Recognition of Imam Part I - Qur'anic Wisdom of the Word 'Imam' and the Vastness of its Meaning
Qur'anic Wisdom of the Word 'Imam' and the Vastness of its Meaning
Tags: Imam, Hazrat Ibrahim
The word 'Imam', both in its singular and plural forms, is mentioned altogether twelve times in different places of the wise Qur'an. If we collectively study all those sacred verses in which the word 'Imam' and its meaning and purport are mentioned with intelligence and wisdom, we will certainly come to know how comprehensively God has mentioned the realities of the Imam's recognition in His glorious Book and how infinite is the vastness of the meaning He has kept in the subject of Imamat. In fact, the great universe of Qur'anic wisdom is contained in the esoteric aspect (batin) of the subject of Imamat. Since the exalted Imam's holy light is the Reality of realities, then all the realities of the existents are gathered under his exalted Reality. Thus, here we are going to explain those twelve verses in whose meanings and purports are hidden innumerable wisdoms of the name 'Imam'.
In verse (2:124) God says: “And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain Words (kalimat), he fulfilled them. He said: Lo! I am going to appoint you the Imam (leader) of (the entire) humankind”. Here it must be asked what kind of Words were those with which God tried Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a)? It must also be asked: Was he a Prophet or an Imam? If the answer is that he held both those positions, the question arises: What was he first, Prophet or Imam? If the answer is that first he was a Prophet and then he became an Imam, it would require more explanation. Further, it should be asked how Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) became the Imam of the humankind of the entire world? That is, how did he convey [the Divine message to the people] and invite them to it in all the continents of the planet earth when the means of communication in his time were limited?
It should be known that the Words with which Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) was tried were the Supreme Names of God in the form of physical and spiritual hudud (religious hierarchy). For instance, the first [Supreme] Name contained the spirituality of Hazrat-i Adam(`a), the second contained the spiritual examples of Hazrat-i Nuh(`a), in the third light was shed on his own [conditions] of the past and future, in the fourth all the spiritual events and miracles of Hazrat-i Musa(`a) were shown, in the fifth was recorded the spiritual life of Hazrat-i `Isa(`a), in the sixth the spiritual feats of the holy Prophet Muhammad(s) were shown and in the seventh Name or Word were hidden the spiritual miracles of Hazrat-i Qa'imu'l-Qiyamat(`a). With each of these Names there were also the spiritual examples of the realities of how miraculously the Universal Intellect, the Universal Soul, Jadd, Fath and Khayal convey ta'yid (spiritual help) to the Prophets and Imams.
It should be known that God had first conferred the great office of Prophethood and Messengership on Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) and then he was exalted to the sublime office of Imamat. Since the Imamat has several ranks, some of them precede and some follow Prophethood, so that the Imam may appear in one of them and may remain present in this world according to the expedience of time.
There are several meanings in the appointment by God of Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) as the Imam of the entire humankind: First, he was the Imam of the entire humankind of the past from the time of Hazrat-i Adam(`a) to his own time; secondly he was the Imam of the entire humankind in his own time; thirdly he will be the Imam of the entire humankind of the future through the chain of his progeny.
He was the Imam in the past, in the sense that his spirituality was working and partaking in the spirituality of the Prophets and Imams of the cycles of Hazrat-i Adam(`a) and Hazrat-i Nuh(`a), as were theirs in his. It is in this sense that it is said: “Lo! Ibrahim was an ummat (community, nation) obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not among the polytheists.” (16:120). Ummat means both Imam and community, and here both are appropriate for Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a). With respect to guidance he was the Imam and with respect to combining the spirit and spirituality of the Prophets and Imams, he was a whole ummat.
He was the Imam of the entire humankind of the world in the present, i.e., in his own time, in the sense that the planet earth is divided into twelve islands (jaza'ir, sing. jazirah). In each of these islands, in addition to one hujjat-i shab (hujjat of the night) and hujjat-i ruz (hujjat of the day), there are always thirty da`is as well. These hujjats in the twelve islands of the planet earth receive miraculous guidance from the centre of guidance, whether that be the Prophet or the Imam. Thus, it is in this sense that Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) was the Imam of humankind in his own time. However, unless these realities are observed and there is the sway of spirituality in this world, it is beyond the capacity of ordinary people to believe in such miracles of the Prophets and Imams.
The holy Qur'an speaks of the “sneaking whisperer (khannas)”, the Satan who, in the form of both jinns and humankind, casts waswasah (disturbing thoughts, insinuations) in the hearts of human beings. If it is possible for Satan to cast waswasah in the hearts of people of near and far and lead them astray, then it is also possible for the Prophet or the Imam to convey the Divine guidance to people irrespective of their distance. Since Satan is muzill, the misleading one and the Prophet or Imam is hadi, the guide [on the straight path], then if Divine power were to convey the voice of muzill to people's hearts and not the voice of the hadi, it would be a great injustice for people and on the Day of Judgement people would argue against God as to why He was enabling the misleading one to reach everywhere in the world and limiting the means of guidance! This is not the case. The fact is that the Prophet and the Imam convey spiritual and luminous guidance to the hujjats of the twelve islands and they in turn, through their respective da`is, to the people.
Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) was the Imam of the entire humankind in the future in the sense that just as the miraculous spirituality of the Prophets and Imams of the past was present in his exalted personality, so his living spirituality was present in the chain of his progeny, as it is said in the Qur'an that Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) prayed to God: “And appoint for me a tongue of truth (lisan sidq) in the coming generations” (26:84). It is also said: “And he (Ibrahim) made it (i.e. Nubuwwat and Imamat) a Word enduring in his progeny, that haply they may return (unto God)” (43:28).
The statement above that Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) transferred his Prophethood and Imamat to his progeny in the form of an enduring Word, further verifies that the Words with which God had tried him were His living Names in the spiritual form of Prophets, Imams and the angels.
Thus it becomes evident that Hazrat-i Ibrahim(`a) is the Imam of the people of the entire world in the sense explained above. If it is accepted that the light of Imamat is always in this world, being transferred from one personality to another, then it is also necessary to accept that from the same light of Imamat, all the hujjats of the world, which is divided into twelve islands, continue to receive guidance through spiritual help (ta'yidi hidayat).
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