Recognition of Imam Part I - God Always Speaks to the Imam

God Always Speaks to the Imam

In verse (21:73) God says: “And We made them the Imams [of the people] who guide by Our Command.”

The wisdom of this verse shows that the true Imams are appointed by God Himself and they guide the people according to His will and command. Further this verse shows that in order to command and guide [the people], He always speaks to the Imam. Whether we call this Divine Speech the special favour (tawfiq-i khass) or the luminous guidance (nurani hidayat), it is received from God continually and afresh by the Imams according to the requirements and needs of their time and place. Since the Divine command (amr-i bari) is their prerogative, i.e., on the one hand they receive it and on the other they convey it to the people, then it is in this sense that they are called ulu'l-amr (those who possess the Divine command, 4:59).

Every wise person who believes in God's existence can on reflection understand that, in view of the law of the mercy of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, it is absolutely impossible that He may remove His means of command and guidance (i.e., the Imam of the time) from among the world's people at any time. Again it is absolutely impossible that the people of the world may dispense with the source of His guidance at any time. Thus, it is necessary and indispensable that the Imam should always be alive and present among the people in human attire in every age, whether it is the cycle of Prophethood or the cycle of Imamat.

It should be clear that the time which has elapsed from Hazrat-i Adam(`a) to the Seal of the Prophets, i.e., the holy Prophet Muhammad(s) is called the cycle of Prophethood and the time which continues from him till the Resurrection is called the cycle of Imamat. The difference between these two cycles is that during the cycle of Prophethood, by God's command some Imams used to perform the duties of Prophethood in addition to the function of Imamat, whereas in the cycle of Imamat, since it is the cycle of Resurrection, the pure Imams from the progeny of Prophet Muhammad(s) perform only the duties related to the matters of Imamat.

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