The Divine Leadership - Imamah
Belief In Divinely Appointed Leader
This is the belief in the necessity of divinely chosen leadership as a medium between the Creator and the creatures, and its continuity till the resurrection day. This again is an outcome of the principle of God's cherishing.
In order to keep man on the progressive right path during his journey towards the ultimate object of creation, God ordained that in the human society there shall never be a vacuum with respect to a ‘pivot’ or ‘central man’ who is blessed by God directly, and through whom the whole community of mankind is blessed.
A blessed pivot as such functions in two ways. First, as the medium between the Absolute and finite beings and second, as the standard and model for guidance of humanity. As a medium, he should continue to exist successively without an interval, from the beginning of creation i.e. since the existence of Adam - the first man - till the achievement of the ultimate object of creation.
In the performance of this function, it is not necessary that he should be known to every member of the human society. But as a model and standard for the guidance of the other members of the society he should be known to them, and continuity is not necessary. It may be from time to time with interval in between. During this period, the pivot remains incognito in order to give opportunities to individuals for using their discretion and free will in their activities and in developing their aptitude. The guidance should not entail any blind following. Thus, the continuity of the presence of the model on the scene of human society as a teacher and guide is not needed.
In other words, constant and continuous existence of a perfect man one after another as a pivot of human society is a necessary sequence of the principle of 'universal cherishing' (Rububiyyah al-Mutlaqa) although his presence as an identifiable person is not always necessary. This function of the Pivot is termed as 'Imamah’ or ‘khilafat or the vicegerency of God on earth)’.
Such a personality - in functioning as a teacher and guide to the members of human society - provides them with all the requisite means to develop their aptitude fully, of their own free will and choice. This function is needed only from time to time, and not continuously. Thus, the presence of the Pivot is necessary when he performs this function, which is termed as 'Nubuwwah' (prophethood). This is the distinctive function of conveying the divine message of God to mankind and informing them of what is right and what is wrong, so that they may choose any one of these two courses - right or wrong - of their own free will.
Thus, it will be observed that every prophet of God is an Imam (divinely appointed leader) as well as Rasool or Nabi (divine prophet or messenger of God). All the imams (divinely appointed leaders), on the other hand, are not necessarily divine prophets or messengers of God. They arc divinely appointed successors (or executors) to the prophets of God and the vicegerents of God on earth.
The first function i.e. 'prophethood' assumed its complete and perfect form with the revelation and declaration of the Qur'anic verses:
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And perfect is the. word of thy Lord in truth and justice; There is none who can change His words, and He is the All-Hearing and All-Knowing.” (6:115)
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“ …. This day have I perfected for you, your religion, and have completed My favour on you, and chosen for you Islam (to be) the Religion ….” (5:3)
As for the second function, the person who has been commissioned by God to deliver the last message and guidance (the Qur'an) is also the topmost in leadership. As such, his divine leadership shall continue till the Resurrection Day. This is the great kingdom (Mulk al-Adheem) given by God to Aali Ibrahim in addition to the book and wisdom which He has gifted them.
أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَىٰ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكًا عَظِيمًا
“Or do they envy the people for what God hath given them of His grace; But indeed, We have given to Abraham's children the Book and the Wisdom and We gave them a Great Kingdom.” (4:54)
'The book' refers to the last message, the Holy Qur’an, which comprehends all the previous revelations. The 'Wisdom' refers to the intellectual Power of the purified members of the children of Ibrahim to give true interpretation of the last book of God. The phrase 'great kingdom' refers to the kingdom, which is declared 'Great' by God, and not which many men consider it great or otherwise. This ‘great kingdom’ is the kingdom of God.
لِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“God’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what (all) is in them; and He (alone) hath the power over all things. (5:120)
The ‘great kingdom’ on one hand means the authority and power (ul’ il-amr) that God has gifted them to execute His will and on the other hand means the absolute obedience to their order and directives that God has made incumbent on the people. This power and authority with which the prophet was endowed, and which continued with the successive imams of his house did not manifest to mankind in its entirety. In other words, the practical domination and exercise of divine authority over mankind (in particular) and the universe (in general) have not come to be evident as to be realised by everyone.
