Twelver

Twelver Shi'ism (Arabic: اِثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة, romanized: Ithnā ʿAshariyya; Persian: دوازده‌ امامی, romanized: Davāzdah-emāmī) is the largest denomination of Shia Islam and is a major Islamic tradition. It holds that the Twelve Imams from the household of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, beginning with his cousin and son-in-law Ali and ending with the twelfth Imam Mahdi, are divinely appointed as both religious and political successors to the prophet, and that the Mahdi will appear in the End Times alongside Isa (Jesus) to establish justice. According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams possess special knowledge and authority to guide the Muslim community (Ummah). They are regarded as exemplary human beings who lead the Muslim community with justice and are entrusted with preserving and interpreting the Islamic law (Sharia) and the esoteric meanings of the Quran.