Imam Hadi’s excellent definition of faith and hypocrisy

Today, the 15th of the month of Zil-Hijjah happens to be birth anniversary of the Tenth Infallible Guide of the Blessed Household of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). We have prepared a special programme for you on the life and times of Imam Ali an-Naqi al-Hadi.

“He who obeys you has in fact obeyed Allah; he who disobeys you has in fact disobeyed Allah; he who loves you has in fact loved Allah; he who hates you has in fact hated Allah…”

The passage which you read is from the famous “Ziyarat-al-Jame’at-al-Kabira”, which begins with the phrases: “Peace upon you, O the Household of Prophethood, Location of the Divine Mission; Descent of Angels; Abode of Revelation…”

These phrases are indeed an excellent description of the pivotal position in Islam of the Prophet of Islam’s Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household, whose spotless purity God Almighty Himself has vouched in the Holy Qur’an (33:33) and commanded Muslims to adhere to them.

The ayah 33 of Surah al-Ahzaab reads:

“Allah desires to keep away all uncleanliness from you Ahl al-Bayt, and preserve you thoroughly pure.”

Today, on the auspicious birthday of the Tenth Infallible Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt we have referred to one of his immortal legacies, this famous “Ziyarah” or standard form of salutation, which comprehensively dwells on the fundamentals of faith, the bounties of the world of creation that has bestowed on all His creation, and the eternal bliss of paradise promised to the true believers.

Imam Ali “an-Naqi” or the Pure, who has another famous epithet that is, “al-Hadi” or the Guide, needs no introduction.

Born in Medina in 212 AH (corresponding to 828 AD), he lived at a critical period of history when hypocrites masquerading as Muslims had distorted the teachings of the Prophet and emptied Islam of its spiritual contents, in order to justify the rule of the tyrants who posed as caliphs, although neither any ayah of the Holy Qur’an supported their claim to leadership of the Muslim Ummah nor any Hadith of the Seal of Messengers.

In such an atmosphere, the Tenth Imam, as the Divinely-Designated Guide, strove to serve as Barometer of Faith, enduring the hardships imposed by the usurper Abbasid regime, including exile from Medina and forced stay in Samarra in Iraq under virtual house arrest, and at times under imprisonment, so that the genuine teachings of Islam will forever remain alive.

He removed ambiguities, enlightened minds, and instilled hearts and souls with the proper cognizance of God the Almighty Creator and His Revealed Word for the guidance of mankind, the Holy Qur’an.

One of the famous statements of the Tenth Imam in this regard is the phrase: “Iman is that which hearts acknowledge and deeds prove, while Islam is that which tongues testify and marriage becomes lawful with.”

He thus expounded that “Iman” or true faith stems from the depth of the heart, while “Islam” is verbal expression of submission to the One and Only God and testimony of the mission of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny), even if such a belief has not yet penetrated the heart.

This is evident by ayah 14 of Surah Hujuraat, where God informs the Prophet of the dubious beliefs of most of the neo Muslim Arabs:

“The Bedouins say, ‘We have faith.’ Say (O Prophet to them), ‘You do not have faith yet; rather (you should) say, “We have embraced Islam,” for faith has not yet entered your hearts…”

The holy Qur’an has indeed drawn a permanent line between “Iman” (true belief) and the mere claim to be Muslims of those whose hearts have not been touched by true faith, as is evident by their deeds which are against the letter and spirit of Islam.

Entrusted with imamate at the tender age 8 years (in the manner of Prophet Yayha or John the Baptist regarding whom the holy Qur’an says he was granted Book and the Wisdom while still a boy), Imam Hadi (AS) effortlessly stepped into the shoes of his father, Imam Mohammad at-Taqi (AS), to display his God-given qualities that astounded the tutours appointed for him by the Abbasid caliph Mu’tasem in a vain bid to brainwash the child and distort the image of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt.