The first gift of God to the family of Ibrahim had already come into manifestation in the form of the Qur’an the Book, the word of God. The second gift, that of ‘wisdom’, became evident in the form of the teachings and precepts of the last of 'His' prophets and his divinely purified and declared successors. The third gift, that of the great kingdom of God - although had already been bestowed on them along with the other two gifts - is to be manifested totally (Zuhoor al-Kuli) at the destined time.
Therefore, it is true that Prophethood (Risalat al-Ilahiah) has reached its final stage through the last of the divine messengers, Muhammad (S) and there is no further divine messenger to be delivered to mankind; and the wisdom which Muhammad (S) and his divinely purified successors were endowed with by God - - in its delivery to mankind passed through gradual stages and reached its finality through the eleventh imam of the house of the Holy Prophet, Hasan al-Askari (‘a).
The first of the two gifts, the Book, in its gradual revelation, reached its final stage of completion about three months before the demise of the Holy Prophet (S). The second gift - wisdom or divinely gifted power of understanding and explaining the contents of the book - needed a long period. It took nearly three hundred years to reach its final stage. This is the period during which the eleven declared imams from the house of prophet had to shoulder the task of placing the requisite wisdom or explanatory divine directives within the reach of the people as a supplementary part of the constitution of Islam.
These two gifts are termed as Kitab and Sunnah i.e. teachings of the Holy Prophet. To perform the task of conveying and placing them within the reach of the people, the presence of imams as teachers was necessary. However, the constitution reached its final stage in the sense that the life and teachings of the Holy Prophet, as supplementary part of the constitution, were mirrored in the lives and teachings of the imams of the house and this was recorded in the form of collections like al-Kafi. Then there was no need for the presence of imam as a teacher.
On the contrary, it was a divine blessing that the imam of the time should disappear from the scene as teacher so that the people may have respite and chance to apply their power of reasoning and discretion in order to grasp, understand and digest the denotations, connotations and implications of the divine constitution i.e. the kitab and Sunnah. It was a blessing to give people the chance of putting all out efforts to rationalize the revelation. This period is termed the period of Ijtihad.
Therefore, the continuous existence of vicegerents of God on the earth is an outcome of divine Grace (lutf Ilahi). The appearance of these vicegerents from time to time in the form of prophets, messengers and divine teachers is another manifestation of His grace. The incognito existence of the vicegerents during the interval between the prophets before the advent of the last prophet and the incognito existence of the twelfth imam from the house of Holy Prophet -after the completion of the teaching period of the divine constitution - are further manifestations of grace of God (Lutf al-Akhir).
When this period of rationalization or application of the human power of reasoning (Ijtihad) reaches its climax, in a right or wrong course, the time will be ripe for the universal manifestation of the great Kingdom of Aali Ibrahim or ‘Wilayat Muhammad’, bestowed upon the family of Ibrahim in the person of the last guide or leader (imam) of the house of Muhammad (S).
This twelfth imam, Mahdi (‘a), and no one else, can claim to combine in him all the spiritual and blood heritage from Adam to the last prophet, Muhammad (S). He represents both the branches of the house of Ibrahim - the Ismailite branch through his father and Israilite branch through his mother Nargis, who was a direct descendant of Simon Peter, the true successor of the holy prophet Jesus (‘a).
The Last Imam will appear with psychic and spiritual forces on his disposal, which surpass in potency all the physical forces known to mankind at the climax or end of the ‘period of Rationalisation’. The potency of this Force as compared to that of the Atomic Energy can be appreciated if we compare the latter to the primitive energy of mules and camels. The energy used by man at present has over- come all the space distances of the earth by means of radio, television, supersonic jets and other atomic devices. Above this, man in his rational progress of dominating matter expects to establish communication with outer- space regions and other planets.
