ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Peshawar Nights Last Session, Sunday, 4th Sha'ban, 1345 A.H. Birthday of Imam Husain A large celebration was held to commemorate the birthday of Imam Husain. The author, Sayyid Muhammad Sultanu'l-Wa’adhim Shirazi, addressed the gathering. It was his final speech, and as he promised on the previous night, he answered the question about the imamate, the number and names of the Imams in the Holy Qur'an and the hadith.

He began his speech with the following ayat: "O You who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those vested with authority among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is better and very good in the end." (4:59) Genuine Liberty Well-Wisher: The idea of liberty, that people should be free, has long been a popular idea.

The superficial notion about freedom is that it means doing as one likes, a notion which has resulted in the rejection of divine law. But of course real freedom is submission to Allah, the Creator of all things. The Holy Qur'an frequently commands the believers to obey Allah and those fit to be followed from among ourselves. The Holy verse which I have recited as the theme of my discourse is one such verse which indicates whom we should obey.

It commands us to obey Allah, the Holy Prophet, and those vested with authority. There is no difference of opinion among Muslims concerning the obedience due to the Holy Prophet. However, there is difference of opinion about the meaning of the words "those vested with authority among you." Sunnis belief concerning the meaning of "those vested with authority" Our brothers, the Sunnis, believe that in the above verse the words 'those vested with authority' (uli'l-amr) refer to state officials.

Accordingly, they consider obedience to kings and governors compulsory even though these officials may be evil. In fact this belief is wrong. Shortage of time does not permit me to make a lengthy argument in support of my point, so I will trouble you with only a short discussion. Three ways of appointment of 'Uli'l-amr' (those vested with authority) Obviously rulers obtain their authority in one of these ways: They are appointed by ijma (consensus) They gain power by force.

They are divinely commissioned. If a leader gains authority by consensus of the community, it is not compulsory to obey him as one obeys Allah or the Prophet.