Chain of the Light of Imamat - Imam-i Mubin

Imam-i Mubin

Tags: Imam-i Mubin, Imam, Equivocal, Mutashabih, Witness, Kull, Ahsaynahu, Unseen, Ghayb, Khalq, Kun, Universal Soul

The Holy Qur'an says: "Wa kulla shay'in ahsaynahu fi Imamin mubin" (36:12). In order to estimate the spiritual and esoteric depths of the Holy Qur'an, suffice it to mention the following Prophetic Tradition: "There is not a single verse from the verses of the Qur'an but it has an exoteric meaning (zahr) and an esoteric meaning (batn) and every esoteric meaning of it has another esoteric meaning till seven esoteric meanings". And according to another version, "till seventy esoteric meanings". Further, the Holy Prophet said: "Each of the letters of the Qur'an has a limit and each limit has a ladder". These Ahadith teach us that when someone studies the Holy Qur'an he must not study it cursorily but deeply and reflect upon it. It is because of this that God Himself has commanded us to study the Holy Qur'an slowly and with deep reflection. According to the following verse: "Do they not then reflect on the Qur'an, or are there locks on their hearts?" (47:24), there are three categories of the readers of the Qur'an with respect to its meaning. First, those who know the ta'wil of it to some extent. The second, those who read it, but do not reflect upon it. The third those who, though they reflect upon it, have locks on their hearts.

The only way to acquire the secrets of the Qur'an is that it should be studied according to the principles which are enjoined on us by God and His Messenger, and that principle is none other than true obedience to the Imam of the time. If one follows the literal meaning of a verse and does not obey the Imam of the time, its esoteric meaning will remain hidden from him. An example of this is that a stranger travelling, chooses as his guide an experienced person, in order to reach his desired destination. Now they set out on their journey. After walking a certain distance, they reach a place where the road divides into two. The guide knows in minute detail the two ways, which one is better with respect to the availability of necessary things, protection from dangers, closeness to destination, etc. He has seen both these ways several times and has thoroughly examined and assessed their comparative hardship and comfort. The traveller is such that he knows nothing about the personal characteristics of his guide, therefore he looks at these ways, according to his own intellect. The desired destination is very far and his vision is limited. He looks in front and one of them appears to him wider than the other. At this time, his guide follows the other path, in which there is every kind of ease and comfort. But the traveller distrusting his guide, follows his chosen path alone and as a result, faces great difficulties.

God, the most Merciful, in His infinite mercy has provided for men all means that are necessary for the acquisition of success in religion and the world, for as He says: "And He gave you of all you asked Him (or that which your condition necessitated). If you count God's blessings, you will never number them" (14:34). As for the explanation of this verse, it is not a muhkamah (unequivocal), which means a verse whose literal meaning does not correspond with facts. Rather it is a mutashabih (equivocal) verse and by the grace of God, I will show you how it is an equivocal verse. The literal meaning of the above-mentioned verse shows that the things we desired were given to us in this world and that the act of giving has now ceased. Further, all those things were given because we asked for them and if we try to count them, they are so numerous, that we will not be able to count them. And God is reminding us of His favours to us, yet externally, with respect to physical bounties, we Muslims are far behind those who do not even believe in His existence. In this case, what is His favour to us? Furthermore, neither our asking, nor God's giving has come to an end. Nor is it true that just by asking verbally, one is given a thing. It is also impossible that a wise person would want to count the external bounties granted to him by God, in order to express his gratitude to Him. For counting is possible only for those things which are separable from one another, such as the beads of a rosary. But in our life, we have numerous things, which are inseparable, such as life, knowledge, intellect, faith, etc. Thus it is evident that this verse is incomprehensible without ta'wil. It should be remembered that the Word of God is applicable to all states of human life from the beginning to the end. To make this meaning easier to understand, I say that this verse shows some knowledge of the condition of those who have reached one of the infinite stages of the spiritual world, where they have all desired things. God says to them: "You are given everything from the kull (whole)" (14:34). In other words, you have been given everything that you asked practically for from the "whole" in the form of Imam, in whom is contained everything (36:12). If you count the physical and spiritual turns by the act of the transition of survival, you will never be able to do so. Then in the following two phrases, He mentions the cause of the infinite turns. That is, man cannot keep an equilibrium between his body, soul and intellect. By not keeping an equilibrium is meant to stop at a stage and complete the journey through all the three worlds at the same time. An example of this fact is that if someone continues to increase and decrease weights in a balance, the action of weighing never comes to an end. Until there is a true equilibrium, movement of the balance continues. Then He says that man's nature is such that he does not reach a stage where he gets tired of acquiring bounties. The result of this is that if man duly attains spirituality, he constantly progresses on an infinite circle of endless bounties.