But with the use of physical and spiritual force of unimaginable dynamism, the twelfth and last of the divinely appointed guides and leaders, the Last Imam of the Age (Imam al-Asr) will not only remove the spatial distance between people of different regions, but he will also remove the time distances in between and establish direct communication with those who in our limited concept of time are considered to have been of the past.
This will come to be evident at the advent, or appearance, of the last imam. The establishment of communication with the present and past is termed 'the Return' (Raja’ah) which is the minor or lesser resurrection. This will usher the era of the manifestation of the Great Kingdom of God, which He has bestowed on the family of Ibrahim in fulfillment of His promise:
وَعْدَ اللَّهِ لَا يُخْلِفُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“(This is) the promise of God! Faileth not God His promise, but most people know not (this).” (30:6)
It must however be emphasized that the appearance of the last imam shall not, in whatsoever manner, affect any change or abrogation in the religion of Islam, as presented by the last of the divine messengers, the topmost divine guides and leaders, Muhammad (S) inclusive of the explanatory comments given by him and his divinely purified successors, the eleven imams. This era signifies the evidence of the practical execution of all the denotations, connotations and implications of those ‘divine teachings’ under the ‘great kingdom’ of Al al-Ibrahim.
The state of affairs at the climax of the ‘minor resurrection’ and the ushering in of the major resurrection can be better appreciated if we ponder over the comparison - that was already indicated - between the ushering in of the ‘minor resurrection’ and the climax of Ijtihad (the application of human power of reasoning).
In concluding the discourse on 'belief in Imamah’ we should emphatically bear in mind the following points as part of the belief:
(1) The continuity of Imamah as a medium between the Creator and the creatures; and that an imam may live in a manner by which he is identifiable or in one that he is not.
(2) The status of Imamah is a divine gift given to none but a person who is purified from all physical and spiritual defects and uncleanliness which may affect the state of his absolute submission to the Will of God (Ubudiat al-Mutlaqa). Thus, the Imam of the time means a person who is foremost in the hierarchy of creatures in obedience to the will of God and in representing His Will to mankind: this is submission for which jinns and man are created.
(3) This Imamah starts with Adam, and through a successive chain of the most submissive persons descended from him, reached Ibrahim; from Ibrahim is continued in two branches of Israilites and Ismailites. The Israilites branch ended with its last link Jesus (‘a) who disappeared from this terrestrial scene in an unusual way. The Ismailites branch continued to carry the same submissive status generation after generation without any gap but remained in non-recognisable manner till it appeared in the person of the Holy Prophet (S).
وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِعِبَادِهِ لَخَبِيرٌ بَصِيرٌ
“And that which have revealed unto thee of the book, it is the truth testifying that which hath before it, verily God, about His servants is All-aware, All-Seeing.” (35:31)
ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مُقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ
“Then made We the inheritors of the book (Qur’an) those who chose we from among our servants; and of them is those who causeth himself to suffer a loss, and of them is he who followeth the middle course, and of them is he who is the foremost in goodness by God’s permission; This is that which is the greatest excellence” (35:32)
(4) The Qur'an declared that the chain would continue after the prophet in the same chosen and purified members of his house, and they shall inherit whatever God has gifted to Aali Ibrahim. The Prophet declared in unequivocal terms:
مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ إِمَامَ زَمَانِهِ مَاتَ مِينَةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ
“Whoever dies without knowing the imam of his time, his death will be paganic death (Jahilyyah)”1
He also declared in unequivocal terms that the number of imams after him shall be twelve, not more or not less. He, according to Ithna Asha’ari school of thought also mentioned the names of all the twelve imams who will succeed each other. There are many traditions narrated from Sunni sources supporting the above conclusion.
In any case throughout the history of Islam no one can point out the names of the twelve persons from the Ismailite branch of Aali Ibrahim, who after the Holy Prophet, succeeded each other, carrying in them the excellence and purity that would make them deserve the status of being foremost in submission to the Will of God, apart from the Holy Twelve Imams of the house of Holy Prophet.
