Mahdiism, the Jews, and the Iranians
People were slowly
assembling at Dr. Fahimi's residence. After the usual welcome and hospitality,
the session began at eight o'clock. This time it was Engineer Madani who opened
the discussion.
Engineer Madani: I
remember reading a book some time ago in which the author's thesis was that
Mahdiism and the divinely ordained messiah were ideas held by the Jews and
pre-Islamic Iranians which spread among the Muslims. Iranians believed that a
man named Saoshyant from the descendants of Zoroaster would one day appear and
destroy Ahriman, the force of darkness, thereby clearing the earth from
corruption. As for the Jews, because they had lost their homeland and had been
enslaved by the Chaldeans and Assyrians, one of their prophets had predicted
that a messiah would rise, deliver the Jews, and return them to their promised
land in the future. Since the origins of the idea of the future savior and
deliverer were found amongst the Iranians and the Jews, we may say that this
notion came to Muslims through their channels and, hence, cannot be anything
more than a legend.
Mr. Hoshyar: I agree
that this notion was and is prevalent among other peoples and religious
communities. However, its mere prevalence among other communities does not
render it a legend! For Islamic notions and rulings to be authentic is it
necessary that they ought to be in disagreement with the past religions? Any
person wishing to investigate any topic without prejudicial understanding has to
begin his research in the primary sources of the particular tradition that
deals with the subject in order to assess its validity or lack thereof. It is
not proper to begin this investigation in the sources of the traditions that
existed before it and then claim that one has discovered the origins of that
superstitious belief! Is it possible to say that since the ancient Iranians
were believers in Yazdan, the God, and regarded honesty as part of good
conduct, that therefore divine worship must be a legend and honesty cannot be
part of good morals? Hence, just because other peoples are also awaiting the
arrival of a deliverer and a messiah does not disprove the belief among
Muslims; nor can it be used as a proof for the belief's veracity.
Dr. Fahimi: One of the
authors has adequately narrated the origins of the idea of the future messianic
figure. If I may, I would like to relate it in brief for you.
The audience: Please
do!
Dr.Fahimi: I am going
to restate it in brief. The original legend about the messianic Imam was
adopted by the Shi'is from other religious communities, to which they added
their own details until it reached its present form. This was done for two
reasons:
First, the belief
about the birth and emergence of a divine savior was and remains well
established among the Jews. They believed that Elijah had ascended to the
heavens and would descend at the End of Time to deliver the Children of Israel.
In the early days of
Islam, a group of Jews had converted to Islam both for material reasons and in
order to destroy Islam from its very foundation. Some among them attained high
positions among the Muslims through treachery and dissimulation. Indeed, their
sole purpose was to divide the Muslim community and spread dissension among
them. The most outstanding example of this subversive character was 'Abd Allah
b. Saba.
Second, following the
death of the Prophet, his family members, especially 'Ali b. Abi Talib, used to
regard themselves as more worthy of the caliphate than other leading Muslims. A
small number of the Prophet's companions were also sympathetic to their claims.
However, against their expectations, the caliphate was assumed by others rather
than by family. This caused bitterness and distress among them until the time
when, following the murder of 'Uthman, the caliphate reverted to 'Ali. His
supporters were pleased and hoped that the caliphate would not slip out from
the hands of the Prophet's family. Engulfed by the civil wars, however, 'Ali
could not achieve much and finally was killed by Ibn Muljam. His son Hasan, who
followed him in his position, did not succeed in bringing order and finally
abdicated the caliphate to the Umayyads.
Hasan and Husayn, the
two grandsons of the Prophet, remained in their homes while the government
passed into the hands of others. The Prophet's family and its supporters were
living a miserable life as the Umayyads and the 'Abbasids squandered the Muslim
treasury. These events led to an increase in the number of those who supported
the family and raised their opposition to the corrupt rulers throughout in the
empire. However, the rulers, instead of redressing the wrongs committed against
the innocent populace, increased the intensity of their atrocities by killing
or exiling them. In short, after the Prophet's death his Ahlul Baytand
their supporters suffered oppression. Fatima was denied her right to inherit
from the Prophet. 'Ali's right to the caliphate was denied until later. Hasan
was poisoned. Husayn b. 'Ali, his family and companions, were killed at Karbala
and the survivors of the tragedy were taken prisoner. Muslim b. 'Aqil and Hani
b. 'Urwa were killed mercilessly after being granted amnesty. Abu Dharr
Ghiffari was deported to Rabdha. Hujr b. 'Adi, 'Amr b. Humq, Maytham Tammar,
Sa'id b. Jubayr, Kumayl b. Ziyad, and hundreds of other supporters of the
Prophet's family were executed. Under orders received from Yazid, the Umayyad,
Madina was sacked and hundreds of its residents killed. There are numerous such
accounts filling the pages of history. Under these oppressive conditions the
lives of the supporters of the Ahlul Bayt had become well nigh
impossible and they began to look for deliverance. From time to time an 'Alid
would take up arms to fight against the oppressors; yet the insurrection would
finally be curbed by government forces who would also kill him. These
unfavorable circumstances became the major cause for the minority supporters of
the Ahlul Bayt to despair and look for any ray of hope for
deliverance. Evidently, these conditions prepared them thoroughly to accept the
belief in the divinely ordained savior, in Mahdiism.
