ভূমিকা

“On the Day We shall call every people with their Imam (leader); then whoever is given his book in his right hand; then these will read their book (joyfully); and they will not be treated unjustly in the least. This holy verse makes allusions to one of the other Divine blessings given to man, and then it refers to the heavy responsibilities which run parallel to these blessings and are upon him.

At first, the Holy Qur’an points to the ‘issue of leadership’ and its role in the course of human destiny, implying that on the Hereafter Day He shall call each people along with their ‘Imams’ ‘Leaders’.

The verse says: “On the Day We shall call every people with their Imam (leader)…” That is, those people who, in any age, accepted the call of their contemporary prophets and their emissaries, will be with their leaders, while those who bowed to the leadership of the Satan or the Imams of aberration or tyrannical rulers and pioneers, will be accompanied by them.

This exposition, while reflecting one of the means of the development of man, serves as a dire warning to all the human beings that they should show maximum vigilance in the course of the selection of leaders, not allowing just anyone to take their lead.

The Role of Leadership in Islam It is narrated in a famous quotation from Imam Baqir (as), that whenever he discussed upon the ‘principal pillars’ of Islam, he used to place the ‘leadership issue’ (Wilayah) as the fifth, and the most important of the pillars, while, placing the ‘daily prayers’, which is meant to establish one’s personal relationship with the Creator, and ‘fasting’, which is the secret of campaign against passions, and paying of the poor-dues (Zakat), which is a relationship of people with people, and, finally, ‘Hajj’, which relates to the social aspects of Islam, consist of the other four pillars.

The ‘Imam’ (as), then, goes on to say: “Nothing is as important as the issue of leadership (Wilayah)”, for the execution of other four principles depends, entirely, on the issue of leadership and can be realized solely in the light of this principle.