Qadi Numan's Majalis
Selections from Qazi Noaman's: "Code
of Conduct for the followers of Imam"
Translated into English by: Prof.
Jawad Muscati and Prof. A. Moulvi M.A.
Please look for more additions to this section soon, Inshallah!
Majlis
1: DEVOTION TO THE IMAM(pp. 17-20)
Majlis
2: LOVE FOR THE IMAMS(pp. 21-24)
Majlis
3: THE RETURN OF THE "AMANAT" TO THE IMAM(pp. 25-30)
Majlis
12: LOVE THOSE WHO LOVE THE IMAM (pp. 79-84)
Majlis 5: FULFILMENT OF THE TERMS OF BAYAT WITH THE IMAMS (pp. 34-39)
Majlis 4: RESPECT FOR THE IMAMS (pp. 31-33)
Majlis 6: Frankness of the Momins in their Dealings with the Imam (pp. 40-45)
Majlis 7: Obedience to the Imam (pp. 46-50)
Majlis 8: To Thank the Imam in Weal or Woe (pp. 40-45)
Majlis 1: DEVOTION TO THE IMAM
(pp. 17-20)
This chapter concerns all the servants of God. If I enter into detail, it will exceed the limits of this book and will make an independent book by
itself. Hence I have dealt with only that part of the matter which it is
absolutely necessary for the purpose.
A firm faith in the "Wilayat" of the Imams, submission to the Imamat and
devotion to the Imams are the ground work of this book. They are the basic
principles which deserve our foremost attention.
Those who are well acquainted with the true position of the Imams and have a
firm faith in their Imamat, look upon the duties they owe to them and
obedience to their commands as the duties enjoined on them by God. They
should have a greater regard for the glory and sublimity of the Imams than
the followers and office-holders of the temporal kings have for their
masters. They should stand in greater awe of the Imams than these officers
stand in awe of their kings.
God has laid down in His Holy Book that it is our duty to obey them. He has
associated the devotion to the Imams with devotion to Him and devotion to the
Prophet saying "Obey God, the Prophet and your Spiritual Leaders." (Chapter
IV Verse 59 Al-Nisa (Women) Holy Quran).
This makes it obligatory for those, who, by the grace of God, belong to the
various categories of the followers of the Imams, to have full faith in their
Imamat and feel in their hearts of hearts that the pleasure of the Imams is
the pleasure of God and that their displeasure is the displeasure of God.
They should earn 'jannat' as a reward for seeking the pleasure of the Imams
which is the pleasure of God and should shun the hell fire which is the
inevitable consequence of the wrath of the Imams which is the wrath of God.
They should concentrate on things which can bring them nearer to the Imams
and should train themselves in such a way as to act always to the
satisfaction of the Imams. Their love and hatred, their pleasure and
displeasure should be regulated by the will of the Imams. If they detect in
their minds any inclination to unwillingness in doing this, they should
discipline their minds and gain complete mastery over them and see that their
un-willingness is turned into willingness. They should solicit God for the
forgiveness of this which is the greatest sin. They should realise that
repentance is meaningless if they do not uproot that tendency in them and do
not like or dislike what the Imams like or dislike and do not love or hate
what the Imams love or hate.
They should have implicit faith in these things and they should give a proof
of their faith by profession in words and by practice in their intentions and
actions. They should not mind it even if in doing this they have to lose
their lives and suffer the loss of their families, properties and children.
They should submit to the Imams in all their affairs and the motive behind
their submission should be obedience and no other consideration.
They must bear in mind that if they fail to do this or make the slightest
omission in this direction, they cease to be 'momins'. God says "Certainly
by the Lord they will not be considered as 'momins' unless they refer their
disputes to you and you are not discontented with your decision and submit to
you entirely" (Chapter 4 Annisa (Women) verse 59. Holy Quran).
This is the duty enjoined on the 'momins' by God who has associated with the
devotion to Himself, the devotion to the Prophet and the devotion to the Imams
and who has made the Imams His Vice-regents on earth after the Prophet, may
the greetings of God be on him and on the Imams the chosen and the best of
his descendants.
Accordingly it is our bounden duty to hold the Imams in the highest esteem
and to acknowledge their supremacy in thoughts, words and actions.
The Imam of the time has as much claim on the followers of his time as the
Prophet had on the followers of his time, and the devotion to the Imam must
be the same as the devotion to the Prophet because God has associated this
devotion with the devotion of Himself, and He is above every body and beyond
the comprehension of men.
In short, no devotion of a devotee will be taken into account unless it is
made to the Imams and none will be included among the 'momins' unless he
submits to the Imams.
What we have said in this chapter will be sufficient for intelligent readers
provided they use their intelligence to understand it.
(pp. 21-24)
God the great says to Mohammed His Prophet, may the greetings be on him and his descendants, "Say, I do not ask you to pay me (for the guidance) any
reward excepting your love for my kith and kin" (Ch. 42. V.22 Ash-Shura (the
counsel) holy Quran). When the messenger of God was asked as to who were his
kith and kin, he replied "Ali, Fatimah, Hasan and Husain." He further said
"He who loves them, loves me. He who hates them, hates me," none but a
'momin' loves Ali and none but a hypocrite hates Ali. It is said that in the
days of the Prophet, 'momins' could not be distinguished from the hypocrites
by any thing but their love for Ali. The Prophet ordained and exhorted his
followers to love Ali and God enjoined it as a duty on the Moslems in
general.
