associates, and that people do not actually ask the Imams (PBUT) to do anything for them.
People, in fact, entreat to that special status the Imams (PBUT) have before Allah and the special love and care He has for them so much the Almighty Allah would give them what they request through those medium, in this case the Imams (PBUT).
The Almighty Allah says in the Noble Quran:(and seek the way of approach unto Him)5;35, as He tells us that the Prophet Jesus is one of the illustrious dignitaries before the Glorious Allah:(And remember when the angels said: O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near unto Allah)3;45.
This is another proof to the validity of seeking refuge with the dignitaries before Allah, especially when your request is restricted to His worship and obedience. I will explain this more later when we try to explain imploring to and approaching the Almighty Allah.
Anwar:The answer you gave me was concise yet very
good and useful, and it is good that I can hear more later.
Hasan:Inshallah!
Anwar:Alright! Will you illustrate the implications of monotheism that you mentioned earlier?
Hasan:Yes, and I will start with explaining the ‘essential monotheism’; the Lord, in the Noble Quran, gave us the proof that the essence of the Divine Being is One and Only; it is not compound and it is not numerous:(Your God is One God; there is no God save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful)2;163.
This Verse presents an obvious indication that the Divine Being is One and there is no God but Allah. Also, when He says He is the One, this does not mean there is number two. Not at all! The purpose as Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) put it is that“the meaning of the One is that there is no similar thing to Him; this is how our God is”.
Furthermore, there are two separate proofs that He is Simple as opposite to compound; this means that the Glorious Allah is not a combination of segments.
Evidence of reason: which says that reasonably Allah cannot be a combination of segments, otherwise he would become an object or matter which would make him dependent on his segments, but we know that the Almighty Allah is in no need whatsoever.
Evidence of reports: is what Allah, Praised Be His Name, says in the Noble Quran:(Say: He is Allah, the One۞Allah, the eternally Besought of all۞He begetteth not nor was begotton۞And there is none comparable unto Him)112;4-1.
This Chapter is an obvious refutation to existence of any matches or counterparts or combination of segments in any possible forms. This is what I can say in brief.
Now, about ‘worship monotheism’, I should say that it persists on the fact that only Allah is worthy of worship, imploring and submission, as it is also clear in the following Verse:(ye worship none save Him)12;40. Thus, because we believe He is the Creator with all perfect attributes and the highest qualities, He is worthy of obedience and imploring.
Anwar:And how should we explain our obedience and
imploring for mothers, fathers, clerks and Imams (PBUT)?
Hasan:We do submit to them. That is what the Glorious Allah even ordered us to do. But, our submission to them does not make them gods or deities, because it is out of honor, respect and veneration. This is, of course, out of decency that every Muslim has to have towards their Imams (PBUT), their parents and their clerks from whom they learn. That is why there is a line of poetry that says:
“Stand up for teachers and pay them full venerationAs teachers are almost messengers”
Anwar:Are there any Quranic evidence to support what you have said?
Hasan:Yes, so many of them! We’ll talk about this next time, Inshallah.
Symposium 8
Glorifying Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT) is not Polytheism
Anwar:You promised to show me some Quranic Evidence that our submission and imploring for Imams (PBUT) or parents is considered worship or any forms of polytheism. Will you tell us how?
Hasan:We all know about conscience. It is acceptable if someone implores or obeys or submits to someone else out of respect or veneration as long as the one you obey and submit to is not considered god or divinity. There are several Verses from the Noble Quran that I am going to mention to prove this:
(And when We said unto angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate…)2;34.
Here the Almighty Allah illustrates that prostrating to Adam (PBUH) is not worshiping him but it is a form of honoring and veneration to the status of Adam (PBUH).
(And he place his parents on the dais and they fell down before him prostrate…)12;100.
The family of Yusuf (PBUH) prostrate before him is not for the sake of worshiping but again it is a way to honor him. This is exactly the Shi’a do when they bow or prostrate before the shrine of the Imams (PBUT); they do so only out of honor, respect and veneration to the Imams (PBUT) and not because they are gods or deities – Glorious Allah forbid!
Anwar:Great! This is a defeat to those slanderers who say we worship the Imams (PBUT).
Hasan:Yes, it is actually obvious for discerning people.
Anwar:I have a question here, as long as we are speaking about worshiping and worshippers.
Hasan:Yes, please!
Anwar:I read somewhere that Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) said worshippers are of three kinds: traders, slaves and free people. Is he here showing his disapproval to the first two groups?
Hasan:Not at all. Imam Ali (PBUH) is not disapproving any of them; actually, he is trying to illustrate types of worships in order to present us with the best one. There is no harm in someone worshipping Allah seeking The Paradise for that; it is fine on condition that we still worshipping Allah.
The same if someone worships Allah for fear of The Fire; this is all right too. However, the best type is to worship Allah, Praised Be His Name, away from seeking or fearing but for the love of the Glorious Allah for the countless blessings He has bestowed on us.
Anwar:I have loads of questions on worshipping, but can any sane person really worship anything but the Almighty Allah?!
Hasan:Yes, there are so many people who got caught in the traps of Iblis; they fall for some tricky ideological uncertainties. There are also people who believe in
Allah, yet they worship other people.
Anwar:Strange! How come? Will you explain that?
Hasan:I would like to add something before I explain. If people are told by Allah Himself that they will not go to heaven if they do not worship Him, but they won’t go to Hell either. How many of the worshippers you think will remain?
Anwar:I think only those who worshipped Allah for the love of the Allah himself will stay, and they are few.
Hasan:Now, I can explain what you wanted. Some people have concrete gods like pagans who worship idols or the sun or the moon or even actual people. Some others have abstract gods like worshipping passion, power or praise. These people might know about the existence of Allah but they worship different other things in order to have power or be constantly praised. I seek refuge with Allah from that! Oh, I’ve just noticed you looking at your watch.
Anwar:Yes, I have an appointment. We’ll continue later, God Willing!