THE DOCTRINE OF IMAMAH
Before going any further it would be
well-advised, for the benefit of those who may not be fully aware of what the
Imamah of the shia means, to expand somewhat upon the detail of the issue. Once
the reader has a proper focus of what Imamah means to the shia, and what its position in the belief structure of the shia
is, we will continue with our discussion of that doctrine in the light of the
QURAN.
Essentially, Imamah is about leadership of
the UMMAH after the demise of Rasulullaah sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. The shia
believe that just as Allah chose Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam as His
Messenger to mankind, he chose and appointed a line of twelve men to succeed
him as the leaders of the Ummah in all matters, spiritual as well as temporal.
The first of these leaders, or Imams as they are called, was ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib
radiyallahu'anhu. He was succeeded by his eldest son Hasan, and he by his brother
Husayn. After Husayn the Imamah continued in his progeny until the year 260AH, when the twelfth Imam, a child
of five, disappeared upon the death of his father. He is believed to be the
Awaited Mahdi who will return from occultation to establish justice upon the
earth. To these twelve men from amongst the family of Rasulullaah sallallahu
‘alayhi wasallam alone belongs the right to assume leadership of the Ummah.
There are two aspects to Imamah that need to be looked at with attention. The
first is the nature of the appointment of the Imams, and the second is the
nature of their office.
THE NATURE OF THE APPOINTMENT
As far as the nature of their appointment
is concerned, it is a matter of consensus amongst the shia that the right of
their twelve Imams to lead the Ummah was bestowed by Allah Ta‘ala Himself. No
distinction is made between the appointment of Muhammad
sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam as the Messenger of Allah and the appointment of
the twelve Imams as his successors. Underscoring this vital aspect of Imamah,
‘Allamah Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita, who was the most prominent Shi'ah
‘alim of Najaf in Iraq during the seventies, writes in his book Asl ash-shia
wa-Usuluha:
Imamah is a divine station, just like Nubuwwah. Just as Allah chooses whomsoever He wants to for Nubuwwah and Risalah ... similarly, for Imamah too, He selects whomsoever He wishes.1
It is interesting to note that the book
from which this statement is drawn was written for the express purpose of
correcting contemporary misconceptions about the shia. Since Imamah is then for
all practical purposes on exactly the same plane as Nubuwwah and Risalah,
consistency would dictate that the rejection of Imamah be censured with the
same severity as the rejection of Nubuwwah and Risalah. If rejection of the
Nubuwwah of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam cast the likes of Abu Jahl and
Abu Lahab outside the fold of Islam, then it is only logical to expect that
rejection of the Imamah of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiyallahu‘anhu should cast the
likes of Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and the rest of the Sahaabah radiyallahu‘anhum out of
the fold of Islam. For one who views the problem from this perspective it thus
comes as no surprise to find the shia narrating from their Imams that "all
the people became murtad after the death of Rasulullaah, except three,"2 since it is consistent with the
principle that equates Imamah with Nubuwwah in the sense that each of them is a
position appointed by Allah.
