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Our Responsibilities During the Occultation 2 - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Our Responsibilities During the Occultation 2 2023-03-11 403 Views Imam Al-Mahdi , Minor Occultation , Occultation , Major Occultation In continuation of the article titled “Our responsibilities during the occultation, we shall highlight the reason why it is necessary to know the Imams. Contents Why Knowledge of the Imam is Necessary? Which Type of Knowledge Can Create Love?

Why Knowledge of the Imam is Necessary? One of the basic principles of Islam is “love of God” and “love of the Messenger of Allah”. That is, our belief in Allah and His Messenger must have the scent of “love” (hubb). Even the Qur’an uses the words “faith and belief” (iman) and “love” (hubb) as interchangeable words. Islam expects its followers to base their faith on love.

This can be seen in the following verses of the Qur’an: … those who believe, they are stronger in love for Allah… (1) Say (O Muhammad): If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

(2) Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brethren, your spouses, your kinsfolk, the property which you have acquired, the trade (whose slackness you fear) and the houses which you like are dearer (“beloved”) to you than Allah, his messenger and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His decision (about you on the day of judgement); and Allah does not guide the transgressing people.

(3) Similarly, all the Shi‘ah scholars agree that in the case of imamate also, besides believing in the Imam, we must also love him. And so, we find that the principle of “ tawalla ” has found an important place in the Shi‘ah beliefs. Just to believe that Amiru ’l-mu‘minin ‘Ali and the other Imams were the most superior, most knowledgeable, most courageous, etc, in their time is not enough; a Shi‘ah is one who, besides believing in these things, also loves his Imams.

But the question is, can a person love someone without knowing him? No. Love comes after knowledge of that particular person or thing. At this point, we can conclude that the real Shi‘ah is one who believes in the Present Imam and also loves him. And as love cannot exist without knowing the Imam, so a Shi‘ah has an obligation to know the Imam of his time as much as he can.