ভূমিকা

Say: Have you considered if your water should go down, who is it then that will bring you flowing water? (Surah Mulk 67 :30) There is a tradition from Ali Ibne Ibrahim that this means if your Imam goes in concealment who is there who can bring an Imam similar to the original one?

There is also a tradition from Imam Ridha (a.s.) that he said in the explanation of this verse that your water from your Lord is at your door and the Holy Imams are the doors of Allah towards you whom Allah has opened for His creatures and the flowing water refers to the knowledge of Imam. Shaykh Tusi in Ghaibat narrates from Imam Moosa Kazim on the explanation of this verse that he said: If you do not find your Imam, he goes into occultation and you do not see him, then what will you do?

Ibne Mahyar has narrated from Imam Sadiq (a.s.) that if your Imam goes into occultation because of your bad deeds who will bring a new Imam for you? There are many traditions on this topic.

Water denotes knowledge, as water is necessary for the life of the body and in the same way the Shias have got knowledge from their Imam and it is for keeping the soul alive, because they have the trait of doing good and water is necessary for a brief life on the earth and knowledge is necessary for the everlasting life of the hereafter. And the inner meaning of the verse is not against the outer one and both are applicable, because Quran has seven interiors rather seventy interiors (meanings).