Twelver Shi'ism
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Twelver Shi'ism (Arabic: اِثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة, romanized: Ithnā ʿAshariyya; Persian: دوازده امامی, romanized: Davāzdah-emāmī) is the largest branch of Shia Islam. Twelver Shi'as believe that the Twelve Imams are divinely appointed as both spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and that they possess special knowledge and authority to guide the Muslim community. According to Twelver theology, the Twelve Imams are exemplary human individuals who rule over the Muslim community (Ummah) with justice, and are able to preserve and interpret the Islamic law (Sharia) and the esoteric meaning of the Qur'an. The words and deeds (sunnah) of Muhammad and the Imams are a guide and model for the Muslim community to follow. As a result, Muhammad and the Imams must be free from error and sin, a doctrine known as Ismah (literally 'protection') or infallibility, and must be chosen by divine decree, or nass, through Muhammad. Globally, there are about 170–220 million Twelvers. These include: most of the inhabitants of Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan, about half of the Muslim population of Bahrain and Lebanon, and sizeable minorities in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Iran is the only country where Twelver Shi'ism is the state religion. Twelvers share many tenets with other Shi'ite sects, such as the belief in the Imamate. The Isma'ili and Nizari branches believe in a different number of Imams and, for the most part, a different path of succession regarding the Imamate. They also differ in the role and overall definition of an Imam. Twelvers are also distinguished from Isma'ilis by their belief in Muhammad's status as the "Seal of the Prophets" (Khatam an-Nabiyyin), in rejecting the possibility of abrogation of Sharia laws, and in considering both esoteric and exoteric aspects of the Qur'an. Alevis in Turkey and Albania, and Alawites in Syria and Lebanon, share belief in the Twelve Imams with Twelvers, but their theological doctrines are markedly different.