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1. Translator’s note: This tradition by Imam Ali ar-Reza (p)
is a lengthy discourse on the excellence, greatness, importance,
significance and the indispensability of the recognition of the
Imams. In this discourse the Imam dwelt on the different aspects
of Imamate and defined it thoroughly. Here are some virtues, qualities,
and attributes of the divinely guided and Infallible Imams. The
following excerpts are selected from this discourse of Imam Ali
ar-Reza (p)
The Imam is like the sun, which rises on the horizon and illumines
the world with its rays. The Imam is a bright moon, a radiant lamp,
a shining light, a guiding star; be it in the depths of darkness
or in the midst of towns or deserts or seas.
The Imam is potable water for the thirsty and the guide to God’s
path. He is your saviour from destruction. He is a beacon on a mountain,
a perennial guide through perils. Whoever distances himself from
the Imam is doomed.
The Imam is like a heavy rain-bearing cloud. He is the rain that
pours and pours. He is the brilliant sun, the impenetrable sky,
the vast earth, and the gushing fountain. He is the lake. He is
the orchard. The Imam is a companion, a friend, a kind father and
a dear brother, an object of maternal love. The Imam is the refuge
of believers in the midst of calamities.
The Imam is God’s trustee in the world. He is God’s
proof for believers. He is His Viceregent on earth. He is the one
to beckon us to God. He keeps us away from what God has forbidden.
The Imam is sinless and absolutely free from faults.
The Imam is an ocean of all learning and understanding. He is the
organizer of the creed. He is the glory of the Muslims, the despair
of the hypocrites, the ruin of the unbelievers.
The Imam is one and the only one during his age. He is unequalled.
No intellectual can match him. There can be no substitute for him,
nor can anyone be compared to him or be his peer.
All virtues are concentrated in him, he has neither sought them
nor worked for them. They are bestowed on him by the Most Gracious
Bestower. Who can then comprehend the Imam or have the power to
choose him except Him?
The Imam knows everything and is ignorant of nothing. He protects
us with all his power. He is the epitome of saintliness, purity,
asceticism, piety, knowledge, and worship. He is most dedicated
to the call of the Prophet and it is incumbent on us to obey him
totally.
The Imam maintains the creed of God. In verse 2:269 of the Noble
Quran, God refers to the Imam: When a person is chosen by God to
worship Him, He expands his breast and deposes in his heart the
springs of wisdom, and inspires him with total knowledge, so that
he may answer questions clearly, unequivocally and unhesitatingly.
The Imam is infallible, sinless, consistent in giving judgements,
and an unwavering guide.
These attributes are conferred on the Imam, as he is the undeniable
proof of God’s existence and a witness over His creatures.
Such are God’s favours. God bestows them on whosoever He wishes
and God is All-Virtuous and Powerful.
God bestows on him all these attributes and virtues so that he may
become the proof of the existence of God. This (Imamate) is a favour
of God and He bestows it on whomsoever He wills.
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2. Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (p) while describing the attributes of the
Imams (p) during one of his sermons:
God has made clear His religion through the Imams on the right path,
from the progeny of the Prophet Muhammad (p). Through them, God
has made clear the direction of His path. Through them God has opened
the hidden fountains of His knowledge. Thus, whoever among the community
of Prophet Muhammad (p) has recognized the rights of his Imam which
are obligatory has tasted the sweetness of his faith and known the
beauty and grace of Islam, since God, the Blessed, the Sublime,
has made the Imam a sign for His creatures and a Proof for those
who obey Him, and for His creation. God has crowned him with dignity
and covered him with the Light of His Might.
Thus, the Imam is the one who is selected and approved; a guide
in whom God has reposed His confidence; an upholder, a fountain
of hope. God has chosen him as such, and has moulded him before
His sight, in the (world of) chaos when He shaped him, and in the
(world of) fashioned things when He fashioned him. The Imam was
created before the creation of the essence of life, on the right
side of His throne. God granted Imam the wisdom from His secret
knowledge. God has selected him with His knowledge, and has chosen
him for His purity. The Imam is the successor of Adam, the best
of the seed of Noah, the preferred one from the progeny of Prophet
Ibrahim (Abraham) (p), the descendant of Prophet Ismaeel (Ishmael)
(p) and the chosen one of the relatives of Prophet Muhammad (p).
God is constantly watching him, protecting and guarding him against
the intrigues of Satan and his armies, from the depth of darkness,
the breadth of impiety, and repelling the disgusts of evil from
him. He is free from any physical defect. Calamities are prevented
from affecting him. He is immune from errors and well protected
from all indecencies.
He is recognized right from his early age for his clemency and virtue.
He remains an embodiment of virtuosity, knowledge and excellence
throughout his life. His father’s commands are firmly ingrained
in him. He remains passive during the lifetime of his father. When
his father passes away the Command of God reaches him. God entrusts
His religion to him, and appoints him the Proof over his creatures
and His custodian over His territories, endows him with His spirit,
imparts him His knowledge, reveals upon him His decisive speech
and His secrets to him, and entrusts him with His sublime affairs.
God approves him as an Imam for them, reveals His secrets to him,
makes him the custodian of His knowledge, confides His wisdom with
him, makes him a shepherd for His religion, appoints him to His
high command, and brings His path to life through him, His ordinances,
and His restrictions. He sets up justice and guides with gleaming
brilliance and provides beneficial healing when the ignorant are
perplexed and the disputers rejoice. His guidance is based on the
same principles as were practiced and preached by his truthful ancestors.
No person but a miserable one will ignore the rights of this learned
person (Imam). No person but a misled one will deny him (Imam).
No one but a person insolent towards God will oppose him.
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