It was at this time
that the newly converted and opportunist Jews took advantage of the situation
to spread their belief in the divinely ordained messiah. The Shi`is, having
been deeply disappointed and having suffered great loss of life and tyranny
under the ruling powers, found the belief to be extremely comforting and
accepted it wholeheartedly. Nonetheless, they modified it, saying: "This
universal deliverer would definitely be from among the wronged ahl
al-bayt." Gradually, they embellished it and added to its detail until the
idea reached its present complexity1.
Mr. Hoshyar: The
suffering and persecution of the Prophet's family, the Ahlul Bayt and
their supporters, as detailed by the book you read, is quite true. However,
this detailed analysis of the events that led to such a belief among the Shi'is
would have been necessary only if we did not possess knowledge about the origin
of the idea in Islam. If you recall, we demonstrated that the Prophet himself
spread this belief among Muslims and gave them the information regarding the
future restorer. To support this we cited numerous traditions, and not only
from the Shi'i sources; we also quoted several traditions from the Sunni
collections, the Sihah. After having provided all the necessary
evidence I do not believe there is any need for further documentation.
In the earlier part of
your exposition you mentioned the prevalence of such a belief among the Jews.
This is also true. But your citation of the view that this belief was spread by
Jews like 'Abd Allah b. Saba among Muslims is simply untrue. As stated earlier,
no less a person than the Prophet himself was the publicizer of the information
about this future restorer of Islam. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that
Muslims who were formerly Jews affirmed this belief.
Let me also point out
that the existence of a Jew by the name of 'Abd Allah b. Saba is not a proven
fact of history. Some scholars believe that the legend was fabricated by those
who were hostile to the Shi'is. Moreover, even if it is hypothetically acknowledged
that he did exist, attribution of the aforementioned beliefs to him is without
evidence or proof. No reasonable person can regard it credible that a newly
converted Jew would possess such extraordinary political cunning as to publicly
speak about the emergence of the savior of Islam among the Ahlul Baytin
the otherwise oppressive conditions which existed under the Umayyads.
Moreover, it is
improbable that such a person would undertake to organize an insurrection in
secret and call people to pay allegiance to an individual among the Prophet's
family to overthrow the caliph, and replace him with the divinely guided Imam,
without government officials knowing about it. According to those who hold such
an opinion, it would seem that a Jewish convert to Islam could undertake to
destroy the Muslim religion without any Muslim raising a finger against him!
Such an opinion can exist only in the realm of fantasy!2
Engineer Madani: Is
belief in the promised Mahdi confined to the followers of Islam, or does it exist
in other religions too?
Mr. Hoshyar: In fact,
this belief is not limited to the Muslims alone. In almost all religions and
heavenly creeds one can find a similar belief in the future savior. The
followers of these religions believe that there will come a time when the world
will become corrupt and engulfed in a crisis. Evil and injustice will become
the rule of the day. Disbelief will cover the entire world.
At that time, the universal savior of the world will appear. With remarkable
divine help he will restore the purity of faith and defeat materialism with the
help of divine worship. Not only are the tidings to be found in revealed books
like the Zand and Pazand, and Jamaspname of the Zoroastrians, the Torah and
other Biblical books of the Jews, and the Gospel of the Christians, such
information can also be seen, more or less, among the Brahmins and the
Buddhists.
The followers of all
religions and traditions maintain such a belief and are awaiting the appearance
of such a commanding figure under the divine protection. Each tradition
recognizes this figure with a different name and specific title. The
Zoroastrians call him Saoshyant (meaning the 'savior of the world'); the Jews
know him as the messiah, whereas the Christians regard him as the Savior
Messiah. However, each group believes that this divinely ordained savior will
be among them.
