Imám

The Shrine of the Imám Husayn in Karbila, Iraq.

Imám (/ɪˈmɑːm/; Arabic: إمام imām, plural: أئمة aʼimmah) is the name of an Islamic leadership position.

In Shí'í Islam, the 12 Imáms were the appointed successors to the Prophet Muhammad, who possessed the authority to lead the Muslim community and interpret the teachings of Muhammad. Their role in Islam was analogous, although not identical, to that of the Guardianship in the Bahá’í dispensation.

After the death of Muhammad, Muslims differed on who should lead the community in His absence. Today's Sunni Muslims derive from those who believed that the leader should be a political leader chosen by election, while Shí'í Muslims believed that Muhammad had appointed His son-in-law Ali to succeed Him. Bahá’ís regard the Imáms as the legitimate successors to the Prophet Muhammad and view them as recipients of infallible divine guidance.

Shoghi Effendi states that a "wholehearted and unqualified acceptance" of the "legitimacy of the institution of the Imámate" is a part of the bedrock of Bahá’í belief. While Bahá’ís recognize 12 Imáms, all of whom come from the family of Muhammad, Ali, the first Imám and his son Husayn, the third Imám, have special significance. The Báb was a descendant of the Imám Husayn, and Bahá'u'lláh identified Himself in His Writings as the return of Husayn prophesied in Shí'í Islam.