The Principle of Grace and the Imamah of the Concealed Imam
 

QUESTION:

Has the “principle of grace” been derived from the traditions and narrations of the Ahl al-Bait (peace be upon them) or has it entered Shi‘a kalam (theology) through the contact of the Shi‘a with the Mu‘tazila? And what is the method of applying this principle with the existence of the concealed Imam?

ANSWER:

Since the Shi‘a have many proofs regarding the principle of Imamah aside from the principle of grace, with the existence of those proofs, if the principle of grace is relied upon, it is for the purpose of supporting the proofs.

As for the contact of the Shi‘a with the Mu‘tazila, who are sometimes referred to as the adliyya (Equitists) as opposed to the Asha‘ira, it should be known that though the Mu‘tazila, a sect that splintered off from the Asha‘ira and came into being after the Shi‘a, were in agreement with the Shi‘a over some beliefs and theological issues, this is not proof of their affecting the Shi‘a school. Rather, it is instead proof of their being affected by Shi‘a beliefs, since the Asha‘ira are a sect that came into being later on. Moreover, as was mentioned, all of the Shi‘a beliefs are taken from reason, the Glorious Qur’an, and traditions of the Ahl al-Bait (peace be upon them). The principle of grace is also from the Shi‘a themselves and is derived from those very sources and origin.

It is in a tradition that Jabir asked the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) about the benefit of the existence of a concealed Imam and the way of deriving benefit from his existence during the concealment. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said in reply,

Ãóíú æóÇáøóÐöí ÈóÚóËóäöí ÈöÇáäøõÈøõæóÉö! Åöäøóåõãú íóäúÊóÝöÚõæäó Èöåö æóíóÓúÊóÖúíöÆõæäó ÈöäõæÑö æöáÇóíóÊöåö Ýöí ÛóíúÈóÊöåö ßóÇäöÊúÝóÇÚö ÇáäøóÇÓö ÈöÇáÔøóãúÓö æóÅöäú ÌóáøóáóåóÇ ÇáÓøóÍøóÇÈö


“Yes, by the One who sent me with the prophecy! Verily they benefit from him and seek light from the illumination of his wilayah (authority) during his concealment just as people benefit from the sun though it has been covered by clouds.”[82]

To negate in entirety that the existence of a concealed Imam is lutf (grace) is not proper for a rational person who is unaware of unseen affairs. After the Imamah itself and his concealment are established, certainty of the existence of grace and presence of a benefit in his existence is necessary, since if the appointment of an Imam who has been commanded to go into concealment does not entail grace, it is futile and vain; and Allah is far above vain and futile actions. Therefore, the appointment of a concealed Imam by Allah certainly entails lutf (grace).

Granted, if we wish to establish both the necessity of appointment of an Imam and the Imamah of a concealed person through the principle of grace, the objection arises that it must first be known that the concealed Imam entails grace. Otherwise, without knowledge of its being grace, his Imamah will not be established. However, we establish the necessity of appointment of an Imam through the principle of grace and the Imamah of the concealed Imam through other firm proofs, and by joining these two proofs to the fact that Allah does not do anything in vain, it is established that the Imamah of the concealed Imam entails grace. The statement of al-Muhaqqiq al-Tusi, who says;

æõÌõæÏöåö áõØúÝñ æóÊóÕúÑöÝõåõ áõØúÝñ ÂÎöÑó æóÚóÏóãõåõ ãöäøóÇ


is based on the principle that the existence of the Imam is grace absolutely, whether manifest or hidden. And this is a principle that has been established in accordance with the speech of Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him), who says:

áóÆóáøóÇ ÊõÈúØöáõ ÍõÌóÌö Çááåö æóÈóíøöäóÇÊöåö


The Divine proofs and signs are protected by the existence of the Imam, whether he be present or concealed.

It is worthy of mention that if the objection of the absence of grace with regard to the concealed Imam be valid, it is also applicable to an Imam who is not concealed, yet who is not able to act freely in affairs. His Imamah will be without grace for the same reason that the Imamah of the concealed Imam is regarded as being without grace. However, this objection has not been made with regard to the manifest Imam who is not able to freely act in the affairs and tasks pertaining to Imamah. Similarly, it has not been made regarding a prophet who, due to circumstances, is unable to guide others or whose guidance is not effective, or a prophet whose mission was general, but opponents and adversaries prevented his message from reaching the entire public, and it has not been denied that his prophecy entails grace.

It is possible to establish a rational proof of the Imamah of the concealed Imam (peace be upon him) with the exposition that appointment and specification of the Imam by Allah is grace, and grace is obligatory upon Allah. Therefore, Allah has appointed someone to Imamah after Imam Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him), and that person will not be other than his son, since the incapacity and invalidity of the other claimants to Imamah has been established and at present, no one has such a claim. Thus, either Allah has withheld grace to His servants during the period of concealment, which is opposed to Divine wisdom, or He has appointed an Imam out of grace, in which case the Imam is none other than the twelfth Imam.

