The door which God opened to us to recognize His Divinity is the door of Nobovvat (Prophethood) and Imamate [belief in Imams (s)]. Imam Ali(s) says in the first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa:
وَاصْطَفى سُبْحانَهُ مِنْ وِلْدِهِ أنْبياءَ، أخَذَ على الوَحي مِيثاقَهُمْ، وَعَلى تَبْليغِ الرّسالَةِ أمانَتَهُمْ.
“The Almighty God selected some of the off springs of His Prophets and through revelation He appointed them to propagate the ideas of the Prophethood, and trustworthiness.”
Revelation shows us how to thank God
Upon looking at the affluence and riches available to us, we have to thank God for what He has given us.
Revelation teaches us where to look for assets, how to use them and who has given them to us.
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا.
“Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it. 91:8”
If you follow the inspiration of your heart you will gain another inspiration which is revelation and which is dealt with in the Holy Quran. In that Holy Book, you will get the assurance that thanking God for His affluence is compulsory. The Holy Quran has guided us in this path:
فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ.
“Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me. 2:152”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ إِنْ كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ.
“O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided you with, and give thanks to Allah if Him it is that you serve. 2:172”
وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِنْ الطَّيِّبَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ.
“And (He) gave you of the good things that you may give thanks. 8:26”
وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ.
“And Allah has brought you forth from the wombs of your mother-you did not know anything-and He gave you hearing and sight and hearts that you may give thanks. 16:78”
Upon having declared that thanking God and appreciating Him for his affluence is compulsory, God says that uttering this appreciation is to man’s benefit:
وَمَنْ يَشْكُرْ فَإِنَّمَا يَشْكُرُ لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ حَمِيدٌ.
“And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful for his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, then Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised. 31:12”
The Holy Quran considers the grateful believers as a distinct group. However the number of such people, according to the Holy Quran, is Low.
اعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودَ شُكْرًا وَقَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبَادِي الشَّكُورُ.
“Give thanks, O Family of Dawood! And very few of My servants are grateful. 34:13”
وَمَنْ يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الْآخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَسَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ.
“And whoever desires the reward of the hereafter I shall give him of it; and I will reward the grateful. 3:135”
3) Opening the doors of science and knowledge towards Divinity:
The holy word rabb (God) literally means “Owner” and “instructor”. In the whole world there is no real owner, nor a genuine progressive instructor except the Almighty God.
The word “rabb” is frequently used in the Holy Quran and in invocations and supplications and other books on the Islamic knowledge. If any body is absorbed by this word he is neither an aggressor, nor is he inflicted by aggression. He will not be deceived by the alien cultures, either.
The comprehension of the term divinity is effective in freeing man from the satanic webs of evil-doings and desires.
An understanding of this holy term educates man to the degree that he will become the source of generocity, honor, knowledge, conscience, and manhood. In the words of the Holy Quran, this word will create an honorable tree.
Iqbal (The Pakestani Gnostic), based on the Holy Quran, considers as the most educated man any man who is connected with God. He says this kind of education consists of three stages: (1) obedience; (2) self-control; and (3) being God’s envoy on the earth.
Obeying God in all aspects of life and showing obedience towards prophets and the Infallible ones(s) is necessary. Then we should keep this obedience unaffected by the evils; and finally we should reach the position of being God’s envoy on the earth.
The door which God opened to us to recognize His Divinity is the door of Nobovvat (Prophethood) and Imamate [belief in Imams (s)]. Imam Ali(s) says in the first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa:
وَاصْطَفى سُبْحانَهُ مِنْ وِلْدِهِ أنْبياءَ، أخَذَ على الوَحي مِيثاقَهُمْ، وَعَلى تَبْليغِ الرّسالَةِ أمانَتَهُمْ.
“The Almighty God selected some of the off springs of His Prophets and through revelation He appointed them to propagate the ideas of the Prophethood, and trustworthiness.”
The covenant for the propagation of the ideas of the Prophethood is the greatest covenant ever.
Naturally there should be a spirit void of any whims and wishes to receive revelation. Any internal fault would darken the revelation.
A Prophet should base his private life on ghe revelation. Being a usual human being, he has the task to act as an intermediary between God and people.
The most difficult part of a Prophet’s life, however, is to stay away from any sign of self-interest.
Imam Ali(s) adds to what we heard from him above:
“God appointed some Prophets out of the nations to help people act in accordance with the innate covenant which they have with their God. The Prophets will remind people of the God’s forgotten assets given them. The Prophets are supposed to lead people towards faith through sound reasoning and to excite and enrich people’s hidden intellects. They are also supposed to reveal to people God’s signs of grandeur: such as the lofty skies over them and the earth cradle under their feet and the necessary sustenance.”
