As for the number-game of the Twelver Shi’ites: This is the religion of Allah, not the DaVinci code. The Qur’an is God’s/Allah’ss clear book. The number twelve was only mentioned in God’s book with regards to the twelve tribes of Israel, then for each tribe, there was a captain and they were given twelve rivers for sustenance. Obviously also the twelve months in a year (that in some Shia tafsir books are cited as proofs for twelve Imams! Batini tafsir just like other heretics). So the number twelve was mainly used because the tribes happened to be twelve, if they were thirteen they’d need an equal number of leaders with thirteen rivers to live off, that doesn’t necessitate that we must be ruled by twelve succeeding leaders.

Besides, these number games are often not accurate. The Shia claim that the word ‘imam’ has been mentioned twelve times in the Qur’an, what they don’t tell you is that it was mentioned in various forms, such as singular and plural, and what makes it worse: imams of kufr (!) are mentioned in the Qur’an. The word ‘imam’ has no sect-specific connotation but the Twelver superimpose their sectarian narrative on numbers and the word imam and on the Qur’an in general.

Besides, there’s more emphasis on other numbers, for instance, the number seven. And we know there’s a sevener Shia sect (Isma`ilis) and their main arguments were esoteric and numerical similar to the Twelver Shia and other batinis and those influenced by them (like some Sufis who used 786 or the Imamites who use 110 for ‘Ya Ali madad’). These are all from the Qur’an:

{I saw in a vision seven fatted cows being devoured by seven lean ones; and seven green ears of corn and seven others withered.}

{He willed to the heaven, and leveled them seven heavens}

{a grain of corn that sprouts seven ears}

{He replied: ‘You shall sow for seven years as is your way}

{Thereafter, seven hard years will come upon you}

{It has seven gates, and through each gate, a portion of them belong}

{And We have certainly given you, [O Muhammad], seven of the often-repeated [verses] and the great Qur’an.}

{It is Allah who has created seven heavens and of the earth [seven] the like of them}

{Which Allah imposed upon them for seven nights and eight days in succession}

Based on these and many others, the Seveners have a greater claim. For us, the use of these numbers in such a misguided way is ignorance and only illustrates how intellectually and religiously bankrupt sects such as Twelver Shi’ism are.

Al-hamdulillah for Islam and Ahl al-Sunnah.