Recognition of Imam Part I - The Manifest Imam (Imam-i Mubin)
The Manifest Imam (Imam-i Mubin)
Tags: Manifest Imam, Imam-i Mubin, Hazrat Lut, Hazrat Shu`ayb, one, two
In verse (15:79), God says: “So We took revenge on them, and lo! they both (ruined towns) are on an open highway (imamin-mubin).”
This verse is apparently about Hazrat-i Lut(`a)'s community and Hazrat-i Shu`ayb(`a)'s community and their dwellings, which were destroyed by Divine chastisement for disbelieving their Prophets. The traces and marks of destruction of the dwellings of Lut(`a)'s community, Sodom and others and those of Shu`ayb(`a)'s community, Madyan, are visible even today on the way from Arabia to Syria.
It is clear that here the word 'Imam' is literally used in the sense of “path”. There is not the slightest doubt that with respect to wisdom also, the 'Imam' is the “path”, i.e., the straight path and the path of God. There are also other names for “path” [in Arabic] such as madhhab, maslak, shari`at tariqat, minhaj, etc., and by all these words is meant the exalted Imam. This is because from a material and worldly point of view, a path and guide are two separate things, but from the spiritual and religious point of view the one light of guidance is both the path and the guide. A bright proof of this reality is from the holy Qur'an: “Certainly my Lord is on the straight path” (11:56). That is, God is found in the light of the lamp of guidance and the illumination of the light of ma`rifat. To express it in simple words, the holy light of the Imam is itself the straight path on which there is God. It is on this path of light that the true concept of God, His vision (didar) and recognition are certain for God's servants and this path of light is forever.
Another of this holy verse's wisdoms is that Imam-i mubin, as mentioned above, means the straight path, which is the path of light. Thus, when the true mu'mins continue to walk on the path of Imam-i mubin's spirituality and luminosity, they can see innumerable examples of previous communities with their inner eyes including the communities of Lut and Shu`ayb and their dwellings. Another wisdom in this verse is that according to the principles of numbers, 'one' stands for the unity of God, then comes 'two' which is between unity and multiplicity. That is, the number two is an intermediary between unity and multiplicity. One of the characteristics of this number is that it brings multiplicity closer to unity. Thus, according to wisdom, the number 'two' is ordained for the two creatures among the creatures and existents whose status is next to God in both the worlds, just as 'two' follows 'one' in numbers. Those two creatures are the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul. Thus in this respect, the ta'wil of “Wa innahuma la-bi-imamin mubin = Indeed they two are with the Imam-i mubin (the manifest Imam)” (15:79), is that the Universal Intellect and the Universal Soul are with the manifest Imam, as in this world and among the spiritual hudud, these are the two supreme angels.
Further, it should be known that among the ranks of the universe the two supreme things are the Divine Throne and the Divine Pedestal; in the world of Divine knowledge they are the Pen and the Tablet; in the world of oneness they are Lordship (rububiyyat) and servantship (`ubudiyyat); in the world of Islam they are the Qur'an and the Hadith; among the physical hudud they are the natiq and asas (Muhammad(s) and `Ali(`a)); in the circle of existence they are spirituality and corporeality; in the stations of teaching they are the two joined oceans (majma`u'l-bahrayn); in the domain of existence they are this world and the next, etc. Thus, in the dual pronoun “innahuma (Indeed they two)” there is an allusion to these great things of the abovementioned worlds, to which in reality, the number 'two' is applicable. Thus, it is clear that Imam-i mubin is the name of the one from whose exalted personality no reality is separate.
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