The Issue of Bada’ (Alteration in the Divine Will) and the Tradition of Abu Hamza

QUESTION:

A tradition has been narrated by Abu Hamza Thumali from Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) according to which Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) said that relief will come after the 70th year after Hijra, but because of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) the affair was delayed until the year 140 after Hijra. Then, because the Shi‘a did not protect the secret, Allah once again delayed the affair such that He did not place any time for it in the knowledge of the Imams.

Please explain the commentary of this tradition along with the many other traditions that indicate that the promised relief shall occur after long periods and following great events and happenings. And doesn’t the occurrence of bada’, which is understood from this tradition, cause the presumption that something became known for Allah—we seek refuge with Allah—after it had been unknown? In any case, what is the correct explanation?

ANSWER:

First: This tradition has objections in its chain of narrators, since according to books of rijal, Abu Hamza al-Thumali did not belong to the fourth generation of narrators; his demise occurred in the year 150 A.H. Hasan ibn Mahbub, who according to the chain of narrators narrated this tradition from Abu Hamza, is from the sixth generation, and passed away at the age of 75 years in the year 224 A.H. Thus, Hasan ibn Mahbub was not more than one year old when Abu Hamza passed away. In such a case it is absolutely not possible for him to narrate from Abu Hamza, and without doubt another individual was an intermediary between him and Abu Hamza. However, since it is not known who that person is, we cannot regard this tradition as reliable; moreover, a tradition narrated by only one person cannot be an authority in doctrinal principles, let alone when its chain of narrators is also unknown.

Second: With the existence of many reliable traditions that all explicitly indicate that the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his return) and the just government of the righteous shall not come to pass that quickly and that one must await magnificent changes and grave events over very long periods before his reappearance, how can a forged tradition with only one chain of narrators be relied upon in the face of all those traditions? Moreover, many sermons and traditions have been related from Amir al-Mu’minin (peace be upon him) in which both the length of the period during which one must await the reappearance and the great events and severe trials of the believers have been referred to. With the existence of this, how is it possible to say that a singly-narrated, forged traditions that says that the Imam specified the time of reappearance as the year 70 A.H. is reliable.

In addition, alteration in Divine decrees is a conceivable matter, though this does not mean that Allah the Exalted is unaware of affairs in the beginning and then acquires knowledge of them. Such a belief is invalid according to the Shi‘a, since all Shi‘a believe Allah to be free and far removed from ignorance coming to know about something after its being concealed. Bada’, in the conception which the Shi‘a believe in, is a Qur’anic and Islamic principle, and an important part of the issues of theology and similarly the issues of prophecy are based on it.

Among the verses related to bada’ are;

æóáóæú Ãóäøó Çóåúáó ÇáÞõÑì ÂãóäõæÇ æóÇÊøóÞóæÇ áóÝóÊóÍúäóÇ Úóáóíúåöãú ÈóÑóßóÇÊö ãøöäó ÇáÓøóãóÇÁö æóÇáÃóÑúÖö æóáóßöäó ßóÐøóÈõæÇ ÝóÃóÎóÐúäóÇåõãú ÈöãóÇ ßóÇäõæÇ íóßúÓöÈõæäó


“Were the inhabitants of the cities to believe and adopt piety, We would open them blessings from the sky and the earth; yet they denied (the truth), so We requited them what they had earned.”[83]

ÙóåóÑó ÇáúÝóÓóÇÏõ Ýöí ÇáúÈóÑøö æóÇáúÈóÍúÑö ÈöãóÇ ßóÓóÈóÊú ÃóíöÏöí ÇáäøóÇÓö


“Corruption has manifested in the land and in the sea on account of what the hands of the people have earned.”[84]

æóÞóÇáó ÑóÈøõßõãú ÇõÏúÚõæäöí ÃóÓúÊóÌöÈú áóßõãú


“Your Lord has said, Call on Me that I may answer you.”[85]

ÇóÓúÊóÛúÝöÑõæÇ ÑóÈøóßõãú Åöäøóåõ ßóÇäó ÛóÝøóÇÑÇð íõÑúÓöáõ ÇáÓøóãóÇÁó Úóáóíúßõãú ãöÏúÑóÇÑÇð


“Seek forgiveness from your Lord, since He is Ever-Forgiving; He constantly sends rain upon you from the sky.”[86]

æóæóÇÚóÏúäóÇ ãõæúÓóì ËóáóËöíäó áóíúáóÉð æóÃóÊúãóãúäóÇåóÇ ÈöÚóÔúÑò


“We covenanted Musa thirty nights, then completed them with ten (nights more).”[87]

ÝóáóæúáÇó ßóÇäóÊú ÞóÑúíóÉò ÂãóäóÊú ÝóäóÝúÚöåóÇ ÅöíúãóÇäõåóÇ ÅöáÇøó Þóæúãõ íõæúäõÓò áóãøóÇ ÂãóäõæÇ ßóÔóÝúäóÇ Úóäúåõãú ÚóÐóÇÈó ÇáúÎöÒúíö Ýöí ÇáúÍóíóÇÉö ÇáÏøõäúíóÇ æóãóÊóÚúäóÇåõãú Åöáì Íöíóä


“So why did not one of the cities believe that its belief might benefit it except the people of Yunus; when they believed we remove from them the debasing punishment in this world and cause them to enjoy until a specified time.”[88]

