Theological Instructions

LESSON THIRY-SEVEN: THE NEED FOR AN IMAM

Introduction

Many of those who fail to contemplate or profoundly reflect upon the issues pertaining to belief, understand that the only difference in view between a Shi’ite and Sunnite on the issue of Imāmah, is that the Shi’ite believe in the appointment of Ali ibn Abu Talib (a) as successor to the Prophet (s) in issues dealing with the Islamic state and society.

However the Sunnites deny this appointment and believe the decision of appointment was to be left up to the people. They thus selected the first successor who in turn nominated the second, and the latter then appointed a six-man counsel to establish the third successor. The people then again elected the fourth Caliph themselves.

Hence it can be seen that no specific procedure was followed for the nomination of successor. After the demise of the fourth Caliph, this coveted position was gained by whoever was in possession of the strongest military force.

The Shi’ites and Sunnites hold the same idea with regards to the selection of an Imam, the Sunnites also believe in the idea of nomination, as the first Caliph nominated the second. But the difference is that they disregarded the Prophet’s order concerning the appointment of Ali (a), yet accepted the first Caliph’s nomination of his successor.

They fail to contemplate the questions, which arise as to who gave the first Caliph the right to appoint his successor? And why would the Prophet overlook the appointment of a successor and guardian to his community, whilst we know that whenever he left Medina for Holy war, he would always leave someone in charge, as he was aware of the trouble and conspiracies that could arise.

We need to examine as to whether the issue of Imāmah needs to be by Divine appointment, whether it carries any religious status or whether it is just a form of monarchy, which has developed due to sociological factors.

The Shi’ites believe that in the case of Imāmah, the Prophet of Islam does not have an independent say, and the nomination of an Imam is directly from God through His Prophet. In reality there is wisdom behind the termination of the chain of prophethood with the nomination of an Infallible Imam, and there is a relationship between these two issues. It is because of the presence of an Imam -after the demise of the Prophet - that an Islamic nation is secured and safeguarded.

Therefore from here it becomes clear as to why Imāmah is considered as a ‘principle of belief,’ and not just as a branch of practical law (hukm fiqhi). Moreover for the Shi’ites the three conditions of Knowledge, Infallibility and Divine nomination are regarded as the essential elements for an Imam.

The necessity of the existence of an Imam

As previously discussed in lesson twenty-two, the accomplishment of the purpose of creation is based upon the guidance provided by God through revelation. The requirement of Divine wisdom was the nomination of

different prophets in order to enlighten man with the way of felicity for this world and the Hereafter. In addition to this the prophets trained man to reach the ultimate level of perfection, as well as administering the society if the sociological conditions permitted.

Similarly, in lesson thirty-four and thirty-five we have explained that the religion of Islam is universal, eternal and cannot be abrogated. Besides, the Prophet of Islam is considered as the last Prophet and this is harmonious with Divine wisdom, as the system of Islamic Law (sharī’ah) fulfils all the needs of man and society for all time.

God, the Supreme, establishes this guaranty in regards to the noble, Quran. The Quran has been referred as being protected from any type of alteration and distortions.

However, all of ahkam (the rules) and regulations cannot be understood by the appearance of the ayahs (verses) such as the number of rak’ahs and the manner of performance of a salah or the obligations and recommendation that it includes cannot be rationalized from the outward of the Quran. The Quran is in a position of epitomizing the hukm and it is the responsibility of the prophet to explain the hukm on the bases of the knowledge provided by God, which is other than the Quranic revelations. Hence by this approach the authenticity of the Sunna as a fundamental source for the cognition of Islam is established.

Nevertheless the difficult conditions during the life of the prophet - such as the confined years in the valley of Abi Talib or ten years of wars with the enemies of Islam - did not allow him for the explanation of all of rules for all men. That which remains with the companions even have lots of differences for instance the manner of performing the wudhu (minor ablution), which was an act carried out by the prophet every day and several times is also subjected with differences. When this act of performing wudhu which does not seem to have any reason for its alteration have been altered by the conspirators then for sure major alteration must have taken place in the ahkam (rules) that belongs to law and order in order to benefit desires of different groups.

By focusing upon these points it becomes clear that the religion of Islam will be known as a perfect religion - which attends to the all needs of man - if it provides the society with the essential benefits which are not consign and endangered after the demise of the prophet. However this is only possible with the nomination of an individual who deserve the position of being a successor to the prophet. This successor must possess the divine knowledge and have the ability to manifest the reality of deen in different dimensions and he must be unsinning (ma’sum) in order not to be under the influence of his nafs and shaitan so that there be no alteration in the deen. Furthermore he must play the role of the prophet in training individuals to arrive upon perfection and at the same time he should establish a government if the sociological conditions provides the grounds for it. Then by applying the sociological ahkam of Islam in the society he should expand the realm of ’adl (justice) in the world.

Hence the termination of the chain of nabuwah is only harmonious with the Divine hikmah when it is concurrent with the nomination of an Imam al

ma’sum who have all the particularities that the prophet of Islam had except the nabuwah and risalah.

In this manner (three things are established), the necessity for an existence of an Imam and the requirement of the divine knowledge and sinlessness (’ismah). In addition to this the nomination of an Imam through God, the Supreme is also established as it He who knows to whom He should give this status to. In actuality it is God who has the right of wilayah (authority) over His creation and hence He can decide whom to give this position on a lower level.

It is necessary that we mention that the ahl Sunna jammah does not have these conditions and particularities for any of the khilafah and they do not even claim that God and the prophet nominate the caliphs or they (caliphs) possess any divine knowledge. On the other hand the ahl Sunna jammah have recorded numerous precarious incidents in which their caliphs have made mistakes in answering to the religious questions such as they themselves quote their first khalifah saying:

“Certainly I have not defeated my shaitan.” Then from their second caliph they have reported that he called the allegiance to the first caliph as an absurd and uncalculated act and several times he has declared that:

“If it was not for Ali, Omar would have been destroyed.” It is clearer in the case of the khulafah al bany ummayah and abbasy and it does not require that we indicate more, whosoever has a little information about the Islamic history they can understand in this regard.

Shi’ites are the exclusive ones who belief that the twelve Imams enjoy those three conditions of Imamat and by focusing upon the mentioned reasons the need and necessity of Imamat has been established. Hence there seem to be no need for any other elucidative arguments for this issue, however in the future lessons we have brought useful proofs from the kitab and the Sunna.

Questions

1. Mention the Shi’ite opinion regarding Imāmah, and explain the differences between the Sunnite and Shi’ite views?

2. Why does the Shi’ites consider Imāmah as one of the basic principles of Islamic belief?

3. Why is the existence of an Imam necessary?

4. What can man conclude from these arguments?