این صفحه در کتاب اصلی بدون متن است / هذه الصفحة فارغة في النسخة المطبوعة
CHATPTER FOUR
Imamate
(Imamah)
·The Concept of Imamate
·Is Imamate one of the Pillars of Islam or the Branches of the Pillars?
·Is Imamate Established through Allegiance (Bai’a) or the Scripture (Al-Nas)?
·What are the Attributes and the responsibilities of Imam?
·What is the Imam’s Source of Knowledge?
·Does the Imam Know About the Divine secrets?
·Why Don’t Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT) Teach Their Knowledge to All of People?
·Is it Requisite to Obey and Love the Imams (PBUT)?
·Why Is ‘Loving the Imams (PBUT)’ Requisite?
·Is Imamate Established through the Scripture or Election?
·The Evidence to Imamate of Ali Bin Abi Talib and His offspring (PBUT)
·Is it a Duty to Believe in the Existence of Imam Al-Mahdi (AHHR)?
·The Benefits of the Conceal (Al-Ghaibah)
·The Benefits of Waiting
·Words on Claiming His Mediation
این صفحه در کتاب اصلی بدون متن است / هذه الصفحة فارغة في النسخة المطبوعة
Symposium 44
The Concept of Imamate
Anwar:We were talking about the Hadith from Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) on the responsibilities of a person in life. His great words are indicative of an infallible source.
Hasan:True. The words of Imams are the guideline for our life in its all aspects, and Imam Ali (PBUH) is, as we all know, the gate for the city of knowledge.
Anwar:I can see we are going towards Imamate in our discussion, are we going to talk about it?
Hasan:Yes, it is time to talk about Imamate; let the Hadith from Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) be the opening for this topic. I will start with the definition of Imamate:
· General leadership in spiritual and secular issues.
· Succession of the Prophet (PBUH) for putting the religion into practice.
· Representing the owner of Shari’a in preservation of the religion and the earthly matters.
· Succession of the Prophet (PBUH) for putting the religion into practice and preserving the Muslim community.
Regardless of these definitions offered by Muslim clerks, we can say that Imamate is a Divine succession (Caliphate) that provides legislative power to its owner, external succession is one of this.
Anwar:As far as I know, Imams are superior to other people and consequently they act as role models to the people. Right?
Hasan:Yes, this is the definition of Imamate according to linguists; the ones I presented are technical definitions offered by religious experts.
Anwar:You said it is a Divine succession!
Hasan:As we all know, the purpose behind creating mankind is achieving perfection and being closer to the
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
description.
Imam Ali Bin Mosa Al-Riza (PBUH) says:
“Imamate is greater, more exalted, more glorified, stronger and deeper than people can comprehend with their reasoning or thoughts or choose an Imam on their own. The Most Gracious Allah bestowed Imamate upon Abraham, the Intimate Companion (PBUH) after naming him Prophet, and intimacy is the third in ranks and a quality that the Almighty Allah honored him with as He put it in the Noble Quran:
(…I have appointed thee a leader for mankind…)2;124, then the Intimate Companion (PBUH) says: (…and of my offspring?). The Almighty Allah responds: (My covenant includeth not wrongdoers).
Thus, this Holy Verse invalidates the Imamate of a wrongdoer till the Day of Resurrection; the Almighty Allah put it among the Chosen and the Pure of his offspring. That is why, He says:
(And We bestowed upon him Isaac, and Jacob as a grandson. Each of them We made righteous۞And We made them chiefs who guide by Our command, and
We inspired in them the doing of good deeds and the right establishment of worship and the giving of alms and they were worshippers of Us alone)21;72-73.
This stayed within his offspring to inherit from one another over centuries until the Glorious Allah bequeathed it to the Prophet (PBUH) as He says in the Noble Quran:
(Lo! Those of mankind who have the best claim to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet and those who believe with him; and Allah is the Protecting Friend of the believers)3;68.
Subsequently, the Prophet (PBUH) passed it to Ali (PBUH) with a command from the Almighty Allah to follow this path, and it moved to the Pure among his offspring who carried knowledge and faith: (But those to whom knowledge and faith are given will say: The truth is, ye have tarried, bu Allah’s decree, until the Day of Resurrection)30;56.
Therefore, it is specifically within the offspring of Ali (PBUH) until the Judgment Day. There is no prophet after Mohammad (PBUH), hence how would the