They may fear that such descriptions border on shirk (idolatry).

They may fear that such descriptions border on shirk (idolatry). Hasn’t Allah said: يدبر الأمر من السماء إلى الأرض He (Allah) controls the affairs from the heavens to the earth.[^7] And: أهم يقسمون رحمت ربك نحن قسمنا بينهم معيشتهم في الحياة الدنيا Is it they who distribute the mercy of your Lord? We distribute among them their livelihood in the life of this world.[^8] But, these verses do not contradict the above Shi’i hadiths . It is still Allah Who controls and distributes everything.

He only controls and distributes through the Imam. The Imam himself is merely an automaton in this affair: he only follows Allah’s Orders. He has no personal input, opinion or choice, and cannot decide anything even in his own favour or avert any danger or harm decreed against him[^9]. Moreover, since he merely robotically carries out orders, the actions of the khalifah are in essence those of Allah.

The Qur’an too has confirmed that our Lord controls our affairs and distributes His mercy among us through some intermediaries: فالمدبرات أمرا And (I swear by) THOSE WHO CONTROL by Command.[^10] Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (d. 774 H) has this to say under the ayah : وقوله : {فالمدبرات أمرا} قال علي ، ومجاهد ، وعطاء ، وأبو صالح ، والحسن ، وقتادة ، والربيع بن أنس ، والسدي : هي الملائكة - زاد الحسن : تدبر الأمر من السماء إلى الأرض. يعني : بأمر ربها عز وجل.

ولم يختلفوا في هذا His Statement:{And [I swear by] those who control by Command} ‘Ali, Mujahid, ‘Aṭa, Abu Salih, al-Hasan, Qatadah. Al-Rabi’ b. Anas, and al-Suddi said: “ They are the angels ”. Al-Hasan added: “ They control the affairs from the heavens to the earth, that is, by the Command of their Lord, the Almighty .” They (i.e. the ‘ulama ) do NOT disagree on this.[^11] Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (d.

751 H) also submits: والمقصود : أن الله سبحانه وكل بالعالم العلوي والسفلي ملائكة فهي تدبر أمر العالم بإذنه ومشيئته وأمره فلهذا يضيف التدبير إلى الملائكة تارة لكونهم هم المباشرين للتدبير كقوله} فالمدبرات أمرا{ The meaning is: that Allah, Glorified be He, has put angels in charge of the world, the highest and the lowest. So, they control the affairs of the world by His Permission, Wish and Command .

This is why control is attributed to the angels at a place because they are those in direct control , like His Statement {And [I swear by] those who control by Command}.[^12] So, it is the angels who control the affairs of the earth by the Command of Allah.