What is surprising is the opinion the shia
of today express about the Ahl as-Sunnah in general. One would expect them to
say about the Ahl as-Sunnah as they have said about the SAHABAH: that they are unbelievers, out of the
fold of Islam. After all, there are many non-Muslims who believe in the oneness
of Allah, but do not believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam, and for that reason we all regard them as unbelievers. If Imamah is
then a "divine station, like Nubuwwah," Sunnis who do not believe in
the Imamah of the Twelve Imams must also be unbelievers. There have been many
‘ulama of the shia in the past who have displayed consistency in this regard and
declared all those who deny the Imamah of the Twelve Imams—like the Ahl
as-Sunnah—unbelievers. For example, Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi (died 381AH), the
author of one of the four canonical hadith collections of the shia, Man La
Yahduruhu al-Faqih, states in the treatise in which he expounds the creed of
the shia:
It is our belief about one who rejects the Imamah of Amir al-Mu’minin (Sayyiduna ‘Ali) and the Imams after him that he is the same as one who rejects the Nubuwwah of the Anbiya’.It is our belief concerning a person who accepts (the Imamah of) Amir al-Mu’minin but rejects any one of the Imams after him, that he is similar to one who believes in all the Anbiya’ but rejects the Nubuwwah of Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. The Nabi sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: "The Imams after me are twelve. The first is Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and the last is the Qa’im (the Mahdi). Obedience to them is obedience to me, and disobedience to them is disobedience to me. Thus, whoever rejects one of them has rejected me."Whoever wrongfully claims the Imamah is an accursed oppressor. Whoever places the Imamah in anyone besides its rightful repositories is an accursed oppressor. The Nabi sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: "Whoever shall deny ‘Ali his Imamah after me has denied my Nubuwwah, and whoever denies me my Nubuwwah has denied Allah His divinity." Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq said: "Whoever doubts the kufr of our enemies is himself a kafir."3
His student Shaykh Mufid (died 413AH)
writes:
There is consensus amongst the Imamiyyah (the Ithna ‘Ashari or Ja‘fari shia) that whoever denies the Imamah of anyone of the Imams, and denies the duty of obedience to them that Allah has decreed, that such a person is a kafir, misguided, and that he deserves everlasting torment in Hell.4
The prolific Abu Ja‘far at-Tusi, called
Shaykh at-Ta’ifah, (died 460AH), who is the author of two of the four canonical
hadith collections, has the following to say:
Rejection of Imamah is kufr, just as rejection of Nubuwwah is kufr.5
The mujaddid of Shiitesm in the eighth
century after the Hijrah, Ibn Mutahhar al-Hilli (died 726AH) expresses similar
sentiments in the following terms:
Imamah is a universal grace (lutf ‘amm) while Nubuwwah is a special grace (lutf khass), because it is possible that a specific period in time can be void of a living Nabi, while the same is not true for the Imam. To reject the universal grace is worse than to reject the special grace.6
This is the opinion held by four of the
most eminent classical scholars of the shia, and if seen from the angle of
consistency, it is a commendable position indeed. Yet, if one has to ask the
shia of today (especially recent converts to Shiitesm) whether they believe
Sunnis are Muslims are not, they will respond with surprise, and might even appear
grieved at such a question. As far as recent converts to Shiitesm are
concerned, this is to be expected, since it is in the interest of any
propaganda scheme that certain facts be kept secret from neophytes. However
those who are more knowledgeable about the technicalities of Shiitesm will know
that in the eyes of the shia a distinction is made between a Muslim and a
Mu’min. All those who profess Islam outwardly are Muslims: Sunnis, Zaydis,
Mu‘tazilis, and all other sects. A Mu’min, however, is only he who believes in
the Twelve Imams. By this clever ruse the fuqaha of the shia kill several birds
with one stone. By accepting all other sects as Muslims they protect themselves
against the ridiculousness of casting out of the fold of Islam over 90% of its adherents,
and the same men who carried the banner of Islam to all corners of the world.
At the same time they avoid the antagonism of Sunnis and others, which
facilitates proselytisation for them. On the other hand, by the subtle measure
of distinguishing Muslim from Mu’min they effectively excommunicate their
opponents. Muslims are those to whom the laws of Islam apply in this world. It
is therefore permissible to intermarry with them, to pray behind them, to eat
what they slaughter, etc., while Mu’mins are those to whom salvation in the
hereafter belongs exclusively, and that depends upon belief in the Twelve
Imams. This distinction between Muslim and Mu’min can be found throughout
classical Shiite literature.
