THERE IS ALWAYS AN IMAM .
WE BELIEVE that as God has decreed to send His opostles with divine
Guidances, so also for any age or time God Has appointed an Imam to look
after the people leading them to the rightious path, and to guard the divine
Law against ay deviation. Imam has to know clearly, the necessities of the
ages, and lead the people to the true path of God. He invites and teaches the
people to obey the prophets and to follow the LAW. If not so, man will fail to
obtain the goal for which he is created. i.e. prosperity and perfectoin. Then
the LAW will be abandoned, and people have to wander! .
This is why we believe that after our prophet, in any age or time there has
always been, and there will be, an Imam to teach and to lead* It primarily
means:
HE WHO IS FOREMOST' hence a religious leader, a MODEL, a PATTERN or one who leads the congregational prayer. (the translator) . "O,You who believe! fear Allah and be with those who are truthful." . QURØN _ S9: 119 . This verse of QURØN does not point a certain time or a distinct age. It rather unconditionally orders the people to be the followers of the truthful ImamAll the famous commentators have taken the word: TRUTHFUL to mean an innocent Imam who is free of guilt and sin 45_ THE REALITY OF IMAMATE . WE BELIEVE that Imamate is not only the apparent rulership or leadership of a caliph, but rather a high spiritual or religious position. Besides ruling and governing the Islamic society, an Imam has the overall leadership of this mortal life of people as well as that of Hereafter. He guides the Soul and Mind of people, and guards against any deviation to occur in the LAW, meanwhile he drives at the targets assigned by the prophetThis is the same high rank that God gave to ABRAHAM after passing the stages of prophethood and the steps of apostleship and many other examsWhen ABRAHAM asked his Lord to assign the position of Imamate to some of his near kins, he was answered that this title or position will not be given to the oppressors or SINNER "And remember when ABRAHAM was tried by his Lord with certain commandments. which he fulfilledGod said to him:_ I will
make you an Emam to the people.’ He said:_ What about making Imams out of my offspring?' God answered:_No! My covenant is not within the reach
of the oppressors." .
QURØN _ S2: 124 .
It is evident that such a high moral and religious position cannot be abridged
or lowered to the apparent rulership or leadership, or else the verse will not
hand over a reasonable meaning or senseWE BELIEVE that all the
Archprophets had the dignity and grade of Imamate through their
prophethood. This is because whatever they decreed by their prophethood
they put it to work as an Imam. So was the great prophet of Islam, when at the
beginig of his missioin he conveyd the messages of God to His servants, and
meanwhile he carried on his leadership teaching people and leading them to
the path of truthWE BELIEVE that after the prophet Mohammad, his mission
was continued by the innocent Imams who succeeded him from among his
nearest kins and their offspringBy the definitions given above, to reach the
high rank of an Imam, very difficult and heavy conditions are to be observed,
such as piety to the level of innocence, having the highest level of knowledge
of religion and the LAW, and also full acquaintance with the human needs in
any age or time
46_ IMAM MUST BE INNOCENT .
WE BELIEVE that an Imam should be free of guilt or SIN. As a mater of fact
one who is not innocent, can not be trusted to teach the realities of the LAW
and the tenets of a divine Religion.It is for his innocence that we hold an
Imam’s word or deed as a religious proof
47_ IMAM IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE LAW .
WE BELIEVE that an Imam has to know all about the roots and branches, and
the commandments of Islam. He has to know the full meanings and the
EXEGESIS of QURØN, and that he takes his knowledge from the prophet or
the preveious Imam; and it is such a knowledge which is trustworthy among
our people.(THE SHIITE) .
48_ IMAM MUST BE APPOINTED OPENLY AND CLEARLY BY THE
PROPHET .
WE BELIEVE that Imam who is the successor of the prophet must be clearly
and openly appointed by the Messenger of God. Imam’s appointment also is
like that of the prophet and has to be decided by God HimselfThis is because
the distinction of piety at the level of innocence, and such that high level of
knowledge needed to make some one an Imam, is at the power of God and
His Apostle, and no one else.
We therefore know not our Imams to be elected by the vote or chioce of
people
50_ THE SHIITE IMAMS ARE APPOINTED BY THE PROPHET
HIMSELF .
WE BELIEVE that the prophet of Islam appointed all the twelve Imams as his
successors one after the otherIn SAHIH MOSLIM, (A FAMOUS SONNI
REFERENCE BOOK) We read:_ . "In a place between Mecca and Medina
which is named KHOMM GHADIR, the prophet made a speech for thousands
of Moslim, through which he said:_ .
“I am near to leave you for good. I am leaving two heavy things among you
after me:_ QURØN is the first one in which you may find light and guidance;
and my nearest kins are the second. I advice you all not to forget God in
relation to my Kins. not to forget God in relationto to My Kins.” .
