Can an Imam Be Removed?

In al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār al-Jāmiʿ li-Madhāhib ʿUlamāʾ al-Amṣār, under the chapter on Endowments (Kitāb al-Waqf), in the section on Authority and Trusteeship (Fasl al-Wilāyah), Imām Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-Murtaḍā (d. 840 AH / 1437 CE) discusses the question of the removal of an imam.

He explains that those who hold binding authority (ahl al-ḥall wa’l-ʿaqd) — the people with the right to appoint — also have the right to dismiss those they have appointed. He notes another view: that this authority is not limited to them, since whoever has the power to appoint necessarily has the competence to dismiss.

Furthermore, Ibn al-Murtaḍā records that the imam himself may resign in the presence of those who appointed him.