A012
Surah: 005 - Ayah: 012
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5:12
Hujjat: The word is derived from the root of ha',jim, jim. It literally means proof and technically, the best person whom the exalted Imam appoints so that the means of knowledge and wisdom may remain available and due to his presence, as mentioned in point (4), the proof of God, the Prophet and the Imam stands against the people. Another name of the hujjat is naqib, which means chief of the community, witness and one who is aware of the states. Twelve such exemplary naqibs are mentioned in verse (5:12) of the Qur'an: These naqibs are the hujjats of the twelve jazirahs. They are also called the hujjats of the day. Besides them there are twelve hidden hujjats, called the hujjats of the night and four close hujjats in the presence of the Imam, called hujjatan-i huzuri or hujjatan-i muqarrab. Thus in every jazirah there is a hujjat of the day and a hujjat of the night and two hujjats of the day and two hujjats of the night work in the presence of the Imam. Thus altogether there are 28 hujjats in the world of religion, just as there are 28 phases of the moon in the physical world.
Twelve
In verse (5:12) God says about the children of Israel: “We appointed (baatha) from amongst them twelve chiefs.” From the view point of spirituality and recognition, the most important word which deserves attention is the word “baatha”, because this word shows what was the cause of the grandeur and status of these chiefs. The real purport of baatha is inbiath, which is the climax of spirituality, where there are the miracles of ibda also. You have studied what ibda and inbiath mean! Thus those twelve chiefs were the Hujjats or Naqibs of Hazrat Musa and among them the first were Asas, Imam and Bab respectively. Thus Hazrat Musa, by God’s command, struck the rock of intellect of each of them with the staff of ism-i-azam and let a spring of knowledge and wisdom gush forth from it and thus there were twelve springs in their personal worlds (2:60;7:160). In this divine teaching there are many great wisdoms, therefore you should discuss amongst yourselves and ask: Were these hudud and springs in the time of the Holy Prophet or not and similarly are they after him or not?
As there are twelve months in a year of the physical world, in the same way, there are twelve months of a year in the world of religion, but nothing in religion is without life and knowledge, therefore the months of religion are living and speaking. They are the Hujjats of the cycle of Prophethood and those of the cycle of Imamat. Four out of the twelve are called muqarrab (the close ones). They are hurum (pl.of haram, sacred), because they have been freed from the spiritual jihad. Since the personal world and the world of religion have been created, the same law of twelve months continues. See verse (9:36). In addition to the twelve Hujjats, there are twelve ranks of religion as well, whose names and numbers of wisdom are given below:
| Number | name |
| 1 | Mustajib |
| 2 | Madhun-I asghar |
| 3 | Madhun-I akbar |
| 4 | Dai-I makfuf |
| 5 | Dai-I mutlaq |
| 6 | Hujjat-I jazirah |
| 7 | Hujjat-I azam or Bab |
| 8 | Imam |
| 9 | Asas |
| 10 | Natiq |
| 11 | Nafs-I Kull |
| 12 | Aql-I Kull |
Q374 In verse (5:12) God says: “We raised (bacathna) among them (i.e. the children of Israel) twelve naqibs (chieftains)”. Who were they? What is the wisdom of using the word “bacathna”?
A374
- They were the hujjats of Hazrat Moses(c) and among them the supreme hujjat was Hazrat Imam Aaron(c).
- “Bacathna” means We (God) brought them to life after the death of the carnal soul to enrich them with the treasures of knowledge and the recognition of resurrection and the other (spiritual) world.
This verse has been referred 6 times.