Hence it is the duty of the Momins to love the Imam of their time who is the
descendant of the Prophet. Abu Jafar Mohammed al-Baqir bin Ali, greetings be
on him, was asked to explain the meaning of the verse "I do not ask for any
remuneration excepting love for my kith and kin." He explained it by saying,
"It is the duty of every 'momin' to love us who are the 'Ahlebait', the kith
and kin of Mohammed." He further said "He who loves us, will rise with us on
the Day of Judgment." Again he said "Religion is nothing but love." God
says, "He made you love your faith and adorned it in your hearts" (Ch. 49. V.
7 Al-Hujurat (Chambers) Holy Quran).
Another verse of the Quran says, "If you love God, then follow me, God will
love you and forgive you your sins" (Ch 3. Aali-Amran (the Family of Amran)
Holy Quran). Ali, peace be on him, is reported to have said to some of his
followers, "May I inform you of a virtuous deed which secures the doer from
the frightfulness of the Day of Judgment and of a vice which drags its
perpetrator head-long to Hell-fire?" They said, "Yes, O the Commander of the
Faithful tell us." He said, "The virtue is to love us and the vice is to
hate us."
It behoves those who know the true position of the Imams to love them
sincerely. They should see that their faith in them is prompted by love and
not by the expectation of a worldly gain from them.
For, if one's love is prompted by a worldly consideration it ceases with the
loss of consideration. Hence let the love be love for the sake of love and
let it continue to be the same whether one is favoured or disfavoured by the
Imams and whether one is in prosperous or adverse circumstances. What is
done for the sake of God cannot be affected by the vicissitudes of life. Change of circumstances can affect only those things which are done out of
some worldly consideration.
Jafar bin Mohammed, may the greetings of God be on him, says, "He who loves
us should make his love as pure gold."
Ali, may the greetings of God be on him, says, "If I were to strike a blow on
the nose of a 'momin', he will never hate me, on the other hand if I were to
shower gold and silver on a hypocrite he will never love me."
Thus, those who love the Imams, should be sincere in their love towards them
and should pay them their dues. It is the duty of the lover to love his
beloved with sincerity. It is his duty to return to him the 'amanat' with
honesty and support him and never forsake him or disobey him. It is his duty
to like and dislike for him what he likes and dislikes for himself. It is
his duty to see that his inward regard does not differ from his outward
behaviour. This is the quality of love which the lovers display to their
beloveds of the world.
One can easily imagine then the quality and intensity of love which one is
expected to extend to the Imam who is loved by God, who knows all about what
we do openly or in secret. The best thing for a lover of this category is to
keep a watch on his own self to see that his love for the Imam inwardly and
outwardly does not fall below the standard.
In conclusion, O momins, be sincere in your love for the Imams so that you
may be amply rewarded by God. Whatever I have mentioned in this chapter will
suffice for those who are on the right path.
(pp. 25-30)
God says, "God commands you to pay back the 'amanat' to their owners'." "If any one of you were to deposit something with some one then let the one with
whom the things are deposited return the deposit to its depositor." "O
momins, do not commit breach of trust in your dealings with God and the
Prophet and do not abuse the trust in the matter of 'amanats' knowingly."
The Prophet says, "Do not commit breach of trust, do not go to excess and do
not be deceitful." "It is your duty to return the 'amanat.' He who deceives
us is disowned by us." "It is unlawful for you to shed the blood of one
another and to misappropriate the properties of one another."
Ali, be the greetings of God on him, says to some of his followers, "Pay back
what has been deposited with you and do not commit the breach of trust in
your dealings even with those who have abused your trust." Imam
Jaffar-us-Sadiq, be the greetings of God on him, says, "Return the deposit to
its owner, it matters little whether he is Red or Black, a Haruri, a Syrian
or an Ommayade. Pay back the 'amanat' even if the owner is your enemy, even
if he is the murderer of Husain."
These quotations from the Quran and the traditions make it clear to us, that
God, the Prophet and the Imams have ordered us in unequivocal terms to return
the deposits to their owners regardless of their being our friends or foes.
It is the duty of the Momin to pay back the "amanat." This keeps up his
credit, guards his religion and purifies his soul. If he commits the breach
of trust, he loses his credit, and brings disgrace to himself, his religion
and his reputation.
As far as the depositor is concerned, he loses nothing of the kind. His loss
or gain is a monetary one. If the deposit is not returned to him, he loses
some money and if it is returned to him it adds to his capital.
It then behooves every one who fears God and safeguards his self-respect that
he should pay back the "amanat." If it is obligatory on us to return the
"amanat" to all sorts of people, how many times more obligatory does it
become on us that we should return the "amanat" which belongs to the Imams?
To commit a breach of trust in your dealings with Imams is a dreadful affair
and the worst possible sin. God says, "O momins don't commit breach of trust
in your dealings with God and the Prophet." Thus he who deceives the
Prophet, deceives God. God says, "Those who make covenant with you make
covenant with God." "He who obeys the Prophet obeys God. Obey God, obey the
Prophet and obey your spiritual heads." It follows that obedience to the
Imams is obedience to God and disobedience to them is disobedience to God.
He who is treacherous to them is treacherous to God and he who is true to
them is true to God. If breach of trust is forbidden in general, then breach
of trust in our dealings with the Imam is the worst sin.
In short, breach of trust in our dealings with the Imams belongs to the
category of great sins.
