Imam Din

“ The jurisconsults were followed by the doctors of theology and law, or, as they were styled, Imams, or founders of the four orthodox sects. Now, among the Sunni Muslims an Imam may be described as a high-priest, or head, or chief in religious matters, whether he be the head of all Muhammadans—as the Khalifah—or the priest of a mosque, or the leader in the prayers of a congregation. This title, however, is given by the Shias only to the immediate descendants of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, and they are twelve in number, Ali being the first. ”

“ God would not suffer it any longer. As soon as the time was ripe that time could not be far off—He would send a saviour—and out of the house of the Prophet, the Mahdi, who would restore Islam to its original purity. All who desired to co-operate in this holy purpose must pledge themselves to unlimited obedience to the Imam, and place their lives and property at his disposal. As a proof of their sincerity they were required at once to pay a fixed sum for the Imam. The missionaries had great success, especially among the non-Arabic inhabitants of Khorasan and Transoxiana. ”

“ A person of whom I thought more than the Mudir, and who interested me more as a type, was the Imam. A more kindly, honest, simple, delightful old man it has seldom been my luck to meet. He was a Turk of the old school, without an atom of Europe in his composition. ”

“ The Feast of the Ramezan came. The young man, a faithful Mussulman, possessed the art of singing so perfectly, that he was able to fulfil with dignity the functions of the Imam. [14] He dressed himself in his faragi, and went to the principal mosque. There the King, with all his Court and the grandees of the kingdom, were present at the noonday service. The young man took his place near the King, and when the Athib [15] mounted the pulpit and began to chaunt the Falhea, [16] Achib repeated three times, Alla Akbar.
[14] Imam is a priest who reads and explains the Koran. ”

“ The world is never without a living Imam whether visible or invisible. The 12th Imam, according to the Shi'ahs, suddenly disappeared near Kufa, but he will come again and fill the world with peace and prosperity. In the meantime he communicates his will, from time to time, through certain favored individuals — called Gates — who hold mysterious intercourse with him. Now this doctrine of the absence of the Imam has a very important political aspect which few students of Islam have fully appreciated. Whether the Imam really disappeared or not, I do not know ”

“ This article of faith is based upon the words of the Prophet—"He who dies without recognizing the authority of the Imam of his time, is judged to have died in ignorance and infidelity."
The law goes on to say—"All Moslems ought to be governed by one Imam. ”

“ In one corner we passed a man sound asleep—in another, a woman on her knees before the name of Allah in earnest prayer, with the palms of her hands turned upwards. On one carpet an Imam was praying, surrounded by half a dozen youths, apparently students of the medresch attached to the mosque; while on every side parties of True Believers were squatted down before their low reading desks, studying their daily portion of the Koràn. ”

“ At this stage, all the congregation withdraw, and the Imam is left alone by the side of the grave, where he is believed to enter into mysterious communications with the spirit of the departed, who is supposed to answer all the questions on his creed which his priest puts to him. He is prompted in these answers by two spirits, one good and one evil, who are believed to take their places by his side. Should he have been an indifferent follower of the Prophet, and forbidden to enter Paradise, the evil spirit forces him to deny the only true God, and make a profession unto himself. ”

“ The two types differ in the meaning of this Imamate, the one group contenting itself with maintaining that 'Ali and his descendants have a divine authority whereby the Imams are the only legitimate rulers of Islam and its infallible guides; of this moderate type of Shi'a is the religion of Morocco and the form prevalent about San'a in South Arabia. The other group presses the claim that the Imam is the incarnation of a divine spirit, sometimes asserting that it was only by fraud that the prophet Muhammad interposed and acted as spokesman for the divine Imam 'Ali. ”

“ The fourth, or highest, implying entire union with the Divine essence, is held by Schamyl alone. In virtue of this elevation and spiritual endowment, the Imam, as an immediate organ of the Supreme Will, is himself the source of all law to his followers, unerring, impeccable; to question or disobey his behests is a sin against religion, as well as a political crime. ”

“ There, under a multitude of tiny lanterns, stood long rows of men in stockinged feet and Eastern costume, rising and kneeling in unison, at one moment erect and at the next with foreheads to the floor, while the voice of the Imam echoed in the arches of the mosque and the voices of the people answered him. ”

“ In the possession of that alone can any one make good a claim to be the Imám, the Guide of the Believers. The terrible disorders of the early days of Islám can only be understood when we realise to some extent the passionate longing which men felt for a spiritual head—an Imám. It was thought to be impossible that Muhammad, the last—the seal—of the prophets should leave the Faithful without a guide, who would be the interpreter of the will of Allah. ”

“ This soil has been fruit [20] ful of many sects. The Shiahism of Persia is called the "Religion of the Twelve" because its fundamental doctrine is that the twelve Imams, the lineal descendants of Ali and Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, were the rightful Caliphs of Islam, in succession to Mohammed. In the tenth century (329 A. H. or 940 A. D.) the Twelfth Imam disappeared into a well, and still lives in Jabulka or Jabulsa whence he is expected to reappear as the Mahdi or Kaim. After his concealment, four persons in succession were channels of communication between him and the faithful. ”

“ But there was a moment of keen expectancy and the men on the floor rose to their feet, when the voice of the muezzin ceased and the Reader cried—
"God is Most Great! God is Most Great! There is no god but God. Mohammed is His Prophet. Listen to the preacher."
Then it was seen that the white figure that had been prostrate before the kibleh had risen, and was approaching the pulpit. People tried to kiss his hand as he passed, and it was noticed that the Khedive put his lips to the fringe of the Imam's caftan.
Taking the wooden sword from the attendant, Ishmael ascended the pulpit steps. ”

