These people enjoy the greatest position in front of Allah.

These people enjoy the greatest position in front of Allah.[^1] After the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.), nay, right from the time when the people were sure that Allah had chosen the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) to succeed the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) for guidance and that there is no say for anyone else in it, people started devising different ways to deviate the Muslims from the right path.

During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.), their clandestine plans remained restricted to their hearts and were not reflected in their tongues and actions. But immediately after his (s.a.w.a.) martyrdom, their schemes unfolded and were manifested. This fact is evident if we ponder over the incident of Saqifah. The entire episode was not a twist of fate but was staged to hide the plots behind them.

During the life of the infallible guides (a.s.), doubts were raised and in every era scholars were present who countered such doubts and guided the seekers of truth to the right path. Among the notable defenders of the Mastership of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) were Salman (r.a.), Abu Zar (r.a.), Ammar al-Yaasir (r.a.), Meesam al-Tammar (r.a.), Rushaid al-Hujri (r.a.), Hujr b. Adi (r.a.), Zuraarah (r.a.), Mu’min al-Taaq (r.a.), Hisham b. Hakam (r.a.), Fazl b. Shaazan (r.a.), to name a few.

In the year 260 AH., Imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) was martyred and the minor occultation of Imam al-Asr (a.s.) commenced. Due to the conduct of the people towards Imams (a.s.), the sun of Imamat disappeared behind the clouds of occultation. At that time, different types of people grabbed the opportunity and reared their ugly heads to fill the void left by Imam’s (a.t.f.s.) concealment.

They thought that as Imam (a.t.f.s.) was in occultation, their paths were clear and the Shias were defenseless, as the source of divine knowledge had been severed. However, they erred in their belief that the occultation of Imam (a.t.f.s.) marked the end of Imam’s (a.t.f.s.) contact with the Shias. Certainly the relation continued, only the mode of leadership and guidance changed. The difference in leadership and guidance is for those who believe in limits and restrictions.

However, there is no difference for the one who has control over the era and for whom the whole universe is like a coin on the palm. In reality, the source of divine knowledge and recognition is continuing, it depends on the acquirer and how he benefits from it.