Wikipedia's first sentence called it “spiritual and political successors to muhammad”. Today it says “spiritual and political successors to the islamic prophet muhammad in the twelver branch of shia islam”.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Listen to this article (2 parts, 12 minutes ) Part 2 These audio files were created from a revision of this article dated Error: no date provided , and do not reflect subsequent edits. ( Audio help · More spoken articles ) The Investiture of Ali, at Ghadir Khumm ( MS Arab 161 , fol. 162r, AD 1309/8 Ilkhanid manuscript illustration). The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad , the Prophet of Islam , in the Twelver or Ithna-‘ashariyyah branch of Shī‘ah Islam . According to the theology of Twelvers , the successor of Muhammad is an infallible human individual who not only rules over the community with justice, but also is able to keep and interpret the Divine Law and its esoteric meaning .1The Prophet and Imams' words and deeds are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin, and must be chosen by divine decree, or nass , through the Prophet.2It is believed by Twelver Shi'a Muslims that the Twelve Imams were foretold in the Hadith of the Twelve Successors . It is believed in Twelver and Ismaili Shī‘ah Islam that ‘aql , divine wisdom, was the source of the souls of the Prophets and Imams and gave them esoteric knowledge called ḥikmah and that their sufferings were a means of divine grace to their devotees. Although the Imam was not the recipient of a divine revelation , he had a close relationship with God, through which God guides him, and the Imam in turn guides the people. The Imam was also guided by secret texts in his possession, such as al-Jafr and al-Jamia . Imamate , or belief in the divine guide is a fundamental belief in the Twelver and Ismaili Shī‘ī branches and is based on the concept that God would not leave humanity without access to divine guidance. According to Twelvers, there is always an Imam of the Age, who is the divinely appointed authority on all matters of faith and law in the Muslim community. ‘Alī was the first Imam of this line, and in the Twelvers' view, the rightful successor to the Prophet of Islam, followed by male descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah Zahra . Each Imam was the son of the previous Imam, with the exception of Husayn ibn Ali , who was the brother of Hasan ibn Ali . The twelfth and final Imam is Muhammad al-Mahdi , who is believed by the Twelvers to be currently alive, and hidden until he returns to bring justice to the world . Encyclopaedia of Islam and the Muslim world; vol.1 .3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 368085483.
The opening as it stood in 2015 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Four Books Kitab al-Kafi Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih Tahdhib al-Ahkam Al-Istibsar Other hadith collections Book of Sulaym ibn Qays Bihar al-Anwar Wasā'il al-Shīʿa Reality of Certainty Nahj al-Balagha Mafatih al-Jinan Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya Al-Amali Sources of ijtihad and jurisprudence Qur'an Hadiths of The Infallibles Consensus Reason Related topics List of Twelver Shia books Criticism of Twelver Shi'ism Shia Islam portal v t e The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver or Athnā‘ashariyyah branch of Shia Islam and in Alevi Islam.According to the theology of Twelvers , the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran . Muhammad and Imams' words and deeds are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin, known as Ismah or infallibility and must be chosen by divine decree, or nass , through the Prophet.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666530318.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
According to the theology of Twelvers , the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran . Muhammad and Imams' words and deeds are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin (known as ismah , or infallibility) and must be chosen by divine decree through the Prophet. Calligraphic representation of the Twelve Imams along with that of the Prophet Muhammad.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965453639.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
According to Twelver theology , the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran . The words and deeds of Muhammad and the imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin (known as ismah , or infallibility) and must be chosen by divine decree through the Prophet.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173816126.
The opening as it stood in 2025
According to Twelver theology , the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who not only rule over the community with justice, but also are able to keep and interpret sharia and the esoteric meaning of the Quran . The words and deeds of Muhammad and the imams are a guide and model for the community to follow; as a result, they must be free from error and sin (known as ismah , or infallibility) and must be chosen by divine decree through Muhammad.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298232916. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “spiritual and political successors to muhammad”. Today it says “spiritual and political successors to the islamic prophet muhammad in the twelver branch of shia islam”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
spiritual and political successors to muhammad
Now
spiritual and political successors to the islamic prophet muhammad in the twelver branch of shia islam
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