The Zoroastrians believe he is Persian and among the followers of Zoroaster.
The Jews maintain that he will be among the Children of Israel, and the
follower of Moses. The Christians think he will be one among them. Muslims
believe that he will be among the Hashimites and among the direct descendants
of the Prophet. In Islam he has been fully introduced, whereas in other
religions this is not so.
It is remarkable that
all the characteristics and signs mentioned for this universal savior in other
religions are applicable to the promised Mahdi, the son of Imam Hasan 'Askari.
It is possible to regard him as Iranian in race because among his ancestors is
the mother of the fourth Imam Zayn al-'Abidin who, as the daughter of Yazdgard,
the Sassanian king, was a Persian princess. He can also be considered among the
Children of Israel, since both the Hashimites and the Israelites are among the
descendants of Abraham. The Hashimites are the descendants of Isma'il (Ishmael)
and the Israelites are the descendants of Ishaq (Isaac). Hence, the Hashimites
and the Israelites are one family. He is also connected to Christians because,
according to some traditions, the mother of the present Imam was a Byzantine
princess by the name of Narjis (Nargis), who is part of the miraculous story
reported in some sources.
It is not appropriate
to confine the deliverer of the world, the Mahdi, to one particular nation. He
will actually come to fight against all discriminatory claims of racial,
creedal and national distinction. Consequently, he should be regarded as the
Mahdi of the whole of humanity. He is the savior and deliverer of the people
who worship God. His victory is the victory of all the prophets and all the
righteous ones on earth. He will be restoring the religion of Abraham, Moses,
Jesus and all of the heavenly revelations, namely, Islam; he will revive the
pure religion of Moses and Jesus which had foretold the prophethood of
Muhammad.
Let us be clear that
we have no intention of proving the existence of the promised Mahdi by
referring to the ancient books, nor are we in need of doing so. Our intention
is to demonstrate that the belief in the appearance of the unique savior of the
world is a common religious belief, stemming from divine revelation, of which
all prophets gave glad tidings. All nations are awaiting his emergence, but
they have made errors in identifying him.
Dr.Fahimi: If the
tradition of the Mahdi was authentic, then there would have been some mention
of it in the Qur'an. On the contrary, even the word mahdi does not appear in
that heavenly book!
Mr. Hoshyar: First, it
is not necessary that each and every true subject should be mentioned in all
its specific details in the Qur'an. In fact, there are so many particular
details that are true and authentic and yet have not been mentioned in the
heavenly book. Second, there are a number of verses in that holy book which,
however brief, give tidings about the day when the devout worshippers of God
and those who support the true religion and those who are worthy of that
blessing will rule the earth in its entirety; and the religion of God, Islam,
will become the dominant faith over all other religions. Thus, for instance, in
the Sura Anbiya' God says:
For We have written in
the Psalms, after the Remembrance, 'The earth shall be the inheritance of My
righteous servants.' (21:105)
In the Sura Nur God
promises:
God has promised those
of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make you
successors in the land, even as He made those who were before them successors,
and that He will surely establish their religion for them that He has approved
for them, and will give them in exchange, after their fear, security: 'They
shall serve Me, not associating with Me anything.' (24:55)
In the Sura Qasas God
says:
Yet We desired to be
gracious to those that were abased in the land, and to make them leaders, and
to make them the inheritors. (28:4)
In the Sura Saff God
says:
It is He who has sent
His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may uplift
it above every religion, though the unbelievers be averse. (61:9)
From all these verses
it can be briefly surmised that the world can look forward to the day when its
power and administration will be given into the hands of the believers and
those worthy of the divine trust to become leaders and lead humanity and its
civilization to its perfection. At that time, Islam will become the dominant
religion, and monotheism will replace polytheism. That brilliant period will be
marked by the revolution of the divinely designated reformer and savior of
humanity, the promised Mahdi. More importantly, that universal revolution will
be launched by the deserving Muslims.
Dr. Fahimi: I don't
know why you Shi'a insist that you should prove the existence of the Imam. You
are so unrelenting in your belief that if the Imam does not exist physically,
you say he is in concealment. Since the Prophets have already delivered the
injunctions from God, why would there be a need for the existence of an Imam?
Mr. Hoshyar: All those
proofs that are advanced to prove the necessity of the general prophethood and
require God to communicate His injunctions to humankind, also necessitate that
an Imam should exist as a proof for the existence of those injunctions and
their protection. In order to elaborate on what we have said, it is necessary,
however briefly, to present first the proofs that require the existence of the
general prophethood and then proceed to prove the existence of the Imam.
