Hadeeth about the twelve Imaams
7-5-2009 | IslamWeb
Question:
1st Question: Salam, Please let me clear about 12 Imams. Rasul (S.W) has told about them. Please mention their each names. As soon please reply this answer.
Ans: http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/Fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=90373&Option=FatwaId&x=31&y=11
2nd Question: Salamun Alaikum,Thanks for reply. In your fatwa 12 Imam has died. After him world and muslim peoples are without Imam/Leader. How it is possible. First clear me this Question. Please answer me in the light of Quran that verse of Surah Bani Israel Verse 71: "Rememberthat day when I will call every people with their Imam."
Thanks & regards
Rashed
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that the most important characteristics of each Imaam among the 12 Imaams that are mentioned in this narration, is that the Muslim people pledged allegiance to him as a caliph of Muslims. Based on this, Ibn Hajar 
named those who met this characteristic and they were twelve; he said: “What happened is that the people pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr 
then ‘Umar then ‘Uthmaan then ‘Ali …then Mu’aawiyah …then his son Yazeed as Al-Hussain was murdered before people gave allegiance to him, …then ‘Abdulmalik ibn Marwaan after the murder of Ibn Az-Zubayr, and then they pledged allegiance to his four sons: Al-Waleed, then Sulaymaan, then Yazeed, then Hishaam, …and ‘Umar ibn Abdul-‘Azeez came between Sulaymaan and Yazeed. However, afflictions and tribulations were spread afterwards and the circumstances changed from that time onwards, and the people did not agree to pledge allegiance to a Caliph after that." It is clear from this that those Imaams were actually dead, but this narration does not mean that the Muslims will not have an Imaam or leader, rather, it means that there will be no leader upon whom the entire nation would pledge allegiance to as it happened with those people [that first generation]. In addition to this, the Muslim nation was stable and its affairs were well-organized in general in that first era and best centuries.
As regards the verse in Chapter Al-Israa’ [Quran 17], then the interpreters of the Quran 
stated many statements about the meaning of the expression “their Imaam” that is mentioned in it; however, most of them are of the preponderant opinion that its meaning is ‘their record of deeds’, as in the saying of Allaah (which means): {…and all things We have enumerated in a clear register (Imaam-un-Mubeen).}[Quran 36:12] However, the above expression was also interpreted to mean their Prophet or their Imaam whom they followed, or their mothers…Nonetheless, it was not mentioned that it was meant the Caliph who ruled over them.
Allaah Knows best.