Chain of the Light of Imamat - On the Days of the World of Religion
On the Days of the World of Religion
Tags: World of Religion, Ibda`, Khalq, `Ibadat, Bandagi
Just as there are seven days in a week in this world, similarly there are seven days in the week of religion. For the physical world and the world of religion are alike. Nonetheless, there are some differences in that the physical world in comparison to the world of religion is dead, whilst the world of religion is alive, as it is evident from this verse: "This life of the world is but a pastime and a game; and as for the next abode, is most surely alive, if they but know" (29:64). The restricting description of this verse shows that it is the Hereafter only which is truly alive and that in comparison with it, this world is dead. Had this world been equally alive, God would not have said that the Hereafter is alive. For, the first thing is distinguished from the second when it does not have the characteristics of the first. Further, it is necessary to know how the abodes of the Hereafter are alive. We can deduce the reality of this from the depths of the meaning of the word "hayawan" (alive). First of all, it should be noted that the Holy Qur'an due to its being "the best of narratives" is full of equivocal words, which have several meanings. And this is one of the countless beauties of the Qur'an. Since the Holy Qur'an is the speech of the most Just of judges, therefore it contains the wisdom-filled meanings according to all sciences and terms. With this in mind, let us examine the meaning of the word "hayawan". It has three meanings: alive, mute animal and speaking animal. Now these three meanings will be used as: the abode of the Hereafter is alive; there is life in the abode of the Hereafter, i.e. it moves and feels; the abode of the Hereafter is a human being, therefore, it speaks to those who live in it and they also speak to it.
The gist of this explanation is that it is the world of religion which is the Hereafter. That is, the Universal Intellect, the Universal Soul, Natiq, Asas, Jadd, Fath, Khayal, Imam, Hujjat, Da`i and other hudud, who are the world of religion and the Hereafter, and they are alive. Further, it should be known that since all things of the world of religion are alive, so are its days. That is, the days of the world of religion are alive, and they are Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, `Isa, Muhammad and Qa'im, who are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the world of religion respectively. Literally, it is said in the Qur'an that God created the world in six days and on the seventh, ascended the Throne, but the Qur'an also says that one day of God is equal to a thousand years according to our reckoning: "And surely a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of what you number" (22:47). According to this reckoning, the six days become equal to six thousand years in which God created the world. On the other hand, the Qur'an says that He brought the heavens and the earth into being through ibda` (instantaneous origination), as it is said: "He is badi` (Originator) of the heavens and the earth" (2:117). The difference between khalq (creation) and ibda` is that in khalq, a thing is created from another thing and takes time, but in ibda`, a thing comes into being without any thing and any time.
Now if we seek the reality of this, we will come to know that God created the world of religion and created this world by the command of "Be (kun)", which is called ibda`. The six days in which God created the world of religion become six thousand years according to human reckoning and that is the cycle of the six Natiqs, in which the world of religion was completed. The seventh is the cycle of Qa'im in which God ascended the Throne, i.e. He manifested Himself in Qa'im.
Summary
| Lords of the 7 great cycles | Days of God | Years | Directional Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Adam | Sunday | 1000 | Above |
| 2. Nuh | Monday | 1000 | Left |
| 3. Ibrahim | Tuesday | 1000 | Behind |
| 4. Musa | Wednesday | 1000 | Below |
| 5. `Isa | Thursday | 1000 | Right |
| 6. Muhammad | Friday | 1000 | Before |
| 7. Qa'im | Saturday | 1000 | Directionless |
The Holy Qur'an says: "Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He ascended the Throne" (7:54).