The murderous Mu’tasem, who was mostly engaged in wars with the Byzantine Empire, could not further torment the 10^th Imam, and nor did his successor al-Watheq.

Imam Ali an-Naqi (AS) utilized this period to spell out guidelines for the seekers of truth by enlightening their minds, hearts, and souls with the genuine teachings of Islam. At the same time, he was cautious against involving himself in the frequent revolts, many of them from his distant cousins, which rocked the realm and mostly ended in failure to the detriment of true believers.

In those critical times, he bequeathed to the Muslims the bezels of wisdom and cautioned them against the pitfalls, including the deceit of those who style themselves as Sufi or mystics.

Once, while the Tenth Imam was in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina a group of Sufis entered, sat in a corner and began repeating: “la ilaha il-allah” (which means there is no god but Allah)”.

Imam Hadi (AS) told his companions to ignore them, saying: “Do not pay attention to these deceivers for they are allies of the devils and destroyers of the bases of religion. They become ascetic to relieve their bodies and watch to hunt cattle; they do not practice rites except to deceive people, and do not decrease food except to cheat the foolish; their worship is but dancing and clapping, and their praises are but singing. No one follows them except the stupid, and no one believes in them except the foolish...”

These words of guidance of the Tenth Imam hold true to this day when we see all sorts of frivolities by the so-called Sufis or mystics, at the graves of their elders to which the ignorant flock and are fleeced of their money on a variety of pretexts and weird practices that are against the shari’ah.

Imam Hadi (AS) groomed many scholars from various lands and prepared them for the crucial period of the Ghayba or occultation of his grandson, the Promised Mahdi (AS).

Things, however changed with the seizure of the caliphate by the tyrant Mutawakkel, who was a bitter enemy of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, and who has earned lasting damnation for his destruction of the holy shrine of Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husain (AS) in Karbala.

Fearful of the popularity of Imam Hadi (AS), he forced him to leave Medina and come to his capital Samarra in Iraq. The Imam had no choice and he obliged, but on the way he stopped in Baghdad where huge congregations came out to greet him as the Prophet’s Heir.

He also visited the tomb of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, and saluted him with a worthy salutation (ziyarah) that is recited till this day by the faithful. A passage from this ziayarah reads.

“O Allah, bless Your guardian, the custodian of Your religion, the executor of justice after Your Prophet, Ali bin Abi Taleb the Commander of the true believers, the Imam of the pious, the master of guardians…the successor of Your Prophet over the whole people, his guardian in life and religion, the great truthful, the distinguisher between the halal and the haram, the supporter of Islam, the destroyer of idols, the assistant and defender of religion…”

In Samarra, the caliph tried to ridicule the Imam but on every occasion he was overawed by the personality of the Prophet’s Righteous Heir and forced to show respect.

Although under virtual house arrest, Imam Hadi (AS) continued to play the guiding role for all those who came into contact with him, despite seeing some of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt martyred, such as the scholar Ibn Sikkit, and his own elder son, Muhammad – whose shrine is a site of pilgrimage at Balad.

In short, during his 34 years as the Divinely-Designated Guide, of which roughly half of the period was spent in Medina and the other half in Samarra, Imam Hadi (AS) spared no efforts to guide the people.

Today, there is no trace of the graves of the Abbasid caliphs, let alone their palaces, while Imam Hadi (AS) continues to rule the hearts of those endowed with “Iman”.

His glorious shrine in Samarra stands to this day, after due renovations, to welcome pilgrims from all over the world, despite the dastardly bomb blasts to destroy it by the Takfiri terrorists, and their supposedly Muslim backers, whose hearts are obviously devoid of “Iman” and brim with hypocrisy and unbelief, as is evident by their violation of the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an.

The wordings of the “Ziyarat-al-Jame’at-al-Kabira”, continue to testify that truth is indeed with the Prophet and his Infallible Ahl al-Bayt, and never with the imposters.

AS/MG