If you keep in mind
the preliminaries that have been already established and which we will briefly
touch upon here, the matter concerning the necessity of the general prophethood
will become clear to you.
(1) A human being has
been created in such a way that he cannot run his affairs on his own. He needs
the assistance and cooperation of others. In other words, he is created civil
and social by nature. Hence, he must act within a society. It is obvious that
self-interest and survival are the cause of conflict in a social life. Each
person in the society is engaged in exerting all his endeavor to benefit from
limited material resources. In reaching this goal he has to overcome numerous
obstacles and compete with other individuals who are equally engaged in
attaining the same goal.
Under those circumstances individuals become obstacles to each other's goals
and, hence, end up stepping upon each other's rights. It is at this point that
law is needed to regulate social relations so that people's rights should be
protected from being infringed upon, and conflicts should be resolved without
creating chaos and lawlessness. It is possible to surmise that laws are a
precious treasure that have been discovered by human beings. Furthermore, it is
probable that from the early days of organizing their society human beings have
had access to laws and have always respected them for their own good.
(2) A human being has
been innately endowed with the capacity to perfect himself and attain
prosperity. In his ongoing struggle, a human being has no other purpose than to
become truly perfect. All his endeavors are geared towards attaining that lofty
goal of perfection.
(3) Since a human
being is on his way to perfection, attention to the true meaning of perfection
has been made part of his natural disposition. Hence, it should be possible for
him to attain it, because God does not create anything in futility.
(4) The point that a
human being is made of body and spirit is well established. He is material
through his body; whereas his spirit, although intimately connected with his
body is regarded as belonging to the world of incorporeal beings.
(5) Since human being
is made of two elements, namely, body and spirit, he is bound to have two kinds
of life: this worldly life, related to his body; and the spiritual and
contemplative life, related to his soul. Consequently, in relation to each one
of them he will have a life of prosperity and damnation.
(6) Just as between
body and spirit there is connection and relationship, with ensuing unity, so is
there a perfect connection and relationship between the material and spiritual
life. In other words, the quality of life in this world has a direct impact upon
the spiritual life. Likewise, the psychic conditions and other spiritual
characteristics have an impact upon the way human acts surface.
(7) A human being is
on the way to perfection and is attentive to the requirements of innate and
natural perfection. Moreover, God has not created life without a purpose. It is
incumbent upon God to provide the means to attain the goal and to acquire the perfection
intended for humanity so that it is able to distinguish and pursue the path
that leads to the attainment of prosperity and avoid that which leads to sinful
deviation.
(8) By nature a human
being is self-centered and pursues his own interests. He is not interested in
any other thing than serving his own good and interests. In fact, he endeavors
to exploit fellow human beings and take advantage of their endeavors to serve
his ends.
(9) Although a human
being is engrossed in pursuing his own real perfection and is engaged in an
intense search of that truth which he believes would lead him to its
acquisition, more than often he fails to reach that goal. The reason is that
his own egocentric desires and internal emotions overcome his ability to distinguish
the straight path. These traits actually obscure the ability of practical
reason to lead humans to that desired perfection, and instead mislead one
toward the path of damnation and self-destruction.
Since human beings
must live in a society, and since obstacles to preserving one's interest and
the exploitation of fellow humans are a necessary part of social life, there is
a need for law to control such self-serving interest that could lead to chaos
among the people. Such a law can create order in the society only when the following
conditions are fulfilled:
(1) Such law has to be
comprehensive and effective to cover and administer all spheres of individual
as well as collective human activity. It should provide for all the human
exigencies without neglecting any aspect of social life. Such a legal system
should promulgate laws that would be in conformity with the natural and actual
needs of individuals, reflecting both the internal reality as well as external
conditions of human beings.
(2) Such law should
lead to the real prosperity of human beings and not merely their imaginary and
speculative perfection.
(3) Such law should be
attentive to the well being of the entirety of humanity, not just a particular
group of people or specific individual.
(4) Such law should
lay the foundation of a society based on human virtues and the perfection of
humanity. It should lead it to the attainment of that lofty goal by putting a
high value on earthly life as a means of procuring those virtues and that human
perfection, and not as independent of it.
(5) Such law should
possess the efficiency to protect the people from manipulation and chaos, and
guarantee the rights of all individuals without discrimination.
