This Is My Faith - Al-fatlawi, Ali - الصفحة ٢١٥ - The Concept of Imamate
Divine Entity. This can only be fulfilled through the Divine Shari’a which needs a trustworthy person able to put it into practice in a way that pleases the Almighty Allah. This leads us to the fact that this man of Shari’a has to have certain characteristics that distinguishes him from others. We have already been through this when we were discussing Prophecy and Prophethood.
When he Prophet (PBUH) passed away like any other human being, there was a need for someone who could preserve the Shari’a and spread it over generations. So, the Imamate is a natural continuation of Prophethood and the Imams (PBUT) has the same attributes as the Prophets (PBUT) except the concept of prophecy.
Anwar: Can we conclude that the Imams (PBUT) are no different from the Prophets (PBUT) apart from the concept of prophecy?
Hasan: Yes, Exactly. The Imams are holy people who perfectly know what is good and what is bad for the people. To clarify this point, I will quote the description Imam Ali Bin Mosa Al-Riza (PBUH) gave about the Imamate and the Imams (PBUT). I beseech your patience as it is one wonderful and enlightening