The truth, by its very nature unites, and unites in a real and true sense.

The truth, by its very nature unites, and unites in a real and true sense. But the quintessential point here is to know and realize that the truth qua truth - in its totality - is unfathomable by any and all human minds. One can never claim to know all of the truth; hence one cannot absolve oneself totally from its many possible manifestations, in all their variegated degrees and archetypes.

In fact the closer a person is to the Truth, the more he can see these various manifestations and help to perfect their “light”, as it were. This is precisely what the Imams (‘a) would do and in particular the foremost of them.

Hence it is no accident that all Sufi orders, without exception, trace their chain of authority and grace back to Imam ‘Ali (‘a).6 And it is also not coincidental that it was these very orders that played such an important part in the spread and subsistence of Islam in the world.

The logic of the above can be found in the saying of the Prophet (S), in which he said that: علي مع الحق و الحق مع علي يدور حيث ما دار ‘Ali is with the truth and the truth is with ‘Ali - he goes wheresoever it goes.7 The truth and right was with the Imam (‘a) as is so clearly and graphically portrayed in Ghadir at the time of the last Hajj of the Prophet (S).

The consequence of this is that the truth proceeded through his progeny and we now have access to it through mainly their sayings - to whatever extent that they were recorded and correctly transmitted to us.8 But ‘Ali is with the truth. This is a much greater claim.

So, where ever the truth is to be found, irrespective of whether there is documented proof of it or not, know that the reality of the Imam (‘a) - in his role as the initiator of the station of walayah and partaker of the Muhammadan Light - is also there. It is precisely because of this that such great figures of Islamic history as Mawlana Rumi and Ibn ‘Arabi, inspite of the differences in their exoteric perspectives and madhabi affiliations, were great.

They partook of the Muhammadan spirituality through the grace and connection that they had with Mawla ‘Ali (‘a) - the Ka’bah of faith. To deny this would be to limit and belittle the greatness of the Imam (‘a). It is through this - through reference to the esoteric reality of Islam (which principally unites and gives grace to exoteric partialities) and its initial channel that the first Imam (‘a) represents - that we can conceive of a unity that is truly becoming of him and his Beloved, the One.