Recognition of Imam Part II - Brief Arguments in support of these Realities
Brief Arguments in support of these Realities
Tags: universe, light, lamp, sun
Allah has called Himself, the light of the heavens and the earth. This means that He, may His glory be exalted, is the light of universal or all-inclusive guidance of the heavens and the earth of the universe. That is, His light has brought forth the heavens, the earth and everything from the darkness of non-existence into the light of existence. In fact, the main cause of motion and rest in the heavens, in the planets and in the elements is the guidance of His light. The guidance of this light also governs all the generative, creative and protective forces of the universe.
The universal or all-inclusive light of God also means that, in the illumination of the recognition of His light, the secrets of the universe can be observed and studied externally and internally and the universe can be subjugated spiritually or physically. Thus, it is evident that the light of God is in the form of intellect, understanding, knowledge, wisdom, rectitude and guidance and not in the state of any material light.
When it is not a blemish for God to let the heavens, the earth with all sorts of animals and good and bad people dwelling in it, be immersed in His light, why should there be any doubt in saying that the centre of His light is in the exalted personality of the holy Imam?
If the vision (didar) and recognition of the light of God were impossible, He would not have likened His light to a thing that is a common object for the people. However, if He likens His light to an external (physical) lamp, it means that His luminous vision and recognition are among the possibilities and this is possible only through the holy Imam.
Again if the light of God were above and beyond close observation, externally and internally, His justice would have necessitated Him to liken it (His light) to the sun. But God did not do so, rather He likened it to the lamp of a house. This shows that His light is among the human beings in the human attire of the Perfect Man, i.e., the living and present Imam.
Further, if the light of God were not to change its physical attire and were to remain in the external world in one condition like the sun, again it would have been compared with the sun and not with the lamp.
As there is the sun in the universe and a lamp in the house in order to remove darkness, similarly in the world of humanity there is the Perfect Man i.e., the Imam of the time, to remove its darkness.
If in the view of intellect and understanding, ignorance is a kind of darkness and contrary to it knowledge and wisdom are light, then it is right to say that this light of knowledge, wisdom, rectitude and guidance, in its most perfect form, is in the Perfect Man.
If the physical world (dunya) is a world (`alam), religion (din) is also a world. The sun of the physical world is material and has no intellect and soul, whereas the sun of the world of religion has intellect and soul, and that is the Imam.
It is almost universally accepted that man, as an individual, is a microcosm or a small world and in it there is also a small specimen of light, known as the particular intellect. Similarly, humankind as a whole is a macrocosm or a big world and in it there is also a magnificent light, known as the Prefect Man or the Imam of the time.
When a man gazes at the blazing sun, his eyes are instantly dazzled due to the attack of the powerful radiation of the particles of light. In exactly the same way, when someone tries to assess and criticise the exalted personality of the Imam and his attributes, numerous kinds of thoughts occur in his mind concerning the personality of the Imam and he is blinded with respect to the eye of intellect.
However, if someone, instead of gazing at the sun directly, studies it in the light of knowledge and wisdom and physical science, he can understand many realities about the sun and attain more and more benefit from it. Similarly, if someone instead of looking at the Imam with the physical eye, tries to see the Imam through the eye of knowledge and recognition, he is very fortunate indeed.
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