{"id":22296,"date":"2019-01-27T19:05:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T15:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/?p=22296"},"modified":"2025-10-06T11:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:34:04","slug":"the-water-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Elixir of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Safwan ibn Yahya has narrated from Imam Kadhim\u00a0(PBUH)\u00a0that, \u201d Since Adam\u00a0(PBUH)\u00a0passed away until now, Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0has never left the earth without His\u00a0representative<\/strong>. This representative\u00a0guides<\/strong>\u00a0people to Allah\u00a0(SWT), and is His argument on His servants. Whoever leaves him (the representative) will go astray, and whoever joins him will be saved\u00a0[1]<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>

The status of Imamate entails various authorities. As Imam Kadhim\u00a0(PBUH)\u00a0has stated in the aforementioned\u00a0Hadith\u00a0<\/em>and based on the verses of the Holy Quran and the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt\u00a0(PBUT), one of the necessary and inseparable authorities of Imamate is the issue of\u00a0guidance<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>

At the first place, guidance is an authority of Allah\u00a0(SWT), and the name \u201cHadi\u201d (guide) is one of His beautiful names. Several verses in the Holy Quran refer to Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0as the guide of all creatures, and in our prayers, we always ask Him to guide us to the Right path\u00a0[2]<\/a>. Therefore, at the highest level, guidance is an attribute of Allah\u00a0(SWT). Then, Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0has addressed Prophet Muhammad\u00a0(PBUH&HP)\u00a0by saying, \u201d…You guide to the right path<\/strong>…\u00a0[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u201d In this Holy verse, Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0introduces Prophet Muhammad\u00a0(PBUH&HP)\u00a0as a guide, since he is Allah\u2019s\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0successor and representative. After Prophet Muhammad\u00a0(PBUH&HP), the Holy Quran refers to the Imams\u00a0(PBUT)\u00a0as guides. For instance, in Chapter 23 where Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0refers to some Divine men who have been appointed by Him as Imams, He states guidance as their authority by saying, \u201dAnd We made them Imams who guide (people) by Our command<\/strong>\u00a0[4]<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>

As such, Allah\u00a0(SWT), Prophet Muhammad\u00a0(PBUH&HP), and the Infallible Imams\u00a0(PBUT)\u00a0are all guides; they all possess the attribute of guidance. However, guidance has different levels in the sense that Allah\u00a0(SWT)\u00a0legislates<\/strong>\u00a0the religious laws and makes the Prophet\u00a0(PBUH&HP)\u00a0and the Imams\u00a0(PBUT)\u00a0responsible for\u00a0conveying<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0explaining<\/strong>\u00a0them.<\/p>

Based on that, an Imam is the trainer of mankind by the will of Allah\u00a0(SWT), and training people is the highest level of guidance. A person who possesses this level of guidance would nurture the soul and spirit of mankind; just like shining of the sun and falling of rain which nurture the plants and make the seeds blossoms and become fruitful.<\/p>

In this regards, Prophet Muhammad\u00a0(PBUH&HP)\u00a0has said the following statement about the Ahl al-Bayt\u00a0(PBUT), \u201dThe superiority of my family over other people is like the superiority of water over anything else; because the existence of everything depends on water\u00a0[5]<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>

Hence, the functions of Imam are similar to those of the sun and rain; the soul and spirit of mankind moves towards accomplishment by the guidance of the Imams till it reaches the desired level. Nevertheless, this procedure would not be accomplished unless a person qualifies himself\/herself and exposes it to the guidance of the Imam, so that he\/she would be trained by their reviving guidance.<\/p>

Indeed guidance is like elixir of life which is poured by the Divine guides in the mouse of mankind, so that they may drink it.<\/p>

(Selection taken from \u201cDiscussions on Imamate\u201d, by Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Zia\u2019 Abadi (with some changes))<\/strong><\/p>

