Who has the authority to assign successor (caliph)? God? The Prophet? People? (Shia view)
In Shia belief, the authority to appoint a successor (caliph) after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is divinely ordained. This perspective is supported by several narrations found in Shia sources.
One of the key narrations states: God sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to the jinn and mankind, and after him He appointed twelve successors—some preceding and some remaining. Every successor is subject to a divine law. The successors after Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) follow the way of the successors of Jesus, and they were twelve in number. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was upon the way of Christ.
Al-Kafi 4:969. This narration indicates that the appointment of successors is not a matter left to the people but is a directive from God.
Additionally, it is reported that the Prophet ﷺ received a divine mandate regarding his family’s role as leaders. A narration mentions: God Almighty sent down to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) a book before his death and said, 'O Muhammad, this is your will for the noble among your family.'
Al-Kafi 4:313. This emphasizes that the Prophet was instructed to appoint his successors from among his family, indicating that the authority to assign successors is rooted in divine command rather than popular choice.
Thus, in the Shia view, the authority to assign a successor lies with God, who designated the Prophet ﷺ to convey this responsibility to his appointed successors.
Sources
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Al-Kafi 4:969
Al-Kafi · Book 4, Hadith 969 · Narrated by Abu Ja'far (peace be upon him)
God sent Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) to the jinn and mankind, and after him He appointed twelve successors—some preceding and some remaining. Every successor is subject to a divine law. The successors after Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) follow the way of the successors of Jesus, and they were twelve in number. The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was upon the way of Christ.
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Al-Kafi 4:313
Al-Kafi · Book 4, Hadith 313
God Almighty sent down to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) a book before his death and said, "O Muhammad, this is your will for the noble among your family." He asked, "Who are the noble ones, O Gabriel?" He said, "Ali ibn Abi Talib and his progeny (peace be upon them)." The book had seals of gold upon it. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) entrusted it to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and ordered him to break one of the seals and act upon its contents. The Commander of the Faithful broke a seal and acted accordingly, then handed it to his son Hasan (peace be upon him), who also broke a seal and acted upon it, then passed it to Husayn (peace be upon him), who opened a seal and found: "Go forth with a people to martyrdom; none shall testify except with you; surrender yourself to God Almighty." He did so, then handed it to Ali ibn Husayn (peace be upon him), who opened a seal and found: "Lower your head, be silent, stay in your place, and worship your Lord until certainty comes to you." He acted accordingly, then passed it to his son Muhammad ibn Ali (peace be upon him), who opened a seal and found: "Narrate to the people, give them verdicts, and fear none but God Almighty; no one has any power over you." He acted accordingly, then passed it to his son Ja'far, who opened a seal and found: "Narrate to the people, give them verdicts, propagate the knowledge of your family, affirm your righteous forefathers, fear none but God Almighty, and you are secure and safe." He acted accordingly, then passed it to his son Musa (peace be upon him), and so onward until the rise of the Mahdi (may God bless him). — OR — I prayed behind Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) for many days, and he would perform Qunoot in every prayer in which he recited aloud or in which he did not recite aloud. — OR — The Commander of the Faithful ruled about a man found killed without knowing who killed him. He said: If he was known and had heirs seeking blood money, they are to be paid from the Muslim treasury. The blood of a Muslim cannot be invalidated because his inheritance belongs to the Imam (peace be upon him) and so does his blood money. They offer prayers over him and bury him. He also ruled that if a man was crushed to death in a crowd on Friday, his blood money is from the treasury.
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