The Shiite Apologetics
Question Thirty-four
Is belief in the invisible power of God's Saints a source of Polytheism ?
Answer:
You may ask someone to do something because you evidently consider him able to do it. This ability is of two kinds:
The ability confined within the corporeal, natural forces as when you ask someone for a glass of water.
The ability beyond the natural forces, a hidden power as you believe that a righteous servant of God, such as Jesus Christ, possessed the power to heal incurable diseases through his Messianic breath.
The belief in such an ability is no doubt similar to the belief in (the existence of) a natural force if this ability is dependent upon Gods Will; Such a conviction will not lead to polytheism, for God who has given people their corporeal and natural ability can also give some of His righteous servants a hidden ability.
The belief in the invisible power of God's saints can be conceived of in two ways:
- We may take the person who has the hidden power as one who is independent in his will, one from whom the
power originates and whom we may attribute a Godly job to. The belief in such a power, independent of God, undoubtedly brings about polytheism because we have considered someone besides God as the source of independent and genuine power, to whom we have attributed a Godly job, whereas the Lord of the universe is sole source of all powers.
- We may believe in the hidden power of some righteous servants of God, and maintain that this ability has originated from Gods eternal power, and that God's Saints are simply the instruments for this power to be manifested; they have no independence of their own, but are dependent upon God, the Exalted, both in their existence and in exercising the hidden power.
Such a belief undoubtedly carries no implication of considering the saints as God, nor does it imply that a Godly job is attributed to them because it is only with Gods permission and His inevitable Will that they manifest their God-given authority, never desiring disobedience. The holy Quran says and it is not in (the power of) an apostle to bring a sign except by Allahs permission 13:38. It is thus clear that such a belief is no cause for polytheism, but is in complete agreement with the principle of monotheism.
The Saints Hidden Authority as Viewed in the Qur'an
Below are some of the unambiguous statements of Islam's divine Book, the Quran, mentioning a group of the upright slaves of God who, upon His permission, had this great power.
a) Prophet Moses Hidden Power
The Almighty God ordered his Prophet, Moses, to strike a rock with his staff in order for springs to gush forth: And when Moses requested drink for his people, We said: Strike the rock with your staff. So there gushed from it twelve springs. 1:60
b) Jesus Christs Hidden Authority
Jesus Christs hidden authority has been referred to in several chapters of the Quran, one of which is as follows: I shall create for you something out of dust in the shape of a bird, then I breathe into it and it will become a bird with Allahs permission, and I shall heal the blind and the leprous and bring the dead to life with Allahs permission. 3:49
c) Prophet Solomons Hidden Power
The Quran says, And Sulayman was Dawuds heir, and he said: O men! We have been taught the language of birds, and we have been given of everything; most surely, this is a manifest grace. 27:16
Such things as making water gush forth from the rock that Moses had touched with his staff, creating a real bird out of the dust, healing the incurable ailments, restoring the dead to life, which Jesus Christ had performed, and Solomons ability to understand the language of the birds are doubtlessly all extraordinary affairs and a kind of exercising the hidden power.
Can our belief in such manifest Quranic verses be considered as polytheism when the Glorious Quran itself has discussed the saints hidden authority in the above verses and in many others ?
This discussion clearly shows that the belief in the hidden authority of the righteous servants of God does not imply that they are being considered as God or as those to whom Godly affairs are attributed. If such a belief were taken concomitant with considering these saints as divinities, then Moses, Jesus Christ, and Solomon are deities in The Qurans view, whereas all Muslims know that the holy Quran considers the saints as Gods upright servants.
It is thus proved that the belief in the hidden authority of those who are honored with God does not bring about dualism as long as this power is considered subordinate to Gods, and as long as the saints are believed to be the intermediates for the manifestation of Gods rule. Such a belief is in complete agreement with the principle of monotheism because it is a criterion of monotheism to believe in God as the source of all forces and authorities.