The seventh century faqih, Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Hilli
(died 690AH), for example writes in his manual on fiqh, al-Jami‘ lish-Shara’i‘:
It is correct for a Muslim to make an endowment (waqf) upon Muslims. Muslims are those who utter the two shahadahs, and their children. But if a person makes something waqf upon the Mu’minin, it will be exclusively for the Imamiyyah who believe in the Imamah of the Twelve Imams.7
Eight centuries later, exactly the same
view is propounded by Ayatullah Khomeini. In his own manual of fiqh, Tahrir
al-Wasilah, he states:
If a person makes a waqf upon the Muslims it will be for all those who confess the two shahadahs ... If an Imami makes a waqf upon the Mu’minin it will be restricted to the Ithna ‘Ashariyyah.8
Some amongst the contemporary spokesmen for
Shiitesm, like Kashif al-Ghita, have realised that even this ruse is not
sufficiently subtle. He thus devised another terminology. He speaks of being a
Mu’min in the special sense, and of being a Mu‘min in the general sense.
Whoever believes in Imamah is regarded as a Mu’min in the special sense, while
those who do not believe in it are regarded as being Mu’min in the general
sense, as a result of which all the temporal laws of Islam are applicable to
him. The result of this difference, he says, will become apparent on the Day of
Judgement, in the degrees of Divine proximity and honour that will be bestowed
upon the believers in Imamah.9
To us this reveals much more than what the
author intended. It reveals to us that when the shia say they regard Sunnis as
Muslims, it is in strict reference to worldly matters. In eschatological
matters, matters of the hereafter, Sunnis who do not believe in the Imamah of
the Twelve Imams are just like Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus or any other
rejectors of the Nubuwwah of Rasulullah sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam. The only
reason for saying that Sunnis are Muslims is expedience and convenience.
Without professing such an opinion the shia would have had to retreat into
seclusion and bear ostracism from the rest of the Muslim world. This reason is given
by Sayyid ‘Abdullah Shubbar (died 1232AH) in his commentary of az-Ziyarat
al-Jami‘ah, the comprehensive du‘a read at the graves of the Imams. At the
point where the ziyarah reads:
Whoever denies you is a kafir,
he comments upon it, saying:
There are many narrations that indicate that the opponents are kafir. To document all of them would require a separate book. Reconciling such narrations with that which is known about the Imams, viz. that they used to live, eat and socialise with them, leads to the conclusion that they (the opponents) are kafir, and that they will dwell in Hell forever, but that in this world the laws of Islam are applied to them as a gesture of mercy and beneficence to the True Denomination (the shia), since it is impossible to avoid them.10
The
nature of the office of the Imams
On this point it would be sufficient to say
that the shia bestow upon their Imams all the perfections and accomplishments
of the Anbiya’, and even more. It would be impossible to document here all the
narrations that deal with the status of the Imams, but it might be just as
informative to quote the chapters under which they have been documented in a
source that is described as a "veritable encyclopaedia of the knowledge of
the Imams": Bihar al-Anwar of ‘Allamah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi (died 1111AH),
widely reputed to be the greatest and most influential Shiite scholar of the
Safawid era. During his lifetime he occupied the office of Shaykh al-Islam in
Isfahan, capital of the Safawids, and even to this day his works are
indispensable to the Shiite clergy as well as their lay public. We quote here
the name of the chapter, as well as the number of narrations he documents in
each chapter:
1. The Imams possess more knowledge than the Anbiya’ (13 narrations)11
2. The Imams are superior to the Anbiya’ and the entire creation. The Covenant of the Imams was taken from them (the Anbiya’), the Mala’ikah and the entire creation. The (major prophets called) ulul-‘Azm (Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and ‘Isa ) attained the status of ulul-‘Azm on account of loving the Imams. (88 narrations)12