This chapter is applicable to all classes of the followers of the Imams and
even to the non-followers. For, return of the "amanat" to its owner and
sincerity are incumbent on every Muslim. The Prophet says, "Religion means
sincerity to God, the Imams and the Momins in general. Lack of sincerity to
God and the Imams is impermissible." God says, "The weak, the sickly and the
poor (who cannot take part in the religious war) are not to be blamed if they
are sincere to God and His Prophet. There is nothing against good men. God
is forgiving and merciful. Nor are those persons to be blamed who come to
you for riding animals to carry them (to the battle field) and who return
with grief with tears flowing from their eyes when you tell them that you
cannot provide them with the animals and when they find that they have no
money to pay for them." These verses clearly show that if the Muslims are
unable to join the war, they are permitted to give it up but under no
circumstances are they allowed to give up sincerity. Cessation of love in
one's heart for God and the Prophet and the Imams is equally impermissible.
Imam Husain bin Ali, the greetings of God be on him, says, "He who lodges in
his heart love for us and uses his tongue and his hands in defense of us,
will stay with us in the highest regions. He who loves us at heart and
defends us by his tongue but is unable to use his hands will also be with us
in heaven but his rank will be below the rank of the first one. He who loves
us at heart and is unable to use his tongue and his hands in fighting for us,
will also be in heaven with us and his rank will be a little lower than the
rank of the second person. But the one who can neither use his tongue nor
his hands in our favour nor loves us in the heart of his heart, has nothing
to expect from us."
Thus sincerity to the Imams and the return of the "amanat" to them are the
best things that we have been enjoined upon to do. He who fails to do this
and deceives them, is cast off from their fold.
O devotees of God, beware of being treacherous or deceitful to them. Bear in
mind that if one were to return the "amanat" to the Imams and show sincerity
to them for no other laudable object in view than the acquisition of wealth
or making a name for himself and securing himself from the worries of this
world even then it will be worth his while to do so. We can easily imagine
how much more profitable will it be if one were to do these things for a
heavenly reward for which there is no substitute in this world and for
securing himself from the frightful punishment of the next world from which
none can save him.
We know many men at the lowest wrung of the ladder of life such as workmen,
petty traders and labourers who are in no way better than lower animals and
who yet are very particular about the return of the "amanat." In spite of
their extreme poverty, they return the "amanat" not for the sake of religion
or for the sake of their belief in a particular code of conduct but for the
fear of their being boycotted by the people and put to disgrace by them in
consequence of breach of trust.
If this is the way in which low types of people behave towards one another in
the matter of the return of the "amanat" what should then be the behaviour of
those who have some knowledge of religion, some sense of the code of morality
and some idea of self-respect? How can these men risk their position and
lose every good thing by committing a breach of trust? If they are not
attracted by heavenly a reward and are not afraid of the punishment of the
Day of Judgment, even then in their own interest they will never commit the
breach of trust.
(pp. 79-84)
God speaks of the momins in the following terms "They are harsh towards the
infidels and are compassionate toward one another." "Momins are brothers to
one another." "You will never find those who have faith in God and the day
of judgement making friends with those who are the enemies of God and His
Prophet." "O! Momins, do not take my enemy and your enemies to be your
friends. Never love them." "Those of you who love them are the oppressors."
The Prophet while talking of Ali, peace be on them, says "O God, love those
who love Ali and hate those who hate Ali." With regard to those whom God has
declared to be His enemies and commanded us in His book and through His
Prophet to be hostile to them and has prohibited us from befriending them,
even if they happen to be our fathers and sons and other members of our
families, it is but proper that those who are aware of this hostility of God
to them should sever their friendly connections from them openly and
secretly. They should have no consideration for their being their close or
distant relatives. They should not mix with them in the hope of getting
anything from them or for the fear of suffering at their hands.
Imam Jafar Sadiq, peace be on him, says "He who wants to know whether a
particular person is our friend or foe, should look to the persons with whom
he associates. If they are our friends he is our friend; if they are our
enemies he is our enemy." I have already said in this book that it is our
duty to love the Imams sincerely and with the best of our intentions. Our
duty does not end here. We have to keep aloof from their enemies and their
evil intentions as long as they continue to be hostile to them. We have to
cut off our friendly connections from them and we cannot trust them to the
slightest degree. God says, "Do not trust the oppressors, you will be
overtaken by Hell-fire." The worst of oppressors is the one who harms the
'Walees' of God and shows hostility to them.
Imam Muhammed Baqir, greeting be on him says, "Our followers are those who
treat strangers as their relations and befriend them because of their love
for us. They cut themselves off from their families and their closest
relations because of their hostility to us. If we are pleased with anybody
they are pleased with him. If we get excited against anyone, they get
excited against him. If we fear someone, they also fear him. If we feel
secure, they also feel secure. They never make friends with our enemies and
they never become enemies of our friends."
O the followers of the Imams who have faith in their 'Imamat', you should
also behave in this manner. Test the man with whom you associate.
Distinguish between the friends and the foes of the Imams. Bear in mind that
the people are divided into three classes. There is no fourth class to them
with the exception of this that in each of the three categories there are
people of different grades and there is no criterion by which we can sort
them out according to the degrees of their ambitions, their intelligence,
their knowledge, their faith and their power of apprehension.
One of these three classes consists of the devotees of the Imams. They are
men of different grades and different degrees of spiritual attainments. The
next one consists of their enemies. They too are of different grades and of
different types of hostility to the Imams. The third one consists of those
who are weak-minded and indecisive. God speaks of them in the following
terms. "They are neither here nor there. They neither know the truth nor
they deny untruth. They are like cattle, nay, they are straying further away
from the path." These people, although their condition is miserable, are in
a way better than the out-and-out enemies of the Imam.
