Hadith Haqq
Umm-Salamah has said, "I heard from the Prophet of God who said, 'All is with the Truth (haqq) and the Qur'an, and the
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Truth and the Qur'an are also with 'Ali, and 1 they will be inseparable until they come upon me at Kawthar.'"
1
Hadith Manzilah
Sa'd ibn Waqqas has said, "The Prophet of God said to 'Ali, `Are you not satisfied to be to me what Harun (Aaron) was to Moses except that after me there will not be another prophet?"
2
Hadith Da'wat 'Ashirah
The Prophet invited his relatives to luncheon and after the meal told them, "I know of no one who has brought to his people better things than I have brought to You. God has commanded me to invite you to draw toward Him. Who is there who will assist me in this matter and be my brother and inheritor (wasi) and vicegerent (khalifah) among you?" All remained silent, but 'All, who was the youngest of all, exclaimed, "I shall be your deputy and aide." Then the Prophet put his arms around him and said, "He is my brother, inheritor and vicegerent. You must obey him." Then the group began to depart laughing and telling Abu-Talib, "Muhammad has ordered you to obey your son."
3
Hudhayfah has said, "The Prophet of God said, 'If you make 'Ali my vicegerent and successor—which I do not think you will
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1 Ghayat al-Mai-am, pp. 539, where the substance of this hadith has been recounted in fifteen versions from Sunni sources and eleven from Shi'ite sources.
2 Al-Bidayah wa 'l-Nihayah, vol. VII, pp. 339; Dhakha'ir al-'Uqba, pp. 63; al-Fusul al-Muhimmah, pp. 21; Kifayat al-Talib of Kanji Shafi' i, Najaf, 1356, pp. 148-154; Khasa's, pp. 19-25; al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, pp. 177. In Ghayat al-Maram, pp. 109, one hundred versions of this hadith have been recounted In Sunni sources and seventy from Shi'ite sources.
3 Tarikh Abi 'l-Fida', vol. I, pp. 116.
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do—you will find him a perspicacious guide who will direct you toward the straight path!'"
1
Ibn Mardawayh has said that the Prophet, said, "Whoever wishes that his life and death be like mine and that he enter paradise should after me love 'Ali and follow my household, for they are my descendants and have been created from my clay. My knowledge and understanding have been bestowed upon them. Therefore, woe unto those who deny their virtues. My intercession [on the Day of Judgement] will never include them."
2
Affirmation of the Previous Section
Much of the argument of Shi'ism concerning the succession to the Prophet rests on the belief that during the last days of his illness, the Prophet in the presence of some of his companions asked for some paper and ink
3 so that something could be written which, if obeyed by the Muslims, would prevent them from going astray. Some of those present considered the Prophet to be too ill to be able to dictate anything and said, `The Book of God is sufficient for us.' There was so much clamor raised over this matter that the Holy Prophet told those present to leave, for in the presence of a prophet there should not go any noise or clamor.
Considering what has been said above about hadiths concerning succession and the events that followed upon the death of the Prophet, especially the fact that 'Ali was not consulted in the question of selecting the Prophet's successor, Shi' ites conclude
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1 Hilyat al-Awliya', of Abu-Nu'aym Isfahani, vol. I, Cairo, 1351, pp. 64; Kifayat al-Talib, pp. 67.
2 Muntakhab Kanz al-'Ummal, on the margin of Musnad Ahmad, Cairo, 1368, vol. V, pp. 94.
3 Al-Bidayah wa 'l-Nih?yah, vol. V, pp. 227; vol, II, pp. 217; Tarikh Tabari, vol. II, pp. 436; Sharh of Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid vol. 1, pp. 133.
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that the Holy Prophet had wanted to dictate his definitive views about the person who was to succeed him but was not able to do so.
The purpose of the utterances of some of those present seems to have been to cause confusion and prevent this final decision from being clearly announced. Their interruption of the Holy Prophet's discourse does not seem to be what it appears outwardly, that is concern with the possibility that the Prophet might utter incongruous words due to the intensity of his illness. For, first of all, throughout his illness the Holy Prophet was not heard to have uttered any meaningless or incongruous words and no such thing has been transmitted concerning him. Moreover, according to the principles of Islam, the Prophet is protected by God from uttering delirious or senseless words and is inerrant.