It is very difficult to understand these matters for those friends not acquainted with ta'wil. You should act in the world according to what has been explained above, so that you will be given everything from the "kull" (whole), namely, the Imam of the time, if you ask for it in a practical way. In this case, is there anything which is not in the Imam of the time? If we do good deeds and become entitled to a reward, what has to be given in this world will be given in this world and what has to be given in the next will be given in the next. If we do good deeds then their reward will be given to us without even asking. What I mean by this is that readers of this book should realise the blessings and bounties of their Imam of the time. Further, they will come to know that without the help of the Imam, nobody can do ta'wil. His help is extremely unique and miraculous.

Regarding the possession of knowledge of the Qur'an by the Imam of the time, there are many proofs. One of them is the verse which shows that it is with the Imam of the time. It says: "The unbelievers say: You are not a Messenger. Say: God suffices as a witness between me and you and he who possesses the knowledge of the Book" (13:43).

This verse shows that, other than Allah and Mawlana `Ali, no one else can be a witness of the messengership of the Holy Prophet. But it is necessary to know what kind of witness is here. Is it like the worldly witness, or is it different? If there is a need of a witness of the messengership of the Holy Prophet, what should be our belief about it? That is, the unbelievers not only rejected the Prophet verbally, but they also used to advance arguments according to their intellect. For instance, if someone now tries to falsify the Holy Qur'an and the messengership of the Holy Prophet, what is the function of the witness? God Almighty transcends giving witness and hence He will not manifest Himself in the world. Mawlana `Ali and the Holy Prophet are also not present physically and have passed away from this world. Now was this witness transitory or permanent?

It is interesting to note that as all these questions have arisen from this verse, their answers are also contained in it. To attribute knowledge of the Book to Mawlana `Ali while mentioning Allah and the Prophet shows that it is only Mawlana `Ali who can be the witness between the Prophet and the people. To attribute knowledge of the Book to Mawlana `Ali, however does not mean that God, the Seer, the Knowing and the Prophet had less knowledge than Mawlana `Ali (it was rather with respect to his witnessing). Also this was not an ordinary witness. The Jews and the Christians used to come with numerous kinds of rational and traditional arguments with the purpose of creating doubt about the messengership of the Holy Prophet. But who could dare to do this in the presence of the Commander of the faithful, Mawlana `Ali. He used to answer the questions of all such people. And details of such events can be studied and read in books on history. Thus Mawlana `Ali in his own time was the witness on behalf of Allah and the Holy Prophet and similarly the witness continues to be in every age in the form of the Imam of the time. Knowledge of the Book apparently is the knowledge of the Holy Qur'an. According to this verse, it is the Imam of the time, who undoubtedly is Mawlana `Ali and has the knowledge of the Book. The decisive proof of this verse is that between the Messenger and the people, the Imam of the time has certain characteristics:

On behalf of God and himself, he is the witness between the Messenger and the people.
He is the wisest of mankind. For, one of the reasons for becoming the witness to the exclusion of others, was wisdom.
He is always living in this world, for the witness has to continue in this world until the Day of Resurrection.
He knows the entire reality of the Holy Qur'an.
He illuminates the religion from the Qur'an. For he has become a witness to protect the religion of Islam from the evil of enemies and to illuminate it.

Further, from this verse, it is clear that on behalf of God and the Prophet, none other than the Imam of the time has the responsibility for the Qur'an and this is decreed by God and His Prophet.

The lexical meaning of the verse: "Wa" here, in addition to being a conjunction, is also used in the sense of oath and rubba (many a...). Kull, is of three kinds, with tanwin (nunation): kullan, kullin and kullun, meaning all; kulla, kullu, meaning altogether, the whole, completely, all of them; al-kull, meaning the whole. Shay' means a thing from among the physical and spiritual entities whose knowledge and information is possible and which can be comprehended by the intellect. Ahsaynahu, on the measure of akhfaynahu, the root of which is hasiya on the measure of khafiya. Hasiya means (1) to encompass, (2) to count and record (3) to throw pebbles (4) pebbles (5) precious stone, i.e. pearl, (6) number, judgement, intelligence, (7) intelligent, prudent, discreet, (8) not to forget, remember, (9) to write, (10) to complete, (11) to settle, (12) to bring into the enclosure of knowledge, etc. Mubin means the one who explains, speaking, manifest, translator, the one who works between two things. (tablet of ta'wil).

