means to Him; and whoever turns aside from us and favors other than us, they are deviating from the right path (As-Sirat)”.
In addition to that, they provide safety and protection to the people of earth; this is in the sense that guidance is only attained through them and grasping at other than them will only lead to destruction and deviation.
The Hadith from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) reported by Ahmad Bin Hanbal asserts this fact:“Stars provide safety for the people of the heaven and my kinfolk provide safety for the people of earth; if my kinfolk go, the people of earth go as well”.
Now that we are aware of the status and the role of the Imams (PBUT) in this life and the next life, isn’t it obvious why we need to obey them and love them?
Anwar:No need for any more inquiries. It is as clear as the sun in the midst of the sky.
Hasan:Thanks to Allah Who drove away the clouds of doubts covering the truth.
Anwar:All thanks to the Glorious Allah at all times.
Hasan:Let’s take a break now.
Anwar:You have done so great, and now, we do need a small break.
Symposium 53
More on Affection
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:As long as we are talking about affection, will you please tell me more so it would charge my heart with their love?
Hasan:Of course! I will restrict myself to some Divine Hadith reported from Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT) and others:
· Mohammad Bin Moslim said I heard Abu Abdullah Al-Sadiq (PBUH) saying:“A man might resent his own child, so the Most Exalted Allah insist on enjoining our love; people can take it or leave it, yet it is a duty as He
put it: (Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives)42;23”. Abu Ja’far Al-Baqir (PBUH) also commented on this Holy Verse:“By God, it is a Divine duty on His slaves for the sake of Mohammad (PBUH) over his near relatives”.
· Al-Tabrasi – God bless his soul – reports that Al-Hasan Bin Ali (PBUT) delivered a speech to the people in which he said:“I am from the Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT) whose affection was enjoined by Allah on every Muslim, as He said: (Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives)”.
· Al-Allamah Al-Tabrasi([15]) – God bless his soul – writes in his book ‘Kashf Al-Haq’ (Discovering the Truth):“It is reported in the Sahihain, in Ahmad Bin Hanbal’s Mosnad and in Tafsir Al-Tha’labi that Bin Abbas said: when the Holy Verse (Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it but love for my near relatives) was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked who the near relatives were, he said: Ali, Fatimah and her two sons, while to love them is to obey them”.
[15]Ayatullah Ash-Sheikh Fazal bin Hassan bin Fazal At-Tabrasi (460- 550 H) known as Amin Al-Islam was born in the holy city of Mash’had. Wrote a number of books, some of which are: Majma-ul-Bayan fee Tafseeril Quran, Uddatus-Safar…
Anwar:Very good. Allah rewards you well. I have another question, please. We have learned that it is requisite to love the Imams (PBUT), but does that mean that resenting them expel the resentful out of the faith?
Hasan:Good question. This is how I put the answer:
· It is unanimous among Muslims that disregarding the duties commanded by the Almighty Allah relating to the Pillars of Islam entails infidelity.
· Resenting Imam Ali (PBUH) and his offspring, the infallible Imams (PBUT) entails hypocrisy as the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) put it addressing Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH):“Only the believers love you and only the hypocrites resent you”. Thus, we should know that the hypocrites have no faith and they are in the lower parts of Fire.
· Imam Ali (PBUH) is very identical to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as we read in the supplication (Mobahala) Verse:
(…and our near people and your near people…)3;61.
He is the flesh and blood of the Messenger of Allah
(PBUH) and whoever resents him has resented the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and whoever resents the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has, in fact, resented the Glorious Allah. Consequently, whoever resents the Glorious Allah and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) is an infidel. What is more is that whoever likes a person resenting the Almighty Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) also is not a believer as the Most Gracious says in the Noble Quran:
(You shall not find a people who believe in Allah and the latter day befriending those who act in opposition to Allah and His Apostle…)58;22.
There are a lot more evidence in this regard, but I think this would be enough.
Anwar:Allah rewards you well.
Hasan:Thank you very much.
Symposium 54
Is Imamate Established through
the Scripture or Election?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:As long as we are talking about the Imamate, I am preoccupied with some issues in this regard and I would like to raise some questions.
Hasan:Please, go ahead.
Anwar:First of all, is Imamate established through the Scripture or election?
Hasan:This is a very old yet very significant question.
Dear Sir, you know that Prophecy or the Prophethood is a Divine position, that is, a prophet is assigned by the Almighty Allah and not an individual or a group of people. Now, the Imamate is exactly the same; it is the natural extension of Prophethood by all means except for the Divine revelation. As long as the fact that the Imamate (Imamah) serves the same purpose as the Prophecy (Nobowa), it should exclusively be given the Glorious Allah.
Anwar:Why is it that you are insisting that it has to be exclusively from the Glorious Allah?
Hasan:I am not talking out of stubbornness or desire. It a reasonable conclusion that I can expand on:
· We have already agreed that the Imam has to be infallible and the best of his time in every single dimension.
· Infallibility is a concealed matter known only by the Almighty Allah.
· Thus, the Imamate has to be from the Almighty Allah
Who has comprehensive knowledge of all matters, including whether the person is infallible or not.
Here I have to remind you that infallibility is essential in the Imam because it is a very serious and immense position. As we discussed earlier, the fallibility in the Imam will cause a lot of complications and problems; the Imam cannot make mistakes and be a role model for the people at one and the same time. More importantly, the Imam must be disobeyed, but it will be contradictory when the Imam makes mistakes, because this will result in people making mistakes as well. This is far above the Divine Justice as we know.
Anwar:Very good. This was very heartwarming. The Divine inauguration is definitely essential.
Hasan:In addition to that, it is also commanded by the Prophet (PBUH) who speaks not as he pleases.
Anwar:Will you please explain what you have just said?
Hasan:What I am saying is that the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the most compassionate person among all towards his people, that is why he was very concerned about the future, the endurance and the