Question 102

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The Ismailis: 1. Why did Imam al-Sadiq write, ‘Ismail bears witness that there is no god but Allah,’ upon his shroud? Does this not indicate that he intended to point out that Ismail would not die, that he was alive and was the Imam after him, and that the Imamate then continued among Ismail’s sons rather than al-Kazim? Al-Kazim was a shield for the Imam and was an Imam with a deposited Imamate. Thus al-Sadiq is reported to have said, ‘Moses put on the armor, and it fitted him.’ Something else that increases my conviction is that when Imam al-Sadiq died, he appointed five persons-including Moses-as his successors. How could he appoint five? ‘If you associate others, your deed will surely become void.’ The claim that he intended to protect al-Kazim from being killed is not reasonable, because al-Mansur was not that naïve. Rather, staging Ismail’s death with a fictitious funeral-in this strange way, in which he uncovered Ismail’s face to his companions and the people-is, in my view, a stronger way to protect the life of the Imam, who may have been Ismail, from being killed. 2. The Ismailis say that a living Imam from Ismail’s descendants exists to this day and is in a period of concealment. They have interpretations of the Quran and narrations which they attribute to the Imams. They reject principles, analogy, ijtihad, and conjecture. The Bahais: It is reported of them that al-Hasan al-Askari had no son, that Jafar the Liar was truthful, and that the four deputies lied in order to seize the khums and claimed that al-Askari had a son. They say that the Mahdi appeared as Bahaullah and brought a new book and religion, as in the narration, and that their Book of Certitude is revelation from Allah. What is your response to them? Sender: Hasan Ali

Source: The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 2; Author: Imam Ahmed Al-Hasan; Question 102; Page Not available; AL-JAWAB-AL-MUNIR-V2-Q102. View Arabic source · Open the original Arabic source ↗

Accepted Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them abundant peace. Concerning the Ismailis: I think the testament of the Messenger of Allah (s), narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) and the Imams (a), as well as the dozens of narrations from the Imams (a), are sufficient to indicate the Imamate of Imam Musa ibn Jafar (a). Please take notice that Allah did not leave His creation without establishing for them a law by which to know the Proof whom He, Glorious and Exalted, appoints. From the first day on which He created His Proof-Adam (a)-He made designation, knowledge, and Allah’s sovereignty the evidence and law by which the vicegerent is known. Read Illuminations, Vol 3, Part 2, which will be published soon, if you want the details (^[203]). The Bahais: The answer to them and every falsifier is Allah’s law for knowing the Proof, which is present in the Quran. They originally trace back to Ali Muhammad the Bab. The man who called himself Baha was one of his students. The Bab claimed that he was the gate of Imam al-Mahdi (a) and did not deny him, but he gave glad tidings of the one who would come after him. This student exploited that glad tiding and called people to himself, while Baha’s brother claimed at the same time that he was the one foretold.

Question 102 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 2

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Question 102

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

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