Imamate is too great in worth...

Imamate is too great in worth, too lofty in status, too high in rank, too invincible in nature and too profound in depth for people to fathom it by their intellect or approach it through their thought or elect an Imam according to their will. Imamate is a position for which God, the Almighty, has singled out Ibrahim (as) after granting him the rank of prophethood and taking him as a friend, a favour with which He has honoured him, as he said, “ I will make you an Imam for mankind ” .

Then, God’s friend, Ibrahim, who was highly delighted asked, “ and of my offspring? ” God the Almighty said, “ My covenant does not include the unjust” . This Qur’anic verse has nullified the possibility of the unjust ones’ becoming imams until the Day of Resurrection and so Imamate has become a privileged position for the purified.

God has honoured Ibrahim when He granted Imamate only to the selected and pure ones from among his offspring, as in the Quranic verse : “And We bestowed Isaac and (then) Jacob on him as an additional boon; each We made into an honourable man. We made them leaders to guide (others) by Our command and We inspired them to perform good deeds, keep up prayer, and pay alms.

They have been serving Us (alone)” (3) Imamate continued as a privileged position for his offspring over the ages until God, the Mighty and High donated it to the holy Prophet and said : “Most surely the nearest of people to Ibrahim are those who followed him and this Prophet and those who believe and Allah is the guardian of the believers ” (4).

Then, by God’s command, the Prophet (s.a.w.a) placed Imamate in ‘Ali and in his chosen offspring, to whom God, the Mighty and High, has given knowledge and faith, as the Qur’an says : And those who are given knowledge and faith will say: Certainly you tarried according to the ordinance of Allah till the day of resurrection ” (5) This position will remain in Ali’s (as) unerring offspring until the day of resurrection. How can these ignorant people designate an Imam?

Imamate is a privileged position for the Prophets and heritage for the Prophet’s trustees. Imamate is God’s Caliphate and a successor to the Prophet’s Caliphate, it is a privileged position of the Commander of the Faithful, and the inheritance of al–Hassan (a.s) and al–Husain (a.s). Imamate is the reins of the religion, the Muslims’ order, the soundness of this life and the believers’ might. Imamate is the cornerstone of ever-growing Islam and its highest branch.