(6) In its
promulgation, this law should be alert to the spiritual needs of the people in
such a way that none of its laws should be a cause of harm to the meaningful
existence of the people. Nor should it lead to the deviation from the path of
perfection.
(7) Such law should
protect the society from turning away from the right path of humanitarian
existence and from choosing the path of destruction.
(8) The lawgiver of
such a system should be well informed about all the crooked and scrupulous
aspects of human encounters and should be knowledgeable about all the
judgements given at different times and places.
Undoubtedly, a human
being is in need of this kind of law and it is regarded as the necessity of his
life. Without such a system in place human life will be in danger. In light of
this indispensable need, it is relevant to raise the question of whether
human-made law is capable of administering human society justly.
We believe that
human-legislated law, influenced by short-sighted human intelligence, is
imperfect and does not possess the ability to administer human society with
justice. Some examples would clarify this statement:
(1) Human knowledge
and information is both limited and deficient. The average human being is
unaware of all human needs and the laws of nature. He also does not possess
sufficient knowledge about good and evil and all aspects of competing interests
among various laws and their impact upon the formulation of final judgements in
different places and times.
(2) If it is
hypothetically admitted that it is possible for human legislators to promulgate
such laws, it is undoubtedly impossible to concede that these legislators are
aware of the ways in which the worldly and the spiritual life interact with
each other to produce actions that suggest their deep roots in human nature.
And, even if they are in possession of such an awareness, it is very
negligible. Evidently, taking care of that spiritual life is beyond their
legislative program. Hence, human prosperity is viewed only from a material
perspective. On the contrary, these two aspects of human existence are intimately
related, and their division is inconceivable.
(3) Since human beings
are self-centered, manipulation and exploitation of a fellow human is part of
his nature. Every person gives preference to his own interests above the good
of others. Hence, conflict resolution and the prevention of exploitation are
beyond his competence. The reason is that the self-serving goals of the human
legislators will never allow them to disregard their own and their supporters'
interests and work towards the common good of humanity.
(4) Human legislators
always promulgate laws shortsightedly. Moreover, they are influenced by their
prejudices, habits and defective thought. Consequently, the laws are enacted to
protect the interests of the few, without due attention to the benefit and harm
that could accrue to others. In these laws the general welfare of humanity has
not been the source of legislation.
Indeed, it is only the
divinely ordained legal system that is in conformity with the laws of nature
and has been promulgated with the purpose of advancing human prosperity in this
and the next world. Hence, it is free from every selfish human motive. It is,
certainly, enacted to further universal human prosperity. Thus, it is clear
that humanity needs the divinely ordained law and God's benevolence makes it
necessary that He provide a complete and perfect system through His messengers.
Even as a human being
is constantly occupied with the mundane aspects of life, there is some
mysterious life rooted in the depth of his own self to which he hardly pays
attention, and he appears to have almost forgotten about it. He is bound to
reap prosperity or adversity in relation to this neglected self too. In other
words, good thoughts and true beliefs, virtuous conduct and praiseworthy
actions that stem from the prosperous self would lead to spiritual perfection
and ascendancy as well as to success and excellence, just as erroneous beliefs,
immoral behavior and blameworthy conduct, which stem from the perverted self,
lead to the impairment, destitution and deviation of the self.
Hence, if a person
places himself on the path of perfection, he will permit his essential and real
self to be nurtured and refined so as to ascend and revert to its original
abode, which is all light and bliss. On the contrary, if he sacrifices all the
means to attain the perfection of the self by surrendering to the animal
appetites, then he will transform himself into a violent, lustful animal,
having completely deviated from the straight path.
Consequently, a human
being is in need of a carefully structured program for the progression of his
inner self without which he cannot expect to travel this hazardous and highly
intricate path. By allowing his animal appetites to overcome spiritual and
moral perfection, he actually surrenders the ability of his intuitive reasoning
to reach sound judgements.
As a result he falls
into the darkness of misguidance, destroying his power to carry out the
requirements of a virtuous life, judging good to be evil and evil to be good.
Indeed, it is only God, the Creator of human beings, who knows the source of
human prosperity, the good and the evil, who can provide the right guidance and
complete program to attain true perfection and happiness, and to avoid those
things that cause destitution and adversity. In sum, a human being needs the
Lord Creator also in attaining his prosperity in the Hereafter.
Thus, it is possible
to conclude that the Wise God has not exposed humankind, which is potentially
capable of realizing prosperity as well as disaster only to the deviating
powers of the self. Nor has He abandoned humankind to the forces of ignorance
and confusion. Rather, He has endowed humanity with abounding benevolence and
kindness by guiding it through the prophets who are selected from among humans.
