The Twelve Imams of the Alevis – Names, Epithets and Lives

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Who are the Twelve Imams?

The Twelve Imams are twelve spiritual leaders from the Ehl-i Beyt (Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Prophet) of the Prophet Muhammad, descendants of Imam Ali and Fatima, who in the Alevi faith are regarded as “God’s proof (hüccet) on earth”. Alevis know the Prophet Muhammad, Imam Ali and the Twelve Imams as the great ones of the Path; in Cem ceremonies they remember them with düvazdeh imam hymns (songs in praise of the Twelve Imams), and during Muharram they mourn them, and especially the martyrs of Karbala.

In the expanded third edition of his book Erkânname, Seyit Derviş Tur Dede, at the request of his readers, recorded not only the dates of birth and death of each imam but also under which Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs they lived and how they were martyred. Each link below leads to the relevant section of that account.

The Twelve Imams: names and brief details

1.	Imam Ali Ali’yel Murtaza, Şah-ı Merdan	Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad; the fourth caliph. Martyred in Kufa, buried in Najaf.
2.	Imam Hasan Hasan-ı Mücteba	The elder son of Imam Ali and Fatima. He ceded the caliphate to Muawiya under a conditional treaty; he was poisoned in Medina in 670.
3.	Imam Husayn Şehid-i Kerbela	He refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid; on 10 Muharram 680 he was martyred at Karbala together with 73 martyrs.
4.	Imam Zayn al-Abidin Seccad	The only male descendant to survive Karbala; known for his sermon before Yazid in Damascus.
5.	Imam Muhammad al-Baqir Bâkırü’l-ulûm	Descended from the Ehl-i Beyt on both his mother’s and his father’s side; renowned for the depth of his learning. Poisoned in Medina in 735.
6.	Imam Jafar al-Sadiq Sadık	The imam who gave his name to the Jafari school of law and who in the Alevi faith is regarded as the source of the Path and its erkân (rites).
7.	Imam Musa al-Kazim Kâzım	Known for his patient and forgiving character that mastered its anger; martyred in prison in the time of Harun al-Rashid.
8.	Imam Ali al-Rida Rıza	Forcibly declared heir to the throne by al-Ma’mun; martyred by poisoning in Tus (Mashhad).
9.	Imam Muhammad al-Taqi Cevad	He was eight years old when his father was martyred; he was poisoned in Baghdad at a young age.
10.	Imam Ali al-Naqi Hâdi	Spent most of his life in Samarra under Abbasid surveillance.
11.	Imam Hasan al-Askari Askeri, Zeki	Lived under guard in the military quarter of Samarra; he was martyred at the age of 28.
12.	Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi Hüccet, Kâim	His birth was kept secret; he is associated with the periods of the Minor Occultation (Gaybet-i Suğra) and the Major Occultation (Gaybet-i Kübra).

Note: As the book itself points out, historians give differing dates for the births and deaths of the imams; the years should be understood as approximate.

The Fourteen Innocents and the Seventeen Kemerbest

The children descended from the Twelve Imams who were martyred at a young age are remembered as the Fourteen Pure Innocents (On Dört Masum-u Pak). On these concepts in the Alevi faith: The Fourteen Innocents and the Seventeen Kemerbest.

Karbala and Muharram

The turning point in the history of the Twelve Imams is the martyrdom of Imam Husayn at Karbala. For details: A short summary of the events of Karbala and The month of Muharram and the sanctity of the fast.

Source: Seyit Derviş Tur, Erkânname – Aleviliğin İslam Yorumu ve Alevi Erkânları (The Alevi Interpretation of Islam and the Alevi Rites), expanded 3rd edition (ISBN 975-6791-52-7).

Translated from the Turkish original by Seyit Derviş Tur.