Hence, it is necessary for us to test the people and know their proper
position in life. Once we have known this we should put every one of them in
his proper place. We should befriend those who are the friends of the Imams
and be hostile to those who are hostile to the Imams. With regard to the
weak-minded and indecisive people let us try to guide them and show them the
right path. If they hear the truth they will accept it. With regard to our
enemies let us attract them to our side by our good deeds and leave no room
for their excuse. Let us give up discussing with them. If we prolong the
discussion with them it will end in a fiasco. We have already talked of this
in one of the preceding chapters. Let us follow in this matter the words and
the actions of the Imam. Let us adopt his policy in our dealings with them.
We should do what the Imam wants us to do. We should not go against his
instructions.
Abu Jafar Mohammed bin Ali, greetings be on him, has described his followers
in the following terms, "Our followers do not praise those who find fault
with us, do not join those who hate us and never associate with those
who do not like us. If they meet a 'momin' they honour him, If they meet an
ignorant fellow they flee away from him. They say what we say. They cut
themselves off from their friends for our sake. They treat the strangers as
their close relatives because of their love for us. They treat their close
relatives as strangers because of their hatred for us. Our followers are
warners to the people on earth. They are the lamp-posts; they are the light
for those who seek it. They are the leaders of the devotees of God. They
will bear testimony on the day of judgement against those who oppose them.
They are an asylum for those who come to them. They are extra kind to them
and over generous and forgiving. This is the description of the faithful
followers of the Prophets given in the Old and New Testaments and the Holy
Quran. The learned men amongst our followers control their tongues and
satisfy their urge by their devotion to God. They harbour ill-feelings in
their hearts against the enemies of God. They know their defects but they
never tell them what they think about them. They pass their time with
indifference to them. They watch their evil deeds and listen to their evil
talk with patience. They invoke curses on them, they hate their friends and
love their enemies. The Prophet says, "Be what God and His 'Walees' have
described you to be."
O momins, hate for the sake of God and love for the sake of God. Follow your
Imams and carry out their orders. Reveal what they have revealed to you.
Have faith in what they have faith. God has made them your leaders. Follow
them and obey their orders. Be hostile to those who are hostile to them and
friendly to those who are friendly with them. Love those whom they love.
Hate those whom they hate. It matters little whether the persons whom they
love or hate are your friends or foes or they are your relatives or strangers
to you. Let you do what you do for the sake of God. For, what is done for
the sake of God cannot be influenced by passion. No misrepresentation or
hypocrisy can affect it. May God help us and help you in loving Him and may
He protect us and you from incurring His wrath.
Majlis 5: FULFILMENT OF THE TERMS OF BAYAT WITH THE IMAMS
(pp. 17-20)
God says, "O momins, fulfil the terms of your contracts" "Fulfil your
promise; you will be inquired about it" "(O Mohammed) those who enter
into a covenant with you make a covenant with God. The hand of God is upon
their hands. He who breaks it does harm to himself and he who fulfils the
terms of the covenant which he has made with God will be amply rewarded."
These verses make it clear to us that our pledge to the Imams is
equivalent to our pledge to the Prophet which is a pledge to God. Just as
devotion to the Imams is linked with the devotion to God which under no
circumstances can be given up, the fulfilment of our terms of covenant with them is also
a sort of devotion from which we cannot break away to the slightest extent.
If a devotee is devoted to God but he disobeys His Prophet or belies him,
his devotion will not be taken into account and he will be punished for
falsifying the Prophet and disobeying him. It needs no further
testimony than the following verse of the Quran which speaks of the infidels who
believed in God but did not believe in the Prophet and who consequently
incurred the wrath of God who condemned them to perdition. The verse
runs thus "If you ask them as to who has created them they say God has
created us." Since they disbelieve in the Prophet, in spite of their
acknowledgment of the Lordship of God they expose themselves to His wrath because of
their disbelief in His Prophet.
Similarly, if a devotee believes in God and in His Prophet and does not
believe in the Imamat of the "Imams," the successors of the Prophet,
even if he were to worship God throughout his life-time he becomes one of those
about whom God says, "We shall look to their deeds and treat them as nothing
but particles of scattered dust."
Thus, if one is devoted to God and His Prophet but disobeys the Imam of
his time or belies him, practically disobeys God who will not recognize his
devotion to Him and His Prophet in view of his denial and disobedience
of the Imam of his time. This is clear from the fact that God has linked
devotion to Him, to the devotion to the Imams so inextricably that none of these
three devotions can be separated. Hence, he who fulfils his pledge to God,
His Prophet and his "Wasees" i.e. the Imams, entitles himself to be
included in the group about which God says, "They will be amply rewarded."
The ample reward stands for "jannat." But he who breaks his pledge to
God and disjoins from what God has ordered him to join is one of those
losers about whom God says, "They have lost this world as well as the next."
They lose the pleasure of the Imams in this world and pleasure of God in the
next. They expose themselves to the punishment of God for disjoining the
devotion to the Imams from the devotion to God which they have been enjoined
upon to join.
