The Imamate I

“Oh Ali, rejoice that you, your companions and followers will be in heaven.” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)

What is the belief in Imamate?

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem.

Belief in the Imamate is to believe that at all times (ages), God establishes an Imam for humanity as a leader, guide, model, point of reference and consultation for various matters of religion and life in general. The guide of mankind is part of the “sunna” of God, the conduct of God towards His creation. The Qur’an says:

“Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, who created and established the balance which He determined and directed.” — 87:1–3

“So He made the way easy.” — 80:20

“Without a doubt, we guide you along the way, whether you are grateful or ungrateful.” — 76:3

The guide of humanity, being a primordial need of people, is something that God cannot omit. God does not create an incomplete or imperfect system, nor does He create it in vain or for fun. Glorified be He who is above all faults! So, he cannot abandon humanity without giving it a guide or leader from his part, an Infallible Imam that people can turn to in their doubts, their difficulties and their business. The Qur’an says:

“And there is no community that an admonisher has not passed through.” — 35:24

“We designate among them leaders who will lead them in following Our order, because they have persevered and because they are convinced of Our signs.” — 32:24

Every group of people that intends to organize themselves for a specific purpose requires a leader to lead them. Be it a political, sporting, artistic, social, cultural, military, etc. group, any group that intends to carry out a task must be organized around a leader. And it doesn’t matter what kind of task they want to accomplish, good or bad: if they don’t have a leader to lead them with the capacity and aptitude for what they intend to do, they will not be successful in their efforts. So, if we take humanity as a whole and consider the purpose of its existence, the need for a leader to lead and guide it becomes clear.

Every leader who intends to lead a group for an issue must be properly trained for his role. So, if it is about all of humanity and it is about fulfilling the objective of its creation, such formation implies having the maximum amount of knowledge, virtues, closeness to God, nobility and hierarchy as a human being. That is, it must be infallible. Thus, given that the earth needs an infallible leader, a leader who is a proof of Allah, a sign that the divine covenant exists and the promise of the Most High is true, we understand why the belief in Imamate is firm and consistent with the bases of Islam, finally, in the narration below, we see what the consequences would be caused if a leader chosen by God were not among us:

Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him): “If the Imam is removed from the earth for one hour, it will sink with his people and rise like the sea” — Kitab al-Ghayba

Through the ages…

Some may wonder “how can the claim that the earth is never without an Imam be made with such certainty?” So I would like to present some points and hadiths that can clear our minds.

First point, we as Shi’a Muslims owe loyalty and obedience to the holy family of our beloved prophet (peace be upon them), so a chain of obedience forms, we follow the teachings of Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them) , because they are the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in that way we can achieve enlightenment and spiritual evolution.

Second point, we have to be firm in our beliefs and this firmness can only be obtained with the obedience mentioned above, “but shall we not submit to Allah’s will?” Yes, it is important to keep in mind that what pleases the Imams (infallibles and free from sin) will also please the prophet (peace be upon him) and will consequently please God. So, whenever you doubt your beliefs, do a self-examination, often the problems are in ourselves and not around us as we project.

An important narration to prove the affirmation of the Imamate throughout the ages…

Hadith an-Nur:

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “I and Ali ibn Abu-Talib were created as one (unique) ‘Nur’ (divine light), in the presence of Allah, 14,000 years before the creation of Adam, He deposited that light in the loins of Adam. We remained as a single Nur until we were separated on the loins¹ of Abdul-Muttalib. So I received the prophethood and Ali the caliphate.” — Authentic and highly transmitted narration between Sunnis and Shiites.

1: Loin is a fleshy part along the spine

Created long before Adam, this divine light is the key to spiritual evolution, they were divided into two receptacles of divine manifestation, one being the city of knowledge (the Prophet) and the other being the gate of that city, Ali ibn Abu- Talib, the true successor of Muhammad al-Mustafa (peace be upon him), the first man to accept Islam, the first Imam, the guide and prince of the believers.

Now if this question arises: “How does a simple narration prove the cycle through the ages?” The divine light of the first Imam already existed, but it was not on earth, thus, the earth sank along with its people, in this case the creation before humans, the jinns, thanks to the great oppression and destruction caused by them. Allah created the first human, Adam and placed the divine light of Ali and Muhammad (peace be upon them) in his loins, in this way the light of the Imamate and the seal of the prophets, was already present in the land that refers to us, the earth inhabited by humanity.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “The first thing that Allah created was my Light.” — Bihar al-Anwar

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “The first thing that Allah created was the intellect.”²

2: This tradition does not contradict the previous one, because the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), is the intellect itself, the city of knowledge.

As this is quite a big topic and requires a cautious approach, I’m finishing the first part here, in shaa Allah, soon I’ll be releasing the second part.

All praises are dedicated to Allah, lord of the universe, who has neither partners nor peers and may Allah bless the prophet and his purified family and hasten al-Mahdi’s return.