(O you who believe! obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from among you)4;59.
This Holy Verse includes only those who are infallible, namely the Prophet (PBUH) and the Pure Imams (PBUT) whose purity and infallibility we proved earlier.
Anwar:If we admit that the Imams (PUBT) are ‘the holy trustees’ or ‘people in authority’ (Wali Al-Amr), why doesn’t anyone else share this with them?
Hasan:Because no one except them is infallible. The others accepted this fact, and the evidence to infallibility of the offspring of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), the Pure Imams (PBUT), has already been presented.
Anwar:Why was infallibility stated as a condition for a person in authority (Wali Al-Amr)?
Hasan:You tell me why!
Anwar:I can say if the person in authority were not infallible, there would be a possibility that they make mistakes and commit sins, a fact that might, as a result, cause the followers to go astray.
Hasan:Very good. Besides, the Almighty Allah can never link the obedience to Himself and His Messenger (PBUH) with sinful people in authority. That would definitely be an inconsistency.
Anwar:Very good. However, there are believers who are in power like Faqih or Mujtahid – religious experts or scholars – and they are not infallible. How about them?
Hasan:The religious scholars (Faqih), as a matter of fact, follow the infallible Imams (PBUT), and so obeying them is part of obeying the infallible (PBUT), not to mention that they are appointed by the infallible (PBUH) and that they utter nothing but their words. Besides, ‘the people in authority’ – of course, only the infallible (PBUT) – have the right to order and rule, and the Faqih practice this right as successors of the infallible (PBUT) and we must obey them as well.
Anwar:In view of this, are we obliged to love the Imams (PBUT) in the same degree that we obey them? In other words, are we sinful if we neither love them nor hate them?
Hasan:Before we pass a judgment the affectionate or
the hateful, we need to clarify one thing. The Most Exalted Allah never prescribes or imposes affectionate for someone aimlessly; there must be a purpose to that. If we contemplate the following Holy Verse from the Noble Quran,
(Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives)42;23.
We find out that the Most Gracious Allah set only affection towards the kinfolks and Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT) of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as a reward for the message he spread and the difficulties he has been through.
Moreover, this affection and love is associated with the Almighty Allah Himself, i.e we love only those loved by the Glorious Allah and resent only those resented by the Glorious Allah. That is why the love and affection has become part of our faith as the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) put it:“The affection of a believer to another believer is the greatest form of faith, as whoever loves for the sake of Allah, resents for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah and bans for the sake of Allah is of the chosen by Allah”.
This Hadith clearly shows that the love for those loved by the Allah entails faith and vice versa.
Anwar:Would you please give more Hadith in this regard?
Hasan:There are many Hadith regarding the love and resent:
The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) once asked his companions “What bond of faith is the strongest?” Some said “Allah and His Messenger know better” and some others suggested “Saying prayers, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca and holy wars”. The Prophet (PBUH) said “All you mentioned have their own merits, but the strongest bond of faith is to love for the sake of Allah, to resent for the sake of Allah, to follow the people in authority and to renounce the enemies of Allah”.
It is reported that Jesus Christ (PBUH) said“seek the affection of the Lord through detesting the wrongdoers, seek the favor of the Lord through avoiding them and seek the grace of the Lord through resenting them”.
Imam Al-Sadiq (PBUH) also says in this regard“whoever does not love for the sake of religion and does not resent for the sake of religion has no religion”.
There are many other Hadith, but this would be good enough.
Anwar:Allah rewards you well, Akhi!
Hasan:We need a break now.
Anwar:As you wish. See you.
Symposium 52
Why Is ‘Loving The Imams (PBUT)’ Requisite?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:Now that we illustrated the fact that the love of the believers is a form of worship and devotions to the Almighty Allah, would you please clarify how ‘the Affection Verse’ refers to Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT)?
Hasan:With all pleasure, Sir! To explain this point, I have to shed light on some issues:
· The Glorious Allah, from His Eternal knowledge, knows about these holy entities that act according to the Lord’s will and that have the capacities and qualities to be chosen. The Almighty Allah exalted and elevated
them and approved them through the Holy Spirit. Thus, because they have all the qualities and because they have been chosen to carry the message and be the role model for the people, we are ordered to follow them, to obey them and to ladle from their pure spring.
· The Status of these holy entities is incomparable.
· They have tasks other than those known to people, some of which are:
The Imams (PBUT) are witnessing over people in view of the fact that they have comprehensive knowledge and awareness over the deeds, words and intentions. The following Hadith reported shows that our deeds and action are looked into by the Almighty Allah, His Messenger (PBUH) and the believers:
Abu Ja’far Al-Baqir reported from Abu Abdullah Al-Sadiq (PBUT) that“we are the medium (just) nation and we are the Lord’s witnesses over people”.
Al-Haskani in “The Evidence to Revelation” reports from Salim Al-Hilali that Imam Ali (PBUH) said:“We are whom Allah mentioned us as (We have made you a medium (just) nation)”.
Regarding this same Holy Verse, Al-‘Aiyashi reports from Abi ‘Omair Az-Zobairi that Abu Abdullah (PBUT) said:“Don’t you think that whose testimony over a measure of dates is not accepted in this world may never be asked by Allah for testimony in the Day of Resurrection? Will He accept this testimony in the presence of all past nations? No! Allah never meant such people”.
We have to keep in mind that they are the route and the guide to the Almighty Allah as they are acting on the behalf of the Prophet (PBUH), and so knowing the Imams (PBUT) is similar to knowing the Messenger of Allah (PBUH); otherwise people will be lost and confused. Here is the evidence to this:
Abu Ja’far Imam Mohammad Al-Baqir (PBUH) says:“Whoever exhausts himself with devotions to Allah without following the guide to Allah, none of his efforts are accepted, as he is lost and confused and Allah is ashamed from his deeds”.
Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) also says:“If the Most Gracious Allah wills, He could inform Himself to his slaves, but He positioned us as path and route and