(4) The Imām or leader of prayers in any Masjid. Mr. Sale says it answers to the Latin Antistes. Each mosque, however small, has its Imām, or priest, who is supported by endowments. The office is not in any sense a sacerdotal one, the Imām not being set apart with any ceremony, as in the case of a Christian presbyter, nor the office being hereditary, as in the case of the Hindu Brahmins. The position of Imām in this sense is not unlike the sheliach, or legatus, of the Jewish synagogue, who acted as the delegate of the congregation, and was the chief reader of prayers in their name. But quite independent of the duly appointed minister of a mosque, who is responsible for its services, and receives its revenues, no congregation of Muslim worshippers can assemble without one of the party taking the lead in the prayers by standing in front, and who is said “to act as Imām” for the assembly.
The rules laid down on this subject, as given in the Traditions, are as follows (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xxvii., xxviii.):—
Abū Saʿīd al-K͟hudrī says the Prophet said: “When there are three persons, one of them must act as Imām and the other two follow him, and the most worthy of them to act as such is he who repeats the Qurʾān best.”
Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī says the Prophet said: “Let him act as Imām to a congregation who knows the Qurʾān thoroughly; and if all present should be equal in that respect, then let him perform who is best informed in the rules of prayer; and if they are equal in this respect also, let him act as Imām who has fled for the sake of Islām; and if equal in this likewise, let that person act who is oldest; but the governed must not act as Imām to the governor.”
Abū Hurairah relates that the Prophet said: “When any of you acts as Imām to others, he must be concise in his prayers, because there are decrepit, aged, and sick persons amongst them, and when any one of you says his prayers alone, he may be as prolix as he pleases. [[MASJID].]
IMĀM-BĀRAH (امام باره). A building in which the festival of the Muḥarram is celebrated, and service held in commemoration of the deaths of ʿAlī and his sons, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusain. At other times, the tāzias, or shrines, are preserved in it; sometimes it is used as the mausoleum of the founder of the family. [[MUHARRAM].]
IMĀMĪYAH (امامية). Lit. “The followers of the Imām.” The chief sect of the Shīʿahs, namely, those who acknowledge the twelve Imāms. [[SHIʿAH].]
IMĀM MUBĪN (امام مبين). “The clear prototype or model.” The expression occurs twice in the Qurʾān, [Sūrah xxxvi. 11], “Everything we do set down in a clear prototype” (fī Imāmin Mubīnin). Here it appears to be used for the Qurʾān as an inspired record. [Sūrah xv. 79], “Verily they became both, Sodom and Midian, a clear example” (labi-Imāmin Mubīnin). Muḥammadan teachers use the word for the Laḥwu ʾl-Maḥfūz̤, or the Tablet of Decrees.
AL-IMĀMU ʾL-MAHDĪ (الامـام الـمـهـدى). Lit. “The well-guided Leader.” Umm Salmah relates that the Prophet said, “Strife and disputations will be created among men when a K͟halīfah shall die: and this shall be in the last days. And a man of the people of al-Madīnah will come forth and will flee from al-Madīnah to Makkah, and the men of Makkah will come and try to make him Imām by flattery, but he will not be pleased. Then men shall acknowledge him as Imām. Then an army from Syria shall advance against him, and this army shall be engulphed in an earthquake at Badāʾah, between Makkah and al-Madīnah. Then when the people shall see this the Abdāl, i.e. the Substitutes or good people [[ABDAL]], will come from Syria, and a multitude from al-ʿIrāq. And after that a man shall be born of the Quraish, of the tribe of Kalb, who will also send an army against him i.e. al-Mahdī; but he shall be victorious. Then he will rule people according to the laws of Muḥammad, and will give strength to Islām upon the earth, and he will remain on the earth seven years. Then will he die, and Muslims will say prayers in his behalf.”
The Shīʿahs believe that al-Mahdī has already come and is still concealed in some part of the earth. For they suppose him to be the last of the twelve Imāms, named Muḥammad ʿAbdu ʾl-Qāṣim [[SHIʿAHS]], who will again appear in the last days. The Shīʿahs say that Muḥammad said, “O ye people, I am the Prophet and ʿAlī is my heir, and from us will descend al-Mahdī, the seal of the Imāms, who will conquer all religions and will take vengeance on the wicked.” (Ḥarjātu ʾl-Qulūb, p. 342.)