic references — touches on several key points related to the necessity of a successor to the Prophet, a topic we explored in depth in our article on Imamat.
Initially, we considered incorporating this material into our original article, but given its length, we decided it would be best to publish it separately. This standalone post presents the Q&A passage alongside additional insights — drawn from ‘Allāmah Hunzai’s corpus as well as the teachings and observations of Ismaili dā‘īs Ja‘far bin Manṣūr al-Yaman, Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Shī‘ī and Qāḍī al-Nu‘mān — further exploring and elucidating the Qur’anic verses and concepts only alluded to in the Q&A.
In many ways, this post serves as a companion to “Where is Imamat Found in the Qur’an?” and may be best appreciated after reading the main article.
— Ismaili Gnosis (March 5th, 2025)
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