Circle of the Week of Religion
Similarly, see the importance of the presence of the Imam of the time always in this world and his recognition and obedience to him in this Hadith of the Holy Prophet: "He who dies and does not recognise the Imam of his time dies a death of ignorance and the ignorant is in the Fire". In order to examine the deep reality of this Hadith, the inversion of its meaning is also shown through the antonyms of its words. Study the table below carefully:
| Proposition | Inversion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Man | He who | Man | He who |
| 2. mata | dies | mata | dies |
| 3. wa-lam ya`rif | and does not recognise | wa-`arafa | and recognises |
| 4. Imama | the Imam | Imama | the Imam |
| 5. zamanihi | of his time | zamanihi | of his time |
| 6. mata | dies | hayya | he becomes alive |
| 7. mitatan | a death | hayyan | a life |
| 8. jahiliyyatan | of ignorance | `aqiliyyan | of intelligence |
| 9. wa'l- jahilu | and the ignorant | wa'l-`aqilu | and the intelligent |
| 10. fi'n-nar. | is in the Fire. | fi'l-jannah. | is in Paradise. |
Explanation:
- An individual among human beings
- Physical death is the temporal limit of the recognition or ignorance of the Imam.
- The purpose of worldly life is the recognition of the Imam of the time
- The Imam whose recognition is the recognition of God
- Only the Imam who is present in his time
- Death and life are of two kinds, spiritual and physical
- Spiritually he had become alive but the body was a hindrance
- For spiritual life, intellect is attained only from the Imam
- The intelligent is because of the intelligence and the intelligence is because of the recognition of the Imam of the time
- The means of attaining Paradise is to become intelligent.
The Philosophy of this Hadith: If the intellect is asked why man is created, it will say: "for the `ibadat of God". Then if it is asked about the literal meaning of `ibadat, it will say that the word `ibadat is derived from `abd, meaning slave, servant. Hence `ibadat means slavery, servitude. The equivalents of `abd and `ibadat in Persian are bandah and bandagi, which also give the same meanings. In order to show the real meaning of `ibadat, suffice it to say that, in the Holy Qur'an , it is not used in the sense of tasbih (purification), taqdis (sanctification), tahmid (praise), tamjid (extollation), namaz (prayer), sujud (prostration), ruku` (bowing), du`a (supplication), thana' (praise) and dhikr (remembrance).
It is a different matter if we human beings, in our popular usage, give the name of `ibadat to the mention of the attributes of beauty and majesty of God, but God, the Most Just of judges, is far above imitating the wrong usage of words by human beings. Rather, He by His ever-reaching wisdom, has preserved the necessary words in their roots. That is, He has shown the original infinitive in the best way, so that nobody will be able to alter the meaning of the Glorious Qur'an through their usage and the Qur'an itself is the real dictionary of its own words and exegesis and explanation of itself. Thus the root, i.e. infinitive of the word "`ibadat" is `abd, the meaning of which is preserved in this verse: "Wa la-`abdun mu'minun khayrun min mushrikin wa-law a`jabakum (And a believing slave is better than an idolater though he please you)" (2:221). Then on the basis of this proof it is true to say that when God attributes `ibadat, by it is meant such an act which is according to His command. After doing such an act, it will also mean knowledge. For, first is act then knowledge, as first is created body then the soul. Act is like the body and knowledge like the soul. God says in the Qur'an: "I created the jinn and mankind only that they may do My `ibadat (li-ya`buduni)" (51:56). Well! You should consider what `ibadat, which means to act, has to do with God, Who is the Absolute Self-sufficient? Rather, it means that `ibadat or to act, is for the Universal Soul. For the Universal Soul, who is a great angel of God, has created the world and the creatures in it, and hence it is the Universal Soul who needs the act. The mazhar of the Universal Soul in this world is the Imam of the time, therefore, the slavery (`ibadat) of the Imam of the time means the real slavery of the Universal Soul. Thus, in this verse is mentioned the purpose of the worldly life of mankind and in the Hadith the means of man's life in the Hereafter, which is only by recognition (ma`rifat). That is, the thing whose beginning is mentioned by God, its end has been mentioned by the Prophet. Otherwise, a difference between the speech of God and that of His Messenger is never found. Rather both in the Qur'anic verse and the Prophetic Hadith, is shown the importance of the same thing. It is also true to say that the one who, due to his slavery has received the physical life, will receive the spiritual life due to His recognition.
