Conclusion on Imamah (ep 24)
Bismillah AlRahman AlRaheem. Alhamulillahi Rab Il A’alameen.
Wasalatu Wasalamu ‘Ala khayri khalqihi Muhammadin Wa alihil tayibeen Al tahireen.
Today we are going to conclude the chapter of Divine leadership and Imamah and from tomorrow inshallah we will discuss the fifth principle of religion and that is Resurrection inshallah.
Lets concentrate on another Ayah in the Quran which is (Inama waliyukum Allah wa Rasuluhu wallatheena aamanu, allatheena yuqeemoona-salaata wa yu’toona azakaata wa hum raki’oon)
First of all the article (Innama)- in Arabic is to express exclusiveness and this exclusively (Wali) (Innama waliyyukum)- Your Wali is Allah, (wa rasuluhoo)- The Messenger, (Wallatheena amanoo alatheena yuqeemoona-salaata wa yu’toona azzakaata wa hum raki’oon)- Those believers who establish prayer and pay alms and charity whilst they are bowing during their prayer.
Now, we have to explain three things here;
As i said, that (Innama) is exclusively talking about the (wali), (inama waliyukum). We saw previously in hadeeth al Ghadeer the lexicons, the different meanings in arabic, lexicons which talk about (wali) having many meanings including a friend, so that people when hear that (Aliyun wali Allah) they translate it as Ali is the friend of God, which is wrong.
(Wali) and (Mawla) both refer to one with full authority and (awla) it is superlative which means that the one who’s got higher and more authority over yourselves. So when the Prophet (saww) in Hadeeth Al Ghadeer refers to (alastu awl bikum min anfusikim) Which is the Ayah clearly indicates that- The Ayah (Alnabiyu awl bil mumineena min anfusihim) which means that if the believers make decisions for themselves but the Prophet (saww) makes another decision for themselves, the decision of the Prophet, the authority of the Prophet, the mastership of the Prophet (saww) takes over which means that the authority is with the Prophet (saww) and that they have to forget about their will and their decisions.
Now, after checking with the Muslim nation, Am I not? -This is on Eid Al Ghadeer- 18th of Thilhijjah, when the Prophet (saww) was offering the Farewell Pilgrimage.
(Alastu awla bikum min anfusikum?) They confirmed, of course you are! Then immediately the Prophet (Saww) said (Man kuntu mawlah fa hatha Aliyun mawlah) - To whom i am a master, To whom i have authority, for whom i have to make decisions and my decision is taking over, Ali having the same position. (Fahatha Aliyun mawlah)
We spoke about the authenticity of this and now we come to one very important point - That (wali), (mawla) and (awla) all are three words derived from the same root and they are interchangeable which means that the (wali), the one with full authority, the one who must be obeyed, the one who the Muslim nation must listen to and obey and accept without argument.
It doesn’t make sense to say that the meaning of (wali) here is the helper, the lodger, the friend, the relative and the lover.
Why?
Because (innama) here exclusively, there are three, Allah, the Messenger and the believer who was praying and offering charity and alms in his, when he was bowing in his (rukoo’).
Now, if the meaning of (wali) is a friend, Only these three are our friends? Of course not!
Only, if the meaning is helper, only helpers are these people? Of course not.
Many people help one another. It is not restricted to these three.
So the only acceptable meaning, the only possible meaning which matches this exclusiveness, this is to understand (innama) truly and say that it is the authority.
So (innama waliyukum Allah)- The authority over you is first with Allah. Of course because He is the Creator, He is the law maker to whom every bounty and existence and wisdom and goodness refers and he is the source for that.
Second, (rasuluhu)- The Holy Messenger of Allah Muhammad ibn Abdullah (saww) because he has been sent by the Lord, by Allah swt, by the Almighty Creator, to be the guide and in many ayat we read (man ata’a Alrasul faqad ata’a Allah), (man yut’i alrasul faqad ataa’a Allah)- Those who obey and submit to the Messenger they have obeyed and submitted to the Almighty Creator.
So, in first place is Allah, second is the Prophet Muhammad (saww), then in third place is the believer who gave his ring to a needy whilst he was in the state of (ruku’) bowing for salat in the Mosque of Madina.
So, how can we know that?
There are tens of sources which prove that a poor person entered the Mosque of the Prophet (saww), people where busy with praying whilst Imam Ali (as) was in the state of (ruku’) the poor man begged and asked and no one gave him so the Imam (as) pointed out to his finger and to the ring and gave it to the person who was in need.
Immediately this Ayah was revealed (innama waliyukum Allah wa rasuluhu wallatheena amanu Allatheena yuqeemuna aslata wa yutoona zakaata wa hum raki’oon).
Now, some people argue that ,look the Ayah doesn’t say charity, doesn’t say alms, says Zakaat and what Imam Ali (as) did, he did not pay Zakat, he paid Sadaqa and charity.
So why do you think and how do you support this meaning that the Ayah is about Imam Ali (as) and that particular incident because it speaks, the Ayah speaks about (alatheena yuqeemuna salata wa yu’toona zakaata wa hum raki’oon) and this wasn’t the Zakat it was Sadaqa, it was charity, so it was alm and thats why this Ayah doest speak about Imam Ali (as).