The same tradition is also written in SAHIH TERMAZI, (ANOTHER
FAMOUS SONNI’S REFERENCE BOOK). The prophet added then:_ “If you
grasp the two heavy thing that I leave among you; you will never go astray.” .
The above mentioned incident is brought and found in so many famous
islamic books such as:_ .
SAHIH MOSLIM_ VOL.2 _ P.1873 .
SAHIH TERMEZI_ VOL.5 _ P.662 .
SONAN DARMI_ VOL.2 _ P.432 .
KHASØES NESAIE P.20 .
MASNAD AHMAD _ VOL.5 _ P.182 .
Therefore, No Moslim can deny this tradition which is related by successive
witnesses and important writersWE RELY also on another famous tradition
which is narrated in the SAHIH MOSLIM and SAHIH TERMAZI, SAHIH
ABIDAWOOD and other famous books that our prophet has said:_ .
“Islam will stand up to the resurrection day and untile twelve Imams all of
whom are from Ghoreish;
rule over you as my successors.” .
WE BELIEVE that there is no acceptable commentaries for such traditions as
mentioned above except that belief which is found among our sect; the
SHIITE 51_ IMAM ALI’S DESIGNATION BY THE PROPHET .
WE BELIEVE that the prophet, in several occasions has introduced and
designated Imam Ali as his successor by the decree of God, an instance of
which was in the GHADIR KHOMM somewhere near JOHFEHWhen the
prophet was returning from his last pilgrimage (HAJJ) he made a speech for a
great gathering of his companions and followers, saying:_ . “Do I not have
priority over your souls?” “Yes, of course” .
they all answered. “Then all of you know that,” continued the prophet. The
MASTER of whoever I
am, Ali shall be his master.8 Here we do not intend to go deep through
reasoning to prove our ideas, We also do not intend to insist upon our
assertion. We may only add here that such an important traditin is not
something to be ignored easily, or changing what it means, as by taking the
MASTER=MOWLA to mean a friend particularly when we see that the
prophet has put so much stress and emphasis upon the word, so as to make it
known to all! .
Is this not the same case that; IBNI ASIR has brought in his important history
book saying:_ .
"At the begining of his prophetic mission, the prophet was ordered by
God
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QURØN _ S26: 214) to admonish his nearest kindred. He invited some
fourty men of them to a dinner, and by a miracle, he fed all of them from a
single portion of food! He then made a speech and finally said to them:
which of you is willing to give me a truthful hand in this Divine Mission of mine, and become my brother and successor among all?"9 No one answered him there, cxcept Imam Ali, who said:_I will be your companion and minister: and the prophet pointed at Imam Ali and said: He is my brother and my successor among you. Thus we see the prophet to designate his VICEGERENT and Imam, from the begining of his missionThe same case also happened at the end of his mission when the prophet was at his death bed. He asked those who were round him to get him a pen AND paper to write an order which would prevent them from giong astray. one of them rejected and refused to provide pen and paper and even accused the prophet of uttering delirious speech! . to repeat again, we hereby only declare our belief in brief and a little reasoning.10, 52 _ EACH IMØM EMPHASIZES HIS SUCCSSOR . WE BELIEVE that each one of the twelve Imams are introduced and emphasized by the previous ones. The first of them was Imam Alli the son of ABUTALIB, who was succeeded by Imam Hassan his first son, and Imam Hussain the MASTER OF THE MARTYRS his second son. The third Imam was Ali the son of Imam Hussain then it came to his son Mohammad Albagher_ Then his son Ali IBN MOOSA ALREZA. The nineth of them was Mohammad Altaghi_ then his son Ali AlnaghiAfter him was his son Imam HASSAN ASGARI who was the father of Almahdi the twelfth and the last of all whom we believe to be already livingThe idea of a SAVIOUR who has to come to fill the world with justice, when it has been full of oppressions is accepted almost by all the Muslims of different sects, and many of the SONNI scholars and men of knowledge have declared that in their booksA few years ago, in answer to A question about the existence of ALMAHDI, the Islamic World Relations Society, issued a pamphlet to emphasize that of a surety he will come, and in that pamphlet many evidences and documents were presented to prove that. Many of the Muslims believe that Almahdi will be born in future, but the SHIITES believe that he has already been born, and so far he has lived a long life, and by the decree of God, he shall appear one day to fill the world with justice 53_ NONE OF THE PROPHET'S COMPANION COULD EXCEL IMAM ALI . WE BELIEVE that none of the prophet's companions did, or could excel Imam Ali in any respect; and that Imam was at the highest religious position other than that of the prophetsOf course we know it unlawful to mispresent the Imam by overstating him and by exaggerations. Those who prove for him the position of diety or something like that are all heretics in our sight, as are those who undervalue him, and we are absolutely disgusted with their belief, although they might call themselves the SHIITE of Imam Ali and mingle their names with oursThe leading SHIITES and the orthodox have always rejected the two groups who overvalue or undervalue the Imam, and have called them, and taken them as heretics 54_ THE PROPHET'S COMPANIONS AT THE COURT OF WISDOM AND HISTORY . WE BELIEVE that there were many great men of devotion and chastity among the companious of the prophet; but all of them were not so, because the HOLY QURØN declares many among them as being kypocrites!11 There were also men who broke their allegiance with the VICEGERENT OF GOD, after the prophet, and made wars and shed the blood of thousands of Muslims upon the soilMuslims just because they have been with the prophet or they carry the title of COMPANION’ for themselves? .