The Holy Prophet has also said: "If the earth were without the Imam (of the time) for an hour, it would have perished with its inhabitants". However, whilst the earth is and will remain suspended in space with its inhabitants, then it is not possible that there will be a time without an Imam to benefit them externally and internally. For, according to the clear signification of this Hadith, the stability of the earth and the life of the earth and the life of living beings depend on the presence of the Imam of the time. This question has very deep reality: Why do the existence and non-existence of the earth and its inhabitants depend on the Imam of the time?
For seekers of the truth, it is necessary to know that God Himself is not an agent (fa`il). He is the Absolute Self-sufficient, therefore, His act is in relation to the higher and lower hudud. In this sense, the act of the Holy Prophet and the Imam of the time is the act of God, their obedience is the obedience to God and their love is the love of God. As God says: "Whosoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah" (4:80). Thus, whosoever disobeys the Messenger, disobeys Allah. Similarly, in the verse (48:10), it is said that the hand of the Messenger was the hand of Allah and his bay`at (the oath of allegiance) was Allah's bay`at. In short, since the speech and the act of the Messenger were by the command of Allah, therefore, they are attributed to Him, as He says: "And you threw not when you did throw, but Allah threw" (8:17). Since the external act was done by the Messenger, by the command of God, it therefore became the act of God, i.e. it became attributed to God, but the agent was the Holy Prophet.
In the same way, Mawlana `Ali was the successor and Legatee of the Holy Prophet, therefore, obedience to him was obedience to the Holy Prophet. And in every age, the Imam of the time is present so that obedience to God and His Messenger can be accepted through him. Thus, on the Day of Resurrection, God will summon the people of every age in the language and the voice of the Imam of their time and will judge them in the shape and form of the Imam of the time, but those who were not able to see him with the real eye, will not be able to see him there, as God says: "The day when We will call every people (unas) through their Imam" (17:71). Unas in this verse is the plural of nas, by which are meant the people of the past and those who are going to come, i.e. the people of all times. If the people of every time are to be invited through the Imam of their time, then there cannot be a time without the Imam. God has revealed the law of inviting people for the Resurrection in that He will invite them only through the Imam of the time. If this invitation is through the Imam of the time, then the speech and voice of God will be the speech and voice of the Imam and His shape and form will also necessarily be in the luminous shape and form of the Imam. Some people think that God cannot be personified and embodied and is free from act, attribute, form, matter and everything else, but in many of the Qur'anic verses, those who do not believe in the vision (didar) of God, are condemned. In any case, gradually the luminous vision of the Imam will be shown to other people too.
It should be known that in this verse, the particle "ba'" in front of the word Imam is used in the sense of "by" or "by means of" and is called "ba' of isti`anat" in Arabic grammar. A synonymous example of this is in the verse: "Wa-bi'n-najmi hum yahtadun (And by the star they find a way or through the star they find a way)" (16:16). Similarly, "Wa-innahuma la-bi-imamin mubin (And they both, i.e. the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul, are by the means of the manifest Imam)" (15:79). The intellect and the soul of an ordinary person are called the particular intellect and the particular soul, whereas the intellect and the soul of the Perfect Man of the time, namely, the Prophet or the Imam, are called the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul. The proof of this is that as the person of the Prophet or the Imam is the most noble and sacred of all persons, similarly, their soul is adorned with all powers and also their intellect which exists from pre-eternity, inspires them. As the Prophet has said: "The first thing which God created was my light i.e. the Universal Intellect". Then the Holy Prophet, after receiving Prophethood started to receive inspiration from this light, although he was the most noble of all people even before this. This shows how important the luminous recognition of the Prophet and the Imam is for their followers.
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