Question: what is the 12 imams?
Answer: The Twelve Imams. The Twelve Imams (Arabic: ٱلَأَئِمَّة ٱلْٱثْنَا عَشَر‎, al-ʾAʾimmah al-ʾIthnā ʿAšar; Persian: دوازده امام‎, Davâzdah Emâm) are the spiritual and political successors to the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Twelver branch of Shia Islam, including that of the Alawite and Alevi sects.