In other word, how can we judge that both of the two parties who made the
battles of seffain and jamal were rightful and, on the righteous path? How can
both of the two group of combatants be honest and truthful? .
Some bring forth the foot of religious researches and self exegeis on the
ground by saying that:_ Surely one of the two parties was wrong and oppresive, but as they were taking their decisions by their EXEGESIS, both parties were on righteousness in the sight of God_This, we cannot accept easilyHow could one with his own exegesis and self_comprehensions break his allegiance and loyalty to the VICEGERENT OF GOD, who is entitled to obedience, and create such fearful wars between Muslims, grouping them and shedding streams of their blood. with the justification that his exegesis and self researches have decreed him to do so!? What else then can not be justified by such prsonal comprehensions and self commentaries? . Let us be more frank, that every one, even the nearest companions of the prophet are held in pledge of their deeds and are responsible for what they have done and have to answer for it:_ . "The most honoured of you in Allah's sight, is he who is the most virtuous (CHASTE) of you." . QURØN _ S49: 13 . The above holy verse is true for all even for the nearest companions of the prophetWe therefore have to judge them by their deeds, and we should have a resonable definition for them all. Those who were truthful at the presence of the Apostle, at his absence too, did their best to guard the religion and to observe his commandments. They remained faithful to their covenant and respected their promisesOn the other hand, those among his companions who were hypocrites and vexed him, did the same after himwhatever they did, was against Islam and Muslims "You shall find no believer in Allah and the last judgement to love those who oppose Allah and His Apostle, even though they be their father, their sons, their brothers, or their nearest kindred. Allah has inscribed the faith in their hearts and Has strengthened them with a SPIRIT OF HIS, God will admit them to the GARDENS OF BLISS, beneath which streams flow, wherein they shall live for ever. They are the PARTY OF ALLAH, and Allah's party shall achieve felecity." . QURØN _ S58: 22 . We believe that those who harmed the prophet in his presence or absence do not worth an admireOf course we must not forget that some of the companions of the prophet showed the utmost truthfulness and sincerity with the greatest self_sacrifices and have been admired by God Himself and so were a group who followed them later:_ . "The vangaurd of Islam; the first of those who forsook their homes, and of those who gave them aid; and also those who followed them in good deeds:_ Well pleased is Allah with them and they with Allah. For them is prepared GARDENS OF BLISS, under which streams flow. They dwell there in for ever. That's the Supreme Felicity . QURØN _ S9: 100 . This was our belief in brief about the companions of our prophet 54_ IMAM TAKES HIS KNOWLEDGE FROM THE PROPHET . According to the order of our prophet:_ To observe QURØN and HIS
NEAREST KINS’: and also to the innocency of the Imams, our jurisprudence
of divine Law, is also based upon the words, deeds and consents; (doing
something in front of them without having their objection) of the innocent
Imams. The three factors, i.e. words, deeds, and consent of our Imams are
accepted proofs for us. We have to note also that whatever an Imama says; it
is a narration of the prophet through his fathers. This is to say what ever an
Imam says it has been said by the prophetImam BAGHER told one of his
students named JAABIR:_ "That which we convey to you is what we have
taken out of a treasure that belongs to our prophet Mohammad."12 Through
another tradition from Imam JAAFAR SØDIQ we read:_ "Some one asked
him a question and the Imam answered him. The man began to dispute about
the answer. Imam told him: The answer I gave you was that of the prophet and you have no right to dispute." Another remarkable point to note is about the important books on collected traditions such as; KAAFI _ TAHZIB ESTEBSAR_ and MAN LA YAHZAROHOL FAGHIH, that we have and we use. Although these books are much trusted in our sight, but still it dosn't mean to us that whatever is written in them is true and acceptable by usBesides the above mentioned tradition books we also have the books of WHO IS WHO About personalities, (ALREJAL=THE MEN) Through such books we investigate about the personalities of the narrators of the tradidition and also about their chains of documents and references so as to make sure if a tradition is true and correct. Therefore, however important and trustworthy a book might be, to accept a tradition from it has to convince us that it reads and is compatible with our standard, or else we shall reject itsome Islamic sects have thier own collection of traditions (HADIS) which they know them to be correct. (SAHIH) The authors have named their book, THE CORREC=SAHIH and
some men of importance might have admitted that these are CORRECT, but in
our sight, that tradition is correct which is reasonably proved to have been
said by the prophet