Chapter
10: Imamat Righteous Religious Leadership
Imamat (Religious Leadership) is of
2 categories. ‘Sughra’ and ‘Kubra’ Imamat-e-Sughra refers to the Imamat in
Namaaz. Imamat-e-Kubra refers to leading the Muslims in Religious and worldly
issues as the True Representative of the Prophet صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم. The authority that has been bestowed to
the Imams (in the sense of Imamat-e-Kubra) is very dominant. The people do not
even have the right to disobey their commands.
Every Muslim is obligated to follow
them and adhere to their commands. However, there are certain preconditions for
a person to be appointed as the leader. The Imam must be a free person, i.e.
not a slave, he must be sane, an adult, i.e. one who has reached puberty, he
must be capable and he must be Qarshi as well, meaning that he should have
connection to the Quraish. To be Alawi or to be Maasum is not a condition. This
condition is one that is stipulated by the Raafdis (Shias), as they do not
agree with the other conditions. They insist on the Imam being Hashmi, Alawi
and Maasum. Their aim in doing so is to discredit and nullify the positions of
the other three Khulafa, namely Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar and Hazrat Uthman
رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہما
because these Khulafa were not from
the families and lineage mentioned above. It must be noted that their Khilaafat
has been unanimously accepted by all the Blessed Sahaba رضی
اللہ تعالٰی عنہما. Hazrat Maula
Aliرضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ
and Imam Hussain رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ
also accepted the Khilaafat of the other 3 Khulafa. As
for the condition of being from the lineage of Hazrat Ali (Alawi), then this
will also exclude Hazrat Ali رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ and
even his Khilaafat will be regarded as invalid according to them, since it is
not possible for Hazrat Ali رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ to
be an Alawi, as this refers to his descendants. The Raafdis also believe that
the Imam must be Maasum. This too is unacceptable just as we have already
explained that only the Ambia علیہم السلام and
Angels are Maasum.
Law: One being worthy of appointment as an Imam is not
sufficient. It is necessary that he must be appointed by the preceding Imam or those
Muslims that are appointed to handle the Religious affairs of the people.
Law: To follow the Imam (Khalifa) is absolutely Fard upon all Muslims.
However, this is on condition that his commands are in accordance with the
Shariah. To follow anyone who commands anything contrary to the Shariah is
disallowed.
Law: The Imam should be a person who is an Aalim. He should be
a courageous person or one who is assisted by the Ulama.
Law: The leadership (Imamat) of a woman or a Na-Baaligh (one
who has not reached puberty) is disallowed. If the preceding Imam has appointed
a Na-Baaligh as the Imam, then the people should appoint a guardian to carry
out the duties until such time that he reaches puberty. The Na-Baaligh will
only be an honorary Imam. The actual Imam for this duration will be the
appointed Guardian.
Belief: After the Prophet صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم the
First Righteous Khalifa is Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, followed by Hazrat
Umar-e-Farooq, then Hazrat Uthman-e-Ghani, then Hazrat Ali-e-Murtuza and
finally Hazrat Imam Hassan who ruled for six month رضی
اللہ تعالٰی عنہما
. These personalities are known as the ‘Khulafa-e-Raashideen’ and
their Khilaafat is known as the ‘Khilaafat-e-Raashida’. Every one of them fulfilled
their responsibilities and discharged their duties as true representatives of
the Prophet صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
to the best of their abilities and with
complete devotion.
Belief: After the all the Nabis and Rasools, the greatest
excellence in Allah’s creation amongst all the humans, Jins and Angels, has
been afforded to Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique, followed by Hazrat Umar-e- Farooq,
Hazrat Uthman-e-Ghani and thereafter Maula Ali رضی اللہ
تعالٰی عنہما. Anyone who considers Hazrat Ali رضی اﷲ
تعالیٰ عنہ as being more superior to the other 3 Khulafa is
misguided and a deviant.
Belief: Superior as mentioned in the above sense means that they have
greater status in the Court of Allah. It also means that their virtuous deeds
and rewards are abundant. It has been mentioned in the Hadith Shareef, with
regards to the companions of Hazrat Imam Mahdi that there is the reward of 50
for every one deed that they perform. The companions asked the Prophet صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم if
it was equal to 50 of their deeds or 50 of the deeds of the Sahaba of the
Prophet صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم . He صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said
that it was equal to 50 of the deeds of the Sahaba-e-Kiraam
رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہما.
Even though their rewards are many but they can never come close in excellence
to the Sahaba-e-Kiraam of Holy Prophet صلی اللہ تعالی
علیہ وسلم . How can the
closeness of Hazrat Imam Mahdi’s companions’ to him compare to the excellence
and the companionship of the companions of the Prophet صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم . An example without comparison is that of a king who
sends out his Minister and a few officers on a special mission.
After achieving victory, he presents
each officer with a purse consisting of 100 000 rupees each and he gives the
Minister his special closeness and a greater position. In this scenario, the
officers received more in wealth but the Minister received even more, for he was
given greater respect and honour before the King.
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