A054
Surah: 004 - Ayah: 054
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04:54
In this story, it is said that Hazrat Talut was appointed a king. This means that he was Imam, otherwise in the religion of God, the notion of a worldly kingdom does not exist. Religious kingdom is definitely there and that is in the form of prophethood and imamat. This kingdom, in fact, is the kingdom of Allah, which He bestows on whom He wills. And according to the Qur'an (4:54) it was His will that this religious and spiritual kingdom will endure and continue in the progeny of Ibrahim and in the progeny of Muhammad, may peace be on them.
Hidden (Internal) Hujjats or Jinns: God has favoured the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim by conferring upon them three extremely important things: the Book, wisdom and the spiritual kingdom (4:54). The wisdom-filled allusion of this is that they are interrelated, therefore, as long as there is the heavenly Book (Qur'an) in this world, there have to be the fountainhead of wisdom and the spiritual kingdom as well. With the spiritual kingdom there necessarily has to be the spiritual king also, who is the Imam of the time, from the chain of the Imams of the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.s.), whose internal hujjats, due to being hidden are called jinns (invisible beings). However, these jinns should be considered angels, to avoid a grave error in the recognition of hudud-i din, for righteous jinns are angels and only the wicked ones are devils.
Fifth wisdom: The exegesis and explanation of the above- mentioned common durud is in the blessed verse (4:54): "Indeed, We have given to Ibrahim's progeny the Book and the wisdom and We have given them a great kingdom". These Divine bounties are also given to the Imams from the progeny of Muhammad. Thus without any doubt, this verse is the exegesis of the holy durud.
Great Kingdom and Magnificent Kingdom:
The spiritual kingdom of the progeny of Ibrahim and the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.s.), is called the great kingdom (mulk-i azim, 4:54) and the kingdom of the people of Paradise is called the magnificent kingdom (mulk-i kabir, 76:20). The purpose of this law is that people should duly recognise the spiritual king of their time, so that they may be granted the kingdom of paradise as an ever-lasting reward of this great recognition.
See verse (4:54) in which it is mentioned that the progeny of Ibrahim have a Book, wisdom and great kingdom on behalf of God.
Al Ibrahim (Progeny of Ibrahim)
God says in verse (4:54): "Indeed, We gave to Ibrahim's progeny the Book and wisdom and We gave them a great kingdom." The inheritance of the heavenly Book, the ta'wili wisdom and spiritual kingdom continue in this cycle in the holy chain of the Imams of the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.s.).
Hikmah 3 (Special knowledge, wisdom)
Wisdom comes to the heart and mind of a mu'min from the teaching of that Divine teacher whom God and the Prophet have appointed, and who is from the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.s.) and is the Imam of the time. The Book of God has never been alone in any cycle, nor is it alone now. See verse (4:54) regarding the progeny of Ibrahim (a.s.), which is also about the progeny of Muhammad (s.a.s.).
Mulk (Kingdom)
Here it should also be noted that the purpose of the glorious praise of Hazrat Ibrahim's progeny in verse (4:54) is the recognition of the holy Prophet and his progeny. The verse reads: "Indeed, We have given to Ibrahim's children the Book and wisdom and We have given them a great kingdom." Try to annihilate yourselves in them like Salman-i Farsi, so that you may be able to inherit the Book, the wisdom and a great kingdom. Amin!
Kingdom of Sulayman: God, the Exalted, had elevated the status of the progeny of Hazrat Ibrahim with the gift of the Book and wisdom and the great kingdom of spirit and spirituality (4:54). Thus, Hazrat Sulayman's kingdom is a prominent example of this kingdom. His real kingdom was in spirituality. For Hazrat Sulayman, the violent wind (rih-i `asifah, 21:81) was made subservient, by which is meant the jism-i mithali, and the same is the spiritual throne. He used to calm his external senses through dhikr, `ibadat and the Supreme Name, and establish a link with the subtle body. In such a state the soul does not leave the body entirely, rather only one end of it leaves the body, linked with the jism-i mithali, and the rest of the soul is centred in the brain.