These prophets have been sent with ordinances and laws to direct the lives of
the people toward this and other-worldly prosperity and to warn against the
tribulations caused by ignoring this guidance. By doing so God has removed all
the possible excuses human beings could make for having failed to reach the
appointed goal of prosperity.
The path of human
perfection leading it to God is embedded in sound belief, righteous action and
virtuous conduct. The information about this path was revealed to the Prophets
so that they could undertake to call people towards it. It is important to
emphasize that this path is not merely a formal path that has no connection in
form or essence to the divine goals. Quite to the contrary, it is the path that
is real and true, which has its source in the divine lordship. Any one situated
in its course can ascend to the highest levels of the limitless universe and
paradisaical heavens by going through the inner perfection of the self.
In other words, true
religion is such a straight path that whoever situates himself in its course,
perfects hisHher essential self and his humanity through the straight,
benevolent path and returns to the prosperous abode and the source of all
perfection. And anyone who deviates from this straight path has to go through
the inhuman path of demonic existence, without any virtues and good conduct to
support themselves. Such individuals actually become incapable of treading the
precise path of benevolent existence. Indeed, such an individual cannot expect
anything better than being damned to perdition and hell fire.
The Divine Benevolence
makes it necessary that the prophets be sent as the guides to teach the people
religious ordinances and laws so as to lead them to their prosperity in this
and the next world. This goal can be accomplished only if the prophets are
protected from committing any errors in delivering the divine message to
humanity. Otherwise, human beings could make an excuse for not having received
authentic directives from God. In other words, a prophet should be immune from
any kind of error and forgetfulness in conveying the divine revelation to the
people. This is known as `isma ('protection' or 'immunity' =
'infallibility'). Moreover, a prophet himself should be an exemplary person,
having followed all the divine injunctions in his personal life. It is only
then that he can call upon people to follow the divine guidance, demonstrating
its validity through his own character and conduct. In this way the people can
follow him confidently toward their own true perfection. In addition, it is a
rationally derived proposition that no person can expect others to carry out
moral and religious directives when he himself does not follow the same. A call
to the divine path must be exemplified by the prophet.
It is obvious that our
own knowledge and perceptions are not free of error, because they are
conditioned by the way our sensory perceptions receive them. No one can deny
the numerous times when our senses have made errors in perception. However,
when that knowledge and those ordinances come in the form of divine guidance
from God, delivered through the revelation to the prophets, these are immune
from such dangers. In fact, revelation is not the kind of knowledge that is derived
from sensory perceptions. Otherwise, it too would have been prone to same
dangers as human perceptions are, depriving people of the confidence that is
necessary in religious ordinances. Religious truth and knowledge about hidden
matters is given to the prophets through revelation which descends upon their
heart and their inner self. This very truth is experienced by these prophets in
their earthly existence, which they convey to the people in accord with their
capacity to understand and to follow it. Hence, the religious truth given to
the prophets and delivered to the people by them remains immune from any
falsehood or error.
It is for this reason
that the prophets are protected from disobedience and error of judgement, and
are empowered to act upon their knowledge. How can it be otherwise? A person
who has attained that level of truth through experience and direct observation
cannot be expected to act contrary to that truth. Moreover, after attaining
such a level of perfection he cannot be expected to forfeit that blessing by
falling into sinful deviation.
After having
demonstrated the necessity for general prophethood to guide humanity to its
this- and next-worldly goals, it is accurate to hold that the same proof can be
utilized to establish the fact that, whenever the prophet dies, there must
exist in his place someone who can lead the community to those ends. This
person should be someone who can continue the work of the prophet in providing
the divine ordinances and reach out to the people in their search for the
religious and spiritual path. God's purposes cannot be fulfilled without such a
person existing among the people to promulgate those laws without errors of
omission or commission. Thus, in the absence of the prophet, God's benevolence
makes it necessary that there should be someone among the people to make sure
that divine revelation is protected from human interference and interpolations,
and that divine laws are made accessible to the people at all times.
