Hundred Questions - People of Salvation
People of Salvation
Q96 Is it possible for a non-Isma`ili to attain salvation and union with God? If not, why is the right of salvation granted to a small minority, leaving aside so many people in the world, while the divine law is full of the virtues of justice and equity?
A96 In order to facilitate understanding we will divide this question into three parts:
- What is the source of salvation in the religion of Islam?
- As a result of the true da`wat, which the Prophets preached, did all the people attain salvation, or only a minority?
- What is the reality of divine justice and equity?
The answer to the first question is that in the religion of Islam, the means of salvation is the holy Prophet and after him his pure ahl-i bayt hold this position. By ahl-i bayt are meant the Imams of guidance, as the Prophet has said: "My ahl-i bayt are like Noah's Ark, the one who embarked therein attained salvation and the one who lagged behind was drowned." (Ahadith-i Mathnawi, p.166).
Now, when the means of salvation after the Prophet are his ahl-i bayt, it is obvious that as a result of obedience, salvation is assigned only to those who recognize the Imam of the time. By ahl-i bayt, as we have seen above, is meant the Imam of the time. For the Prophet's house, which was prosperous with knowledge and wisdom, is now prosperous only due to the ta'wil and guidance of the living and present Imam. For the meanings, which the wisdom-filled word 'ahl-i bayt' embraces are that the spiritual and luminous relatives of the Prophet are his representatives, successors and holders of authority (ulu'l-amr) in knowledge and wisdom and rectitude and guidance, and obedience to them is obligatory after obedience to God and to the Prophet.
The answer to the second part of the question: "As a result of the true da`wat which the Prophets preached, did all the people attain salvation, or only a minority?" is that obviously and clearly only a few people have
attained salvation and many people became deprived of the means of salvation, because they did not accept the true da`wat, the details of which are mentioned in the Qur'an. Now from this it becomes easy to understand the answer to the main question that, in every age the people of salvation can be only those people who obey the true guide (i.e. Imam).
The answer to the third and last part of the question: "What is the reality of divine justice and equity?" is that the divine law is full of the virtues of justice and equity in the beginning as well as in the end. According to this law, God has never left this world devoid of the light of guidance. In other words, God has neither deprived the world of guidance in the cycle of prophethood nor in the cycle of Imamat. Therefore those who recognize this fountainhead of guidance obtained a place in the Ark of guidance (safinah-yi hidayat) and became the people of salvation, but those who rejected the true guide, were deprived of the Ark of salvation, and were drowned in the deluge of deviation.
When [it is established that] Islam is the religion of nature, whatever happens in it would always be in accordance with the very law of nature. That is, whatever is superior and loftier in this world is fewer in number and quantity, and contrary to this, whatever is inferior and lower is greater in number and quantity and examples of this can be found on every level in the law of nature. Thus if you reflect on the composition and order of minerals, vegetables, animals and men among the creatures, [you will come to know] how vegetables are formed from minerals, and animals from vegetables, and finally men. If we observe the chain of this physical creation, we will come to know that as we go lower and lower down the chain, things are found in greater and greater quantity, and as we go higher and higher up the chain, they become lesser and lesser in quantity. This implies that if the people of salvation are in a minority in comparison to others, it is not against the law of nature rather it is exactly in accordance with it.
Another example of ascension and evolution in the creatures is that if grass is grown in a field or garden, this does not mean that the entire soil of the earth will be transformed into grass. Similarly it is also not possible that the quantity of grass that a cow eats will cause milk to be produced in the same quantity. Again it is far from just for the owner of the cow to take all the milk and leave nothing for the poor calf. Furthermore not all the milk is turned into cream. It is also obvious that [the quantity of] butter is less than the cream. Further it is known to everyone that when butter is transformed into pure oil, it becomes lesser; when something is fried in the oil, still another portion of it burns or evaporates. When man eats the food fried in the oil, very little energy is formed out of it and from this (energy) very little energy can prove to be useful. This is the law of nature and the same law operates in religion. That is, (in religion also), there are stages fixed according to the access of the people to beliefs and views and knowledge and guidance, and in ascending these stages higher and higher, the number of people becomes smaller and smaller.
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