moses was the servant through whom allah provided the quran.
moses was the servant through whom allah provided the quran.
who is the servant through whom allah provided the quran?
moses
one of the fundamental principles of shia is that imam is designated by the prophet and every imam nominates his successor by divine designation (nass). the divine designation is a logical necessity because imam must be infallible and as this is a hidden virtue, known only to allah. thus this designation is expressed to the people only by an infallible: the previous prophet or imam. al-baqir stated that the prophet was commanded by allah, before his death, to grant to ali his knowledge, his faith and the great name (al-ism al-a'zam), as well as the legacy of knowledge and prophethood so that the divine heritage would be continued through the prophet's progeny. so one of the fundamentals in the principle of imamate was nass al-jali (explicit designation) which was hereditary. shia muslims believe that allah appointed leaders for those who practice the religion of allah. when the prophet had taught the people the religion, he would then appoint a leader, in accordance with the orders of allah, to guide believers towards perfection. imamate is a universal authority and this right is derived from (niyabah) the prophet. allamah majlesi stated that from the time of adam, every prophet had a successor. imam like the prophet had a perfect authority over the muslim community including matters of religion and government. as the prophet is the representative of allah, his successor is also a representative of allah. if he is to represent allah, he must be appointed by allah. imam can not be distinguished except by designation. following verse 2:124 of quran, shia believe that imamah is something that is given by allah and must be appointed by him. the earth never can be without a true imam. the relation between imams is spiritual, carrying the muhammadan light from one imam to the other. the shia idea that the succession should continue in the descendants of the prophet originates from the quran as verse 4:54.
imamate in twelver doctrine
shia believe that the divine truth or the true religion has two aspects: exoteric (zahir) and esoteric (batin). the exoteric side is revealed by the prophet and his holy book to the general people but the esoteric side is the mission of imams and for the believers by the esoteric interpretation of the quran(ta'wil). as the exoteric speaks of shariah and esoteric speaks of haqiqah, it is not a matter of succession but a matter of simultaneity. haqiqah is based on the spiritual meaning of quran. the kinship between the prophet and imams is the sign of their walayah, not the basis for their walayah. according to shia just those are the real faithful that "allah has written faith upon their hearts" (58:22): only if walayah is obtained the faith is perfect. shia theologians refer to the verse 5:55 as a proof for the walayah of imams. according to motahhari, walayah has four dimensions: the right of love, loving the ahl al-bayt is obligatory for all muslims, the authority of alh al-bayt in spiritual guidance, the authority of ahl al-bayt in socio-political guidance and the authority of the universal nature by the grace of allah. by shia, in fact, a guardian must protect the religion against any additions or subtractions after the prophet. according to al-baqir, the prophet has revealed the religion but in every age there must be an imam who leads to the religion and verse 13:7 refers to imam. a hadith narrates that "he who knows himself knows his lord.", but knowing allah without his theophanic form (mazhar), the face of allah, is impossible. imam is the one who carries the human knowledge of allah, without him we will be trapped in ta'til or metaphysical idolatry (tashbih)." numerous shia hadith narrate: the quran is the silent imam, the imam is the speaking quran; imam is the guide by whom quran remains alive. regarding this matter, mulla sadra believes that the earth can not be without an imam otherwise, the quran will die. by shia, wali is the one who has the most love and devotion to god, so god has bestowed his knowledge upon him.
imamate in twelver doctrine