Recognition of Imam Part II - Luminous Miracles
Luminous Miracles
In verse (57:9) regarding light, God says: "He it is Who sends down clear signs to His servant, that He may bring you forth from darknesses to light; and verily for you Allah is Compassionate, Merciful".
Here it is necessary to reflect properly with intellect and understanding: What kinds of darknesses are those from which a Muslim or a mu'min cannot come out by himself, without the true Guide? Would it be true to say that they are the darknesses, which are created in the heart and mind of man by ignorance and by the confusions of the problems caused by time and place? Obviously here, it is this which is meant by the darknesses. If this is the case, then we have to necessarily accept that the means of coming out from such darknesses can be only the most recent guidance, which has been sent down by God and such a guidance after the Prophet, can be received only through the Imam of the time. It is this wisdom which is hidden in the abovementioned verse.
In the light of the blessed words of the wise Qur'an: "He (Allah) it is Who sends down clear signs to His servant", it becomes evident that not only is there always a chosen servant of God (Perfect Man) in this world, but that His act also continues, so that He may send the guidance to His chosen servant according to the changing conditions. True Divine justice also demands that the fountainhead of the guidance of Divine light may continue forever in the physical and spiritual worlds. Thus, during the time of Prophethood, the external signs of the Qur'an used to reveal to the Prophet. These are known as exoteric (tanzili) signs and guidance and in every age the esoteric signs of the wise Qur'an called the esoteric (ta'wili) signs and guidance reveal to the true Imam, so that, on the Day of Resurrection, the people of a particular time may not make the excuse of not having an easy means of Divine guidance in their time.
If you want to personally investigate this fact more and become satisfied about how, after the completion of the exoteric revelation of the heavenly Book, its gradual ta'wil continues to reveal for a long time and how, after the completion of the revelation of ta'wil, the resurrection takes place, then reflect on the meaning of all those Qur'anic verses which are related to ta'wil, particularly verses (10:39; 12:6, 12:21, 12:100, 12:101) and more specifically, verse (7:53). By reflecting on the meaning of these verses, you will be sure that, not only does the ta'wil of the verses of the revealed Book gradually reveal, but also that there are many other such things whose ta'wil reveals after a long time.
Thus, it should be known that when the darkness of ignorance is removed from the heart of a true mu'min through the holy guidance of the Imam, the miracles of knowledge and recognition of the exalted Imam's light begin to manifest in his heart and mind and he always observes a wonderful world of knowledge within himself. This is the meaning of sending down clear signs to His chosen servant by God and the bringing forth of the mu'mins from the darknesses unto the light of recognition, ma`rifat, by the Perfect Man.
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