Secondly, if the words mentioned by some of those present on that occasion before the Prophet were meant to be of a serious nature, there would have been no place for the next phrase, "The Book of God is sufficient for us." In order to prove that the Prophet might utter incongruous words under unusual circumstances the reason of his serious illness would have been used rather than the claim that with the Qur'an there was no need of the Prophet's words. For it could not be hidden from any Muslim that the very text of the Book of God considers the obedience to the Holy Prophet to be obligatory and his words to be in a sense like the Word of God. According to the text of the Holy Qur'an, Muslims must obey the injunctions of both God and the Prophet.
Thirdly, an incident involving illness occurred during the last days of the life of the first caliph, who in his last will and testament chose the second caliph as his successor. When Uthman was writing the will according to the order of the caliph, the caliph fainted. Yet the second caliph did not repeat the words that had been uttered in the case of the Prophet
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according to the hadith of "Pen and Paper."
1 This fact has been confirmed in a hadith related by Ibn 'Abbas.
2 And it has been accounted of the second caliph that he said, "'Ali deserved the caliphate but the Quraysh would not have been able to bear his caliphate, for had he become caliph, he would have forced the people to accept the pure truth and follow the right path. Under his caliphate, they would not have been able to transgress the boundaries of justice and thus would have sought to engage in war with him."
3
Obviously, according to religious principles, one must force him who has deviated from the truth to follow the truth; one must not abandon the truth for the sake of one who has abandoned it. When the first caliph was informed
4 that some of the Muslim tribes had refused to pay religious tax, he ordered war and said, "If they do not give me the tithes which they gave to the Prophet, I shall fight against them." Evidently by this saying he meant most of all that truth and justice must be revived at all costs. Surely the problem of the legitimate caliphate was more important and significant than tithes, and Shi'ism believes that the same principle applied by the first caliph to this matter should have been applied by the whole early community to the problem of succession to the Holy Prophet.
The Imamate and Its Role in the Exposition
of the Divine Sciences
In the discussion of prophecy, it was mentioned that, according to the immutable and necessary law of general guidance, each created species is guided through the path of genesis and generation toward the perfection and felicity of its own kind.
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1 Al-Kamil, vol. II, pp. 292; Sharh of Ibn Abi 'l-Hadid vol. I, pp. 54.
2 Sharh of lbn Abi 'l-Hadid, vol. I, pp. 134.
3 Tarikh Ya'qubi, vol. II, pp. 137.
4 Al-Biddyah wa 'l-Nihayah, vol. VI, pp. 311.
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The human species is not an exception to this general law. Man must be guided through the very "instinct" of seeking reality and through thought concerning his life in society in such a way that his well being in this world and the next is guaranteed. In other words, to attain human happiness and perfection, man must accept a series of doctrines and practical duties and base his life upon them.
It has, moreover, already been said that the way to understand that total program for life called religion is not through reason but through revelation and prophecy, which manifests itself in certain pure beings among mankind who are called prophets. It is the prophets who receive from God, through revelation, the knowledge of men's duties and obligations as human beings and who make these known to men so that by fulfilling them men may attain felicity.
It is evident that in the same way that this reasoning proves the necessity for knowledge to guide men to the attainment of happiness and perfection, it also proves the necessity for the existence of individuals who preserve intact the total body of that knowledge and who instruct the people when necessary. Just as the Divine Compassion necessitates the existence of persons who come to know the duties of mankind through revelation, so also it makes it necessary that these human duties and actions of celestial origin remain forever preserved in the world and as the need arises be presented and explained to mankind. In other words, there must always be individuals who preserve God's religion and expound it when necessary.
The person who bears the duty of guarding and preserving the Divine message after it is revealed and is chosen by God for this function is called the Imam, in the same way that the person who bears the prophetic spirit and has the function of receiving Divine injunctions and laws from God is called the Prophet. It
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is possible for the Imamate
1 and prophecy (nubuwwab) either to be joined in one person or to be separate.
The proof given previously to demonstrate the inerrancy of prophets, also demonstrates the inerrancy of the Imams, for God must preserve His true religion intact and in such a state that it can be propagated among mankind at all times. And this is not possible without inerrancy, without Divine protection against error.
