Chain of the Light of Imamat - Hudud are for a Fixed Time
Hudud are for a Fixed Time
Tags: Hudud-i Din, Hujjat, Perceptible, Universal Intellect, Universal Soul
For the seeker of truth, it is necessary to have a thorough knowledge of the hudud and what is the need for them. Are they forever or is there a time for their removal?
I would like to present a thoroughly detailed explanation of the hudud based on proofs of the signs in the external world (afaq) and in the internal world (anfus). Because those statements whose proof or testimony is not provided from the external and internal worlds is nothing but a lie. The Holy Prophet says: "Indeed, Allah has based His religion after the pattern (model) of His creation so that His creation may be proof of His religion and His religion, of His oneness". In this Hadith are mentioned three worlds, which resemble one another. They are: the world of creation, the world of religion and the world of oneness.
In order to appreciate that unless a statement is testified to by the external world and the internal world, it is false, see the Qur'anic verse: "I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor the creation of their own souls" (18:51). It is therefore necessary for the wise to substantiate what is related to religion by the testimony of the universe before expressing it. Thus when we say that the Imam of the time is always present in the world of religion and always bestows spiritual blessings on the people of the world, this is validated by the fact that there is a similar thing which is always in this world and continues to give light, which is the sun. The Imam of the time is symbolised by the physical sun, which is a symbol for the Imam of the time. But it should be known that there is a difference between the symbol (mithal) and the symbolised (mamthul). Once the difference is understood, we take the attributes and acts of the sun as an appropriate example of the Imam of the time. When the sun is away from us, darkness prevails and the moon gives us light on behalf of the sun. If the moon is also away from us or its face is not toward us, we receive light from the stars. And sometimes due to clouds there is only darkness. On the other hand, when the sun rises, the moon does not give us light, yet it always receives the sun's light itself. Similarly, when the sun rises, the stars are not apparent to us. However, the moon and the stars always have light themselves, because they are at a great distance away from the earth and there is no barrier between them and the sun.
From this testimony from the surface of the universe, it is evident that when the people of an age do not have spiritual access to the Imam of the time, the hudud, who have already been mentioned, are appointed by the Imam to convey the light of his guidance to them. Among the physical hudud, the Hujjat-i a`zam corresponds to the moon and the other Hujjats, Da`is and Ma'dhuns correspond to the stars and give the light of religious knowledge to the world of religion. But when the Imam of the time is close to the people to give them the light of religious knowledge directly, the physical hudud are not apparent. But just as it is true that during the day the moon and the stars do not vanish and are still there, we do not need to obtain their light, similarly, the hudud are also always there, illumined themselves from the light of the Imam, even though we do not need to receive their light of knowledge. The example of the Hujjat is like that of the moon, as God says: "And when the stars darken" (81:2); "And when the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and the moon are united" (75:8-9). This is the sign of the invisibility of the physical hudud. That is, at the approach of the Day of Resurrection, other than the Imam, the rest of the physical hudud will not be apparent and the Hujjat will be united with the Imam.
Here it is necessary to mention that to acquire the knowledge of the higher and lower hudud is extremely important, for the knowledge of ta'wil, which is a prerequisite for the progress of the soul of a mu'min, cannot be attained without the knowledge of the hudud. Take for example the verse: "He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden; and He is Knower of all things" (57:3). The first, in reality, is the one who has a beginning and the last, in reality is the one who comes into being at the end, and the manifest, in reality, is perceptible by the five senses or at least by one sense, because a definition is fixed for every word. For instance, a rose can be sensed by the faculties of sight, smell, taste and touch, but the faculty of hearing has no share in this. But the source of a good or bad smell, when it is not in front of us, is sensed only by the faculty of smell. In short, manifest means a body and that the body is perceptible. If someone alters the definition of a word, he is doing wrong to it. Thus manifest means that which has a body and is perceptible. The hidden is that which is not perceptible, but only intelligible by intellectual faculties. Thus the ta'wil of this verse is that the First is the Universal Intellect, for he is the first of every thing and is first in every respect. The Last is the Universal Soul, for he came into being after the Universal Intellect, who was the First. Further, he is the Last in the sense that he will be completed when the Qa'im manifests himself. The Manifest is the Natiq, because his tanzil, Shari`at, da`wat and status are all manifest and perceptible. And also the Natiq himself is manifest as the external position of the Imam. The Hidden is the Imam, because his ta'wil, da`wat and status are hidden.
If someone says that at present the Natiq is not manifest and it is only the Imam who is manifest, then how is this possible? The answer is that the Imam is the compriser of all hudud, i.e. he has all hudud with him. In this verse the physical personality of the Imam of the time is shown as the Natiq, i.e. Manifest and his own status is called the Hidden. Thus without the knowledge of hudud, no other hudud except the Imam, still the knowledge of hudud is necessary so that after their recognition, the recognition of God may be attained, as it is said: "Hudud-dan chih na-bashi khuday-dan na-shawi i.e. if you do not know the hudud, you will not be able to recognise God". After the rising of the sun, although we do not receive any light from the moon and the stars, knowledge of them is and must remain in our minds.
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