A017
Surah: 011 - Ayah: 017
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11:17
According to the Shiah exegesis of verse (11:17) Hazrat Ali, may peace be on him, is the physical and spiritual witness of the Holy Prophet's Prophethood and Messengership. And by Mawlana Ali is meant the light of Imamat. Here the question is, does the pure Imam, in his spiritual observation, see the Holy Qur'an as it revealed to the Holy Prophet? And do the elaborate miracles of revealing and lifting of it (80:14) again and again, occur to him, according to the above mentioned Divine law? The answer is, Yes. All manifestations and miracles of the eternal law take place in the personal world of the exalted Imam, and all of them are the luminous verses of the Qur'an itself, which are in the hearts of the pure Imams, may peace be upon them, (29:49) and in this sense, the guiding Imams are witness over the people (2:143) that Prophet Muhammad is the true Messenger of God.
Helper of Religion: Argument 16: It is mentioned in Kawkab-i-Durri (Chapter 2, manqabat 145) on the authority of Abu Dharr Ghifari, may God be pleased with him, that the Holy Prophet said: “Indeed, God has supported this religion through Ali. And I am from him and about him is revealed the verse (11:17): “ Is he then (like unto him) who has a clear proof from his Lord…”.
Imam (8) (Guide)
The ta'wili wisdom of the verse (11:17) “Musa's Book was an Imam and a mercy” is that Hazrat Harun was the speaking Torah. And according to this verse Mawla cAli also, was the speaking Qur'an as the witness of the Prophet, because God has encompassed all sublime things and all miracles in the manifest Imam (36:12).
Shahid (Witness, present)
Study verse (11:17): "Is he then (like unto him) who is on a clear proof from his Lord, and a witness of him who follows him." (Sharh, Vol. 8, p. 311) The one who is on the clear proof is the holy Prophet and his witness is Mawla cAli (a.s.). How can it be possible for an ordinary person to be the witness of the Prophethood and Messengership of the holy Prophet while it is an inner and spiritual matter and not an external one? That is, one needed to see with the inner eye how the glorious Qur’an revealed to the holy Prophet from the Divine Word, the Supreme Pen, the Guarded Tablet and the angels. Without all these observations there cannot be a true testimony.
Q305 It is mentioned in verse (11:17): “Is he then [like unto him] who is on a clear proof from his Lord, and a witness from Him, follows him and before it was the Book of Moses an Imam and a mercy?” Who is on the clear proof from God? Who is a witness from Him? How was the Book of Hazrat Moses(c) an Imam and a mercy for humankind?
A305
- The holy Prophet is on a clear proof from his Lord.
- Hazrat cAli(c) is his witness.
- The Book of Hazrat Moses(c), which was an Imam and a mercy, was Hazrat Aaron(c), because it is the Imam who is the speaking Book in which there is mercy.
The junction of the heavenly Book and the light of Imamat as the Divine sunnat has continued from eternity. See verse (11:17) that the Book of Prophet Moses means the light of Imam. Had the word “Imam” meant the Torah, God, the knowing, the wise, would not have made Abraham(c) an Imam, rather He would have made a silent book the Imam. But He did not do so, and instead made Abraham(c) the Imam of the people and also kept the living light of the heavenly book in his light. Thus, there cannot be any doubt for the wise people that, in every age the true Imam is the one in whose holy light there is also the light of the heavenly Book, so that he may be able to do its ta’wil and interpret it.
This verse has been referred 5 times.