Du`a – Essence of `Ibadat Part Two - Symbols of the Verse of Obedience
Symbols of the Verse of Obedience
Tags: Obedience, Ulu'l-amr, Imam-i Mubin, Salam
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
“Ya ayyuha'l-ladhina amanu = O you who believe! i.e. the entire community of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, the ordinary and the chosen ones, living from the time of the revelation of the Qur'an till the Resurrection”. “Ati`u'llaha wa-ati`u'r-rasula wa-uli'l-amri minkum = Obey Allah, obey the Prophet and obey the ulu'l-amr (who are) from among you”. The explanation of the symbols of this verse is that according to it, obedience is of three kinds: obedience to God, obedience to the Prophet and obedience to the ulu'l-amr. Obedience to God consists of the unchangeable laws of the universe, principles of order in nature and the general code of conduct of humankind. In this sense, the people of every nation and every religion in this world obey God. In other words, all people accept this ethical obedience. This means that to act upon those good things, which also existed before Islam, is called obedience to God in the terminology of the Qur'an. This obedience can be called ethical obedience.
Obedience to the Prophet consists of those special religious matters, which God enjoined on the people of the world only through the Prophet under the name of Islam. To act upon these matters is such obedience to God that it can be accomplished only through the Prophet, therefore another name for obedience to the Prophet is religious obedience. Obedience to the ulu'l-amr is related to luminous and permanent guidance, which is found in the Imam of every age and about which, God in these wisdom-filled words, says: “(O Muhammad) Indeed you are a warner and for every people there is a guide” (13:7). That is, your task is only to warn openly in your own time and there is a guide for every people and accordingly, among your people also, there will be a guide forever. Thus, obedience to the guide or the ulu'l-amr can be called spiritual obedience.
From this wisdom-filled verse we can deduce that religious matters are divided into two kinds: One kind is related to warning and the other to guidance. The warner (mundhir), i.e. the Prophet, warns on behalf of God and he uses the external and internal means of warning to do so, particularly the manifestation of miracles and the befalling of calamities. And all this can happen openly. But the guide, i.e. the Imam, who is appointed by God for spiritual guidance, neither warns people nor performs any external miracle in his own name, nor preaches on a large scale. Just as the warner first threatens the people with fear of Hell, in the same way the guide, later on, inspires people to hope for Paradise.
In the sequence of obedience, it is evident that first is ethical obedience, which is the general obedience to God, then comes religious obedience, which is performed through the Prophet, and which in comparison to the general, is special obedience to God, and finally comes spiritual obedience to God, which is performed through the mediation of the guide or ulu'l-amr. This is the most special obedience to God. It is because of this fact that God has said: “O you who believe! obey God, obey the Prophet and obey the ulu'l-amr who is from among you”. That is, first act upon the simple and easy teachings of the Qur'an, which are clear and are accepted by and obligatory on every nation and every group and they have no doubt about their usefulness, so that humankind may progress ethically and the foundation of Islam may become strong through people's natural capacities and ethical qualities. Further, they may be able to understand the wisdom of the religious laws through the help of ethical laws. After this kind of ethical reformation they should act upon those Qur'anic teachings which are specific to the religion of Islam and the holy Prophet, and which were explained by him through his pure Sunnat and special Ahadith. Then human beings should act upon those teachings which are specifically related to the spirit of Islam and the guide, i.e. the Imam, and the ta'wil of which is found in the physical and spiritual guidance of the Imam of the time. However, this is only possible through the recognition of and true obedience to the Imam of the time. Thus ethical obedience begins with the affirmation of the existence of God, religious obedience with the affirmation of the messengership of Hadhrat Muhammad and spiritual obedience with the recognition of the Imam of the time and affirmation of his guidance.
As a result of spiritual obedience to the Imam of the time, true mu'mins attain recognition of the light of the Prophet, which he has compared with the city of knowledge and the house of wisdom, and `Ali's light with the gate of the city of knowledge and the door of the house of wisdom. Thus true mu'mins, in spiritual obedience to the Imam of the time, in reality obey the Prophet. As a result of this, they attain knowledge, wisdom and recognition of God, for it is the Imam of the time, who is the light of `Ali and the gate of knowledge and wisdom of Hadhrat Muhammad. Thus, it is evident that God and the Prophet can be truly obeyed only through the guidance of the Imam. It is because of this that first the general and external obedience to God, i.e. ethical obedience, then the religious obedience to the Prophet and finally, the spiritual obedience to the true Imams are enjoined in the verse of “obedience”. These three kinds of obedience are of an exoteric and general kind. The esoteric and special kind of obedience starts with spiritual obedience, which is in the form of spiritual and luminous guidance. It is in the light of this guidance that obedience to the Prophet and God is performed, which are related to knowledge and wisdom and to the knowledge of the oneness of God and His recognition respectively.