3. The du‘as of the Ambiya’ were answered because they invoked the wasilah of the Imams. (16 narrations)13
4. The Imams can bring the dead back to life. They can cure blindness and leprosy. They possess all the miracles of the Ambiya’ (4 narrations)14
5. Nothing of the knowledge of Heaven, Earth, Jannah and Jahannam is hidden from them. The Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth was shown to them. They know all that happened and that will happen upto the Day of Resurrection. (22 narrations)15
6. The Imams know the truth of a person's faith or hypocrisy. They possess a book that contains the names of the inmates of Jannah, the names of their supporters and their enemies. (40 narrations)16
1. The Imams possess more knowledge than the Anbiya’ (13 narrations)11
2. The Imams are superior to the Anbiya’ and the entire creation. The Covenant of the Imams was taken from them (the Anbiya’), the Mala’ikah and the entire creation. The (major prophets called) ulul-‘Azm (Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and ‘Isa ) attained the status of ulul-‘Azm on account of loving the Imams. (88 narrations)12
3. The du‘as of the Ambiya’ were answered because they invoked the wasilah of the Imams. (16 narrations)13
4. The Imams can bring the dead back to life. They can cure blindness and leprosy. They possess all the miracles of the Ambiya’ (4 narrations)14
5. Nothing of the knowledge of Heaven, Earth, Jannah and Jahannam is hidden from them. The Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth was shown to them. They know all that happened and that will happen upto the Day of Resurrection. (22 narrations)15
6. The Imams know the truth of a person's faith or hypocrisy. They possess a book that contains the names of the inmates of Jannah, the names of their supporters and their enemies. (40 narrations)16
The titles of these chapters create quite a
vivid impression of the narrated material upon which the shia base their faith.
The office of Imamah can thus be seen to incorporate more than just the
political leadership of the Ummah. The Imams are more than just heads of state
with a divine right to rule. They are the repositories of every branch of
knowledge and perfection possessed by the Ambiya’. The existence of the world
depends upon their presence. They are the intermediaries upon whose
intercession acceptance of the prayers of even the Ambiya’ depends. Their
office is one that combines political, religious, scientific, cosmological and
metaphysical supremacy over the entire creation. From this one can understand
the reason for al-Khomeini's statement in the book al-Hukumat al-Islamiyyah,
upon which rests the entire philosophy of his revolution:
It is of the undeniable tenets of our faith that our Imams possess a status with Allah that neither Angel nor Messenger can aspire to.17
After this introduction to the concept of
Imamah, the nature of the appointment of the Imams, and the nature of their
office, we pose the question: Is belief in such a concept justified and upheld
by the QURAN? Surely a belief of such momentousness, an article of faith with
such far reaching consequences, that supercedes even belief in the Ambiya’,
must be rooted in the QURAN, the book which was revealed by Allah as an explanation of all things, a
guide, a mercy, It is with the purpose of answering this
question that this article is written.
IMAMAH AND
PROPHETHOOD IN THE QURAN
In this article we investigate the QURANIC
foundations of the Shiitete concept of Imamah. By analysis of the usage of the
word imam and its plural form a’immah in the QURAN we will investigate whether
the QURAN provides any basis for the doctrine of Imamah as formulated in
Shiitete theology.
In limiting our investigation to the QURAN,
it is not our contention that the Sunnah is inconsequential in issues of
doctrine. Instead, it is out of the conviction that a doctrinal issue like
Imamah, which Shiitete theology places above Nubuwwah, must find textual
support from the QURAN. After all, the "secondary" issue of Nubuwwah
finds more than ample support in the pages of the QURAN. No one, after reading
the clear and unambiguous QURANIC texts wherein Allah makes mention of His
Messengers and Prophets, their status,
And each (of them) we favoured above all
the worlds. (al-An‘am : 86) their stories,
And has there come to you the story of
Musa? (Taha : 9)
And recite to them the story of Ibrahim.
