To know the high behests of heaven."
The general idea is, that long before the creation of the world, God took a ray of light from the splendour of His own glory and united it to the body of Muhammad, to which He said: "Thou art the elect, the chosen, I will make the members of thy family the guides to salvation." Muhammad said: "The first thing which God created was my light, and my spirit."[[67]] The body of the Prophet was then in some mysterious way hidden. In due time the world was created, but not until the birth of Muhammad did this ray of glory appear. It is well known to all Musalmáns as the "Núr-i-Muhammadí"—light of Muhammad.
This "Núr" is said to be of four kinds. From the first kind God created His Throne, from the second the Pen of Fate, from the third Paradise, and from the fourth the state, or place of Spirits and all created beings. According to a statement made by 'Alí, Muhammad said that he was created from the light of God, whilst all other created beings were formed from the "light of Muhammad."[[68]]
This "light" descended to 'Alí, and from him passed on to the true Imáms, who alone are the lawful successors of the Prophet. Rebellion against them is sin; devotion to them the very essence of religion.
The doctrine of the Imámat has given rise to endless discussion and dissension, as the numerous sub-divisions of the Shía'h sect will show. They are said to be thirty-two in number. The Shía'h proper is the largest and most influential of them. The following are the Shí'ah tenets regarding the Imám, based on one of their standard books of
divinity.[[69]] The Imám is the successor of the Prophet, adorned with all the qualities which he possessed. He is wiser than the most learned men of the age, holier than the most pious. He is the noblest of the sons of men and is free from all sin original or actual: hence the Imám is called ma'sum (innocent.)[[70]] God rules the world by wisdom, hence the sending forth of prophets was a necessity; but it was equally necessary to establish the Imámat. Thus the Imám is equal to a prophet. 'Alí said: "In me is the glory of every prophet that has ever been." The authority of the Imám is the authority of God, for (I quote the Hyát-un-Nafís) "his word is the word of God and of the Prophet, and obedience to his order is incumbent." The nature of the Imám is identical with the nature of Muhammad, for did not 'Alí say: "I am Muhammad, and Muhammad is me." This probably refers to the possession by the Imám of the "light of Muhammad." The bodies of the Imáms are so pure and delicate that they cast no shadow.[[71]] They
are the beginning and the end of all things. To know the Imáms is the very essence of the knowledge which men can gain of God. "The Holy God calls the Imáms His word, His hands, His signs, His secret. Their commands and prohibitions, their actions too, He recognises as His own." As mediums between God and man they hold a far higher position than the prophets, for "the grace of God, without their intervention, reaches to no created being." These extravagant claims for the Imáms culminate in the assertion that "for them a pillar of light has been fixed between the earth and heaven, by which the actions of the Faithful are made known to them." The Imám is the supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of God on earth. The possession of an infallible book is not sufficient. The infallible guide is needed. Such wisdom and discernment as such a guide would require can only be found amongst the descendants of the Prophet. It is no longer, then, a matter of wonder, that in some cases, almost, if not entirely, divine honour is paid to 'Alí and his descendants.[[72]]
The Usúl, or fundamental tenets of the Shía'h sect are five in number. (1) To believe in the unity of God, (2) To admit that He is just, (3) To believe in the divine mission of all the prophets, and that Muhammad is the chief of all, (4) To consider 'Alí the Khalíf next in order after Muhammad, (5) To believe 'Alí's descendants from Hasan to Mahdí, the twelfth Imám, to be his true successors, and to consider all of them in character, position and dignity as raised far above all other Muslims. This is the doctrine of the Imámat.
The first principal divisions of the Shía'h sect are the Ismá'ílians and the Imámites. The latter believe in twelve Imáms, reckoning 'Alí as the first.[[73]] The last of the twelve Abu'l-Qásim, is supposed to be alive still, though hidden in some secret place. He bears the name of Al-Mahdí, "the guided." It is expected that he will reappear at the second advent of Christ. They say that he was born near Baghdád in the year 258 A.H. He afterwards mysteriously disappeared. When he was born the words, "Say: 'truth is come and falsehood is vanished: Verily falsehood is a thing that vanisheth,'" (Súra xvii. 83) were found written on his right arm. When he came into the world, he pointed with his fingers to heaven, sneezed, and said: 'Praise be to God, the Lord of the world.' A person one day visited Imám Hasan 'Askarí (the eleventh Imám) and said: 'O son of the Prophet who will be Khalíf and Imám after thee?' He brought out a child and said: 'if thou hadst not found favour in the eyes of God, He would not have shown thee this child; his name is that of the Prophet, and so is his patronymic,' (Abu 'l-Qásim). The sect who believe Mahdí to be alive at present, say that he rules over cities in the far west, and he is even said to have children. God alone knows the truth.[[74]]