“Wa-kulla shay'in ahsaynahu fi imamim-mubin = And We have encompassed everything in the essence (light) of the manifest Imam”. That is, everything exists in the form of knowledge and soul in the light of the true Imam. Further, in this light, which is the light of God and His Prophet, are contained the heavens and the earth, as God says: “His Pedestal (kursi) has encompassed the heavens and the earth” (2:255). By Pedestal or kursi is meant the light of guidance about which God says: “Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth” (24:35). If there is the light of God in the exterior and interior of everything, the same light is in the world of humanity as well, which is the manifest Imam, for God says: “And We have encompassed everything in a Book” (78:29). This Book too, means the same manifest Imam in whose light is everything, as it is said: “O Lord! Your mercy and knowledge have encompassed everything” (40:7). By this mercy and knowledge are meant the soul and intellect of the manifest Imam, which are known as the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect. Now according to the principles of reason and logic, let us consider whether one great and comprehensive thing should contain everything or should every thing contain all things? It is a fact that every thing cannot contain all things rather a thing, which is the greatest and the most comprehensive, can contain everything.
Let us think logically whether a universal thing should comprise all particular things, or should every particular thing comprise all things. Since it is a fact that among physical existents, it is impossible for any particular thing to comprise all things, and it is only the universal things that can do so, then it should also be true of spiritual existents. That is, among the spiritual existents too, there is a universal reality comprising all other realities. Thus, whatever example or reality it is intended to express in appropriate words or phrases, it is this universal reality or Monoreality that is implied, so that the wise may understand all other necessary realities under it, while the rest may remain content with the examples only.
Some people translate “Imamim-mubin” as the Guarded Tablet (lawh-i mahfuz) but this translation is not correct. For, if by Imam they mean the Tablet and by mubin, guarded, then this translation does not correspond to any lexical rules. The obvious reason for the invalidity of this translation is the verbal contradiction between mubin and mahfuz. That is, mahfuz means guarded or preserved as it is said in Arabic: hafiza'ssirra (he guarded the secret). Contrary to this, mubin means manifest and speaking. Thus Guarded Tablet is not the correct translation of Imamim-mubin, rather its correct translation is the manifest and speaking Imam. This will be further elaborated in its appropriate place.
The word Imam had been used as a special religious technical term before the revelation of the Qur'an, in the time of Hadhrat Adam and prominently in the time of Hadhrat Ibrahim and then in the community of the children of Isma`il and the children of Israel. The word Imam has always been used literally for a worldly leader and technically for a religious leader, whose rank apparently is next to a great Prophet. In the lifetime of every great Prophet he has remained as his miraculous wazir (minister) and after him, his heir, legatee (wasi) and successor. In order to make this most exalted meaning of Imam understandable, a wisdom-filled Qur'anic verse is presented, which is:
“When his Lord tried Ibrahim with [perfect] Words, and he fulfilled them (as the luminous dhikr). (Then) He said: I make you an Imam for humankind. He pleaded: And (make Imams) from my offspring also! He answered: (Do not worry) My covenant (which has the characteristic of justice) is not within the reach of wrongdoers” (2:124). That is, the rank of Imamat will continue in your progeny, until the Resurrection and will not be given to others.
It should be known that by the above-mentioned perfect Words, are meant the Supreme Name and its subsidiary names, in which there is the light of Prophethood and Imamat, the purpose of which is to guide people. It is universally accepted that Hadhrat Adam was taught the Names before the angels prostrated to him and then when he came back to earth from paradise, he was taught the perfect Words. These two things are in fact the same thing. From these Words of Hadhrat Adam, the light of Prophethood and Imamat started to rise. Thus, these Words, Names and their results (Prophethood and Imamat) are mentioned in the greatest trial of Hadhrat Ibrahim.
One of the results of this wisdom-filled verse is that the great rank of Imamat starts after initial revelation (wahy), inspiration (ilham) and general spiritual conversation and it is very close to the rank of the natiq. Thus, it is evident that in this verse, God is speaking directly or indirectly to Hadhrat Ibrahim, and he is listening to this holy speech and then he implores God. All this is in connection with the preparation for Imamat. That is, Hadhrat Ibrahim was to be appointed Imam after these spiritual events. From this it is established that spiritual conversation starts long before the rank of Imamat and the Imam, in his special position, becomes the owner of the treasures of (Divine) favour and guidance. There are satisfactory answers to questions related to Imamat in this explanation, provided a fortunate person reads it with intellect and wisdom and has attained (Divine) favour and guidance.
