Mahdaviyat in Hadith

Imamate and Nahjul Balagha : a Perspective

There is a famous tradition from the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) recorded by both - the Shias and the Ahle Sunnah traditionalists- 'One who dies without recognizing the Imam of his time, dies the death of ignorance.'

This means that even if a person accepts and conforms to all the Islamic beliefs and puts in practice all the edicts, but dies without recognizing the Imam of his time, his death will be on ignorance and apostasy. Such a person is condemned to eternal Hellfire regardless of his deeds in this world.

This is because good deeds will only benefit a person provided his beliefs are correct, as espoused by the Quran and traditions. Hence, any person, who wants to secure himself from the raging fire of hell, should necessarily possess the recognition of the Imam of his time and not simply rely on his worship and virtuous deeds.

Two Kinds Of Imams:

The Holy Quran has mentioned two types of leaders (Imams). The first type is the one who leads the people towards Hell. Allah declares in Surah Qasas: 41, 'And We made them Imams who call to the Fire, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall not be assisted.'

It means that the end of the one who accepts such an Imam will be in Hell.

The second group of Imams guides the people by Allah's command. Surah Sajdah: 24 points out 'And We made of them Imams to guide by Our command when they were patient, and they were certain of Our communications.' 'Say: Is there any of your associates who guides to the truth? Say: Allah guides to the truth. Is He then Who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed, or he who himself does not go aright unless he is guided?

What then is the matter with you; how do you judge?' (Surah Yunus : 35)

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) has described the characteristics of both kinds of Imams in his orations. 'The reality of people is not understood by their names but by the pattern of their behavior and mannerisms. Just as clothes hide the defects of the body, external manners cloak the defects of the soul. A connection of the soul is a necessity between the Imam and the follower. If a person (i.e. Imam) is not pious in his own heart, he will not be able to guide his followers towards piety and servitude.

Hence if we desire Heaven and want to safeguard our eternal life from the chastisement of the Hellfire, then we have to search for an Imam whose inner and outer selves both are complete manifestations of divine command. Such an Imam must necessarily be adorned with piety completely, i.e. must be an infallible.

We will discuss the characteristics of the Imam of Hellfire and the Imam who guides to the truth, in the light of the sermons of Hazrat Ali (a.s.). The Imam of the Hellfire:

'...certainly, the worst man before Allah is the oppressive Imam who has gone astray and through whom others go astray. He destroys the accepted Sunnah and revives abandoned innovations. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) predict -On the Day of Judgement the oppressive Imam will be brought without anyone to support him or anyone to advance excuses on his behalf, and then he will be thrown into Hell, where he will rotate as the hand-mill rotates. Then eventually he will be confined to its hollow.'

(NahjulBalagha, Sermon 164, vol. 1, pg. 608-609, Ansariyan Publications)

An oppressor is not only the one who usurps the rights of others and persecutes others. The Quran declares, '...and whoever exceeds the limits of Allahthese it is that are the unjust.'(Surah Baqarah : 229) These include those disobedient of Allah's commands, who have violated His edicts and exceeded His limits. The Quran further proclaims, 'and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unjust.'

' (Surah Maidah : 45)

If somebody makes additions to the religion or forbids an obligation, he has violated the divine command which tantamounts to injustice. Therefore, any person who has not been appointed an Imam by Allah and he claims this position for himself, he has transgressed the limits of Allah and has disregarded Allah's orders.

He is a tyrannical and an oppressive leader, whose end has been described above in Hazrat All's (a.s.) sermon. Indeed the Holy Quran condemns even those people as oppressors who befriend such persons - '...and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust.' (Surah Mumtahenah : 9)

Imam of light and guidance

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) outlines the characteristics of the just and rightly guided Imam, 'You should know that among the creatures of Allah, the most distinguished person before Allah is the just Imam who has been guided (by Allah) and guides others. So, he stands by the recognised ways of the Prophet's (s.a.w.a.) behaviour (Sunnah) and destroys the innovations. The (Prophet's (s.a.w.a.)) ways are clear and they have signs, while innovations are also clear and they too have signs.' (NahjulBalagha, Sermon 164, vol. 1, pg. 608, Ansariyan Publications) In another sermon, Hazrat Ali (a.s.) declares, 'Certainly the Imams are the vicegerents of Allah over His creatures and they introduce Allah to His creatures. None will enter Paradise except he who recognises them (Imams) and knows Allah, and no one will enter Hell except he who rejects them and denies Him.

(Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 152, vol. 1, pg. 554, Ansariyan Publications)

He elaborates on this further, '0 my Allah! You know that it was neither our (Ahle Bait) objective to seek power, nor to acquire anything from the treasures of the world. Rather we wanted to restore the signs of Your religion and to spread prosperity into Your cities so that the oppressed among Your creatures may be safe and Your forsaken commands could be established. 0 my Allah! I am the first who was inclined (towards Thee) and who heard and responded (to the call of Islam).

No one preceded me in prayer except the Prophet (s. a. w. a.).'

'You certainly know that he who is in charge of honour, life, booty, (enforcement of) legal commands and the leadership of the Muslims should not be a miser as his greed would aim at their wealth. Similarly he should not be ignorant as he would then mislead them with his ignorance, nor should he be rude as he would estrange them with his rudeness.

He should not be unjust in distributing wealth by preferring one group to another, nor should he accept bribes while taking decisions, as he would forfeit the rights of some and decree without decisiveness, nor should he ignore the Sunnah as he would ruin the people.

(Nahjul Balagha, Sermon 131, vol. 1, pg. 496, Ansariyan Publications) By referring to these brilliant sermons, it becomes abundantly clear that the leader and Imam who possesses the following characteristics can alone guide the people towards the truth.

Heisguided.
He guides others towards the true path.
He enlivens the Sunnah.
He destroys innovations.
His recognition is the cause of deliverance for the people.
His rejection is the cause of eternal chastisement.
He does not desire worldly power and authority.
He does not crave for the treasures of the world.
He makes manifest the signs of religion.
He establishes peace and tranquility in Allah's cities.
He provides shelter to His oppressed servants.
He revives the forgotten commands.
He is not a miser.
He is not ignorant.
His traits and mannerisms are not evil and wicked.
He is not a coward.
He is not a corrupt.
He does not destroy the Sunnah.

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) highlights the above points in another sermon, 'Certainly, there is no obligation on the Imam except what has been devolved on him from Allah, namely to convey warnings, to exhort and advice, to revive the Sunnah, enforce penalties on those liable and issue shares to the deserving.'

(NahjulBalagha, Sermon 105, vol. 1, pg. 400, Ansariyan Publications) The Ahle Bait (a.s.):

If we search for the characteristics of the rightly guided Imam, we find that these traits are present only in the pure and infallible members of the Ahle Bait (a.s.).

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) exhorts, 'Look at the people of the Prophet's (s.a.w.a.) family - Ahle Bait (a.s.). Adhere to their direction. Follow their footsteps because they will never misguide you, and never throw you into destruction. If they sit down, you too must sit down, and if they rise, you also rise. Do not go ahead of them, as you will go astray and do not lag behind them, as you will be ruined.

(NahjulBalagha, Sermon 97, vol. 1, pg. 378, Ansariyan Publications)

"Where are those people who have lied and have tormented us and have deceitfully claimed that they are 'the ones firmly rooted in knowledge' and not us? (They lie against us and covet over position) because Allah, the All-Merciful has exalted our status and has made them inferior to us. He has conferred upon us an eminence from which He prevented them from surpassing us.

He allowed us entry to the transcendental sphere of divine revelation, which He denied them. Remember that guidance could be acquired and ignorance could be dispelled through us only. Undoubtedly the Imams shall be from the Quraish, from the Bani Hashim. This divine appointment has been made for this august progeny, and none else deserves this sublime and sacred rank.'

(NahjulBalagha, Sermon 144, vol. 1, pg. 528, Ansariyan Publications)

These assertive and decisive statements make it abundantly clear that the rightful possessors of Imamat and Caliphate are the Ahle Bait (a.s.). No one else is deserving of this honour and station. Only the Ahle Bait (a.s.) can direct the people to the path of guidance and lead them to paradise. If somebody considers a person other than them as his leader, guide and Imam, he has deviated and is far from guidance.

When Hazrat Ali (a.s.) appointed Janab Mohammad ibn Abi Bakr as governor of Egypt, he (a.s.) wrote a letter to him in which he said:

'The leader towards guidance, and tlie leader towards destruction, the friend and the enemy of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), can never be alike.' (NahjulBalagha, Letter No. 27, vol. 2, pg. 314, Ansariyan Publications)

Hazrat Ali (a.s.) has tried to awaken the consciousness of man with this powerful statement. The statement appeals to the people to open their eyes and refer to their intellects and then decide with deep reflection - Are the leaders of guidance and the path bearers to paradise equal to the guides towards the hell fire and darkness? Never! Awaken and decide for yourselves.