Pray for Imams

For Sunni Muslims, an imam is the person chosen by the community to lead prayers for any group of Muslims gathered to pray, usually in a mosque. In addition to leading the five daily prayers, he gives the khutba (sermon) on Fridays and serves as a community leader. Imams normally know the Quran thoroughly and are well-respected. Only imams in larger communities are expected to have extensive religious training and receive pay for their work.

There is one or more imam in every Sunni Muslim community and mosque around the world. While Sunni imams are generally respected, they do not necessarily have higher status than any other leader in the community.

In areas where Folk Islam is strong, imams also serve as people of power who have access to the supernatural to help people with their problems. They use the Quran not only as a source of teaching and exhortation, but as a source of magic and power.

In stark contrast, for Shia Muslims, the term “imam” refers primarily to the supreme spiritual and political leader of the Shiites in every generation. Shia Muslims believe these imams have been divinely appointed in a direct line of succession from Muhammad through Ali. This imam is the sinless authority on all matters of faith and law in each particular Shiite community in every age. This imam is now hidden, or “occulted,” but he is always present in every generation and communicates through the spirit realm to guide the current supreme Shiite leader, the Grand Ayatollah. The Hidden Imam is greatly revered by Twelver Shiite Muslims.