(According to the Ja’fari Imami Ithna-Asheri school of thought)

Part 2 of 2

3. NUBUWWAT (PROPHETHOOD)

 This need for humans to be aware of what is expected of them in order to ensure justice is filled by prophets and messengers.  These people are appointed by God to carry knowledge and guidance that God wishes to reveal through them to the people.  These prophets bring correct guidance to the people about how they are expected to live and how they are expected to relate to themselves, to their environment, and their fellow human beings.  The people have the free will to either listen to what these prophets say or to ignore it, to accept them as authentic prophets or reject them, to follow their guidance or not to.  But once they have heard the message, they cannot say that they did not receive the necessary guidance to know right from wrong.  This links back to God’s justice.  As well, it is explained in the Qu’ran that prophets and messengers have been sent to ALL nations, so that no one can say that they have never received guidance.  Islam says that either 124 000 or 144 000 prophets have graced the earth between the time of Adam (as) and the time of Muhammad (saws), in Islam the last messenger and “seal” of the prophets.  Most of these prophets brought localized teachings for a small group of people, while certain of these prophets brought large messages in the form of books that were meant to be widely known.  The Qu’ran mentions several examples of these messages, which include the Taurat (Torah) of Moses (as), the Zabur (Psalms) of David (as), the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus (as), and the Qu’ran of Muhammad (saws).  Part of the Oneness of God as applied to His prophets is that because the source of Divine Law and guidance is One, the message must also be One.  Although acknowledging that small differences existed in small details of the laws taught by the prophets due to particularities of time and place, Islam holds that the core message taught by all the prophets comprised ONE message; that of Islam.

4. IMAMAT (LEADERSHIP OF MANKIND)

 A problem then occurs however when a prophet is not present in the earth.  We, as non-prophets, do not take commands regarding religious guidance directly from God.  We must refer in this matter to someone in whom we can trust, by following whom we may be sure that we will not be held responsible by Allah for having committed errors.  If there is no such guide present, the people again may have the excuse that they had no way of knowing the details of what is expected of them, regardless of whether the general teachings of a prophet are available to them.

We believe that, due to the requirements of God’s Justice, just as it is necessary for Allah to send someone as a prophet, so it is also necessary for Him to appoint an Imam, or leader. It is necessary that at all times there should be an Imam to represent the prophet, and that he should perform the duties of the prophet, such as guiding the people, and showing them the way of goodness and prosperity in this world and the next, although the imam (as) differs from a prophet in that he does not receive direct revelation.  Rather, they are guided, or inspired by God to give proper guidance to the people.  The exception is those prophets who were themselves imams of people, such as Abraham (as) and Muhammad (saws).  An imam should in all rightness hold the highest position as a public authority, but because he is appointed by God, it makes no difference whether the person actually holds physical power or not; the fact remains that he is the rightful person to hold such power.  Just as mankind has the free will to follow or not follow the divinely appointed prophet, so has he the free will to accept or deny the rights of the divinely appointed imam. 

 5 MA’AD (RESURRECTION AND DAY OF JUDGEMENT)

 Another problem then arises.  Because people have the free will to choose to turn away from the prophets that are sent to them, and because people have the free will to not follow the guidance of the prophets and imams appointed to guide them, disharmony and oppression will inevitably appear where harmony and equitable treatment were intended by God in the law and message He sent.  As a result, some will choose to do wrong to others, and may escape in this life the justice that is deserved by them for the wrongs that they have intentionally done to others.  This then appears to produce injustice on the part of God, because injustice has been done to people as a result of the free will that he has given to mankind.  In addition, there are those who do great good, striving to help people and trying to help make the world a better place, but who experience great hardship, torment, and oppression, not receiving the reward they deserve for their good deeds.  There is a need for a settling of accounts then, to deal with those matters that were not properly dealt with in this life.  This is dealt with by God in the eventual resurrection of people after their death, and on the Day of Judgement, where people’s accounts will be fully settled once and for all.  

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