Tags: Imam Musa bin Jafar al-Kazim (peace be upon her)<\/a><\/p>

Footnotes:<\/u><\/strong><\/h1>

[1]<\/a> Kamaal al-Din wa Tamaam al-Ni\u2019mah, vol. 1, p. 221<\/p>

[2]<\/a> The Holy Quran, (1:6)<\/p>

[3]<\/a> The Holy Quran, (42:52)<\/p>

[4]<\/a> The Holy Quran, (21:73)<\/p>

[5]<\/a> Bihar\u00a0al-Anwar, vol. 36, p. 36<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imam Musa al-Kadhim (PBUH) taught that Allah (SWT) has never left the earth without a divine representative. This representative, or Imam, guides humanity toward truth and spiritual growth. The Imam\u2019s guidance nurtures souls like sunlight and rain nurture life, serving as Allah\u2019s instrument of wisdom, mercy, and divine enlightenment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":35613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64372],"tags":[64379],"class_list":["post-22296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-imam-kadhim-pbuh","tag-imam-musa-bin-jafar-al-kazim-peace-be-upon-her"],"yoast_head":"\nElixir of Life - Roshd<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elixir of Life - Roshd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imam Musa al-Kadhim (PBUH) taught that Allah (SWT) has never left the earth without a divine representative. This representative, or Imam, guides humanity toward truth and spiritual growth. The Imam\u2019s guidance nurtures souls like sunlight and rain nurture life, serving as Allah\u2019s instrument of wisdom, mercy, and divine enlightenment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Roshd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RoshdInsightsFacebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dfb78338672a9a3ed0a70a14c433cbc2\"},\"headline\":\"Elixir of Life\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\"},\"wordCount\":562,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Imam Musa bin Jafar al-Kazim (peace be upon her)\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Imam Kadhim (PBUH)\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\",\"name\":\"Elixir of Life - Roshd\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Elixir of Life\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"\u0633\u0627\u06cc\u062a \u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd\",\"description\":\"Islamic - Shia information site\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cropped-LogoRoshd.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cropped-LogoRoshd.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":286,\"caption\":\"\u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RoshdInsightsFacebook\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/roshdinsights\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dfb78338672a9a3ed0a70a14c433cbc2\",\"name\":\"admin admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9829185450ae685d5049254ee08f0ac5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9829185450ae685d5049254ee08f0ac5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elixir of Life - Roshd","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Elixir of Life - Roshd","og_description":"Imam Musa al-Kadhim (PBUH) taught that Allah (SWT) has never left the earth without a divine representative. This representative, or Imam, guides humanity toward truth and spiritual growth. The Imam\u2019s guidance nurtures souls like sunlight and rain nurture life, serving as Allah\u2019s instrument of wisdom, mercy, and divine enlightenment.","og_url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/","og_site_name":"Roshd","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RoshdInsightsFacebook","article_published_time":"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00","author":"admin admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/"},"author":{"name":"admin admin","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dfb78338672a9a3ed0a70a14c433cbc2"},"headline":"Elixir of Life","datePublished":"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/"},"wordCount":562,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg","keywords":["Imam Musa bin Jafar al-Kazim (peace be upon her)"],"articleSection":["Imam Kadhim (PBUH)"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/","url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/","name":"Elixir of Life - Roshd","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-27T15:35:35+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-06T07:34:04+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/\u0622\u0628-\u062d\u06cc\u0627\u062a.jpg","width":1600,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/the-water-of-life\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Elixir of Life"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/","name":"\u0633\u0627\u06cc\u062a \u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd","description":"Islamic - Shia information site","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd","url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cropped-LogoRoshd.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cropped-LogoRoshd.png","width":1000,"height":286,"caption":"\u0631\u0634\u062f | Roshd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RoshdInsightsFacebook","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/roshdinsights\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dfb78338672a9a3ed0a70a14c433cbc2","name":"admin admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9829185450ae685d5049254ee08f0ac5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9829185450ae685d5049254ee08f0ac5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin admin"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22296"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33776,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22296\/revisions\/33776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}