20. Examples Of People Invested With Wilayat
Third Example: Mother Of Prophet Musa (‘A)
The third example of those, who were not prophets, but having practical or theoretical Wilayat in the natural system, is the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a). It is mentioned in the 7th Verse of Surah al-Qasas:
“And We revealed to Musa’s mothers, saying: Give him suck, then when you fear for him, cast him into the river” (28:7).
In the 38th and 39th Verses of Surah Taha, where it is mentioned that Almighty Allah commanded the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a) to cast the child into the river, it is mentioned that He commanded the river to convey him to the shore.
“When We revealed to your mother what was revealed; Saying: Put him into a chest, then cast it down into the river, then the river shall throw him on the shore” (20:39).
Then it is mentioned in Surah al-Qasas:
“And do not fear nor grieve” (28:7).
This divine command for the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a), in form of revelation, was not only a verbal advice and suggestion, which in such moments of fear, is ineffective or less effective, on the contrary, it was an inspiration capable of removing fear and grief if they were present and preventing them if there was possibility of their occurrence.
In this Verse regarding mother of Musa (‘a), Almighty Allah has attributed to Himself restraining her from fear and grief, but for other steadfast believers, it is attributed to angels.
It is mentioned in the 30th Verse of Surah Fussilat:
“(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden, which you were promised” (41:30).
That is angels descend on steadfast persons and tell them: not to fear or grieve.
Though there is no contradiction in both these attributions, because angels are appointed to divine matters and they act according to the permission of Allah; on the contrary, it is the act of Allah only, which is performed through angels. Therefore, it can also be attributed to the phenomenon (Mazhar), who are angels, as well as to the manifest (Zahir), who is Almighty Allah.
In the later Verses of Surah al-Qasas, the secret of removal of grief and sorrow of Musa’s mother is mentioned. It is said:
“And the heart of Musa’s mother was free (from anxiety) she would have almost disclosed it had We not strengthened her heart so that she might be of the believers” (28:10).
That is: If We had not connected her heart to Us, she might have been affected by the severity of sorrow and grief. It is known from this Verse that connection with Almighty Allah, who is absolute beauty and power, takes one away from fear and grief. Its explanation is that sorrow is related to the past and fear and grief is related to future. One, who in the past, has suffered some harm, he is sorrowful and one who expects that he would suffer some harm in future, he is fearful as well as sorrowful. In this way, if a person entrusts his heart to the source of existence, in whose control is the past and future, he would never be involved in fear and sorrow.
Thus, negation of fear and grief from mother of Prophet Musa (‘a) was fulfilled through the revelation of:
“And do not fear nor grieve” (28:7).
In fact, it was due to her spiritual connection with Almighty Allah; and this natural connection with Allah is complete monotheism and is, in fact, Wilayat.
At the end of the 7th Verse of Surah al-Qasas, it is mentioned as follows regarding unseen divine inspiration for the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a):
“Surely We will bring him back to you and make him one of the apostles” (28:7).
That is the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a) was also given the glad tidings that Allah will bring him back to her and appoint him as a messenger. Since, this lady was having awareness of unseen regarding her security from fear and grief, she is considered to be a perfect example of divine saints.
Fourth Example: Wife Of Prophet Ibrahim (‘A)
The fourth example is that of the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (‘a), who used to hear the conversation of angels and also speak to them. It is mentioned in the 69th to 73rd Verses of Surah Hud:
“And certainly, Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said: Peace. Peace, said he, and he made no delay in bringing a roasted calf” (11:69).
“But when he saw that their hands were not extended towards it, he deemed them strange and conceived fear of them. They said: Fear not, surely, we are sent to Lut’s people” (11:70).
“And his wife was standing (by), so she laughed, then We gave her the good news of Ishaq and after Ishaq of (a son’s son) Yaqub” (11:71).
“She said: O wonder! shall I bear a son when I am an extremely old woman and this my husband an extremely old man? Most surely this is a wonderful thing” (11:72).
“They said: Do you wonder at Allah’s bidding? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, O people of the house, surely, He is Praised, Glorious” (11:73).
