A071
Surah: 017 - Ayah: 071
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17:71
Q. O my azizan\ Tell me when does the individual or minor Resurrection take place? What is the difference between it and the major Resurrection?
A. The Resurrection of the one who dies spiritually before the physical death through the special ibadat of the supreme Name and spiritual exercise, takes place, as the Holy Prophet has said: "He who dies, indeed his Resurrection takes place." (Ihya'u'l-uliim, IV, p. 106). The minor Resurrection takes place in the time of every Imam (17:71), and major Resurrection in the time of Hazrat Qa'imu'l-qiyamat. However, spiritually and internally the minor and major Resurrections are alike.
Wisdom 37: The Holy Prophet says: "The people in their entirety are the household of God, the most beloved of them to God is he who benefits His household the most." {Majmau'l-Bahrayn, p. 70, according to Tabarani and Bayhaqi). When God summons the people of the age with their Imam, they are delivered from the Hell of ignorance, because the event of "The day when We will summon every people with their Imam", is the minor Resurrection as well as the invitation to the true religion by force (17:71). This service of the Imam to the household of God is so unique that no other person can render it.
In the verse (17:71) God says: "(Remember) that day when We shall summon the people (of every age) with their Imam, whoso Is given his book in his right hand - such (fortunate) will read their book and they will not be wronged a shred". The question here is: Will this book or the record of deeds be in any external writing, such as in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English, etc.? No; not at all. This will be the book of the soul and intellect, which will be easily read by every literate or illiterate person. For this will be the Speaking Book, i.e. the light of the Imam of the time,
The Imam of the Time:
God says: "The day when We will summon every people through their Imam; then whosoever is given his book (of deeds) in his right hand, these shall read their book (joyfully), and they shall not be dealt with (even the width of a thread) unjustly. But whosoever is blind in this (life), he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter, and far astray from the (right) way." (17:71-72).
If you reflect carefully upon verse (17:71), you will come to know that it is not the Resurrection of Resurrections which is mentioned in this verse, but only the Resurrection which takes place in every age, because in every age there is an Imam and the Resurrection of the people of that age is linked to him. Thus, when the spiritual Resurrection takes place in the personal world of one of the hudud-i din, the Imam is present there in his luminosity and through him the particles of the people are invited.
Imam (4) (Guide)
Verse (17:71) says: "The day when We will summon every people with their Imam." Reflect carefully: Can some people be exempted from the universal principle of "every people"? Never. Thus the chain of Imamat continues from the time of Adam till the Resurrection of resurrections.
Imam az-Zaman (Imam of the time and resurrection)
The same Imam said about verse (17:71): “The day when We shall summon every people with their Imam.” By the Imam is meant the Imam of every age. (Daca’im, I, 27).
Wajh Allah (Face, vision)
Reflect upon verses (17:71-72) carefully. They are related to the subject of resurrection. The wisdom of these verses is that the Prophet and the Imam are the representatives of God, therefore their vision is the Divine vision and it is through this means that one’s inner eye is created for the hereafter. Thus the holy Prophet has said: "He who saw me (it is as if he) has seen God." (Ahadith-i Mathnawi, p. 63). And Mawla cAli has said: "I am the face of God on the earth." (Kawkab, p. 206).
The word “shahid” is among the names of God as well as of the Prophet and the Imam, and this causes no contradiction, because God is witness over the people with respect to the Prophet and the Prophet with respect to the Imam and the Imam is witness over the people personality, because he is present amongst them. Logically it is the present one who is entitled to be witness, not the absent one. Thus, (on the Day of Resurrection)in order to ask about the recognition of the Imam and the necessary guidance and for the sake of justice and equity, the people of every age will be summoned with the Imam of their time, as God says:”the day We will summon every people with their Imam” (17:71).
Q190 Could you give us another hadith in this connection?
A190 God willing! Another hadith is that the Prophet said: “Indeed, from among you is he who will fight for the sake of its ta’wil, as I fought for the sake of its tanzil”. It should be known that the greatest ta’wili battle is the spiritual resurrection, which takes place through the Imam of the time (17:71), in which there is spiritual fighting, as mentioned above.
Q207 What is the wisdom in the following hadith: “The resurrection will not take place until the sun rises from its west”. Does this mean that no resurrection has taken place until now?
A207 The ta’wili wisdom of this hadith is that resurrection is a chain of spiritual events and it becomes complete when the sun of the sacred Sanctuary rises from the west, because in the sacred Sanctuary both the east and the west are the same place. This hadith mentions the end of the completion of the spiritual resurrection, because when the carif reaches it, he/she observes that the east and the west of the [spiritual] sun is the same place. The wise Qur’an, in its wisdom-filled language, says that there is a spiritual resurrection with every Imam (17:71).
Q249 According to you, “fana’ fi’l-Imam” (merging in the Imam) is a fact, therefore, would you kindly explain what it is in the light of the Qur’an?
A249
- There are two kinds of fana’ (merging), one is conscious and the other is unconscious. Thus, people are merged in their own Imam of the time, as said in verse (17:71): “The day when We will invite every people with their Imam (i.e. in his spirituality).” In such a state all people are merged under the influence of the spiritual resurrection. If someone observes this great event, it is conscious merging and the beginning of the chain of recognition (macrifat). However, it is true that you can understand the realities and recognitions by means of cilmu’l-yaqin.
- The second proof of fana’ fi’l-Imam is verse (28:88): “Everything is perishable except His face (i.e. the Imam).” This is the mention of systematic merging and resurrection in which all people are ultimately merged in the face of God (Imam) and become the surat-i Rahman.
- The third proof is verses (55:26-27): “All those who are on the laden ship (of the personal world) will perish, but will remain the face (Imam) of your Lord, which is majestic and bounteous.” This laden ark or the luminous throne of God on water is the supreme angel or the Imam who will remain forever and all others will be merged in him.
- The fourth proof is that Allah has kept everything in the manifest Imam by encompassing them and counting them, because the spiritual resurrection takes place in the personal world of the Imam of the time, in which Allah enfolds the universe and the creatures. Thus, all people become merged in the Imam of the time.
Q487 What is the reason for people dying without seeing the special ayat (miracles), which God had promised during the revelation of the Qur’an, and centuries have elapsed since, but nothing amazing and revolutionary has happened although every promise of God is true?
A487
- The reason is the blindness of the people, which is mentioned everywhere in the Qur’an, particularly in verses (17:71-72).
- All the miracles, big and small, are gathered in the spiritual resurrection that takes place through the Imam of the time.
- Thus, every miracle of God is in the Imam-i mubin (36:12).
This verse has been referred 34 times.