ভূমিকা

He said, my covenant does not include the unjust ***”** . (2:124) The verse illustrates two points: The position of Imamate is higher in rank than that of Prophet Hood. Imamate (religious leadership) does not include the unjust.

The following section is divided into three parts, each one focuses on one of the following topics: The prominent status of Imamate The (position of) Imamate does not include the unjust The (status of) Imamate in the words of the Imams themselves Part One: The Prominent Status of Imamate The above mentioned Qur’anic verse refers to the tests to which Allah exposed the Prophet Ibrahim many years after his prophet hood at the end of his life.

Having successfully passed the divine tests and patiently withstood the great hardships, he was granted the position of Imamate. In order to elucidate the above Qur’anic words, it is necessary to explain some basic questions such as: What relationship was there between the series of trying to which the Prophet Ibrahim was exposed and granting him the position of Imamate? What are the kinds of test to which the verse refers?

Can one say that the Imamate bestowed on the Prophet Ibrahim is equal to his Prophetic mission? What idea does the above–mentioned Imamate convey? We will now go through the above questions one by one. The Relationship between Trying and the Position of Imamate Question: In the Qur’anic verse “ And when his Lord tried Ibrahim by means ( of certain ) words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam for mankind…, ” The word “when” which is an adverb of time, requires an adjunct.

The question is: What is its adjunct? The first supposition is that the word “when” requires the adjunct remember , which has not been stated explicitly*.* Thus, the verse reads “ O Prophet!