Regarding the word mubin let us reflect on the following Prophetic Tradition: “`Aliyyun babu `ilmi wa-mubinun li-ummati ma ursiltu bihi min ba`di ( Ali is the gate of my knowledge and after me, he is the interpreter (mubin) for my community, of that with which I have been sent)”. That is, `Ali is the master of true knowledge and the ta'wil of the Qur'an. This Tradition not only shows that mubin means manifest and interpreter, but is also the interpretation of verse (36:12): “Wakulla shay'in ahsaynahu fi imamim-mubin”. For, it is clear that the knowledge and wisdom of the holy Prophet, which is in the Qur'an and Hadith, is also in the blessed personality of Hadhrat `Ali. Thus the gate of the knowledge of the Prophet means that all the sciences and wisdoms of the Prophet are in Hadhrat `Ali, just as a prosperous and organized city is surrounded by its strong wall and gate. Thus, it is evident that the light of Hadhrat Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny, the spirit of the Qur'an and the reality of the Hadith are included in the light of `Ali, namely, the manifest and speaking Imam. What then is left out of the light of the Prophet, the spirit of the Qur'an and the reality of the Hadith? In fact, the ultimate great secrets of God's Godhead are also included in these realities. It is from here that these secrets reveal to an `arif. This much explanation of Imamim-mubin is sufficient in this book.
“Allahumma ya mawlana anta's-salam = O Allah! O our Master! You are eternal life and everlasting peace by Your essence and attributes”; “Wa-minka's-salam = And that everlasting peace is from You, (not from anybody else)”; “Wa ilayka yarji`u's-salam = And that everlasting peace returns to You”, “Hayyina rabbana bi's-salam = O our Sustainer! Grant us the life of true peace”; “Wa-adkhilna dara's-salam = And usher us into the abode of central Paradise (embodied light)”; “Tabarakta rabbana wa-ta`alayta ya dha'l-jalali wa'l-ikram = O Glorious and Bounteous One! You are blessed and sublime”.
Salam literally means soundness of body and soul, and technically it means ta'yid. Ta'yid is that spiritual and luminous help which is given to Prophets, Imams and mu'mins of the highest rank, in the form of a miraculous knowledge and wisdom, in which spiritual beings speak to them and knowledge, wisdom and necessary guidance is given to them through visual and auditory allusions and signs. All these realities and attributes are comprised by “as-salam”, which is one of the beautiful names of God. Here it is worth mentioning that one name of God can be distinguished from His other names only when it has a different meaning and characteristic. Thus one of the names of God is “az-zahir”, which means manifest. This means that this name has the characteristic of manifestation of light, manifestation of power, manifestation of knowledge, manifestation of miracles and manifestation of speech. Otherwise, God would not have adopted such a name. Thus it is evident, that every name of God is distinguished from His other names because of its specific meaning and characteristic. Thus in this du`a, the characteristics of the name “as-salam” and its importance and necessity in dhikr and du`a are mentioned. In short, this name is related to the luminous (astral) body of the Imam of the time. The proof of this is that the names of God have muwakkals (spiritual beings entrusted with some duty), manifestations (mazahir) and treasurers. In this connection, this much explanation is enough for true mu'mins.
“Allahumma ya mawlana minka madadi = O Allah! O our Master! From You is my (spiritual) help”; “Wa-`alayka mu`tamadi = You are my trust and support”; “Iyyaka na`budu wa-iyyaka nasta`in = You alone we worship and from You alone we seek help”; “Ya `Aliyyu bi-lutfika adrikni = O Ali (who is from God and whose act is specifically related to God) with your favour and kindness come to my help”; La ilaha illa'l-lahu = There is no God except Allah”; “Muhammadu'rrasulu’llah = Muhammed is the messenger of Allah”; “`Aliyyun amiru'l-mu'minina `Aliyyu'llah = And the Prince of the faithful, `Ali is appointed by God”; Mawlana Shah Karimu'lHusayni al-imamu'l-hadhiru'l-mawjud = our lord Shah Karim al-Husayni is the present and living Imam”; “Allahumma laka sujudi wa-ta`ati = O Allah! my prostration and obedience is for You”.
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