Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 28, 2026

Imamate

The term imamate or imamah refers to leadership, most commonly the office of an imam, or of religious and communal authority. In Sunni Islam, the term is associated with leadership of the Muslim community in a political sense. In Shia Islam, it is a divine designation of leaders to guide the community after Muhammad.

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The term imamate or imamah (Arabic: إمامة, imāmah) means "leadership" and refers to the office of an imam or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an imam.1

Theology

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References

References

  1. Madelung, Wilferd (1987). "Imamate". In Eliade, Mircea; Adams, Charles J. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 7. Internet Archive. Macmillan. pp. 114–122. ISBN 978-0-02-909480-8.