When 'Alī...

When 'Alī, the depository and inheritor of the infallible divine authority and the Vicar of God, was preparing himself to enter the scene of Islāmic life, not even the opposition and collusion of the followers of Abū Bakr could impede this apparition which was announced by the Prophet prior to his death and awaited by his family and closest companions.

'Alī struggled tirelessly against them and became their most dreaded enemy.[^7] He always upheld his right to the succession and debunked all of the arguments used against his legitimate aspirations. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. From the opposition and collusion of the followers of Abū Bakr, to the resistance and reaction of 'Alī and his followers, the historical development of the Caliphate revolved around the issue of the succession of the Prophet.

They involved one another and illuminated one another. In light of authentic and trustworthy sources, the situation becomes clear and enables us to see that the historical emergence of Shī'ism was based on metaphysical and cosmological principles, even though the chain of secular conflicts have externally emphasized the political side.

📌This leads us to the fundamental issue which interests us most: the concept that Shī'ite Islām was a divinely ordained development destined to convert itself into an invisible axis and visible hinge of the entire prophetic wilāyah . In order to understand this, it is necessary to examine its exoteric reality on the inside , starting with its esoteric and Gnostic interior. [^1]: Editor's Note: Shī'ite scholars are unanimous regarding the obligation of taqlīd.

📌As Imām Khumaynī explains, “If one is not a mujtahid and does not have confidence in oneself, then he must follow a particular mujtahid and act according to his rulings” (The Practical Laws of Islām 17). [^2]: Editor's Note: As Imām Alī explains in al-Kāfī, if one has to chose between intellect, chastity and faith, one should chose intellect as intellect leads to faith (qtd. In al-Haiat: La vida, vol 1., 23: hadīth 22).

He also explains that “The intellect is the messenger of truth” and “The foundation of all things is the intellect” (21, hadīth 11, 12). And as Imām al-Sādiq has said in al-Kāfī, “The intelligence is that through which man worships the All-Merciful and gains Paradise” and “He who possesses intelligence possesses religion, and he who possesses religion enters the Garden” (qtd. in Tabātabā'ī A Shī'ite Anthology 55).

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