Introduction
The Shī‘ah 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.
Shi'ites believe that Muhammad had said: To whomsoever I am Mawla, ‘Alī is his Mawla'. This hadith has been narrated in different ways by many different sources in no less than 45 hadith books. This hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3713; Ibn Maajah, 121. There is no doubt about its authenticity because of the many different sources of its narration. The major point of conflict is the definition of the word Mawla. In Shia belief, the word means appointed successor of the prophet as supported by a huge number of Quranic verses and ahadeeth narrated from the prophet. The Sunnis believe, the word simply means beloved or revered one.
Following the same principle is the Shī‘ah practice that asserts that ‘Alī is the first Imām to teach the correct interpretation of Islam, the successor of Muḥammad. The definition of Mawla in the context of the above narration is disputed between Sunnis and the Shī‘ah.
Read more about this topic: Imamah (Shi'a Doctrine)
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