Recognition of Imam Part I - The Meaning of the Imam's Patience and Certitude
The Meaning of the Imam's Patience and Certitude
In verse (32:24) God says: “And We made from among them Imams who guide according to Our Command and they were patient and had certainty about Our signs (spiritual miracles).”
The explanation of this verse is that God made the Imams from the [chosen] category (jins=genus) of the Prophets, who adopted patience in physical and spiritual trials. The external trials that the Prophets and Imams undergo are known to all, but very few are aware of the internal trials with which they are tested. It should be known that the internal trials are purely spiritual, and are full of knowledge, wisdom, rectitude and guidance. Through these trials, the son of the Imam ascends the ranks of the hudud-i din one by one until he succeeds to the rank of Imamat.
This verse also shows that the true Imam guides the people according to God's command. This means that whatever guidance the Imam gives to the people is, in reality, from God and thus God's command continues in this world. Indeed, only that guidance which is according to God's command is the right guidance. It leads to the ultimate destination, gives the correct answer to every difficult question and the right solutions for the problems created by time and place.
With regard to the Imams' certainty it should be borne in mind that there is a great difference between believing in God's signs and having certainty about them, because belief is both common and special, whereas certainty is special only. Thus, in the above verse the statement that the pure Imams have certainty about God's signs indicates that all the wisdoms and realities of the knowledge of certainty, the eye of certainty and the truth of certainty are manifest and evident to them and no sign of God is hidden from them.
All these matters are related to the Imam's recognition, that is, they are useful only to those who believe in the doctrine of Imamat and have reached one of the levels of the Imam's recognition.
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