The Difference Between Prophet and Imam
The previous argument about the reception of Divine injunctions and laws by the prophets only proves the basis of prophecy, namely the receiving of Divine injunctions. The argument does not prove the persistence and continuity of prophecy, even though the very fact that these prophetic injunctions have been preserved naturally raises the idea of persistence and continuity. That is why it is not necessary for a prophet (nabs) always to be present among mankind, but the existence of the Imam, who is the guard ian of Divine religion, is on the contrary a continuous necessity for human society. Human society can never be without the figure whom Shi'ism calls the Imam whether or not he is recognized and known. God, the Most Exalted, has said in His Book: "So if these disbelieve in it, We have already entrusted it to a people [i.e., the Imams] who do not disbelieve in it" (Qur'an, VI, 90).
2
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1 Editor's note: In this context of course Imamate refers to the specific Shiite conception of Imam and not to the general Sunni usage of the term which in most instances is the same as caliph.
2 Editor's note: The translation of this Qur'anic verse is that of A. J. Arberry, The Qur'an Interpreted, London, 1964, which corresponds more closely to the Arabic original than Pickthall's which is as follows "But if these disbelieve therein, then indeed We shall entrust it to a people who will not be disbelievers therein."
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As mentioned above, the functions of prophecy and Imamate may be joined in one person who is then appointed to the functions of both prophet and Imam, or to both the reception of the Divine law and its preservation and explanation. And sometimes they can be separated, such as in periods during which there is no prophet living but when there is a true Imam living among men. It is obvious that the number of God's prophets is limited and the prophets have not been present in every period and age.
It is also of significance to note that in God's Book, some of the prophets have been introduced as Imams such as the Prophet Abraham, about whom is said, "And (remember) when his Lord tried Abraham with (His) commands, and he fulfilled them, He said. Lo! I have appointed thee a leader [Imam] for mankind. (Abraham) said: And of my offspring (will there be leaders)? He said: My covenant includeth not wrongdoers" (Qur'an, 11, 124). And God has also said, "And We made them chiefs [imams] who guide by Our command..." (Qur'an, XXI, 73).
The Imamate and Its Role in the
Esoteric Dimension of Religion
In the same way that the Imam is the guide and leader of men in their external actions so does he possess the function of inward and esoteric leadership and guidance. He is the guide of the caravan of humanity which is moving inwardly and esoterically toward God. In order to elucidate this truth, it is necessary to rum to the following two introductory comments. First of all, without any doubt, according to Islam as well as other Divine religions, the sole means of attaining real and eternal happiness or misery, felicity or wretchedness, is by means of good or evil actions which man comes to recognize through the instruction of Divine religion as well as through his own primordial and God-given nature and intelligence. Second, through the means of revelation and prophecy, God has praised or condemned man's actions according to the language of human beings and the society in which they live. He has promised those Who do good and obey and accept the teachings
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of revelation a happy eternal life in which are fulfilled all desires that accord with human perfection. And to the evildoers and the iniquitous, He has given warning of a bitter perpetual life in which is experienced every form of misery and disappointment.
Without any doubt God, who stands in every way above all that we can imagine, does not, as we do, possess "thought" moulded by a particular social structure. The relations of master and servant, ruler and ruled, command and prohibition, reward and punishmart, do not exist outside our social life. The Divine Order is the system of creation itself, in which the existence and appearance of everything is related solely to its creation by God according to real relations and to that alone. Furthermore, as has been mentioned in the Holy Quran
1 and prophetic hadith, religion contains truths and verities obove the common comprehension of man, which God has revealed to us in a language we can comprehend on the level of our understanding.
It can thus be concluded that there is a real relationship between good and evil actions and the kind of life that is prepared for man in eternity, a relation that determines the happiness or misery of the future life according to the Divine Will. Or in simpler words, it can be said that each good or evil action brings into being a real effect within the soul of man which determines the character of his future life. Whether he understands it or not, man is like a child who is being trained. From the instructions of the teacher, the child hears nothing but do's and don'ts but does not understand the meaning of the actions he performs. Yet, when he grows up, as a result of virtuous mental and spiritual habits attained inwardly during the period of training, he is able to have a happy social life. If, however, he refuses to submit to the instructions of the teacher,
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1 For example: "By the Scripture which maketh plain. Lo! We have appointed it a Lecture in Arabic that haply ye may understand. And lo! in the Source of Decrees, which We possess, it is indeed sublime, decisive" (Qur'an, XLIII, 2 4).