It should also be known that the word hasiya in the Noble Qur'an is used mostly in the meanings of comprehension and above number, as God says: "(He is) the Knower of the Unseen, and He discloses unto none His Unseen, save only to such a Messenger as He is well pleased with; then He despatches before him and behind him watchers, that He may know they have delivered the Messages of their Lord; and He encompasses all that is with them, and He has encompassed everything in a number" (72:26-28 ).

Ta'wil: Unseen (ghayb) means hidden, concealed, invisible, far. Nothing is hidden for God, nor is it far, therefore, the word 'unseen' is designated for the creatures. For the people of heaven, the earth is far and hidden and for the people of the earth, heaven is far and hidden; the west is invisible for the east and the east for the west; the south is far from the north and the north is hidden from the south. Man, animals, vegetables and all particles of the world are hidden from one another. The spiritual world is hidden from this world and this world is hidden from those who have passed away. Therefore, there is no definition of the `Unseen' for it to be called the `Unseen' in a true sense. Further, this world itself is 'unseen', for it is hiddenness and remoteness which are called 'unseen'. Hiddenness is the name of the veil and remoteness that of distance. Veil and distance (are the properties of) body; in the soul and the intellect there is neither a veil nor any distance. Thus, God says that He is the Knower of the Unseen, namely the higher world and He does not elevate anyone to that level, except he who is chosen from among the Messengers, namely, Mawlana `Ali Murtaza, in the rank of the Qa'im. Then this Qa'im strings the persons of Imamat before and behind him in the thread of the Divine light, and they are the watchers, i.e. witnesses of the Messengers, so that it may be known that they have conveyed the Messages of their Lord, i.e. the Qa'im. And the Qa'im has comprised all that was with them and has encompassed everything in a number. That is, he has caused the subtle form of the whole world or the universal body to reach the higher world in a spiritual state, which is without matter. This is the meaning of the end or disappearance of this world. The point which demands enquiry here is that mu'mins cannot reach the higher world by themselves, but only by their being attached to the Imam or the hudud. The Qa'im due to the ascription of the acts of the Prophets and Imams of the entire cycle and due to the absence of the past and the future in the higher world, strings the chain or the persons of the Imamat, prior to and after him, in the hearts of the Prophets with the thread of the Divine light. For true observation takes place in the heart.

From this ta'wili proof it is clear that the final act of the major cycle is called "hasiya" (encompassing), which is the act of Hazrat Qa'im, in which he encompasses all states, events, the entire history of the universe and all sciences, arts and impressions and marks of the creatures of the earth and heaven and rarefies them from matter. Another word for this act is "kun" (Be). The act of making dense from subtle is called "khalq" (creation) and to make subtle from dense is called "kun" (Be). In khalq or creation, time is involved, but the kun or command does not take any time.

Ta'wil of "And We have encompassed everything in a manifest Imam". This means:

We have encompassed all things in a manifest Imam in a spiritual form. Ihsa or encompassing implies not to allow a thing to go out, to confine, togetherness of scattered things and to record and control them, their mutual closeness, etc.
We have encompassed all souls and intellects in the manifest Imam of their own time. Imam with nunation (tanwin) means one of the Imams. Whatever is in spirituality is nothing but the intellect and the soul, therefore, by the things are meant the souls and intellects. On the basis of this explanation, if someone says that in the word "Ihsa" or `encompassing' you have established the traces of the whole world, how can all those traces be the intellects and the souls? The answer is that, if there is an image of a stone in spirituality, it also has a soul and intellect.
We taught everything ta'wil in the Imam who has the knowledge of bayan or ta'wil. For the ta'wil of casting pebbles is to ask questions and mubin (also) means speaking, i.e. the one who explains.
We made everything which was an accident, a substance in the speaking Imam. By pebbles are meant gems, such as ruby, etc.
We have encompassed all sciences and ma`rifat in the Pearl of Intellect, which is with the Imam of the time.
We have gathered all things of both the worlds in a non-spatial form in the Imam between the two worlds. Because by kulla shay'in (everything) is meant the things of both the worlds, and mubin also means the one who resides between (bayn) the two.
And We have made the whole of everything a pearl in the manifest Imam.
And We have gathered all things of both the worlds in the speaking Imam.