In short, fulfil your pledges to them to the fullest extent. Take
particular care of the return of the "amanat" to them. You have pledged this to
God. You have taken serious vows of your loyalty to them. You have taken
upon yourselves the fulfilment of the terms of the pledge and the vows you
have made to them. Strive hard to earn the reward of God and see that you
do not become losers. Think again and again over the seriousness of the
pledges and the vows you have made to the Imams. Keep these vows always fresh in
your mind and return "amanat" to God and the Imams. God says, "Secure are
the "momins" who pay back the "amanat," fulfil their vows and are
particular about their prayers. They are the persons who will inherit "Firdaus"
in which they will have a permanent abode." These verses make crystal
clear to us that the fulfilment of pledges and the return of the "amanat"
carries the "momins" to "jannat" and the breaking of vows and dishonesty in the
payment of "amanats" will drag them down to the lowest depth of Hell-fire.
You must bear in mind that in keeping up your pledges and vows if no
other consideration prevails upon you than the avoidance of disgrace which is
involved in your breach of faith, even then it will be worth your while
to do so. We know many people who in spite of the fact that they are not
necessarily very pious nor strictly honest, are very particular about
the fulfilment of their vows and in this matter they act exactly on the
lines recommended by God in His holy Book. If any one of them breaks his
vows to the slightest extent he atones for what can be atoned for and fulfils
the pledge which cannot be atoned for. We must realise that we have
voluntarily taken upon ourselves a heavy responsibility and we have no other go
than to discharge our obligations by the fulfilment of our vows.
Let us fear God. Let us see that we do not commit a breach of faith in
these matters. Let us guard ourselves against the breaking of our vow to
God, against transgressing His limits and disobeying His commands and
prohibitions. See that you do not die with your vows unfulfilled in
your life-time. It must be borne in mind that even if we make a vow not to
touch our wives, and not to take food, and not to change the clothing which
belong to us, God makes these lawful things unlawful for us unless we atone
for our vows by giving something in charity as setting free a slave. Thus if
we do not fulfil the vows that we have taken upon ourselves, we indulge in
the doing of unlawful things and involve ourselves in the committing of
heinous crimes and grave sins. May God forbid us all from this hazardous
affair. May He include us all among those "momins" who fulfil their pledges and
never break them, and who pay back the "amanats" and respect their word of
honour. O momins, may God's mercy be on you, you must remember that you cannot
fulfil your pledges and be honest in the discharge of your obligations unless
you know well the pledges you have entered into and the obligations you
have put yourselves under. Hence, it is necessary for you that you should
remind yourselves of the covenants that you have made with the Imam and the
terms of the covenant that you have taken upon yourselves to fulfil. If you
ignore inadvertently or forget or treat lightly any of those terms, then the
moment you realise your mistake you must atone for it by repentance and do
what you have omitted to do. If you have forgotten the terms or some part of it
then renew them by reviving the terms of the covenant. Admit your guilt and
repent to God and to the Imam. If you persist in your mistakes or your
ignorance then you will appear before God as one who has ignored His
sign on earth and broken his vow with Him. You will appear in His eyes much
more degraded and much more miserable than the one who has made no such
pledge. For, the misappropriator of the "amanat" is in a much worse position
than the one who has refused to deposit the "amanat" with him; and the one who
knows the consequences of the breach of faith and still commits the breach is
to be blamed more than the one who is ignorant of all this. Although it is
the duty of the one who does not know these things to try to know them and
it is incumbent on the one who has lost the way to look for guidance, still
his guilt is less than that of the one who knowingly commits the breach of
faith.
The hypocrites are condemned by God to the lowest depths of the hell
fire and their condition is much worse than that of the infidels. It is
because, the hypocrites knew the truth and yet they rejected it and the infidels
persisted in their infidelism. Both the hypocrites and the infidels will be in
hell fire and the lot of the hypocrites will be the worst for they have
broken the pledge or ignored it and this is much worse than the refusal to take
the pledge.
Majlis
4: RESPECT FOR THE IMAMS
(pp. 31-33)
To hold the Imams in the highest esteem is a duty enjoined on us by God. He
has associated the devotion to them with the devotion to Himself and the
devotion to the Prophet. He has laid emphasis on our devotion to them and
has further ordered us to refer our disputes to them.
In view of the fact that our devotion to the Prophet is just the same as our
devotion to God, it is incumbent on us all to revere the Imam of our time to
the same extent to which our Prophet was revered by the followers of his
days.
It behoves every one of us then that we should hold them in reverence and bow
down to them with humility. It is our bounden duty to have a greater respect
for them than we have for the worldly kings and to stand in much greater awe
of them than we do in the case of the dignitaries of the world. Let our
respect for the Imams and our fear of them be prompted by no other motive
than our desire to please God who has elevated them to the highest position.
Worldly men respect the kings because of their wealth and they fear them
because of their pomp and power. But the followers of the Imams should
revere their spiritual heads because of the dignity of the Imamat which they
carry themselves and they should stand in awe of them because of the dazzling
light of divine wisdom which radiates from their foreheads.
Let us look upon them as kings in the realm of religion and let us respect
them because God respects them. If we fail to do so we shall be incurring
the wrath of God and the consequences will be serious. Let us look at them
with our senses intact. Let us look at them with eager eyes and an anxiety
to look at them again and again. There is a tradition to the effect that "To look at the Imam is devotion and to look at the Quran is devotion." The
word looking in this tradition does not mean an absent-minded-glance. It
means thoughtful looking. For, to a mere looker-on without any thinking,
there is no advantage from his looking at the Quran. God says, "Do they not
ponder on the Quran? Are their minds locked up?" There is also a tradition
to the effect that "Reading of one verse thoughtfully is better than reading
the Quran thoughtlessly for the whole night." There is another tradition
which says, "The Kharjees read the Quran but it does not go down in their
hearts." It means that they merely mutter the Quran by their tongues and
they do not apply their minds to it. Hence it does not reach their hearts
and it does them no good.