(ash-Shu‘ara : 69)
We relate unto you you the most beatiful of
stories. (Yusuf : 4)
the explicit mention of their names,
Such was the argument we gave Ibrahim
against his people. We raise in degree whomsoever We will, and your Lord is
Wise, All-Knowing. We gave him Ishaq and Ya‘qub; each of them We guided. And
before that, We guided Nuh, and among his (Ibrahim's) progeny (We guided)
Dawud, and Sulayman, and Ayyub, and Yusuf, and Musa, and Harun; thus do We
reward those who good. And (We guided) Zakariyya, and Yahya, and ‘Isa, and
Ilyas; all of them of the Righteous. And Isma‘il, and Alyasa‘, and Yunus, and
Lut; each of them We favoured above all the worlds. (al-An‘am : 83-86)
and the importance of belief in them as an
integral part of faith in Islam,
And whoever denies Allah, His Messengers,
His Books and the Last Day has clearly gone astray. (an-Nisa’ : 136)
can reasonably doubt that the QURAN
supports, or rather enjoins, belief in Nubuwwah. The question now is: Does the
same hold true for Imamah? If Imamah is superior to Nubuwwah, as the theology
of the Ithna ‘Ashari shia teaches, it would be only reasonable to expect that the
QURAN would deal in equally explicit terms with Imamah; and if not, that at
least a clear, unambiguous picture what Imamah is and who the Imams are, would
be drawn by the QURAN.
USAGE OF THE WORD IMAM IN THE QURAN
In what follows we will investigate how the
word Imam and its plural A’immah have been used in the QURAN. From the way
Allah has used the word in the QURAN it will then be seen whether the Shiite
concept of Imamah that has been explained above, finds any sort of QURANIC
support.
A BOOK
The word imam recurs 7 times in the QURAN,
while its plural form, a’immah, appears 5 times. In 3 of these cases it refers
explicitly to a book:
And before it was the Book of Moosa, a guide and a mercy. (Hud : 17)And before it was the Book of Moosa, a guide and a mercy. (al-Ahqaf : 12)Verily, we will restore the dead to life, and we write that which they sent forth, and that which they left behind; and of everything we have taken account in a Clear Book. (Yasin : 12)
THE CHAMPIONS OF KUFR
In another 2 cases it refers to the
champions of kufr:
Fight the leaders of kufr. (at-Tawbah : 12)And We made them leaders who call towards the Fire. (al-Qasas : 41)
A ROAD
One reference is to a clearly discernible
road:
And verily, the two (cities) lie next to a clear road. (al-Hijr : 79)LEADERSHIP OF THE ISRAELITES
In the remaining six places where the word
is used, it is used in terms of its literal meaning, i.e. leadership. In Surah
al-Ambiya’ it is stated:
We said: O fire, be cool and (a means of ) safety unto Ibrahim. And they planned against him; but We made them the greater losers. And We delivered him and Lut to the land which We blessed for the nations. And We gave him Ishaq, and Ya‘qub as an additional gift; and all of them We made righteous men. And We made them leaders who guide by Our command; and We revealed to them the doing of good, the establishment of prayer and the giving of alms. And they were men who served Us. (al-Ambiya’ : 69-73)
In this extract, which had to be extended
somewhat in order that the reader may see the full context in which the word
a’immah is used, one clearly sees its association with the function of the
Ambiya’ as the leaders of men, who guide them towards Allah. This unequivocal
identification of a’immah as Ambiya’ leads us to conclude that the reference in
Surah as-Sajdah too, is to the Ambiya’, and not to any other category of men:
Indeed, We gave Musa the Book, so be not in doubt about meeting him; and We made it a (source of) guidance for the Children of Isra’il. And We made from amongst them leaders who guided by Our command, when they persevered. And they had full certainty in Our signs. (as-Sajdah : 23-24)
Even if the scope of a’immah in this verse
were to be extended to include people other than the Ambiya’, there is nothing
to justify its identification with the elaborate doctrine of Imamah as
conceived of by the shia.
In a third verse Allah speaks of His plans
for the oppressed Israelites in Egypt:
And We wished to be gracious to those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them heirs. (al-Qasas : 5)
In order to see who the word a’immah refers
to in this verse one only has to look at the persons in whom this divine wish
came to fulfilment. It was primarily in Nabi Musa and the other prophet-kings
of Bani Isra’il like Nabi Dawud and Nabi Sulayman ‘alayhimus salam that the
leadership referred to in this verse, came to be vested. If at times they were
ruled by men other than the Ambiya’, the status of those leaders was never seen
to be superior to the rank of the Ambiya’. Verses like the above three, apart
from dealing specifically with the Ambiya’ of Bani Isra’il, are not in the
least indicative of the existence of a rank like that of Imamah as conceived of
by the shia.