In some of these Verses, the conversation of Prophet Ibrahim (‘a) is mentioned and from there the discussion comes under the jurisdiction of discussions with prophets, which is related to their natural Wilayat, whereas other Verses mention the conversation of the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (‘a) with angels. According to these Verses, when the wife of Prophet Ibrahim (‘a) heard from angels about the birth of Ishaq and Yaqub, she was astonished and she expressed surprise. After that she heard the reply of the angels:
“They said: Do you wonder at Allah’s bidding? The mercy of Allah and His blessings are on you, O people of the house, surely, He is Praised, Glorious” (11:73).
The wife of Prophet Ibrahim (‘a), the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a) and Lady Maryam (‘a) are the ladies who spoke to the angels; or heard their conversation; and it shows that even though they were not prophets and messengers, they were still having Wilayat, because Wilayat of prophethood is among the enforceable matters, which is only for males:
“And We have not sent before you but men from (among) the people of the towns, to whom We sent revelations” (12:109).
Whereas Wilayat is the unseen part of prophethood and an example of the connection of a perfect man with God, and all this is related to human perfection, which is not exclusive for males. Therefore, in that there is no difference between men and women, although it is possible that its highest rank may be related to males, but the way of perfection is open for both.
Fifth Example: Folks Of The Cave
In the Holy Qur’an, it is mentioned as follows regarding the ‘Folks of the Cave’:
“We relate to you their story with the truth; surely, they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased them in guidance” (18:13).
“And We strengthened their hearts with patience, when they stood up and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will by no means call upon any god besides Him, for then indeed we should have said an extravagant thing” (18:14).
“These our people have taken gods besides Hun; why do they not produce any clear authority in their support? Who is then more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah?” (18:15).
That is those believers were youths and when they were steadfast in faith, Almighty Allah created a connection between their hearts and Himself. The same connection and divine relation, mentioned in Surah Fussilat, is an implication of absolute greatness.
“(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the garden, which you were promised” (41:30).
The folks of the cave acted on this Verse consistently:
“…And said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth…” (18:14).
That is why Almighty Allah connected their hearts to Himself. This is in fact the connection of hearts, which facilitates the descent of angels and is the secret of removal of fear and grief, as explained thus in Du’a Kumail: “And my heart, which is tranquil by Your love”.
It is also mentioned in the story of the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a), because when the heart is filled with the love of someone other than Allah and the love of other than Allah cannot reach it, that person establishes relations with Allah; and for the heart, which establishes relations with Allah, the paths of domination of Shaitan are closed and channels of descent of angels open up. When the angels descend, fear and grief is expelled from the heart and in whoever’s heart fear and sorrow does not remain, he becomes thankful in steadfastness instead of being patient, because patience is for one, who is always involved in a struggle in the field of Greater Jihad, along with fear and sorrow.
An important piece of evidence of this is the incident of the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a), mentioned under the explanation of the Verse:
“Had We not strengthened her heart” (28:10).
Another proof is the saying of the Chief of the Martyrs, Imam Al-Husayn (‘a), to Hasan Muthanna describing his honourable daughter, Sakina: “Through purification of Self, my daughter, Sakina, has reached to a stage of being immersed in the being of Almighty Allah and she has scaled the rank of annihilation in such a way that except for the elegance of Allah, no elegance can attract her and other than divine fury and majesty, no terrifying incident can terrify her”.
Yes, this majestic rank of Wi lay at was only there because of the spiritual connection with the Absolute Powerful and Total Knower that even a tragedy like Kerbala, was unable to divert her attention from witnessing Divine Elegance.
Another sign of this connection was regarding the folks of the cave; that was a sleep of 309 lunar years or 300 solar years, which took place without the help of nutrition system.
“And when you forsake them and what they worship save Allah, betake yourselves for refuge to the cave; your Lord will extend to you largely of His mercy and provide for you a profitable course in your affair” (18:16).
“And you might see the sun when it rose, decline from their cave towards the right hand, and when it set. leave them behind on the left while they were in a wide space thereof. This is of the signs of Allah; whomsoever Allah guides, he is the rightly guided one, and whomsoever He causes to err, you shall not find for him any friend to lead (him) aright” (18:17).