The last of them, the Mahdi (‘a) is, as already pointed out, the son of the eleventh imam. He was born on the fifteenth of Sha'aban 254 H in Samarrah, Iraq. He combines in him - as his eleven predecessors did - all the excellences required for inheriting Imamah (the divine leadership) of Ibrahim, which was carried by the two branches (Israilites: and Ismailites).
He represents Aali Ibrahim in its full significance. He had been born and is living in terrestrial form as a pivot and medium between the Creator and the creatures but in a non-identifiable manner, till the period of Ijtihad is over. For the person of such great spiritual accomplishment, the question ‘length of life’ does not arise. His soul is strong and high and is far from being fettered with conditions of matter. His will-power controls his body and other material things, so his life and death are under his disposal and his will is controlled by none but by 'His' (God's) Will.
(5) The Imam's reappearance will follow the immediate descent of Jesus (‘a) as his follower. As such, the Imam shall establish the Great Kingdom of Aali Ibrahim throughout the world.
(6) The establishment of his kingdom will necessarily be associated with and followed by the ‘minor resurrection’ which means the ‘return’ of all the leading righteous personalities who had performed an important role in promoting this right cause. Along with their return, a group of their opponents - wrongdoers who had played a leading role against the sacred cause - will also be brought to the scene for condemnation.
This belief in the minor resurrection or return of the leading righteous personalities and the leading wicked ones does not mean any rebirth. Nor does it imply the Hindu and Greek theories of transmigration of soul into a new body through the process of birth. It actually means a gathering of a group of leading personalities, who have died before, in the final stage of the total manifestation of the great kingdom of Aali Ibrahim.
They gather and meet each other in the same manner as in the major resurrection, whereby all individuals and groups who lived in different times and places will meet each other. The difference between the two resurrections and returns is only this. In one, it will be partial, while in the other it will be total (resurrection). Raja’ah means Qiyamah al-Sughra and Qiyamah means Raja’ah al-Kubra, in what manner and shape the former and the latter are possible is asserted in the Qur'an.
A brief sketch of the life of twelve imams along with the life of Holy Prophet (S) and his daughter Fatimah (‘a), the lady of paradise, and their contribution towards the advancement of Islam and the message will be dealt with separately.
The point to be noted here is that the eleventh imam, Al-Hasan al-Askari (‘a), passed away on the 8th of Rabiul Awwal 260 H at Samerra - the military cantonment of Abbasid Caliphs - in Iraq. The twelfth Imam, Al-Mahdi (‘a) was then about six years old. Although his birth, like the birth of Moses, for almost the same reasons, was kept in secrecy, yet ever since his birth the eleventh imam used to introduce him to his chosen and trusted disciples as his successor and the expected ‘Mahdi’ of the holy house.
The eleventh imam used to reiterate and confirm the prophecies of his predecessors regarding the occultation of the 'twelfth' and his continuous existence for a very long time in the terrestrial realm in non-recognizable manner, discharging his duty as a pivot and medium between the Creator and His creatures. He is the real administrator of his jurisdiction, which is as wide as the jurisdiction of the messengership of his grandfather, the last prophet which is as extensive as the universe of the Lord, the Cherisher.
He receives divine blessings and grace and diffuses them to his surroundings in unknown and non-recognisable way. During this period of occultation his relation to this terrestrial region and his domination over it is not severed and or ceased; it is only the people that ceased to have regular and recognizable communication with him.
This period of occultation is divided into two parts - minor and major. During the period of the minor occultation the regular communication between the people with the imam did not totally cease. People used to have regular communication and correspondence with the imam mostly through his four nominated successive agents known as Nawab al-Arba’ah (four deputies). Some of the prominent disciples had even the chance of direct communication with the imam.
The four nominated deputies were:
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Uthman Ibn Sa’id al-Amry. He used to discharge the duties of deputy during the life of the tenth imam and the eleventh imam.
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Uthman's son Muhammad Ibn Uthman. He also used to discharge the duties of the deputy during the two previous imams. Both the father and son were certified by the tenth and eleventh imams as their most reliable and sincere representatives.
