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
survival of this nation, and so he had to appoint a person capable of leading the Muslim community to perfection and continuing what the Prophet (PBUH) started.
Anwar:It is quite obvious now that the Imamate cannot be established through election.
Hasan:Very good. You got the idea quite fast.
Anwar:Thanks God. Now, what is the proof that the Imamate is restricted to Ali Bin Abi Talib (PBUH)?
Hasan:We believe that the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) commanded that Ali Bin Abi Talib (PBUH) success him at the Ghadir Day, at the day of warning the tribe, at the day the Prophet (PBUH) left him in Medina and at the day he gave his ring for charity.
Anwar:Will you please expand on each of these incidents?
Hasan:Of course! The first evidence to appointing Imam Ali (PBUH) by the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the day when the Most Exalted Allah commanded His Messenger (PBUH):
(And warn your nearest relations)26;214.
So, the Prophet (PBUH) gathered his tribe of near kindred, fed them and lastly asked them if any of them is willing to be his minister, trustee and successor after him. Everybody refrained except for Ali (PBUH), so the Prophet (PBUH) said:“This is my brother, trustee and successor after me; listen to him and obey him”.
The second case was when the Prophet (PBUH) left him in Medina to go for Tabouk conquest. So, Ali (PBUH) wondered why the Prophet (PBUH) left him behind with women and children; the Prophet (PBUH) replied:“You are of the same status to me as Aaron to Moses except there is no prophet after me”. You know better that Aaron was the successor of Moses (PBUH).
The third evidence is related to the well-known Ghadir Day and the speech the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) gave in which he said:“Whoever I am his master, then this is Ali his master. O Lord! Support whoever supports him, show enmity towards whoever shows enmity towards him and, let triumph whoever stands up for him, forsake whoever forsakes him and let the truth follow him wherever he turns”.
The fourth incident was when this Holy Verse was revealed:
(Only Allah is your Vali and His Apostle and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow)5;55.
The expositors mentioned that this Holy Verse was revealed because Ali (PBUH) gave his ring for charity to a poor man who later told the Prophet (PBUH) about it, the fact that made the Prophet (PBUH) exclaim ‘God is Great’ (Allah-o-Akbar).
There are many other incidents refer to Ali Bin Abi Talib (PBUH) as the Imam and the successor of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and you can do your own research if you like to expand on this matter.
Anwar:What you presented was quite enough.
Hasan:Excellent. Let’s take a rest.
Symposium 55
The Evidence to Imamate of Ali Bin Abi Talib and His offspring (PBUT)
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom!
Hasan:Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh!
Anwar:I cannot really take a rest until I get answers for all my questions.
Hasan:Please, ask whatever you wish.
Anwar:All you mentioned so far is absolutely accurate, yet there is one significant question here. Even if we admit that Ali Bin Abi Talib (PBUH) is the Imam and the successor of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), how can
we possibly concede the Imamate to his offspring?
Hasan:Dear Akhi Anwar, this is actually an essential and a very significant question, and I will try to put the ideas in some plain words:
· There are twelve Imams (PBUT) after the Prophet (PBUH); this is mentioned in the Hadith.
· It is reported from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) that he mentioned the exclusive characteristics of the Imams (PBUT):“Of his secrets are to live the life I had, to die the death I had, to enter the Paradise I am promised by my Lord to enter, to hold on to the rod placed by my Lord in his hand, so Ali Bin Abi Talib (PBUH) be in charge and his trustees after him; they never let you go astray as they never let you off the right path. Do not teach them as they know far more than you do”.
· The Prophet (PBUH) also said:“I am the Messenger of Allah to all people, but there will be Imams after me upon people by Allah and from my near relatives (Ahl Al-Bait); they watch over people, yet they are accused of lying and oppressed by the leaders of infidelity and
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