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he will undergo nothing but misery and unhappiness. Or he is like a sick person who, when in the care of a physician, takes medicine, food and special exercises as directed by the physician and who has no other duty than to obey the instructions of his doctor. The result of this submission to his orders is the creation of harmony in his constitution which is the source of health as well as every form of physical enjoyment and pleasure. To summarize, we can say that within his outward life, man possesses an inner life, a spiritual life, which is related to his deeds and actions and develops in relation to them, and that his happiness or misery in the hereafter is completely dependent upon this inner life.
The Holy Qur'an also confirms this explanation.
1 In many verses, it affirms the existence of another life and another spirit for the virtuous and the faithful, a life higher than this life and a spirit more illuminated than the spirit of man as we know it here and now. It asserts that man's acts have inner effects upon his soul that remain always with him. In prophetic sayings there are also many references to this point. For example, in the Hadith Mi'raj (hadith of the nocturnal ascension) God addresses the Prophet in these words: "He who wishes to act according to My satisfaction must possess three qualities: he must exhibit a thankfulness that is not mixed with ignorance, a remembrance upon which the dust of forgetfulness will not settle, and a love in which he does not prefer the love of creatures rather than My love. If he loves Me, I love him; I will
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1 Such as these verses: "And every soul cometh along with it a driver and a witness., (And unto the evildoers it is said): Thou wast in heedlessness of this. Now We have removed from thee thy covering, and piercing is thy sight this day." (Qur'an, L, 21-22) "Whosoever doeth right, whether male or female, and is a believer, him verily We shall quicken with good life." (Qur'an, XVI, 91) "Obey Allah and the messenger when He calleth you to that which quickeneth you.' (Q.,.., VIII, 24) "On the day when every soul will find itself confronted with all that it hath done of good and evil." (Qur'an, III, 30) "Lo! We it is Who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before (them) and their footprints. And all things We have kept in a clear register." (Qur'an, XXXVI, 12).
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open the eye of his heart with the sight of My majesty and will not hide from him the allies of My creatures. I will confide in him in the darkness of the night and the light of the day until conversation and intercourse with creatures termirates. I will make him hear My word and the word of My angels. I will reveal to him the secret which I have veiled from My creatures. I will dress him with the robe of modesty until the creatures feel ashamed before him. He will walk upon the earth having been forgiven. I will make his heart possess consciousness and vision and I will not hide from him anything in Paradise or in the Fire. I will make known to him whatever people experience on the Day of Judgement in the way of terror and calamity."
1
Abu- Abdullah—may peace be upon him—has recounted that the Prophet of God—may peace and blessing be upon him—received Harithah ibn Malik ibn al-Nu man and asked him, "How art thou, Oh Harithah?" He said, "Oh Prophet of God, I live as a true believer." The Prophet of God said to him, "Each thing possesses its own truth. What is the truth of thy word?" He said, "Oh Prophet of God! My soul has turned away from the world. My nights are spent in a state of awakedness and my days in a state of thirst. It seems as if I am gazing at the Throne of my Lord and the account has been settled, and as if I am gazing at the people of paradise who are visiting each other in heaven, and as if I hear the cry of the people of hell in the fire." Then the Prophet of God said, "This is a servant whose heart God has illuminated."
2
It must also be remembered that often one of us guides another in a good or evil matter without himself carrying out his own words. In the case of the prophets and Imams, however, whose guidance and leadership is through Divine Command, such a situation never occurs. They themselves practice the religion whose leadership they have undertaken. The spiritual life
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1 Bihar al-Anwar, vol, XVII, pp. 9.
2 Al-Wafi by Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kash?ni, Tehran, 1310-14, vol. III, pp. 33.
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toward which they guide mankind their own spiritual life,
1 for God will not place the guidance of others in someone's hand unless He has guided him Himself. Special Divine guidance can never be violated or infringed upon.
The following conclusions can be reached from this discussion:
(1) In e ach religious community, the prophets and Imams are the foremost in the perfection and realization of the spiritual and religious life they preach, for they must and do practice their own teachings and participate in the spiritual life they profess.
