Sometimes there are some amusing\nquestions, which make us not resting until finding their answers. Some of these\nquestions are: Why Imamate is so important to Shia? Is belief in the absent\nImam so important? Is Imamate a major principle of our beliefs or a minor one?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding the answers to these questions\nneeds reflection, and of course is rooted in a correct and deep theology. If\nsomeone knows Allah (SWT) well, i.e. knows he has a God, he should logically\nsubmit to Him. In fact, a theist is one who has reached the level of\nsubmission, and has accepted Allah (SWT) as his Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such person must also submit to the\ngates of Allah (SWT) (the only ways to recognize Allah\u2019s (SWT) orders), namely\nProphet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and the Imams (PBUT). Indeed, he has to believe\nin them and the status in which Allah (SWT) has placed them so that his\nmonotheism would be acceptable. In other words, believing in the Prophethood of\nProphet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and Imamate of the Imams (PBUT) are inevitable\nresults of believing in Allah\u2019s (SWT) Divinity. As it is narrated in some\nHadiths, accepting the Ahl al-Bayt\u2019s Wilayah is a prerequisite for Monotheism:\n\u201cThe believers in Allah (SWT) and His worshippers are only those who know Allah\n(SWT) and the Imams from us, the Ahl al-Bayt; by Allah those who do not know\nAllah and do not know us, the Ahl al-Bayt, have recognized someone other than\nAllah (SWT), and worshipped someone other than Him in a devious way.\u201d(1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can clearly conclude from these\nHadiths and similar ones that in Shiism, a monotheist is one who believes in\nAllah (SWT), Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP), and the Imams (PBUT), and is among\nthe believers in Wilayah. Knowing the Imam is the fruit of the tree of\nMonotheism. In fact, Monotheism is recognized through Imamate, as every tree is\nrecognized by its fruit. Monotheism will not be fruitful unless it leads into\nbelieving in the Imams; otherwise, it would not be a true Monotheism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, knowing the Imam of time is\nnot only a prerequisite for knowing Allah (SWT), but also the sole sign of it.\nIn fact, it is the only sign by which a Monotheist could be differentiated from\na disbeliever. If some other signs for Monotheism have been mentioned in the\nHadiths of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), they are considered as branches of this\nprinciple. The fundamental principle of the religion is the Wilayah of the\nfourteen infallibles (PBUT). This principle is also firmed in the field of\nknowing Allah (SWT); this is to the extent that when someone asked Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) about the meaning of knowing Allah (SWT), Imam (PBUH) replied: \u201cKnowing\nAllah (SWT) is knowing the Imam of each time, whose obedience is mandatory for\npeople.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, since Monotheism is not\nrecognized and achieved without knowing the Imam of the time, Imam Hussain\n(PBUH) interpreted Monotheism as knowing the Imam of the time. As such, knowing\nthe Imams, meaning believing in them, is an inseparable component of\nMonotheism. If someone\u2019s Monotheism does not result in knowing the Imams, he\ncould not be recognized as a Monotheist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shiites and Sunnis have both narrated\nthis Hadith from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) that, \u201cWhoever dies while he\ndoes not know the Imam of his time has died as if he has lived in ignorant\nera.\u201d(3) The Prophet has explicitly stated that those who do not know the Imam\nof their time have not survived from ignorance and polytheism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, if Monotheism does not lead\ninto knowing our contemporary Imam, Imam Mahdi (PBUH), it will not make a\nperson religious. In the other words, by failing to recognizing the Imam and\nnot submitting to him, a person will lose everything; whereas all of the\nblessings and good deeds would be beneficial by knowing Imam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom “Aftab Dar Qurbat (The Sun in Exile)” by the Dr. Sayyed Muhammad\nBani Hashemi)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd website congratulates all\nlovers and those waiting for Imam Hujjat Ibn al-Hassan al-Askari (PBUT), upon\nthe 15th of Sha’ban, the birthday anniversary of the Imam of humankind and\ntheir hope, the Imam of our time, the link between the heavens and the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Usul al-Kafi,\nvol. 1, p. 181<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Ilal\nal-Shara\u2019ei<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Usul al-Kafi,\nvol. 1, p. 277<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes there are some amusing questions, which make us not resting until finding their answers. Some of these questions are: Why Imamate is so important to Shia? Is belief in the absent Imam so important? Is Imamate a major principle of our beliefs or a minor one? Finding the answers to these questions needs reflection, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[23824,17778,18056,17911,18072,20170,18480,17978,23825,18418,17873,23826,23823,23827],"class_list":["post-4725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2008-08-17","tag-allah","tag-belief","tag-find","tag-god","tag-imam-mahdi","tag-important","tag-lord","tag-minor","tag-occasion-letters","tag-shia","tag-submit","tag-the-fruit-of-the-tree-of-monotheism","tag-worshipper"],"yoast_head":"\n