Depth of recognition of Imam (a.s.)

Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said:

من مات ولم يعرف إمام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية

This famous tradition commands us that we strive to achieve the recognition of the Imam of our time. However, seldom do we ponder on how this recognition will be complete. What are its key ingredients to reach to the level of recognition that is desired?  How do we assess ourselves vis-a-vis recognition of Imam (as)?

Let us take help of another tradition to throw more light on this subject:

وبعده معرفة الامام الذي به يأتم بنعته، وصفته واسمه في حال العسر واليسر وأدنى معرفة الامام أنه عدل النبي إلا درجة النبوة ووارثه وأن طاعته طاعة الله وطاعة رسول الله والتسليم له في كل أمر والرد إليه والاخذ بقوله ويعلم أن الامام بعد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله علي بن أبي طالب وبعده الحسن

....And after it is recognition of Imam, who is taken as leader, with his characteristics, attributes and his name whether in difficulty or in comfort. The least recognition of Imam (a.s.), is that one considers him (as) equal to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.), except he (as) is not a Prophet and he (as) is the successor of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and the obedience of Imam (a.s.) is obedience of Allah (s.w.t.) and the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), and to submit to Imam (a.s.) in every aspect and refer to him (as) and his (as) sayings.  And he (one having least recognition) knows that the Imam after Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) is Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) and after him is Imam Hasan (a.s.)….

Ref: Bihar ul Anwaar Vol 36 Pg. 407 H. 16

As per this tradition, the least recognition which is obligatory has two parts. The first part is to have faith in the excellence and attributes of Imam (a.s.) and the responsibilities that we have towards him. The second part is to know all the Imams with their names and characteristics. In the first part the least recognition includes the following:

1. The belief that except for the position of Prophethood, all the attributes of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) including knowledge, infallibility and mastership and others are found in him (a.s.). Thus Imam is the successor of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) from all aspects except that he is not a Prophet.
2. Obedience to Imam (a.s.) is similar to obedience to Allah (s.w.t.) and Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)
3. In all cases one must submit to the view of Imam and if in-case his (as) view is clarified to us, then we should not have doubt in performing that action and accepting it should not be difficult and burdensome for us.
4. We should turn to him in all things, like explanation of beliefs such as Tauheed, Ma’ad and.... or in Ahkaam and Akhlaq we should consider his commands as the starting point and not view of our or others’ deficient intellect.
5. After referring to the Imam we should accept his views completely and not use their words to impose our personal ideas or interpret as per our individual understanding.

By paying attention to the aforementioned points, we understand that the extent of recognition of Imam in a man is based on certainty on these five points. As much we attain perfection on above points that much depth will be our recognition.

Let us seek help from Hazrat e Vali e Asr (a.t.f.s.) to grant us the true recognition of Allah (s.w.t.), Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) and the Imams (a.s.)

Note: The above article is translation from the book – Shamim e Ashnai by Aga Mohammad Bani Hashemi