Love those who love imams

God speaks of the momins in the following terms "They are harsh towards the infidels and are compassionate toward one another." "Momins are brothers to one another." "You will never find those who have faith in God and the day of judgement making friends with those who are the enemies of God and His Prophet." "O! Momins, do not take my enemy and your enemies to be your friends. Never love them." "Those of you who love them are the oppressors."

The Prophet while talking of Ali, peace be on them, says "O God, love those who love Ali and hate those who hate Ali." With regard to those whom God has declared to be His enemies and commanded us in His book and through His Prophet to be hostile to them and has prohibited us from befriending them, even if they happen to be our fathers and sons and other members of our families, it is but proper that those who are aware of this hostility of God to them should sever their friendly connections from them openly and secretly. They should have no consideration for their being their close or distant relatives. They should not mix with them in the hope of getting anything from them or for the fear of suffering at their hands.

Imam Jafar Sadiq, peace be on him, says "He who wants to know whether a particular person is our friend or foe, should look to the persons with whom he associates. If they are our friends he is our friend; if they are our enemies he is our enemy." I have already said in this book that it is our duty to love the Imams sincerely and with the best of our intentions. Our duty does not end here. We have to keep aloof from their enemies and their evil intentions as long as they continue to be hostile to them. We have to cut off our friendly connections from them and we cannot trust them to the slightest degree. God says, "Do not trust the oppressors, you will be overtaken by Hell-fire." The worst of oppressors is the one who harms the 'Walees' of God and shows hostility to them.

Imam Muhammed Baqir, greeting be on him says, "Our followers are those who treat strangers as their relations and befriend them because of their love for us. They cut themselves off from their families and their closest relations because of their hostility to us. If we are pleased with anybody they are pleased with him. If we get excited against anyone, they get excited against him. If we fear someone, they also fear him. If we feel secure, they also feel secure. They never make friends with our enemies and they never become enemies of our friends."

O the followers of the Imams who have faith in their 'Imamat', you should also behave in this manner. Test the man with whom you associate. Distinguish between the friends and the foes of the Imams. Bear in mind that the people are divided into three classes. There is no fourth class to them with the exception of this that in each of the three categories there are people of different grades and there is no criterion by which we can sort them out according to the degrees of their ambitions, their intelligence, their knowledge, their faith and their power of apprehension.

One of these three classes consists of the devotees of the Imams. They are men of different grades and different degrees of spiritual attainments. The next one consists of their enemies. They too are of different grades and of different types of hostility to the Imams. The third one consists of those who are weak-minded and indecisive. God speaks of them in the following terms. "They are neither here nor there. They neither know the truth nor they deny untruth. They are like cattle, nay, they are straying further away from the path." These people, although their condition is miserable, are in a way better than the out-and-out enemies of the Imam.

Hence, it is necessary for us to test the people and know their proper position in life. Once we have known this we should put every one of them in his proper place. We should befriend those who are the friends of the Imams and be hostile to those who are hostile to the Imams. With regard to the weak-minded and indecisive people let us try to guide them and show them the right path. If they hear the truth they will accept it. With regard to our enemies let us attract them to our side by our good deeds and leave no room for their excuse. Let us give up discussing with them. If we prolong the discussion with them it will end in a fiasco. We have already talked of this in one of the preceding chapters. Let us follow in this matter the words and the actions of the Imam. Let us adopt his policy in our dealings with them. We should do what the Imam wants us to do. We should not go against his instructions.

Abu Jafar Mohammed bin Ali, greetings be on him, has described his followers in the following terms, "Our followers do not praise those who find fault with us, do not join those who hate us and never associate with those who do not like us. If they meet a 'momin' they honour him, If they meet an ignorant fellow they flee away from him. They say what we say. They cut themselves off from their friends for our sake. They treat the strangers as their close relatives because of their love for us. They treat their close relatives as strangers because of their hatred for us. Our followers are warners to the people on earth. They are the lamp-posts; they are the light for those who seek it. They are the leaders of the devotees of God. They will bear testimony on the day of judgement against those who oppose them. They are an asylum for those who come to them. They are extra kind to them and over generous and forgiving. This is the description of the faithful followers of the Prophets given in the Old and New Testaments and the Holy Quran. The learned men amongst our followers control their tongues and satisfy their urge by their devotion to God. They harbour ill-feelings in their hearts against the enemies of God. They know their defects but they never tell them what they think about them. They pass their time with indifference to them. They watch their evil deeds and listen to their evil talk with patience. They invoke curses on them, they hate their friends and love their enemies. The Prophet says, "Be what God and His 'Walees' have described you to be."

O momins, hate for the sake of God and love for the sake of God. Follow your Imams and carry out their orders. Reveal what they have revealed to you. Have faith in what they have faith. God has made them your leaders. Follow them and obey their orders. Be hostile to those who are hostile to them and friendly to those who are friendly with them. Love those whom they love. Hate those whom they hate. It matters little whether the persons whom they love or hate are your friends or foes or they are your relatives or strangers to you. Let you do what you do for the sake of God. For, what is done for the sake of God cannot be influenced by passion. No misrepresentation or hypocrisy can affect it. May God help us and help you in loving Him and may He protect us and you from incurring His wrath.