This outstanding
person must also, like the prophet, be immune and protected from committing any
error and mistakes in receiving, recording and delivering the divine ordinances
to establish the proof that God's guidance for the people is intact. Moreover,
he should be fully knowledgeable about the truth of the religious ordinances
and should himself act upon those ordinances so that others can bring their own
acts and opinions into conformity with his and follow his example in their
search for truth, without falling into doubt and confusion and without
resorting to excuses for not having found the proof of religious truth. Since
the Imam must also be protected from committing any error in carrying out this
great responsibility, it must be pointed out that the Imam's knowledge is other
than that acquired through sense perception. Hence, his knowledge is different
from the knowledge of an ordinary person. Through the Prophet's own guidance
the Imam possesses clear insights into religious knowledge. Moreover, he is
endowed with direct experience of the truth through his inner eyes. It is
because of this that he is protected from any error or forgetfulness, and so
acts in accord with this experience and direct observation of religious truth.
More importantly, it is this attribute that qualifies him to assume the Imamate
of the Muslim community.
In other words, there
must exist among the people a perfect individual, one possessing absolute faith
in God's revelation and exemplifying the best character and personal qualities
in order to lead people in the minutest details of God's ordinances. At all
these levels he must be protected from error, forgetfulness, and acts of
disobedience. He must be ma'süm. It is the coming together of faith
and action, knowledge and practice, that makes him the personification of all
the possible human potentials of perfection. The realization of these
potentials indisputably annoints him the leader of humanity. If humanity, at
any point, is deprived of this leadership, the situation could lead to the
disappearance of the divine ordinances which were proclaimed for the betterment
of humankind. Moreover, it could lead to the discontinuation of divine help and
could sever the connection between the divine and human realms.
In other words, there
should always be a person among the people who is endowed with special guidance
from God and is protected through God's benevolence in order for him to provide
the necessary guidance and lead the people to their perfection in accord with
their divinely endowed potentials. Moreover, through his knowledge and in any
way possible, he should aid them in their journey towards their Creator. It is
the existence of the sacred presence of the Imam as the Proof of God and as a
perfect example of religious life that can make the divine presence known and
divine worship possible in a society. Without the Imam's existence God cannot
be known or worshipped perfectly. The inner self of the Imam is the receptacle
for God's knowledge and divine secrets. It is like a mirror that reflects the
realities of the material world, and people derive benefit from these
reflections.
Dr. Jalali: Surely,
the protection of religious ordinances and laws is not confined to one person
who should know it and practice it all. Rather, if all religious ordinances and
laws are distributed among the people and if each group learns and puts into
practice part of these ordinances, all of them can be protected both from the
perspectives of knowledge about and practice of them.
Mr. Hoshyar: Your
hypothesis is refutable from two angles:
First, in our previous
discussion we have pointed out that there should always be one outstanding
person among the people who should be an embodiment of all the possible
benevolent qualities and a personification of the religious existence in all
its meanings. Moreover, he should be free from any need of acquiring the
necessary sciences and education from any other being than God. If such a
person is absent among the people, then humanity will be deprived of God's
proof and knowledge about God's purposes. To be sure, when any species is left
without a purpose its destruction is certain. According to your hypothesis,
such a perfect person does not exist because each one of these persons, even
when he knows and acts upon a number of those ordinances, is not on that
straight path of religion and actually has deviated from it. The reason is that
religious ordinances are inevitably too interrelated and profoundly
interconnected as a whole for them to be taken in part.
Second, as pointed out
earlier, since God's ordinances and laws are sent for the guidance of humanity,
they should remain not only constant but should also be safeguarded. All ways
to their change, distortion or destruction should remain firmly closed, and
they should remain safe from all dangers. This goal can be fulfilled only when the
person in charge of it is protected from error and immune from forgetfulness
and disobedience. There is nothing in your hypothesis that guarantees this
because the problem of error of judgement and forgetfulness is a possibility
for each one of the people. Consequently, the divine ordinances and laws are
not immune from any change or alteration and neither so the proof of God's
immutable guidance nor the elimination of people's excuse is procurable.
Mr. Hoshyar: All that
we have said is further attested in the traditions reported on the authority of
the ahl al-bayt. If you are interested in an investigation of them you might
refer to the books on hadith. Here we will cite some of these for your benefit:
One of the companions
of Imam Sadiq by the name of Abu Hamza says: I asked the Imam, "Can the
earth survive without the presence of the Imam?" He said, "If the
earth is devoid of the Imam it will be destroyed."
Al-Washsha', a close
associate of Imam Rida says: I asked the Imam, "Can the earth be without
an Imam?" He said, "No." I told him that it has been related to
us that the earth cannot be without an Imam, except when God is angry with the
people. On that he said, "Nevertheless, the earth cannot be void of the
Imam, otherwise it will be destroyed."