“ In early times it had been a duty of the Caliphs to appoint in all the provinces of Islam Imams or deputies to represent their spiritual authority, and it was suggested that these should once more be appointed. An Imam, or leader of their public prayer, is a necessity with orthodox Mussulmans, and in default of legal appointment from the Caliph, who is himself the supreme Imam, the faithful had been constrained to apply either to the local governments for such appointment or to elect the functionary themselves. ”

“ O my child, these calamities and straits will vanish away; for God — may He be exalted — is able to cause them to disappear from us."And the imam 'Aqbun pro-ceeded to make a revelation unto his son in accord with this, and invoked blessing on him, and said unto him: "O my child, be on thy guard against worshipping any other than God; for wert thou to be crushed under stones, God would give thee strength to worship Him. And God will raise up from thee one who will get the ascendancy over this infidel oppressing nation. ”

“ It is certain that the illiterate Bedouins of our day do not always understand the real meaning of the words recited by the Imam, but the rhythm, the cadence, the harmony of the assonances animating the wonderful verses, echoing in their breasts to the beatings of their hearts, convey to them an explanation, vague perhaps, but truly in accordance with the spirit of the text, and above all, full of incomparable suggestion. ”

“ And when the imam saw the satisfaction of the king in what had happened, he threw aside is restraint and said to him: "The reason of our neglecting the setting-up of idols is fear of our Lord — Mighty and Powerful — who has pro-hibited us from doing this, and when He — exalt- ed be His fame and mighty be His name — saw the purity of the purpose, He made known unto us that we should substitute our children in place of idols. ”

“ Muhammad has thus become a witness to the doctrine of the Christian faith that " without shedding of blood, there is no remission." The animal sacrificed must be without blemish, and of full age; but it may be either a goat, a sheep, a cow, or a camel. The religious part of the festival is observed as follows : — The people assemble in the morning for prayer, in the 'Jdgah, or place erected outside the city for these special festival prayers. The whole congregation then standing in the usual order, the Imam takes his place in front of them and leads them in two rak'ahs of prayer. ”

“ It is not necessary to share the religious convictions of the Shiahs to take a side in the hopeless battle under the burning sun, or realize the tragic picture of the Imam sitting before his tent-door with the dead child in his arms, or lifting the tiny measure of water to lips pierced through by an arrow-shot—a draught almost as bitter as the sponge of vinegar and hyssop. ”

“ Next we called at a dispensary where a native doctor, trained at a medical school at Lahore, {234} told me he sees an average of 200 patients per day. Eyes and throats were the most frequent trouble. We saw another mosque—one founded by Gangeli Khan, another official under the Chaghattai kings—with a fine old Imam. The Imam must be ready at all times to go to the house of one dying and read the Arsin as well as to wash the body and perform various ceremonies after death. ”

“ But Habeebah had remained a Muslim, and she was for calling the Imam. “The Imam is good, the Imam is holy; who so good and holy as the Imam?” “Nay, but our Sidi holds not with the Imam, for our lord is a Jew, and our lord is our master, our lord is our sultan, our lord is our king.” “Shoof! What is Sidi against paradise? And paradise is for her who makes a follower of Moosa into a follower of Mohammed. Let but the child die with the Kelmah on her lips, and we are all three blest for ever—otherwise we will burn everlastingly in the fires of Jehinnum.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ On the other hand, the Sunnites hold that the appointment of an Imam is incumbent upon men and that the basis is obedience to the tradition of the Agreement of the Muslim world from the earliest times. The [58] community of Islam may have disputed over the individual to be appointed, but they never doubted that the maintenance of the faith in its purity required a leader, and that it was, therefore, incumbent on men to appoint one. The basis is Ijma, Agreement, not Scripture or tradition from Muhammad or analogy based on these two. ”

“ We do not recognize rebellion against our Imam or those in charge of our affairs even if they are unjust, nor do we wish evil on them, nor do we withdraw from following them. We hold that obedience to them is part of obedience to Allah, The Glorified, and therefore obligatory as long as they do not order to commit sins. ”

“ He must be a scrupulous observer of the law himself, and diligent in enforcing it upon others. The election of an Imam is imperative. ... The qualities requisite in an Imam are four: knowledge, integrity, mental and physical soundness. ”

“ The order of their succession in the office of Imam was according to the order of their excellence.
An example of what was said about the ancients is to be found among the possessors of the sacred sayings, the Imam Ahmed Hanbal [515] and Dáúd Ebn Ali Muhammed Jsfahánî [516] and the Jamáâtî of the ancients (the blessing of God be upon them!) who proceeded as leaders upon the high road of the ancients, such as Málik Ans and Makábil Ben Solîman, and persevered upon the high road of peace, saying: “We made oath by the book and the Sonna, and we were no opposers to the interpretation;” ”

“ The tenets of the Shiahs are not derogatory to the mission of Mohammed, or to the position of the Quran, but they make the solitary figure of the prophet stand out much less prominently. For instance, if a Persian is told that his religion possesses nothing corresponding to the vicarious [75] sacrifice of Christ, he will invariably reply by pointing to the martyrdom of the Imam Husain. Also the Mehdi, or occult Imam, is not the future, but the present ruler of Islam ”

“ The chief imam has precedence over the other imams, the muezzins (callers to prayer) , the khatibs, hodjas, and other servants of the mosque.
In small mosques, however, all these functions are performed by the imam and the muezzin. Imams are allowed to marry, and their title is hereditary. Should the son be unlettered, he appoints a deputy who performs his duties. Imams, generally speaking, are coarse and ignorant, and belong to the lower-middle class of Turkish society. ”