Let us then pay full attention to the words of the Imams when we listen to them. Let us be all ears when they talk and let us ponder over the matter when they finish their talk. We must bear in mind that their words are
practically the words of the Prophet himself. For, devotion to them and
devotion to God and the Prophet are linked together by God. Let us obey
their commands and prohibitions. Let us do what they want us to do and let
us keep aloof from what they do not want us to do.
In what we hear from them not directly but through the agency of news let us
use our discretion. For, every word of them is full of wisdom and every
expression of theirs means to us a world of good. It is a gift of God to
understand these things. God confers this gift on those whom He likes and
withholds it from those whom He dislikes.
If any one of us finds the words of the Imam highly complicated and beyond
his depth, if he does not understand the meaning or dislikes some part of it
or finds it useless or meaningless then let him realise that the fault lies
with him. He should admit his inefficiency and refer the matter to some one
else who is better informed in this than himself to enlighten him. If he
cannot find any one to solve his difficulty, even then he should retain his
regard for these traditions and his faith in them. He should adopt the next
best course to know them and trust the Imam for the rest.
MAJLIS 6: Frankness of the Momins in their Dealings with the Imam
pp. 40-45
God says, "Had those who wronged themselves come to you and repented to God,
and had the apostle of God also asked for forgiveness for them, they would
have found God forgiving and merciful." With regard to the conduct of
hypocrites God says, "When it is said to them 'come in, the Prophet of God will intercede for you' they shrug their shoulders and turn away puffed up
with pride."
The above verses show that those who wrong themselves cannot be forgiven
unless they approach God through the Imams who are the gates of His mercy for
His people and the medium of approach for the people. He who seeks for their
intercession is interceded for by them. He who seeks God's mercy through
them is favored by God and he who tries to reach God through them is lifted
to Him. The approach to God through His Prophet as it is mentioned in the
above verse means our obedience to the Prophet through our obedience to the
Imams who belong to his "Ahl-e bayt." Had this not been the case the mercy of
God would have been cut off from His people and His forgiveness would have
disappeared. The doors of our repentance to Him would have been closed and
there would have been no way left open to us for forgiveness.
God has not left this world without a medium of approach to Him. This medium
is the shelter for shelterless, the gate of divine mercy and a guide for the
people. Had there been no such medium left for us, people would have argued
in defense of their wrong doing by saying, "There was no one to show us the
right path and warn us against the wrong one. There was none to let us know
what we did not know and there was none to whom we could have run for shelter
and through whom we could have approached God for forgiveness." But God has
shut the mouth of these people by leaving the medium on earth.
God has linked the obedience to Him and to the Prophet with the obedience to
the spiritual heads who are the representatives of the Prophet on earth and
has ordered us to refer to them in all our affairs for guidance and submit to
their decision. In short, He wants us to be devoted to Him through our
devotion to these Imams. They are the gates of His mercy and the means by
which we can approach Him for forgiveness.
If any of the followers of the Imam does contrary to the pledge that he has
given to him, to the slightest extent or neglects to do what he has been
ordered by him to do or commits positive wrong, then let him go back to him
and admit his guilt to him repenting for his sins. Let him regret for the
sins of his omission and commission and seek the intercession of the Imam of
his time for the forgiveness of these sins. This is what God has commanded
us to do in His Holy Book. Let him on no account persist in his misconduct
and justify it remorselessly without showing any sign of desisting from this
perverse course.
God says in His holy book, "He likes those who repent and those who try to
purify themselves." Imam Sadiq (Jaffer Sadiq), greetings be on him, says,
"We are the gates of God. We are His medium for His people. He who approaches
Him through us is brought near Him. He who seeks our intercession is interceded for. He
who seeks favors through us is favored by Him. He who turns away from us
goes astray." One of the "Ahl-e bayt" says that Ali, peace be on him, is
reported to have said, "It is the duty of every one who recognizes the true
position of the Imam to inform him of his shortcomings. Let him tell the
Imam what he can do and what he cannot do. The Imam will assign to him the
post which he finds him fit. This, in my opinion, is the best course of
conduct for the followers of the Imams."
Let us speak the truth and hide nothing from the Imams and let us do, what we
do, not for the sake of expecting a post from them or for the sake of gaining
power. Let us do this for nothing but for the sake of God. Let us do it for
the eternal reward from God in return for our paying back the "amanat" to the
Imams and the fulfilment of our pledge to them. Let us show our maximum
loyalty and sincerity to them according to the pledge that we have given to
them.
If any of the followers of the Imam finds himself unfit for the job which is
offered to him by the Imam and yet he intends to accept it to improve his
worldly prospects and hides his deficiency from the Imam, does an act of
treachery to God, to Prophet and his "Wasee." But if he informs him of all
his defects and speaks nothing but truth then the matter rests with the Imam
and his duty is to carry out his orders. It matters little whether he knows
the job or not. It matters little whether he is competent or incompetent.
For, God helps those who are appointed by the Imams provided they discharge
their duties with the best of their intentions.