LEADERSHIP OF THE PIOUS
There remain three places where the word
imam is mentioned in the QURAN. In one of these three places Allah speaks of
the prayer of His exemplary worshippers:
(They are) those who say: Our Lord, grant us the coolness of (our) eyes in our wives and children, and make us leaders of the pious. (al-Furqan : 74)
This verse speaks of normal people who do
not belong to a special class like the Ambiya’, asking Allah to make them
imams, in the sense of paragons of virtue, whose example others would strive to
emulate. It is very obvious that it cannot refer to a group of "divinely
appointed Imams", for the reason that the Imams’ elevation to the rank of
Imamah is not on account of their prayers. Since their appointment, like that
of the Ambiya’, is supposedly divine in origin, it not attainable by any amount
of exertion or devotion.
It is interesting to note that this verse
proved to be so unpalatable to certain of the early shia that they declared it
to have been corrupted. The following narration appears in the tafsir of ‘Ali
ibn Ibrahim al-Qummi, the teacher of Abu Ja‘far al-Kulayni:
It was read to Abu ‘Abdillah (i.e. Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq):AND MAKE US LEADERS OF THE PIOUS.He said: "It would be an enormous thing for them to ask Allah to make them Imams of the pious." [The Shiite concept of an Imam is intended, of course, since the Imams are appointed, and no one can become an Imam by praying for it.]Someone enquired: "How was it then revealed, O son of Rasoolullaah?"He replied: 'It was revealed:...and make for us leaders from amongst the pious.18
This narration, documented in a tafsir of
great repute amongst the early tafsirs of the shia, (a tafsir, in fact, that is
described by its twentieth century editor as being "in reality the
commentary of the Imams al-Baqir and as-Sadiq,"19and each one
of whose narrators is regarded as reliable and credible by Shiite hadith
experts,20 which
vouches for its authenticity by Shiite standards) obviates the need for further
discussion around the meaning of the word Imam as it appears in this ayah.
ON THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT
There remains one place in the QURAN where
the word Imam is used. It is in Surah al-Isra’ where Allah Ta‘ala says:
The day when we will call all people by their leaders. (al-Isra’ : 71)
The Imam spoken of in this ayah is
recognised by the mufassirun of the Ahl as-Sunnah as either the book of deeds
or the prophet to whose Ummah the person belonged. The first meaning is preferred
by Ibn Kathir,21 who
mentions in support of his preference the ayah where the word Imam was used in
the sense of a book (see above). This meaning is further supported by the rest
of the ayah:
So those who are given their book in their right hand will read their books.The second meaning also finds ample support in the QURAN. In another ayah Allah says:How will it be when We bring forth from every Ummah a witness, and bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness over these? (an-Nisa’:41)
From the way in which the position of the
Nabi sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam is compared to the position of the
"witnesses" of the other Ummahs we can only conclude that the
reference is to the Ambiya. It therefore follows that those Ummahs will be
called by the names of their Ambiya. Calling the Ummahs of the past by the
names of the Ambiya who were sent to them is further a common thing in both the
QURAN and the Sunnah. The ‘Ad, for example, are commonly referred to as
"the people of Hud", just like Banu Isra’il are called "the
people of Musa". Identifying the Imam mentioned in the ayah under
discussion with the Ambiya is therefore warranted by both the QURAN and the
Sunnah.
As for the claim of the shia that it refers
to the Twelve Imams,22 this
claim not only lacks QURANIC support, it also curtails the general scope of the
ayah. The lack of QURANIC support is evident from the above discussion on the
usage of the word Imam in the QURAN. The restriction of the general scope of
the ayah arises from the chronological disparity between the times when the
Twelve Imams lived, and the periods during which previous Ummahs flourished. If
we say that all Ummahs will be called by the names of the Twelve Imams, then
what about the Ummahs that existed before them? By whose name will they be
called? After all, the ayah says that all people will be called by their
leaders.
