A beautiful and important lesson by Imam Ali ar-Rida a.s. Imam Ali ar-Rida a.s. explaining about the Imamate: ... Do they know the value of Imamate and its position in the community that their selection could be allowable in this matter? Verily, the Imamate is too sublime among values, too great among ranks, too high among stations, too impenetrable on all sides, too profound among the depths, for people to reach it with their intellects, or to grasp it with their opinions, or to establish an Imam by their choice. Verily, the Imamate is that in which Allah, to Whom belong Might and Majesty, has distinguished Ibrahim, the Intimate Friend (al-Khalil), after Prophethood and Intimacy, as a third degree, and an eminence with which He honored him and by which He raised his renown, and He said: “Behold! I make you an Imam for the people.” Then the Intimate Friend (a.s.) said out of delight in this: “And of my seed.” Allah, the Blessed, the Sublime, said: My covenant shall not reach the evil-doers Thus, this verse has abolished the leadership (Imamah) of all evil-doers till the Day of Resurrection, and it has become for the select ones. Then Allah, the Sublime, bestowed honors on him, by establishing it in his seed, the ones who are selected and purified (by Allah). And He said: And We gave him Ishaq and Yaqoob in superabundance, and everyone made We righteous and appointed them to be Imams guiding by Our commands, and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, and to perform the prayer, and to pay Zakat, and Us they served. So it (the Imamate) did not leave his seed; one of them inheriting it from another, generation after generation, till Allah, the Sublime, caused the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) to inherit it. And He, the Majestic, the Sublime, said: Surely the people standing closet to Ibrahim are those who followed him, and this Prophet, and those who believe; and Allah is the Master of the believers. So it (the Imamate) belonged to him particularly, and hence he invested Ali (a.s.) with it by the command of Allah, the Sublime, in the way in which Allah has made obligatory. So it came to be in his (Ali’s) selected seed, those to whom Allah has given knowledge and faith, as in the words of He Who is the Sublime: And those who are given knowledge and faith will say: Certainly you tarried according to the ordinance of Allah till the day of resurrection, so this is the day of resurrection, but you did not know. Thus it will be within the sons of Ali (a.s.), especially, till the Day of Resurrection, since there is no prophet after Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). So from where have these ignorant people got (the right) to select? Verily, the Imamate is the position of the Prophets, and the heritage of the successors. Indeed, the Imamate is the vicegerency (Khalifa) of Allah and the vicegerency of the Messenger (s.a.w.s.), and the station of Amir al Mumineen (a.s.) and the inheritance of al-Hasan and Husain (a.s.). Truly, the Imamate is the reins of religion, the state of order of the Muslims, the rectitude of the world, and the might of the believers. Verily, the Imamate is Islam’s growing root, and its lofty branch. Through the Imam the prayer, Zakat, fasting, Hajj and Jihad (exerting oneself, striving in the way of Allah, whether by means of one’s property, one’s life, one’s knowledge, or by any other means) are perfected, public funds are increased, restrictions and the commands are put into practice, and the frontier-posts and borders are protected. The Imam allows what Allah allows, and prohibits what Allah prohibits; he establishes the restrictions of Allah; he defends the religion of Allah; and he calls to the way of his Lord with wisdom and good admonition and with the Proof which reaches. The Imam is like the rising sun which covers the world with its light and which is in a place where no hand or eye can reach it. The Imam is the radiant moon, the shining lamp, the brilliant light, and the star that guides in the heavy darkness, and in the middle of inhabited lands, deserted regions and high seas. The Imam is sweet water for the thirst, the pointer towards true guidance, and the deliverer from destruction. The Imam is the fire on the heights (which guides those far away), and which warms those who seek the heat, and an indicator in dangers. He who moves away from him will perish. The Imam is the rain-bearing cloud, the rainfall that covers everywhere, the shining sun, the covering that shades, the prairie, the overflowing spring, the pool and the meadow. The Imam is the gentle, close friend, the sympathetic father, the blood-brother, the mother who is tender to her small child, a place of refuge for mankind from perilous disaster. The Imam is Allah’s custodian over His creation, His Proof for His slaves, His vicegerent in His lands, a caller towards Allah and the defender of Allah’s precincts. The Imam is the one who is purified from sins, free from all shortcomings, characterized by knowledge, distinguished by forbearance, the state of order of the religion, the might of the Muslims, the one who enrages the hypocrites, and the doom of unbelievers. The Imam is unique of his time, no one can approach his rank, no man of knowledge is comparable to him, there is no one who can take his place, nor is there anyone similar to him or same as him. He is characterized by every (kind of) eminence, without his seeking it or acquiring it, rather it is a characteristic from the Bestower of eminence, the All-giving. So who is there who can arrive at knowledge of Imam, or have the ability to select him? How far from the truth is it! Intellects have lost (themselves), imaginations have gone astray, minds have become perplexed, eyes have turned away, the great have been made small, the wise have confounded themselves, those who reflect forever fall short, orators falter, the intelligent become ignorant, poets become expressionless, prosodists incapable and the eloquent stammer, in describing one of his aspects, or one of his eminences. All of them have confessed their incapacity and inadequacy. How can his totality be described, and how can his inner essence be characterized? How can anything concerning him be understood? Who can be found one to take his place and to give what he can give? No! How and where? Since he is in the position of the star for hands of those that grasp, and to the description of those who describe What is the place of choice in this affair? What is the place of intellects in this affair? Where can someone like this be found? Do you imagine that this can be found anywhere else but in the progeny of the Messenger, Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). By Allah, they have lied to themselves, they have promised to themselves the impossible, they have climbed up to a difficult and dangerous height, (and) their feet will slip and fall to the bottom............ (Kamal ad-Din wa Tamam an-Nima, v. 2)
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:09:58 +0000
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