I say an oath that I was ordered by the Imam for innumerable times to do a
thing which I believed I could not do. All the same, as soon as I took up
the job, I felt competent and I did the work to my satisfaction. I know for
certain that God fulfils the expectations of the Imams and they get what they
want. Men are nothing more than instruments in the hands of the Imams. When
these instruments are used by them they do wonderful things.
I know of a "momin" who was appointed by one of the Imams to a post for
which, in my opinion and in the opinion of others who knew him, he was not
fit. He accepted the post with promptness. Some one who knew him and knew
me to be a close friend of his, mentioned this to me and remarked that the
fellow would make a mess of the job. He pressed me hard to advise the man to
resign the post. I talked over the matter to the man and he replied: "I know
well, that I am what you know me to be. I have no previous experience of the
job, at the same time I am convinced that since the Imam has appointed me to
do it, I will prove to be suitable. I say on oath that if the Imam were to
give me a piece of gold or sliver and ask me to make, out of them ornaments
of a particular design I shall accept the job and begin the work in right
earnest. I know for certain that God will guide me and inspire me to do what
the Imam wants me to do and I shall do it to his satisfaction.
I knew well that he was a man of conviction. I knew for certain that he
would not give up the job. To give up the job will be as hard to him as to
disobey the Imam. I did not think it proper to argue with him and left him
to himself. Next morning I went to his house and found him suffering from a
serious disease. He continued ailing till some one else was appointed in his
place. After a few days he got over his ailment and became hail and hearty.
I realized for myself that after all God came to his help and relieved him of
the job which I was afraid he would make a mess of. This was the result of
his implicit faith in the Imam.
All the same the least that is expected of the devotees of the Imam, is, to
inform him of their poor abilities, limitations and inefficiency when they
are assigned to a job for which they think they are not best fit. After
this they have to submit to his decision and hasten to the job to which they
are appointed.
We maintain that they look at things with the light of God. He guides them
and informs them of what they ask Him about in His subtle ways. He confers
on them favors and blessings which they are the only privileged persons to
receive. We must bear in mind that the Imams are the light of God.
MAJLIS 7: Obedience to the Imam
pp. 46-50
It is the duty of every one who has given a pledge of loyalty to the Imams
that he should fulfil the terms of his pledge and always keep them in view.
He should never act contrary to the order of the Imam. In carrying out his
orders he should never exceed the limits nor fall short of them. He should
not budge an inch from the right course. He should not put his
interpretation on what he hears from the Imam. He should say nothing on his
own account. He should not allow his imagination to influence his mind in
these matters.
It is said that once Imam Jafar, greetings of God be on him, said to some of
his followers, "You should be our silent propagandists." When the people
asked him as to how they should carry on the propaganda by silence, he said
in reply, "Carry it on by your good deeds." He gave a long sermon on this
topic and said in the end, "When people find you doing the right thing they
will know that it is we who have guided you in this matter. Thus they will
run to us and you will prove to be the medium of their coming to us."
It follows that it is the bounden duty of every on who is the follower of the
Imams to do good things and keep away from the evil. He should be devoted to
God and he should discharge the duties that have been enjoined on him. He
should commit no sins and should do nothing which provokes God.
He should not indulge in religious discussions unless he is permitted by the
Imam to do so. The Imam permits only those people to carry on religious
discussions whom he finds fit for the job. Many a debater indulges in
discussions with one who happens to be more competent than himself and in the
end suffers a defeat at his hands and becomes sceptic.
It is for these reasons that the Imams order us to be silent and have
implicit faith in them. None, but the one who is selected by them and is
permitted by them to carry on the discussions is allowed to pursue this
course. One of the Imams said to one of his "daa-ees', "If you find your
opponent a better debater than yourself then take the help of the inner
knowledge, stop him by saying that you are not prepared to initiate him into
the depths of the inner meaning. Do not prolong the discussion to give your
opponent a free hand. It will create a bad result and make your opponent
firmer in his stand. Keep him in suspense, if you are afraid of continuing
the discussion. On the other hand if you know at the very beginning that
your opponent is a better debater, do not discuss with him and stop him by
saying that you believe in inner things. For, very often, discussion with
those who are on the wrong path leaves the impression on the audience that
your opponents are right. This is exactly what happened when the sorcerers
challenged Moses by bringing their ropes and sticks and making them look like
snakes. Moses got frightened of the wrong impression they had created on the
mind of the audience, although in the long run truth prevailed and the
falsehood was eradicated."
It is out of these considerations that we have been ordered by the Imam to be
silent and secretive. Imam Jafar, greetings be on him, is reported to have
said to some of his followers who offered their services for his support, "We
asked you to do something easier than this but you did not do it." They
said, "What is that, O the grandson of the Prophet." He said, "We asked you
to keep silent. If you had kept silent we would have been pleased with you
but you did not do so."
We must bear in mind that in doing the work of the Imams, we have to follow
some specific rules that are prescribed for us. We have to do things by
degrees and we have to proceed with caution step by step. If we do not stop
at the first step and jump to the higher step and try to reach the
destination earlier than we are required to reach it we shall be ruined. It
will be like feeding a new born baby to death.
In short, these are the things which have prevented the Imams from making
their inner knowledge accessible to none but those whom they have found fit.
Had they allowed every one to have a free access to it, people would have
ruined one another like a new born babe who is killed by feeding or like an
embryo who tries to come out before it is fully developed.
