Hundred Questions - Faith of `Ali (may peace be through him)
Faith of `Ali (may peace be through him)
Q94 In some books it is written that Hazrat-i `Ali (May peace be through him) accepted the faith of Islam. What does this mean? Does this mean (God forbid) that in the beginning he was a non- Muslim? If so, does this mean that a Prophet or an Imam can be a non-Muslim in the beginning?
A94 Your question is very important and very useful because in answering it the fundamental points of faith, the rank of Prophethood and the rank of Imamat can be discussed. Thus it should be understood that there are different forms of accepting faith, such as the acceptance of faith by an infidel owing to fear or urge for worldly advantages, or through understanding the truth, or the acceptance of faith by someone who was already faithful (mu'min). In other words the states and degrees of those who accept faith (iman) are not alike, for faith has various meanings, such as to believe, to confess and to confirm etc., God says in the Qur'an: "When Allah made (His covenant) with the Prophets, (He said): Behold that which I have given you of the Book and wisdom, and afterward there will come unto you a messenger, confirming that which you possess. You shall believe in him and you shall help him. He said: Do you agree, and will you take up My burden (which I lay upon you) in this (matter)? They answered: We agree. He said: Then bear your witness. I will be a witness with you" (3:81).
It is clear from this Qur'anic teaching that according to the command of God all the Prophets believe in one another, but this never means that they in their own time or in their own right are not faithful, and personally they are not able to attain religion and faith. It rather means that every Prophet believes in the coming Prophet to be true and confirms the previous Prophet, so that thereby the da`wat of the Prophets may be strengthened and the people may have proper guidance, for the ignorant people go astray when one Prophet succeeds another Prophet.
There is an excellent example of the compliance of the above-mentioned divine command in the Qur'an (61:6) in which Jesus Christ addressing the Children of Isra'il says: "O Children of Isra'il! Verily! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bring good tidings of a messenger who comes after me, whose name shall be Ahmad (the Praised One)" (61:6).
A true mu'min can understand many realities of the pure Imams in the light of the events and states of the Prophets. Thus it is a fact that the way Mawla `Ali (May peace be through him) believed in the holy Prophet, was on the highest level of faith. That is, he accepted the Prophet to be true and confirmed his Prophethood and messengership, for the lamp of the religion of Abraham (May peace be through him) was lit in the house of Hazrat-i Imam Abu Talib (May peace be through him).
Further when God praising His light says that it is "Light upon Light", that is, one lamp is lit from another, the question arises, which was the nearest lamp with which the lamp of the blessed personality of the Prophet was lit? The only incontrovertible answer we have is that it was lit by the lamp of Hazrat-i Abu Talib (May peace be through him), who was the Imam-i muqim of his time.
Study verse (4:136) carefully in which, even after believing in Islam, God is addressing the Muslims: "O you who believe! Believe". It is obvious that this belief is not like that of unbelievers, in that it is an affirmation after negation. Contrary to this, here "to believe", means to believe after believing. In this Divine command although the word "belief" (iman) is the same, the meaning and interpretation cannot be the same, for those people who are yearning to progress in faith are at different stages on the straight path. Thus, the explanation of the command "O you who believe! Believe" will not be alike, rather it would be according to the different stages of faith, for with respect to faith, people cannot be alike. Iman continues to increase step by step from the beginning to the end of the straight path and where ma`rifat reaches its climax, faith (iman) also does so.
In short, the way Hazrat-i `Ali (May peace be through him) believed in the holy Prophet was in the light of ma`rifat. He accepted him as the true Prophet, and supported him and confirmed his da`wat, just as Hazrat-i Harun (May peace be through him) accepted Hazrat-i Musa (May peace be through him) and supported and confirmed his prophethood and messengership, which we have already discussed.
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