It is mentioned in the Qur'an in verse (4:54) that God has given to the progeny of Ibrahim the Book and Wisdom and has conferred upon them a great (spiritual) kingdom. This means that whether it is the Prophet or the Imam (who are the progeny of Ibrahim), the heavenly Book, Wisdom, and the great spiritual kingdom always remain with them.
O my dears! Remember the wisdom-filled universal principle that in the story of the Qur'an, the Prophets are like a Single Soul (nafs-i wahidah). Thus, the praise of one represents all of them. In fact, Single Soul is the name of Adam and his children. Now, let us discuss the example of the unprecedented sacrifice and martyrdom of the perfect ones in the personality of Hazrat Ismail, who was slaughtered in the dream and was also yearning to be slain by the dagger of love whilst awake, because his exalted father had received the command of God to do so, but God accepted their firm resolve and unprecedented yearning for sacrifice and accepted the ransom of the great sacrifice, the explanation of which is verse (4:54).
Thus, it is evident that the universe and existence exist under the principle of excellence. according to the principle, first of all God selected Hazrat Adam for the sake of Prophet hood and Imamat and this chain (of selection) continued in the progeny of Hazrat Adam tillHazrat Nuh and his progeny till Hazrat Ibrahim, in his progeny till the Holy Prophet and with Holy Prophet the chain of Prophet hood came to an end, but the chain of Imamat continued and will continue in his holy progeny till the Day of Resurrection, as God says: "We gave to Ibrahim's progeny the (inheritance of) Book and Wisdom (till Resurrection) and We gave them a great kingdom."(4:54).
Q. In the past, was any kind of kingdom other than Prophethood accepted by God? If not, why does the Qur’an say that God made kings of the people of Hazrat Musa?
A. According to God, there is no true kingdom other than Prophethood and Imamat. This verse has two ta’wils of what "making them kings" means. Firstly, to be an individual from among them, king (Imam) amounted to their being kings. Secondly, they were kings in potentiality by means of their Imams who were the actual kings of religion, just as a tree is an actual tree but its seeds are potential trees. As is mentioned in the Qur’an: "Indeed, We gave to Ibrahim’s children the Book and wisdom and We gave them a great kingdom." (4:54). In this decree, first is mentioned Prophethood, and then Imamat.
cAli (peace be upon him):
Root: cayn, lam, waw. It means lofty, noble, high, exalted. This blessed name of cAli is among the attributive names of God. The reason for this is that God creates His chosen servants, the Prophets and Imams in His own image (surat-i Rahman). He gives them one of His names and considers them His living Supreme Name (ism-i aczam), He His Holy Spirit into them and confers upon them His vicegerency (khilafat). Thus, it is a fact that the holy names of Muhammad and cAli are given by God. For this was His unchangeable decision that the light of knowledge and guidance will remain forever linked with the progeny of Ibrahim, peace be upon him (4:54).
Q144 It is mentioned in verse (4:54): “Or do they envy the people (i.e. the Imams) for what Allah has given them of His grace? Indeed, We have given to Abraham's descendants the Book and the wisdom and We have given them a great kingdom.” Please explain the wisdom of this Qur’anic teaching and tell us who are the descendants of Abraham(c) and how can they be recognised?
A144 First of all, without any doubt or dispute, the holy Prophet is his descendant and the Imams from his progeny are the descendants of Abraham(c), due to their being from his family. The sign of their recognition is the inheritance of the Qur’an and wisdom and the spiritual kingdom. That is, as long as there is the wise Qur’an in this world, the chain of its inheritors will also continue (35:32) and together with the heavenly Book there is also always the revealed Light (5:15).
Q465 It is mentioned in verse (4:54): “Indeed, We gave to Abraham’s progeny the Book and wisdom and We gave them a great kingdom.” Is this verse among the kara’imu’l-Qur’an? Is this verse a special of the special verses?
A465
- There is no doubt that it is among the kara’imu’l-Qur’an and this confirms Hazrat cAli(c)’s farman that just as God has sent Prophets and Imams from His side, He, by His mercy, has also praised them specifically.
- Yes, it is a special of the special verses about the glory of Abraham(c)’s progeny and Muhammad(s)’s progeny and it is necessary to pay attention to it again and again.
This verse has been referred 31 times.