Hence if we desire Heaven and want to safeguard our eternal...

Hence if we desire Heaven and want to safeguard our eternal life from the chastisement of the Hellfire, then we have to search for an Imam whose inner and outer selves both are complete manifestations of divine command. Such an Imam must necessarily be adorned with piety completely, i.e. must be an infallible. We will discuss the characteristics of the Imam of Hellfire and the Imam who guides to the truth, in the light of the sermons of Hazrat Ali (a.s.).

The Imam of the Hellfire: '...certainly, the worst man before Allah is the oppressive Imam who has gone astray and through whom others go astray. He destroys the accepted Sunnah and revives abandoned innovations. I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) predict -On the Day of Judgement the oppressive Imam will be brought without anyone to support him or anyone to advance excuses on his behalf, and then he will be thrown into Hell, where he will rotate as the hand-mill rotates.

Then eventually he will be confined to its hollow.' (NahjulBalagha, Sermon 164, vol. 1, pg. 608-609, Ansariyan Publications) An oppressor is not only the one who usurps the rights of others and persecutes others. The Quran declares, '...and whoever exceeds the limits of Allahthese it is that are the unjust.'(Surah Baqarah : 229) These include those disobedient of Allah's commands, who have violated His edicts and exceeded His limits.

The Quran further proclaims, 'and whoever did not judge by what Allah revealed, those are they that are the unjust.' ' (Surah Maidah : 45) If somebody makes additions to the religion or forbids an obligation, he has violated the divine command which tantamounts to injustice. Therefore, any person who has not been appointed an Imam by Allah and he claims this position for himself, he has transgressed the limits of Allah and has disregarded Allah's orders.

He is a tyrannical and an oppressive leader, whose end has been described above in Hazrat All's (a.s.) sermon.

Indeed the Holy Quran condemns even those people as oppressors who befriend such persons - '...and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust.' (Surah Mumtahenah : 9) Imam of light and guidance Hazrat Ali (a.s.) outlines the characteristics of the just and rightly guided Imam, 'You should know that among the creatures of Allah, the most distinguished person before Allah is the just Imam who has been guided (by Allah) and guides others.