In addition, when for argument's sake we do
assume that the reference is to the the Twelve Imams, we are left with a
somewhat incongruous situation. Sayyiduna ‘Ali, the first of the Twelve Imams,
died in the year 40. His son Sayyiduna Hasan died nine years later, in 49. If
Sayyiduna ‘Ali is the Imam for the people of his time, Sayyiduna Hasan is left
with only those people who were born during his nine years. All the other people
of his time who were alive during his father's time will form part of his
father's group, and not his. The tenure of the 3rd Imam lasted for 22 years;
the 4th for 34 years; the 5th for 19 years; the 6th for 34 years; the 7th for
35 years; the 8th for 20 years; the 9th for 17 years; the 10th for 34 years;
and the 11th for only 6 years. Suddenly, with the 12th Imam, the Awaited Mahdi,
we have a tenure of Imamah that has been running for over 1200 years. The group
that will supposedly be called by the name of the 11th Imam, for example, will
only include people that were born during his Imamah that ran from 254 up to
260, while the numbers of those who will be called by the name of the 12th Imam
will be practically incalculable.
Compare this incongruous scenario with the
much more orderly and QURANIC system of having the various Ummahs called by the
names of their Ambiya on the Day of Qiyamah, and the absurdity of using the
71st ayah of Surah al-Isra’ to substantiate the doctrine of Imamah as conceived
of by the shia will be fully exposed. There can be no question that the word
Imam in this ayah does not refer to the Twelve Imams.
SUMMARY
We have discussed here each and every place
in the QURAN where the word Imam and its plural A’immah were used in the QURAN.
It was demonstrated how Allah Ta‘ala used this word to refer variously to
o A BOOK (THRICE)
o THE CHAMPIONS OF KUFR (TWICE)
o A ROAD (ONCE)
o THE LEADERS OF THE ISRAELITES
o THE LEADERS OF THE PIOUS
o THE PROPHETS OR THE BOOK
Any attempt by the shia to identify their
idiosyncratic notion of Imamah with the Imamah of the QURAN is totally
incongruous. The closest they could come to it would be to draw a similarity
between their own Imamah and the leadership of the Israelites. However, such a
similarity is immediately rejected when one considers that this leadership of
the Israelites is clearly identified in the QURAN with the Ambiya of Bani
Isra’il. The QURAN provides no grounds whatsoever to identify this leadership
of the Israelites with anyone but the Ambiya. It is not uncommon to find the
shia quoting verses such as the 5th verse of Surah al-Qasas to substantiate
their belief of Imamah. If they only took the trouble of reading the verse in
its proper context, without adding to it the excrescences of their own
theology, they will see just how far fetched their identification of QURANIC
Imamah with Shiite Imamah really is. In al-Qasas:5 for example, the reference
is clearly to Musa and his people. Just how, one wonders, is that verse
extended to Ali ibn Abi Talib and eleven persons from his progeny?
The attempt to draw a comparison between
the QURANIC Leadership of the Pious and the Imamah of the shia is similarly
fraught with problems. It has been seen above how this form of leadership is a
favour sought from Allah by His ideal servants. The Imamah of the shia of the
shia, on the other hand, is like Nubuwwah, divinely granted, and cannot be
aspired to by any person. The utter lack of harmony between this form of
leadership and Shiite Imamah is nowhere more clearly brought to light than in
the authentically narrated saying of Imam Ja‘far as-Sadiq which points at the corruption
of the text of the QURAN at the hands of the SAHAABAH {RADIYALLAHU ‘ANHUM} as the reason for the disparity.