Ibn al-Tayyar reports
that he heard from Imam Sadiq that if there remained two persons on earth one
of them would be the Proof of God. In another tradition Imam Baqir is reported
to have declared: "By God, from the time God caused Adam to die until this
day, God has not left this earth without an Imam through whom His guidance
becomes available to the people. It is this Imam who is the Proof of God for
the people. As long as there is a need for God's proof the earth will not be
without an Imam."
In another tradition
Imam Sadiq is reported to have said: "God has created us in the best form
and has appointed us as the caretaker of all the divine knowledge. The tree
spoke to us, and through our worship God is being worshipped." The Imam
also said: "The vicegerents [of the Prophet] are the gates of divine
knowledge. Hence, one should enter religion through them. Without them God
cannot be known. It is through the existence of these vicegerents that God will
present His argument against His servants."
Abu Khalid, a close
associate of Imam Baqir asked the interpretation of the verse that says:
"Believe in God, His messenger, and the light which We have
revealed." The Imam said:
O Abu Khalid, by 'the
light' is meant the Imams. O Abu Khalid, the light of the Imam in the heart of
the believer is more brilliant than the sunlight. They are the ones who
enlighten the hearts of the believers. God denies and conceals this light from
whomever He wishes, as a result of which the heart of that person turns dark
and becomes veiled.
According to another
tradition, Imam Rida said:
When God wills to
appoint someone to look after the affairs of humanity, He expands his chest and
makes his heart the source of realities and wisdom. He continuously endows him
with His knowledge so that after receiving it he would not be incapable of
answering any question. Moreover, in explaining the realities and providing the
right guidance he would not fall into any error or falsehood.
He is free from any corruption and error, he is ma'süm. He remains all the time
the recipient of God's support and assistance, and is protected from sinful
deviation. God appoints him to this prominent position so that he becomes the
Proof of God's existence on earth. This is God's special favor, which He gives
to whomever He pleases. Indeed, God's bounty is extensive.
In yet another
tradition the Prophet declared: "Stars are the security for the dwellers
of the heavens. If they get destroyed so will the dwellers of the heavens. My
family members are the security for the dwellers of the earth. Hence, if they
do not exist, the dwellers of the earth will also be destroyed."
In one of his orations
Imam 'Ali said:
The earth will not be
void of the Qa'im who will stand by the command of God and will provide the
proof of God's existence for humanity. Sometimes that proof is manifest and
well attested, and at other times it is in fear and hidden. This is to ensure
that God's proofs are not terminated. These proofs are few and their
whereabouts is not known. I solemnly declare that although they are few their
status is extremely elevated. Through them God protects His proof and evidence
until that time when they can implant those proofs in those who are like them
and cultivate them in their hearts.
The knowledge [given
by God] has led them to the true insight and they have attained the spirit of
certainty through it. That which baffles the lovers of wealth and makes it
inconceivable for them appears easy and readily accessible to these proofs of
God. That which frightens the ignorant, the proofs of God are intimate with it.
Their connection to this material world is because of their physical body whose
spirits are connected with the highly exalted places. They are God's caliphs
and His callers to faith on earth.
In another sermon Imam
'Ali b. Abi Talib has described the excellences of the ahl al-bayt, saying:
The elegances of the
Qur'an are about them and they are the treasures of God. When they speak they
speak the truth, but when they keep quiet no one can speak unless they speak.
They are the pillars
of Islam and the sanctuary of [its] protection. With them truth has returned to
its proper position and falsehood has retreated and its tongue is severed from
its root. They have understood the religion attentively and carefully, not by
mere heresy or from narrators, because narrators of knowledge are many but
those who understand it are few.
In short, on the basis
of rational and textual evidence one can surmise that as long as human beings
live on the earth, there must exist a perfect and divinely protected person
among them who could personify all the perfect qualities that the human being
can possibly attain. Moreover, such an individual must be responsible, both
theoretically and practically, to guide humanity. This person is the Imam, the
leader of humankind. Having himself ascended on this sacred path of human
perfection he takes it upon himself to call others onto those stages and
stations. Hence, he becomes the mediator between the hidden world of the spirit
and the human world.
The bounties of the hidden world descend upon him first, and through him reach
other human beings. It is obvious that the non-existence of such a person among
people would inevitably lead to the absence of any goal for humankind. Such an
absence would necessarily lead to the perdition of human society. In the final
analysis, regardless of any other proof, this rational and textual evidence
confirms that there is no period in history, including our own age, without an
Imam. Since there is no manifest Imam at this time, we can say that the Imam is
in occultation and lives a concealed life.
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