The Imamate of Mūsā b. Jaʿfar عليه السلام

[1] The translation of « السماء » here as “heaven” is not to be understood in the same sense as the Paradisiacal abode promised to those who believe and do good works, as per the Qurʾān. It is, however, meant to connote Allāh’s تبارك وتعالى transcendence and absolute dominion over the cosmos and all that and those inhabiting it, not as a confirmation for the Godless cretins of humanity who, in their inherent stupidity, would and do allege that theists in general and the Imāmiyya specifically believe in a sky god. Refer to the incredibly topical exegesis of Shaykh al-Ṭāʾifa قدس الله سره on Sūrat al-Mulk verses 16 and 17 (Tafsīr al-Tibyān, vol. 11, p. 290): ...والمعنى أأمنتم من في السماء سلطانه وأمره ونهيه كما قال: ﴿وَهُوَ ٱللَّهُ فِی ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰ⁠تِ وَفِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِ یَعۡلَمُ سِرَّكُمۡ وَجَهۡرَكُمۡ﴾ أي وهو الله في السماوات وفي الأرض معلومه، لا يخفى عليه شيء منه. وقيل أيضاً: يجوز أن يكون المراد ﴿ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِی ٱلسَّمَاۤءِ﴾ يعني: المَلَك الكائن في السماء... ...And the meaning of “Are you secure that He who is in the sky” is with regard to His dominion, ordinance and prohibition, as He said: ﴾He is Allāh in the heavens and on the earth: He knows your secret and your overt [matters]﴿ [6:3]—that He is indeed Allāh to Whom the Heavens and the Earth are known, not a thing being hidden from Him. It is also said that it is possible that what is meant by ﴾Are you secure that He who is in the sky﴿ is the angel being in the sky...