the office of authoritative leadership after the Prophet, preserving the sacred law in every age
General Technical Meaning
Imāma is the office of authoritative leadership after the Prophet, classically described in kalām as a general leadership safeguarding religious and worldly order.
In ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s Works
Chapter 15 §5 argues for an imam in every age as an infallible preserver of the sharīʿa. The office (imāma) is distinct from its bearer (imām); both belong to one conceptual family and are treated together in this entry.
Source: Risālat al-Manāmāt wa-l-Nubuwwāt
Read in context
Open a passage in the edition where this term is linked.