The only other QURANIC meaning of the word
Imam left to the shia is the one which refers to the Day of Qiyamah, when
nations will be called by their "Imams". Is it possible that the word
"Imam" here could be referring to the Shiite concept of Imamah? Unfortunately
for the shia, once again that is not possible. It is not possible for two
reasons:
·
Firstly, because a holistic reading
of the immediately following verses, as well as of other verses of the QURAN
point unmistakably to the fact that the Imamah spoken of here refers either to
the Ambiya, by whose names nations are called not only in the Hereafter, but in
the QURAN and Sunnah too, or to their books of deeds by which they will be
called to account.
·
Secondly, because identifying the
verse with the Shiite concept of Imamah leads to a very problematic
distribution of nations for the various Imams.
IN CONCLUSION, IN THE USAGE OF THE WORD
"IMAAM" IN THE QURAN THERE IS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO SUPPORT THE
BELIEF OF IMAMAH AS CONCEIVED OF BY THE SHIA.
___________________________
REFERENCES
1. Asl ash-shia wa-Usuluha p. 58 (Mu’ssasat
al-A‘lami, Beirut)
2. al-Kafi vol. 8 (Rawdat al-Kafi) p. 167
(Dar al-Adwa’, Beirut, 1992)
3. Risalat al-I‘tiqad pp. 111-114, quoted
by al-Majlisi: Bihar al-Anwar vol. 27 p. 62 (Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah,
Tehran, 1387)
4. al-Masa’il, quoted in Bihar al-Anwar
vol. 8 p. 366
5. Talkhis ash-Shafi vol. 4 p. 131 (Dar
al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, Qum, 3rd ed. 1394)
6. al-Alfayn p. 3 (al-Maktabah
al-Haydariyyah, Najaf, 3rd ed. 1388)
7. al-Jami‘ lish-Shara’i‘ p. 371
(Mu’assasat Sayyid ash-Shuhada’ al-‘Ilmiyyah, Qum, 1405)
8. Tahrir al-Wasilah vol. 2 p. 72
(Mu’assasat Isma‘iliyan, Qum 1408)
9. Asl ash-shia wa-Usuluha pp. 58-59
10. al-Anwar al-Lami‘ah Sharh az-Ziyarat
al-Jami‘ah p. 176 (Mu‘assasat al-Bi‘thah, Mashhad, 1st ed. 1457)
11. Bihar al-Anwar vol. 26 pp. 194-200
12. ibid. vol. 26 pp. 267-318
13. ibid. vol. 26 pp. 319-332
14. ibid. vol. 27 pp. 29-31
15. ibid. vol. 26 pp. 109-107
16. ibid. vol. 26 pp. 117-132
17. al-Hukumat al-Islamiyyah p. 52
(Ministry of Guidance, Iran. )
18.Tafsir (‘Ali ibn Ibrahim) al-Qummi vol.1
p. 10 (ed. Sayyid Tayyib al-Musawi, 2nd edition, Kitabfarosh ‘Allameh, Qum
1968)
19.ibid., editor's introduction.
20.Abu Talib at-Tajlil at-Tabrizi: Mu‘jam
ath-Thiqat p. 224 (Mu’assasat an-Nashr al-Islami, Qum 1404AH). In this book the
author has compiled a list of all reliable hadith narrators of the shia. One of
his sources is the tafsir of al-Qummi. In the third chapter of this book he
gives a list of the narrators upon whom al-Qummi has relied in narrating the
material contained in his tafsir, quoting al-Qummi's statement in the
introduction to his book, that "we will mention and inform about that
which reached us, which our mentors and reliable narrators have narrated".
He then quotes the author of Wasa’il ash-shia who states that "‘Ali ibn
Ibrahim al-Qummi has testified that his tafsir is narrated from the Imams by
reliable narrators." (Wasa’il vol. 3 p. 524)
21.Tafsir Ibn Kathir vol. 3 p. 52 (Maktabah
Dar at-Turath, Cairo n.d.)
22.In the first volume of al-Kafi this ayah
is used thrice in relation to the Imams.
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