The Last Luminary and Ways to Delve Into the Light

Responsibility 20: Enmity for the Enemies of the Imam Part 1

Another responsibility is to hate the enemies of the Imam. One of the definitions of an enemy of the Imam is a person who is an enemy of Allah and this concept has been referred to as Tabarrah in the Furu’ ad-Din (Principles of Religion) and is one of the signs of true faith.

A true lover of Allah will be able to show the truthfulness of his love through the hatred of the enemies of the one whom he truly loves.

The enemies of the Imam are various and come from all walks of life and thus, we cannot elucidate upon all of them. However in summary we can state that his main enemies are: the disbelievers, hypocrites, agnostics, and those who are working against the faith (of Islam). Of course, these people are his enemies as long as they persist in their incorrect beliefs and actions and do not accept him.

In addition, those who openly (and knowingly) commit sins and carry on in this way without returning to the straight path are also his enemies.

Just as the enemies of Imam al-Zaman (ajtf) are in different stages and levels in their hatred towards him, so too the hatred that we must show to them must also be at different stages and levels.

The minimum level of hatred for them is the spiritual aversion in the heart. After this, a physical aversion and separation from them - in addition to the aversion of the heart such as not speaking with them, business transactions, partnership or working together and being in their company, etc Must also be enacted.

However, along with the hatred which we show and our means of interaction, the conditions of enjoining the good and forbidding from the bad (‘Amr bin Ma’ruf and Nahi ‘anil Munkar) must also be carefully observed.

One of the enemies of Imam al-Zaman (ajtf) is Satan (May he be removed from the mercy of Allah) and a true believer must take him as an enemy! Without doubt, the best form of enmity that one can show towards Satan and his helpers is to work against his orders. In other words, one must obey Allah and the religion that He sent and must also obey Allah’s representative and travel the path of self-purification.

The other enemies of the Imam include those with extremely negative ethical traits and people who intentionally try to mislead the masses. These influences may take on the form of cultural invasions and include those who write books to mislead the people, centers of corruption, wrong ideas and systems of economics (such as taking interest), and other effects of disbelief, transgression and rebellion which a true believer must protect himself from.

In describing the Shi’a, Imam Ja’far. Muhammad as-Sadiq (as) has stated:

“They (our Shi’a) are those who will not love the people who have enmity towards us (the Ahlul Bayt) and will not hate those who love us (the Ahlul Bayt).”[^1]

Imam Muhammad. ‘Ali al-Baqir (as) has said:

“Have enmity for those who have enmity for the family of Muhammad even if they fast and stand (for Salat) a lot.”[^2]

Imam Ja’far. Muhammad as-Sadiq (as) has said:

“I swear by Allah that Allah has not permitted anyone to follow anybody other than us (the Ahlul Bayt) and whoever follows us (the Ahlul Bayt) has gone against our enemies; and whoever agrees with our enemies in their words or deeds is not from us and we are not from them.”[^3]

[^1]: Biharul Anwar, vol. 68, pg. 165, sec. 19, no. 16; Biharul Anwar, vol. 68, pg. 179, sec. 19, no. 37

[^2]: Wasa`il ash-Shi’a, vol. 11, pg. 444, sec. 17, no. 19

[^3]: Wasa`il ash-Shi’a, vol. 18, pg. 85, sec. 9, no. 33