Heidar-Ali Qalamdaran is one of the key figures of the contemporary Shiite group in Iran who believed in the sufficiency of the Quran. He was inclined towards Sunni views and criticized Shiite thoughts and ideas. Using the descriptive-analytical method, the present study analyzes the citations of Qalamdaran on the issue of the caliphate and Imamate of Imam Ali (a.s.). Regarding Qalamdaran and his views on the issue of Imamate of Imam Ali (a.s.), it should be said that he does not believe that Imam Ali (a.s.) was appointed by God and considers his appointment a matter of choice. Qalamdaran follows the same line of thought in evaluating the event of Ghadir and considers Shiites' belief in the divine appointment of Imam Ali in Ghadir as extremist. In some of his works, such as “Highway to Unity”, he mentions several problems about Ghadir Khum the most important of which include ‘it was within Meccan immigrant Muslims and native Medinan Muslims’ rights to be consulted on choosing the caliph’, ‘Imam Ali had no desire for caliphate’, ‘the reason for which Ghadir hadith was issued’, ‘Imam Ali has not made any reference to Ghadir day’, ‘Imam Ali's Imamate has not been mentioned in the Qur'an’, ‘those present in the event of Ghadir have kept silent about it’ and ‘the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) did not clearly name Imam Ali (a.s.) as his successor’. In this research, the views of Qalamdaran are clearly refuted based on the verses of the Quran, narration texts, historical documents and cogent Shiite and Sunni reasons.
Ja’fari M, Talibtash A, Akbari Dastak F. A Critique of Heidar-Ali Qalamdaran's Point of View on the Issue of Imamate of Imam Ali (a.s.). 3 2021; 21 (43) :123-153 URL: http://pdmag.ir/article-1-1405-en.html