Hence, the Imams have purposely kept this knowledge secret in order to test
their followers. Had they given full publicity to it and informed every one
of what it is, none would have opposed them. But God wants to test His
devotees by asking them to have faith in the "ghaib." The Quran says, "This
book is undoubtedly a guide to the God-fearing people who have faith in the
‘ghaib' i.e. that hidden thing." These are the people who according to the
Quran have been "guaranteed success." If God had desired He could have
forced all men to be devoted to Him. He could have easily asked some angel
to shout from above and call people to devotion. It would not in that case
have been necessary for Him to send one of His apostles to guide people. Had
He done so none would have been superior to another and there would have been
no room for exertion. In that case there would have been no reward and no
punishment. All the people would have been of one type and knowledge and
accomplishments and such other gifts of God would have been evenly
distributed amongst them. God knows best what He does and His "walees" who
are in the know of the divine secrets know best what they do. There is no
God but He and there is no partner to Him.
MAJLIS 8: To Thank the Imam in Weal or Woe
pp. 51-55
Patience and gratitude are two great virtues. He who is devoted to God and
to His Imams, discharges all the obligations that he owes to them and relies
on them in prosperity and adversity. He puts up with discomforts in the
discharge of these duties for the sake of God and for the sake of the Imams.
He belongs to that group of "Sabirs" i.e. those who bear hardships with
patience about whom God says in His holy book, "God rewards the ‘Sabirs'
beyond one's calculations." God has praised them and spoken of His rewards
to them in several other verses of the Quran.
By virtue of this quality of patience the "Sabirs" have kept themselves in
check from doing unlawful things and have persisted in their devotion to God.
As a reward for this they have received His favors and have settled down in
"Jannat" the abode of bliss.
O momins, keep yourselves in check from doing wrong things and make
yourselves deserving of divine favors. Persevere in your devotion and train
yourselves to put up with discomforts for the sake of the Imams. Do not be
discouraged. Rush into them and do not feel depressed. Patience in this
respect is an act of devotion to God. Those who practice it will be amply
recompensated by God. "Sabirs" are sure to be rewarded.
It is by patience over the difficulties which the followers of the Imams had
to undergo that their authority has been established on earth and their
claims have been recognized by the people. It is through the suffering of
these followers that people have submitted to their authority.
The "Sabirs" are steady people. They put up with all sorts of hardships for
the sake of the Imams. They rush to the Imams and are ever-ready to carry
out their orders. If they are appointed to any office they do the job
willingly. They are devoted to God and they suffer with patience and
firmness what befalls their lot. They abide by the laws of God. They fight
for God and they establish His laws on earth. By virtue of this they win the
reward of God. They are the happiness of people on earth and their end is
the best.
Had the Sabirs not attended to the duties of God and had they not put up with
hardships for the sake of the Imams and had they shilly-shallied in the
discharge of their religious duties they would have brought on themselves a
great disaster. Man would have pounced upon man in front of men and behind
them. The strong ones would have swallowed the weak ones and villains would
have persecuted men of respectable birth. May God forbid us from such a
disaster and the failure of religion which is sure to end in the reign of
terror.
This is about patience. With regards to gratitude, it perpetuates the
blessings and increases them to an unimaginable extent. Those who are
neglectful in this are considered to be "Kafirs" i.e. deniers of truth and
deniers of divine favors. God says, "If you show gratitude to Me I shall
increase My blessings on you. If you become ‘Kafir' i.e., if you deny My
favors then my punishment is very severe." The Prophet says, "If one does
you a good turn you must be reciprocal to him. If you cannot do so then
thank him. If you fail to do so you become ‘Kafir' i.e. denier of his
favors." God does not like that we should be ungrateful to Him for the
favors that He has done to us. He does not approve of ingratitude even from
man to man for the good turn that one may do to another. He says, "Be
grateful to me and to your parents. You have to return to me."
The Prophet says, "On the day of judgement God will say to some one of the
ungrateful persons such and such a man did you a good turn but you did not
thank him and denied his favor." The man will say in reply, "I thought that
you were the source of the good turn he did to me and I thanked you for it."
God will say, "How should you thank me when you did not thank the person whom
I had made the medium of doing you a good turn?"
To sum up, if to thank our parents for their bringing us up and to thank
those men who do us a favor is a duty enjoined on us by God and want of it
amounts to "Kufr" then, it needs no imagination to realize the magnitude of
the importance of our thank to the Imams whose favors on us are beyond our
calculations.
Let us make a short survey of their favors on us. We were ignorant of
everything and were spiritually dead. They brought us back to life and
showed us the path of wisdom. We were blind, they gave us the eyes to see
for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. We were groping in the dark
they showed us the light. We had lost the track, they showed us the way to
salvation. We were lacking in knowledge, they gave us the knowledge. We
were falling in hell-fire, they picked us up and put up in the midst of the
righteous. In short, they have done us the favors which we cannot count.
They have given us all that is good in this world and the world to come.
With all this, even if one were to follow them with no other motive than an
earthly desire for a worldly gain, he will get what he wants. He will get
even double the amount of his expectations, provided he is honest in the
discharge of the duties that are assigned to hm and is steady in his work.
But, if he proves to be dishonest and unfaithful to them in doing his job, if
he works against the interest of those very persons who provide him with all
sorts of facilities and give him the necessary protection and security of
life and property, then the blame lies at his doors. May God protect us from
such people and may He not show us such things. The only course left open
for such a person is to make amends for his misbehavior and seriously repent
for it. He must set himself right and be grateful to Imams.
The True Meaning of Religion - Shihabudin Shah
Life
and Lectures of Al Muayyad fid-din al Shirazi
Nasir
Khusraw
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