(2) Since they are first among men and the leaders and guides of the community, they are the most virtuous and perfect of men.
(3) The person upon whose shoulders lies the responsibility for the guidance of a community through Divine Command, in the same way that he is the guide of man's external life and acts, is also the guide for the spiritual life, and the inner dimension 2 of human life and religious practice depends upon his guidance.
2
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1 "Is He who leadeth to the Truth more deserving that He should be followed, or he who findeth not the way unless he (himself) be guided. What aileth you is How judge ye?" (Qur'an, X, 36)
2 "And We made them chiefs [Imams] who guide by Our command, and We inspired in them the doing of good deeds." (Qur'an, XXI, 73). "And when they became steadfast and believed firmly in Our revelations, We appointed from among them leaders [Imams] who guided by Our command." (Qur'an, XXXI, 24) One can conclude from these that, besides being an outward leader and guide, the Imam possesses also a kind of spiritual power to guide and attract which belongs to the world of the Spirit. He influences and conquers the hearts of people of capability through the Truth, the light and the inner aspect of his being and thus guides them toward perfection and the ultimate goal of existence.
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The Imams and Leaders of Islam
The previous discussions lead us to the conclusion that in Islam, after the death of the Holy Prophet, there has continuously existed and will continue to exist within the Islamic community (ummah) an Imam (a leader chosen by God). Numerous prophetic hadiths
1 have been transmitted in Shi ism concerning the description of the Imams, their number, the fact that they are all of the Quraysh and of the Household of the Prophet, and the fact that the promised Mahdi is among them and the last of them. Also, there are definitive words of the Prophet concerning the Imamate of 'Ali and his being the first Imam and also definitive utterances of the Prophet and 'Ali concerning the Imamate of the second Imam the same way the Imams before have left definitive statements concerning the Imamate of these who were to come after them.
2 According to these utterances contained in Twelve-Imam Shi' ite sources, the Imams are twelve in number
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1 "Jdbir ibn Samarah has said that the he heard the Prophet of God say, `Until the time of twelve vicegerents (khalifah), this religion will continue to be powerful.' Jabir said, `The people repeated the formula 'Allah is Great' and cried. Then the Prophet said something softly. I asked my father, 'Oh Father, what did he say?' My father answered, 'The Prophet said, 'All the vicegerents will be from Quraysh.'" Sahib of Abu-Dawud, Cairo, 1348, vol. II, pp. 207; Musnad Ahmad, vol. V, pp. 92. Several other hadiths resembling this are also found. And Salman Farsi said, 'I came upon the Prophet and saw Husayn—upon whom be peace—on his knees as he was kissing his eyes and mouth and saying, 'Thou art a noble man, son of a noble man, an Imam, son of an Imam, a 'Proof' (hujjah), son of `Proof,' the father of the nine `Proofs' of which the ninth is their `Support' (qa'im).'" Yanabi al-Mawaddah, pp. 308.
2 See al-Ghadir; Ghayat al-Maram, ithbat al-Hudat of Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Hurr al-'Amili, Qum, 1337-39; Dhakha'ir al-'Uqba; Manaqib of Khwarzmi, Najaf, 1385; Tadhkirat al-Khawas of Sibt ibn Jawzi, Tehran, 1285; Yanabi al-Mawaddah; al-Fusul al-Muhimmah; Dala'il al-Imamate of Muhammad ibn Jarir Tabari, Najaf, 1369; al-Nass wa 'l-Ijtihad of Sayyid Sharaf al-Din Musawi, Najaf, 1375; Usul al-Kafi vol. I; and Kit?b al-Irshad of Shaykh Mufid, Tehran, 1377.
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and their holy names are as follows: (1) 'Ali ibn Abi-Talib; (2) Hasan ibn 'Ali; (3) Husayn ibn 'Ali; (4) 'Ali ibn Husayn; (5) Muhammad ibn 'Ali (6) Ja'far ibn Muhammad; (7) Musa ibn Ja'far (8) 'Ali ibn Musa; (9) Muhammad ibn 'Ali; (10) 'Ali ibn Muhammad; (ii) Hasan ibn 'Ali; and (12) the Mahdi.