“And you might think them awake while they were asleep and We turned them about to the right and to the left, while their dog (lay) outstretching its paws at the entrance; if you looked at them you would certainly turn back from them in flight, and you would certainly be filled with awe because of them” (18:18).
They remained asleep for 300 years and sometimes the Almighty Allah made them turn sides. This 300 years life and condition of sleep is an extraordinary matter and a miracle without the benefit of the nutritional system. On the other hand, it is a natural and ordinary result of Wilayat.
Those who have entrusted their hearts to Almighty Allah, they can remain alive without food and water for still longer periods, thus, Almighty Allah has mentioned it as a regular practice in the beginning of this story and has hinted that the story of the folks of the cave is nothing extraordinary; on the contrary, ‘it is among Our ordinary signs’.
“Or, do you think that the Fellows of the Cave and the Inscription were of Our wonderful signs?” (18:9).
And Wilayat, which is among the miraculous signs of the Almighty Allah, is merging with the Wali himself; therefore, the folks of the cave are mentioned as divine signs.
Sixth Example: His Eminence, Khizr(‘A)
The Verses of Surah al-Kahf also mention a righteous servant of God, who was having esoteric knowledge and divine mercy. He is the same to whom Prophet Musa (‘a) was directed to obtain knowledge from and hi whose search he went out under the command of Allah. The Holy Qur’an says regarding this:
“Then they found one from among Our servants whom We had granted mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves” (18:65).
“Musa said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught?” (18:66).
It is unlikely that this righteous servant, to whom Musa (‘a) was commanded to refer, should have been a prophet and even if he was a prophet, all the esoteric knowledge he had, was related to his Wilayat.
Gifted Knowledge (‘Imm al-Ladunni) is awareness of the unseen world and its secrets; and only because of the awareness of secrets did the righteous servant kill a man, so that he may not spread mischief; punctured the boat, so that the tyrant king may not confiscate it and built the wall, so that the property of the orphans may be preserved.
Awareness about secrets of the universe is obtained only through the knowledge of the book, although there are different stages and ranks in the knowledge of the book. Some of them, which become the cause of Wilayat, consist of unseen recognition, while others are verbal and meaning based.
It is said in the Holy Qur’an:
“Even as We have sent among you an Apostle from among you who recites to you Our communications and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that, which you did not know” (2:151).
As mentioned in the above Verse, man himself cannot obtain any stage of knowledge of the book, although it is possible for everyone to access it through the prophet.
For example, an infidel adopts some laws related to the material aspects of man and he can act on them; whereas the unseen sciences and recognitions are only possible trough purification of Self and actual realization (Idraak Shuhoodf). Neither they, nor their substitute can be created by oneself. Thus, the unseen stages of the book, which are based on knowledge and secrets of universe, are the best implications of this saying of Allah:
“…And teaches you the Book and the wisdom and teaches you that, which you did not know” (2:151).
Access to these stages is not possible, except through Wilayat. In the book of Rawdhat al-Muttaqin, which is the explanation of Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih, Majlisi, the First (r), says regarding the paucity of people with unseen cognition that: Since forty years he is busy with guardianship, teaching, writing and leading of prayers and has guided more than a hundred thousand persons; but from them he could not find even one, who has trodden the path that he himself wanted to tread1.
Yes, in every century, there are very few who get divine opportunity (Tawfiq) not to sell themselves to materialism and the world and thus they become the owner of secrets.
Seventh Example: Testimony Of The Faithful
The seventh Qur’anic example, which is an absolute sample; is mentioned in the 105th Verse of Surah at-Tawbah:
“And say: Work; so Allah will see your work and (so will) His Apostle and the believers” (9:105).
There is no doubt that in this Verse, the perfect implications of ‘the believers’ are the Holy Imams (‘a) as mentioned in some traditional reports; for example:
“The believers are the Imams or ‘it is we.”2
Although it is a derivation and not a commentary, because commentary requires that the word of believers should be used for the Holy Imams (‘a), although in such types of Verses the attribution of exegetical aspect is less than the derivative aspect.