In short, among the subtle things there is nothing which is not included in the illustrious person of the Imam of the time. Therefore, there is no room for any doubt in the above ta'wili explanation of the noble verse. There are all kinds of proofs of the veracity of this ta'wil. One of the numerous proofs is that had it been possible for the intellect to exist in this world without a body, it would definitely have existed. For, if someone is able to do his work appropriately and perfectly, he does not need the help of others. From the nature of the particular intellects can be attained some knowledge of their whole. That is, if all the means of perfection of the abstract intellects is the one which now exists, as God says: "Creation by God is the one according to which He has created mankind" (30:30). That is, the previous creation was exactly like the creation which takes place in your time. (In the ta'wil of this verse is hidden an unbounded treasure of the knowledge of tawhid, therefore, all those interested in this knowledge should take benefit from it). Thus, when it is established that the particular intellect is linked to the imperfect man and it deserves to be called the particular intellect only in the body, then it is true to say that the Universal Intellect is linked to the Perfect Man. The same is the case for the particular soul and the Universal Soul. Thus it is established that the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect are in the Perfect Man and outside the united enclosure of these three, there is nothing. I have written elsewhere in this book about the nature of the spiritual whole and the physical whole, in order to make it easier to understand.

Example: The different forms of water are its parts and the ocean is their whole, namely, the moisture in the air, cloud, rain, snow, the permanent ice of the mountains and the water which penetrates the earth and then comes out of it in the form of springs, or the water which is brought out of wells in the plains, streams, brooks, canals, the moisture in plants, however small their quantity, and the wetness of all animals, however tiny they may be. All these are parts of the ocean and the ocean is their whole.

Air whose nature is hot and wet, always attains heat from the ethereal sphere and wetness from the ocean. Thus the air with respect to subtlety and composition can be likened to the body of fire and the soul to the ocean. Note carefully that although apparently, the ocean is far away and separate from its parts, in reality it surrounds all its parts. You should not be surprised at this assertion, for in the following paragraphs, I shall provide proofs.

First Proof: According to the above explanation, there is not the smallest drop of water which is produced by itself or by any other means, without having come from the ocean in the beginning. Rather, all the above-mentioned forms were initially united with the ocean. Therefore, what is called the ocean surrounded them all, and thus all water on land came to it because of its whole. Some of it appeared in the form of plants, animals and mankind, together with other elements. Had this water been in a rock in a mountain or under the ground with no outlet to come out from for thousands of years, then it would have no value and worth as it has in the formation of the bodies of plants, animals and mankind. Similarly, think about ponds and pools, which have no inflow of water. In summer their water evaporates in a few days or a few weeks. That is, it gradually mingles with the air through evaporation. Do you know why this happens? It happens, because they did not have any influx of water from their whole i.e. the ocean. This clearly means that if there were an inflow of water into them from a stream or rain, etc. constantly or intermittently, their water would not have disappeared. Thus it is evident that all the different forms of water on the land are part of the ocean, for they come from the ocean and return to it, and without it, they come to an end. According to the Noble Hadith: "Everything returns to its origin (asl)". Asl means root, foundation, mine, and the whole. Thus the root or the whole of everything surrounds it, for it is within the boundary of the perpetual function of the whole. For instance, take a big river which flows far away from the ocean. The river flows because of the fact that the ocean by its action, constantly pushes it, that is, the river will cease to flow after a while without rain from the ocean.

Second Proof: Air for the ocean is like the soul and helps it in its actions and in return the ocean helps the air, i.e. the air always receives its wetness from the ocean. Thus the ocean with the cooperation of air, which undoubtedly is like its soul, comprises all its parts.

From these proofs, it is established that even in a physical sense, there are examples of the surrounding of a thing by another. Further, take for example an autocrat or a wise president - how he through his contrivance, surrounds his country. He not only surrounds the country, but has also, in a sense, a place in the hearts of the people of his country, in the sense that the people are either happy or unhappy because of their ruler's policies. This shows that there are also things from which are created many other things, but they themselves neither increase nor decrease, and such things are only spiritual. The point is that the examples of how a thing, despite being in its place, comprises many other things are found in the physical form also, let alone the soul which, due to its characteristics, is much higher than a body. Further, just as physical things are surrounded by their "whole", i.e. the earthly particles by the sphere of the earth, the particles of air by the atmosphere, the particles of water by the ocean, the particles of fire by the ethereal sphere, so similarly the sphere of the moon is the whole of its parts and surrounds them. And likewise every sphere is the whole of its parts and surrounds them, .... Similarly, every lower sphere is contained within its higher sphere as the skin of an onion is in layers, fold upon fold, the higher surrounding the lower layers. The external shape of this world is exactly like this, but the concept of its movements is different.

From these examples you should understand that the Imam of the time, has encompassed the world of religion in his light more perfectly and completely than the sun has encompassed the physical world in its light. For the sun is a physical body and physical bodies cannot reach everywhere without movement, but the Imam of the time is spirit, namely, light, which can reach everywhere by will alone.

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