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Abul Qasim Al-Husayn Ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti. He was nominated by Muhammad Ibn Uthman as his succeeding deputy.
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Abu al-Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad al-Samarri. He succeeded the third through nomination by the third. All these nominations were confirmed by showing irrefutable testimonies.
This period lasted for seventy years. It ended with the death of the fourth deputy in the year 330 H., one year after the death of Kulaini, the author of Kafi. Al-Samarri received an Epistle from the imam ten days before his death to the effect that the period of minor occultation was over and we should not nominate anyone to succeed him as his special deputy. During this period, a few imposters claimed to have the status of deputy, but all were exposed by the Imam and were denounced by the Shi’a School of thought.
Then the second part, the ‘major occultation’ (ghaibat al-kubra) started which continued till the time of reappearance of the imam. During this period, no person - who is particularly nominated as deputy - has been existing or will exist. Almost all the imams - and particularly the tenth, eleventh and twelfth imams - declared and affirmed the authoritative status of those pious and righteous scholars who were exclusively following the faith of Ithna Asha’ari and have attained the scholarly ability to understand the denotations, connotations and implications of the aforesaid constitution of Islam, the kitab and Sunnah through sound rational approach which is termed as Ijtihad.
This class of scholars have been declared by the vicegerents of God to have the right of discharging the duty of a person deputed and nominated by the imams within the limit of their ability. According to the kitab and Sunnah the people who have not attained the standard of scholarly ability termed as Ijtihad, has to follow - in all the debatable issues - the opinion of living mujtahid who is the superior most in knowledge and piety.
In case there is no person who is most superior or that he is not identifiable, the non-mujtahid has the option to adopt one of the topmost mujtahids of equal standard and follow his opinion in the debatable issues. The author has dealt with the subject in his Treatise on Occultation. For further details, one should refer to the chapters on Ijtihad and Taqlid in the literature on the principle of Shi’a jurisprudence.
During this period of major occultation there are many reliable accounts of communications and contacts between certain persons with the twelfth imam, but all those stories and events show that the contact or communication was mere accidental and circumstantial. Thus, none can claim to have the honour of regular communications with him (the Imam). There is no doubt that piety, devotion and attachment to the holy house and their directives bring one - in his effort to solve the problems of religious importance facing him - to the state of receiving more blessings and inconspicuous guidance from the imam
However, the recognition of the authoritative status of qualified living mujtahids of the time - as representatives and general deputies of the imam - during his major occultation, is a necessary part of the theocratic form of governance recognized and advocated by the Ithna Asha’ari Schools of Shi’a faith. It differs from all theocratic forms of governance recognized or advocated by other schools in Islam or in other religions of the world.
This has nothing to do with any temporal and secular forms of government (be it monarchy, constitutional or despotic, dictatorship, democracy or republic). It differs from the form of Imamah prescribed by Zaidi schools of Shi’ism or Hazir Imams of the Sabbahi schools of Ismaili Shi’a, or the Da'ie leadership of Msta Ali School of Ismailites. It also differs from the authority status recognized by some schools for the saints of the mystic order2
- 1. Sunni Sources: Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, V. 28, P. 88; Saheeh Muslim, V. 3, P. 1478; Hilyatul Awliyaa' by al-Asbahani, V.3, P. 244; Kitab Al-Sunnah by Ibn Abi 'Aasim, V.2, P.503; Al-Sunan Al-Khubra by al-Bayhaqi, V.8, P. 270; Saheeh ibn Hibbaan, V.10, P.434; Sunan Abi Dawood, V.3, P.425; Al-Mo'jam Al-Kabeer by al-Tabaraani, V.19, P.334 and many others.
Shi’i Sources: Kitab Al-Kafi by al-Kulaini 2; 21; Kamaal Al-Deen by Al-Sadouq; 2;409; Kifayat Al-Athar by Al-Khazzaz 296, and others. [Note by Al-Islam.org]. - 2. Treatise on Occultation by the same author.