Page 328
wa-jaʿalnāhum ʾaʾimmatan yahdūna bi-ʾamrinā wa-ʾawḥaynā ʾilayhim fiʿla l-khayrāti wa-ʾiqāma ṣ-ṣalāti wa-ʾītāʾa z-zakāti wa-kānū lanā ʿābidīna
We made them imams, guiding by Our command, and We revealed to them [concerning] the performance of good deeds, the maintenance of prayers, and the giving of zakat, and they used to worship Us.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-’Anbiya’ – Verse 73
73. “And We made them leaders guiding (the people) by Our command, and We revealed to them the doing of good deeds, and the establishing prayer, and the giving of alms, and they were worshippers of Us (alone).”
This verse in a general sense refers to the rank of Imamate and Leadership of these great prophets as well as a part of their important and valuable programs. Here, on the whole, six specialties of these qualities are mentioned, to which if we add the specialty of being righteous, which was referred to in the previous verse, they will totally be seven specialties. At first, it says:
This means that, in addition to the rank of prophethood and messengership, Allah gave them the rank of Imamate, too. As it was also mentioned before, divine Imamate is the last stage of development course of man which means the absolute leadership of people; whether: material and spiritual, exoteric and esoteric, physical and mental. The difference of prophethood and messengership with Imamate lies in this fact that the divine prophets in the rank of prophethood and messengership only receive the command of Allah and inform people of it in order to convey it to them, and this communication is often accompanied with glad tidings and warning.
While in the stage of Imamate, they put these divine programs into action, whether it is done by formation of just government or without it. In this stage they are trainees and they carry the Divine ordinances and programs into effect, and they foster men so that they provide a clean environment for them. In fact, the rank of Imamate is the rank of proving all the Divine programs to true. In other words, it is the remittance of the quest as well as both the religious guidance and Divine guidance.
From this point of view, it is just like the sun which fosters the living creatures by its rays. Then, next to that stage, the Qur’an reiterates the actuality and consequence of this rank. It continues saying:
This guidance is not only in the sense of leading and showing the way, which exist in the rank of prophethood and messengership, but also in the sense of succour and gaining the aim (for those who are receptive and have competency, of courser). There can be drawn a conclusion from the last part of the verse that Imam (the immaculate absolute leader of people) must be appointed from the side of Allah, because, firstly, Imamate is a kind of Divine covenant, and it is evident that such a person should be assigned by Allah Who is a side of the covenant.
Secondly: those who have somehow been unjust, and there is a dark point of injustice in their life, irrespective of injustice to themselves or injustice to others, or being idol worshipers even for a while, are not eligible for the rank of Imamate. In other words, Imam should have been Immaculate in his whole lifetime. Can any one, save Allah, be aware of the existence of such an epithet in a person? So, if we intend to choose the successor of the Prophet (S) through this criterion there can be none but Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (as).
It is interesting that the writer of Al-Manar narrates from Abi-Hanifah that he believed that caliphate was exclusively eligible to Alawites, and for that reason he thought rebellion against the contemporary government of that time, (Mansur-i-Abbasi), was permissible, therefore, he did not agree to accept the job of judgment in the government of Abbasides. Then, the writer of Al-Manar adds that the four leaders of the Sunnites were totally antagonist to the governments of their times and did not assume them as eligible for leadership of the Muslims since they were some unjust cruel men.20
But it is wonderful that a great deal of our contemporary Sunnite scholars approve and support some unjust tyrannical governments whose communication with the enemies of Islam is certain and decisive, and whose injustice and mischief is not concealed to anyone, and they easily consider them as ‘the people in authority’ and ‘those to be obeyed’.
Explanations
1. Similar to prophethood, Imamate should be assigned by Allah. The Qur’an says:
2. If Imamate is gained by force and injustice, it is an invitation to Hell. The Qur’an says:
But when Imamate is given by Allah, it is blessed and it is in the path of the Truth.
3. The guidance of prophets is neither from their own accord nor is it by their own personal tastes, but it is guidance by Allah’s command:
4. Ritual prayers and almsgiving (zakat) are two basic principles in all religions, since without prayer and Zakat none reaches the rank of servitude.
The verse says:
5. One can comprehend from this verse that religion is not separate from government.
Footnotes