The function of Prophethood is explained in the following verses of the Holy Quran:
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنْ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمْ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمْ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ.
“Those who follow the Apostle-Prophet, the Ummi, whom they find written down with them in the Tavrat and the Injeel (The Old Testament and the New Testament) who enjoins them good and forbids them evil, and makes lawful to them impure things, and removes from them their burden and the shackles which were upon them; so as for those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, these it is that are the successful. 7:157”
These holy verses emphasize the following issues:
1) man’s uprise against injustice;
2) showing the Divine signs;
3) the teaching of the Holy Quran which embodies human life and existence;
4) the teaching of wisdom to man;
5) Enjoining the good and forbidding the evils;
6) Removing the obstacles which make hindrances on the man’s progress;
7) And Light in life which makes man to improve:
In the words of the leader of the pious ones, we shall read:
1) To excite men to carry out the contract which they have with their God;
2) To remind men of the God-given assets;
3) Conveying the Islamic teaching through sound reasoning;
4) Enriching man’s wisdom;
5) Showing the God’s signs in the lofty skies over the head on man and the earth cradle under his feet.
6) Showing people how God’s signs will help them when their strength does not exist any longer;
7) Educating people how to behave moderately and how to distinguish between right and wrong.
These are among the Divine revelation on the earth which are explicitly stated in the Holy Quran. Imam Ali’s statements in Nahjolbalaqa and his behaviors and manners showed these principles in action.
The great Prophet of Islam has said on the issues of Imamate and Velayat, which are revealed to him by God:
إنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَني وَعَليّاً مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ أنا أصلُها، وَعَليٌ فَرعُها، وَالحَسَنُ وَالحُسَينُ ثَمَرَتُها، وَالشِيعَةُ وَرَقُها، فَهَل يَخْرُحُ مِنَ الطَيِّبِ إلاّ الطَيِّبُ؟ وَأنا مَدينَةُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها، فَمَن أرادَ المَدينَةَ فَليَاتِها مِن بابِها.
وَفي لَفظِ حُذيفةَ عَن عَليٍّA: أنا مَدينَةُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها، وَلا تُؤتَى البُيُوتُ إلا مِن أبوابِها.
وَفي لَفْظِ: أنا مَدينةُ العِلمِ وَأنْتَ بابُها، كّذَبَ مَن زَعَمَ أنَّهُ يَدْخُلُ المَدينَةَ بِغَيرِ الباب. قالَ اللهُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ: وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا.
Allameh Amini reports the above narrations in his book Alqadir from 143 scholars of sunni sect. He also reports 21 scholars who have confirmed the authenticity of these reports. The Great Prophet (s) has said:
“Imam Ali (s) and I are of the same tree: I am the root, Imam Ali (s) is my trunk, Imam Hassan and Imam Hossein are our fruits and the Shiite are our leaves. Does the clean one produce anything but clean?”
“I am the city of knowledge and Imam Ali (s) is the entrance to that city. Anybody who wishes to enter this city should pass through this gate.”( Alqadir, Vol 6, P 79.)
The variations to this narration are the following:
1- أنا مَدينَةُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها، فَمَن أرادَ البَيْتَ فَليَأتِ البابَ.
2- أنا مَدينَةُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها، فَمَن أرادَ العِلمَ فَليَأتِ البابَ.
3- أنا دارُ الحِكْمَةِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها.
4- أنا دارُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ بابُها.
5- أنا ميزانُ العِلمِ وَعَليٌّ كَفَّتاهُ.
6- أنا مِيزانُ الحِكمَةِ وَعليٌّ لِسانُهُ.
7- أنا المَدينةُ وَأنْتَ البابُ، وَلا يُؤتَى المَدينَةُ إلا مِنْ بابِها.
8- عَليٌّ أخي وَمِنّي وَأنا مِن عَليٍّ فَهُوَ بابُ عِلمي وَوَصِيِّي.
9- عَليٌّ بابُ عِلمي وُمُبَيِّنٌ لامَّتي ما اُرسِلتُ بِه مِن بَعْدي.
10- أنْتَ بابُ عِلْمي.
It is evident for the Moslem nation that the Prophet’s knowledge was transferred to the sacred being of Imam Ali (s). In return, Imam Ali’s knowledge was transferred to his offspring from Imam Hassan (s) to Imam Mahdi (s). In order to recognize God, the Ommat has to refer to the Infallible Ones (s), For knowledge contained, for instance, in Nahjolbalaqa, Sahifeh Sajjadieh, Kafi, Wafi, Tahzib, Istebsar, Man la Yahzar, Wasa’el and Shafi.
Refrence: The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
source : The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