áóÆöäú ÔóßóÑúÊõãú áÃóÒöíÏöäøóßõãú


“Verily, if you be grateful, I shall increase you (in blessings).”[89]

æóãóäú íóÊøóÞö Çááåó íóÌúÚóáú áóåõ ãóÎúÑóÌÇð æóíóÑúÒõÞúåõ ãöäú ÍóíúËõ áÇó íóÍúÊóÓöÈõ


“Whoever adopts piety with regard to Allah, He creates for him an escape (from difficulty) and grants him sustenance whence he does not expect.”[90]

ÐóÇáößó ÈöÃóäøó Çááåó áóãú íóßõ ãõÛóíøöÑÇð äöÚúãóÉò ÃóäúÚóãóåóÇ Úóáóì Þóæúãò ÍóÊøóì íõÛóíøöÑõæÇ ãóÇ ÈöÃóäúÝõÓöåöã


“That is because Allah does not change any blessing He had granted unto a people until they change what is in themselves.”[91]

The bada’ that the Shi‘a believe in, along with belief in the absolute knowledge and power of Allah, is a concept that is understood from such verses. For example, in them it is said that gratitude causes blessings from Allah to increase; Allah delivers a pious person from hardships by virtue of piety (taqwa) and sustains him from an unexpected source; He fulfills needs through prayer; on account of repentance and faith, He distances people from punishment; and because of misuse of blessings, He removes them from people.

Of course, abundant traditions that have been narrated by Shi‘a and Sunnis and similarly manifold stories which have been related in original Islamic sources indicate this point. In fact, if bada’ were not to exist, many religious concepts, such as prayer, reliance on Allah, repentance, charity, kindness towards relatives, gratitude, seeking forgiveness, admonition, granting tidings, and threatening, will be impossible to explain. Bada’ means belief in the effect of these affairs in the life of a person.

Whether we are able to explain bada’ in view of Allah’s absolute knowledge and cognizance of all affairs or are unable to understand its secret and reality, in any case we must believe in the issue of bada’ in accordance with the content of manifold verses of Qur’an and mutawatir traditions.

This is because sometimes, though all the factors and preliminaries for the occurrence of something are present, other factors strip them of their effect and as a result prevent that thing from occurring. In such a case, the existence of those factors, their continuation, and the factors that strip them of their effect are all preserved in the Umm al-Kitab by Divine decree in accordance with the order and arrangement He has specified. Those affairs are also linked to people’s actions by choice, they occur through the will of Allah and His decree. That is, neither compulsion (jabr) is involved, nor delegation (tafwid); rather it is a reality between the two:

áÇó ÌóÈúÑó æóáÇó ÊóÝúæöíÖó Èóáú ÃóãúÑó Èóíúäó ÇáÃóãúÑóíäö


“Neither compulsion (jabr) nor delegation (tafwid), but a matter between the two ideas.”[92]

As an example, Allah has decreed that fire should burn or that every created being should develop in its particular course, and if an obstacle comes about, that thing will not exist. Of course, it should be kept in mind that in matters pertaining to matter, if an obstacle to their coming about blocks the causes of an event, this is not called bada’. Only in instances when things like charity, kindness to family, and prayer influence the occurrence or nonoccurrence of an affair such that humanity considers its existence or non-existence definite from the point of view of apparent causes and then the opposite occurs, that is called bada’.

This is though apparently this instance does not have much difference from the previous instance except that the object of effacement and affirmation in the first issue was observable matters and able to be perceived by most or all people, but in the second issue it is non-observable matters; thus, most individuals are unable to perceive it. The second type indicates the existence and influence of the unseen world and the existence of Allah more than the first, though all affairs are from Him.

In summary, the concept of bada’ is the same concept that is well understood from this verse of Qur’an in which Allah the Exalted refutes the false belief of the Jews:

æóÞóÇáóÊö ÇáúíóåõæÏõ íóÏõ Çááåö ãóÛúáõæúáóÉð ÛõáøóÊú ÃóíúÏöíåöãö æóáõÚöäõæÇ ÈöãóÇ ÞóÇáõæÇ Èóáú íóÏóÇåõ ãóÈúÓõæØóÊóÇäö íõäúÝöÞõ ßóíúÝó íóÔóÇÁõ


“And the Jews said, Allah’s hand is fettered, may their hands be fettered and they be cursed on account of what they said. Rather His hands are outspread; He bestows howsoever He wishes.”[93]

Thus bada’ in its correct meaning is the negation of this erroneous belief of the Jews, who say that Allah’s hand is fettered from acting in affairs. In other words, bada’ means that Allah’s hands are extended and His absolute power is unlimited, without this having any conflict with His absolute knowledge.

In other words, the reality of bada’, with its correct meaning such that it is compatible with Allah’s absolute knowledge, in accordance with His freedom from all forms of ignorance, and opposed to the erroneous view of the Jews and all other deniers of the issue of bada’ who view Allah’s power as limited, must be explained thus: According to Divine decree, everything has particular effects, and things take place in accordance with those effects in conformance to Divine Will.