Reconsideration of the Arguments for the Chastity of Imam and Their Evaluation with Reference to Sunni's Perspective

The Shiite and Sunni Muslims have been engaged in an extensive argumentation and theoretical discussion with regard to the chastity of Imam. S unni Moslems are unanimous in rejecting chastity as a necessary condition for Imam and often consider it unnecessary to provide arguments for their position. However, Shiite Moslems are unanimous in their stipulation of chastity condition and they try to prove it by providing intellectual and narrated arguments. The present article intends to reconsider the arguments raised for chastity and by a comparative study of the original texts investigates the Shiite arguments for the chastity of Imam and criticisms raised by Sunni Moslems against chastity, reveal their strength and weaknesses and aspires to expose the knowledgeable just reader to the truth value of the issue.