First of all lets see that Zakat has two meanings;
The first meaning from Zakat is the obligatory taxation when a person has certain goods and when they reach a certain amount then they have to pay 2.5% in some cases, 5% or 10% in other cases for example when there is a farm and vegetation if it is irrigated naturally the Zakat for that is 10% but if you use the machinery and the pumping the water from the wells and other methods of mechanical irrigation it is 5%. So sometimes it is 10%, 5%, 2.5%, this is what we call Zakat. Obligatory on certain items when they reach a certain quantity.
But the second meaning of the Ayah or the Zakat which in the Ayah is about any charitable act.
Allah swt commands and orders the Prophet (saww) (khuth min amwalihim sadaqatan tutahirahum wa tuzakeehim biha)- Oh Messenger, Oh my Messenger or our Messenger, this is addressed to the Prophet Muhammad (saww), take alms and charity from the believers which purifies them and this purification is expressed as (tuzakeehim) which means that to purify their souls, purify their hearts, so by giving the charity and sadaqat, by giving the alms you are disciplined to have a particular manner and that manner is to look after the needs of others and in this way you have this generosity, you become closer to Allahs pleasure. Allah swt loves those who spend in the way of Allah swt or assist the poor and needy. So It is clear that the Ayah doesnt speak about that Zakat which is obligatory and it must be paid either 2.5%,5% or 10% in different scenarios, it is only about paying alms and sadaqa.
Furthermore when Prophet Isa (as) was born, he was in the cradle and when people where astonished or surprised or accused his mother Maryam (as) of something wrong, she pointed out and they said (kayla nukalimu man kana fil mahdi sabiyya)- How do we communicate with a little infant in the cradle? And here Allah swt says that (Qala inni Abdullah)- I am the servant of Allah. (Ataaniyal kitaaba wa ja’alani nabiyya) then (wa awsani bisalati wazakati)- so Allah swt ordered me to pray and to do Zakat.
It is impossible that Zakat there for the little infant, for Isa (as) was what we know it as the Zakat, the obligatory Zakat which must be paid annually when you have certain type of wealth to a certain degree.
So Zakaat bears two meanings, corresponds to two meanings.
The one this obligatory taxation which is upon every Muslim when all the conditions are met and the other one, Zakaat means what?
Zakaat means any charitable act.
So that question that what was paid by Ali wasn’t Zakaat, it was Sadaqa, doesn’t contradict to our main purpose of the Ayah of (innama waliyukum Allah wa rasuluhoo wallatheena amanu…)
Another objection here is that some people might say that (Allatheena amanu) is plural. Ali was a single person.
How does this plural apply to one person?
Of course we find in many Ayat in the Quran, not one, we find that one person is meant but the expression used in the Quran is used in the form of plural. So this again is not a correct and valid objection to the main Ayah.
Lets conclude that looking at the summoning of the Family, looking at the history of the Prophet that he did not leave Madina without appointing someone to be in charge, looking at Hadeeth Al Ghadeer, looking at Hadeeth Al Thaqalayn and when we talk about Ayat Al tatheer and Ayat Al Mubahala and the last Ayah which i mentioned just now about the Wilaya or the one with full authority, looking at these all together proves one thing and that is the issue of Divine leadership or Succession to the Prophet (saww) was so important that this Imamah is a Divine covenant. Its needed to be emphasised upon and people reminded time after time which the Prophet (saww) did All the time when he said that ‘Ali to me is like Harun to Musa’
When he said that ‘I am the City of the Knowledge and Ali is the gate for it’, as you can’t enter the city without going through the gate. Again you can’t have access to the knowlege of the Prophet (saww) without using Ali as someone who permits you to enter that City.
In many other occasions we see that the Prophet (saww) emphasised that Ali is with the Quran and the Quran is with Ali.
In some other occasions the Prophet (saww) exclusively spoke about the status of Ali (as) to be the one who was the embodiment of the Faith.
Look at the incident of the battle of Khandaq or Ahzab, when the whole Mushrikeen of the Arab peninsula with the Jews, with the Atheists all put hand in hand to uproot Islam once and for all, to say that nothing is in the name of Islam and to kill the Prophet (saww) and to get rid of all Muslims and they came to the Ahzab or Khandaq there was a warrior called (Amr ibn abdulWid Al amiri) he was equivalent to one thousand warriors known by the Arabs, so on that occasion when Amr ibn abdulwid was challenging the Muslims ‘Why don’t you come forward? Either you kill me and go to Paradise or i kill you, you get martyred and you go to Paradise! Im inviting you to both, either or which both of them lead to salvation. Why don’t you come?’
But they were all afraid to meet that Amr ibn abdulwid Al amiri in (ghazwat al khandaq or ahzab) but when the Prophet (saww) addressed Ali and Imam Ali (as) stood up again and again saying that “I am ready to meet the challenge” Then the Prophet said (saww) (Barazal imanu kuluhoo lil shirki kullih) - The whole embodiment or faith is going to challenge and fight the whole embodiment of disbelief.
May Allah swt give us the courage to understand the truth, recognise the truth and act upon it.
May Allah swt keep us in line with the whole light of Imamah.
Allahumma sali ala Muhammadin wa a’aali Muhammadin wa a’jil farajahum.