Characteristics of Imamate in Supplication 47 of al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah

The word Imam means a leader and the word Imamate means leadership and technically it refers to a divine position and successorship of the Prophet (PBUH) in leading and managing the society in the affairs related to the religion and worldly life of the Islamic community. Shiites consider "Imamate" as part of theological issues and believe that the Imam must have characteristics like infallibility (Ismah), beign appointed, divine (ladunni) knowledge, and superiority (afzaliyyat), whereas the Sunnis consider Imamate as ancillaries of religion (Furu' al-Din) and do not regard any of the mentioned features for the Imam. Each of the Imams (AS) have chosen a method for explaining the policies, the principles and the beliefs of Shiites regarding the requirements of their time; however, regarding the intense atmosphere which happened after the event of Ashura at the time of the Imamate of Imam Sajjad (AS), these questions are raised "Has the Imam referred to the fundamental issue of Imamte and its characteristics?", "Which method and form has the Imam chosen in explaining these issues?". Using descriptive-analytical method, the present research has investigated the characteristics of Imamate regarding the Supplication 47 of al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah and the findings reveal that the Imam has explained the most valuable teachings of Shiites like the position and characteristics of Imamate in the form of supplication.