In the captioned Verse, the topic of believers is different from the implication mentioned below:
“Only Allah is your Guardian and His Apostle and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow” (5:55).
For in this Verse, there is context, which negated the inclusion of all believers and that context is the giving of Zakat while bowing; and it is neither an obligatory command nor a recommended one; on the contrary, it is the proof that this Verse explains a particular incident, which occurred at a particular time, whereas, no context is present in the Verse under discussion restricting the believers. Therefore, in addition to Ahl Al-Bayt (‘a) other persons are also included.
It is a wrong notion that the status of the Holy Imams (‘a) is restricted to being informed of the inner secrets of man, because such awareness is nothing extraordinary for them and every believer can be informed about the deeds of others through connection with the Absolute Knower, whereas those beings are mines of divine knowledge.
This awareness is mentioned in Verses 18 to 21 of Surah al-Mutaffifin by way of a fundamental principle:
“Nay! Most surely the record of the righteous shall be in the Illiyin” (83:18).
“And what will make you know what the highest Illiyin is?” (83:19).
“It is a written book” (83:21).
“Those who are drawn near (to Allah) shall witness it” (83:21).
That is whatever the righteous know or do is all recorded in the book and that book is in the Written Book (Illiyin). The Illiyin is itself a better and superior book encompassing this book and the proximate ones of the Almighty Allah see it. Thus, whatever the righteous perform, the proximate ones see it.
Same is concluded from the above principle mentioned in Surah Fussilat. It is mentioned therein:
“(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved” (41:30).
The mention of fear and grief is under the topic of similarity, because the fruit of the kingdom is not only negation of sorrow and grief; on the contrary, whatever material and spiritual sustenance is there, all of it comes down only from the kingdom as in the following Verse of Surah al-Jinn rain is considered to be a result of steadfastness:
“And that if they should keep to the (right) way, We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water” (72:16).
That is if they had been steadfast and not deviated from the right path, we would have bestowed water to them in excess.
In the above Verse, water, which is considered to be a result of steadfastness on the right path, is not restricted to material water that the Prayer for rain etc mentioned as greater in the Verse should be presented as smaller, on the contrary, the water of divine recognition is also included in it, which is spiritual and ideal nourishment for the human soul.
It is supported by a tradition from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) under the explanation of this Verse:
“Then let man look to his food” (80:24).
Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) said regarding this Verse: “Thus, man should see from where he has obtained his knowledge and from whom he had taken that knowledge”3
When the Almighty Allah has said that man should see his food, it denotes that man should be cautious from where he is obtaining his knowledge.
If in this Verse, food denotes knowledge, which is the spiritual nourishment for man, in the later Verses the water that is mentioned or the water from the ground and the earth is implied, which should be cause for man’s development of knowledge and maturity in divine recognition.
In this tradition of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (‘a) not only food implies knowledge, on the contrary, the nature of knowledge is also explained: because regarding the knowledge, about which man is having obligation that he should recognize its teacher, and not obtain it from any Tom, Dick and Harry, and neither is it possible from anyone; it is a knowledge related to the training and purification of the human soul, otherwise in obtaining knowledge of physics and math what is worthy of mention is the principle: “Don’t see who has said it and see what he has said”4.
Thus, it is learnt that these two traditions are not having any contradiction between them, because the connotation of each of them is different from another.
From the past discussion, it became clear that the result of steadfastness is not that angels should descend in order to save from fear and sorrow and that rain should fall. On the contrary, the teaching of divine sciences and awareness of the inner secrets of man is also among the total conclusions of steadfastness on the path of Almighty Allah. On the basis of this, as Verse 105 of Surah at-Tawbah proves, there are many believers among us who are aware of our deeds and more than them are the Holy Imams (‘a).
So far, all the seven examples we mentioned, prove that if the miracles of the prophets are clear, their natural and legislative Wilayat is complete; but in addition to them, there are some, who as a result of steadfastness on the path of Almighty Allah and spiritual connection with Him, scale the rank of natural Wilayat.
And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
