Hadith No. 22

“People will be called with the Imam of the truth of their time so that those who have obeyed him will be separated from those who have not obeyed him.”

رَوَى أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ [ت274ه‍] فِي «الْمَحَاسِنِ»[1]، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ النَّضْرِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ مُسْكَانَ، عَنْ يَعْقُوبَ بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، قَالَ:

قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ -يَعْنِي جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ الصَّادِقَ- عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: ﴿يَوْمَ نَدْعُو كُلَّ أُنَاسٍ بِإِمَامِهِمْ﴾[2]، فَقَالَ: نَدْعُو كُلَّ قَرْنٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بِإِمَامِهِمْ، قُلْتُ: فَيَجِيءُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي قَرْنِهِ، وَعَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قَرْنِهِ، وَالْحَسَنُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قَرْنِهِ، وَالْحُسَيْنُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قَرْنِهِ، وَكُلُّ إِمَامٍ فِي قَرْنِهِ الَّذِي هَلَكَ بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِهِمْ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ.

Translation:

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid [d. 274 AH] has narrated in the book al-Mahasin from his father, from Nadr ibn Suwayd, from ibn Muskan, from Ya‘qub ibn Shu‘aib, who said:

I said to Abu Abdullah, meaning Ja‘far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: “On the Day when We will call every people with their Imam” (what does it mean?), so he said: It means, “We call every generation of this Ummah with their Imam”, I said: So the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, will come with people of his time, Ali, peace be upon him, with people of his time, Hasan, peace be upon him, with people of his time, Husain, peace be upon him, with people of his time, and every Imam with people of his time, among whom he died? He said: Yes.

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: الْآيَةُ تَدُلُّ عَلَى أَنَّ الزَّمَانَ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ إِمَامِ حَقٍّ وَإِمَامِ بَاطِلٍ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ أَهْلِ حَقٍّ وَأَهْلِ بَاطِلٍ، وَإِذَا كَانَ كُلُّ أُنَاسٍ يُدْعَوْنَ بِإِمَامِهِمْ، فَلَا بُدَّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لِأَهْلِ الْحَقِّ إِمَامٌ يُدْعَوْنَ بِهِ، وَلِأَهْلِ الْبَاطِلِ إِمَامٌ يُدْعَوْنَ بِهِ، وَهَذِهِ رِوَايَةٌ عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا لَا تَكُونُ إِلَّا وَفِيهَا إِمَامَانِ: بَرٌّ وَفَاجِرٌ، فَالْبَرُّ الَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَهْدُونَ بِأَمْرِنَا﴾[3]، وَأَمَّا الْفَاجِرُ فَالَّذِي قَالَ اللَّهُ: ﴿وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ أَئِمَّةً يَدْعُونَ إِلَى النَّارِ ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا يُنْصَرُونَ﴾[4]»، وَهَذِهِ رِوَايَةٌ أُخْرَى، وَهِيَ تَفْسِيرُ الْآيَةِ بِأَنَّ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ يُدْعَوْنَ بِإِمَامِ الْحَقِّ فِي زَمَانِهِمْ لِيَمْتَازَ مَنِ ائْتَمَّ بِهِ عَمَّنْ لَمْ يَأْتَمَّ بِهِ، وَلَيْسَ بَيْنَ الرِّوَايَتَيْنِ تَنَاقُضٌ، لِأَنَّ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ يُدْعَوْنَ بِإِمَامِ الْحَقِّ فِي زَمَانِهِمْ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُمْ: «مَنِ ائْتَمَّ مِنْكُمْ بِفُلَانٍ فَلْيَأْتِ مَعَهُ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ»، فَيَأْتِي فَرِيقٌ وَيَبْقَى فَرِيقٌ، ثُمَّ يُدْعَى الَّذِينَ بَقَوْا بِأَئِمَّتِهِمْ، وَهُمْ أَئِمَّةُ الْبَاطِلِ فِي زَمَانِهِمْ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُمْ: «مَنِ ائْتَمَّ مِنْكُمْ بِفُلَانٍ فَلْيَأْتِ مَعَهُ إِلَى النَّارِ»، وَلَا يَزَالُونَ يُدْعَوْنَ حَتَّى لَا يَبْقَى مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ، وَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ وَالْحَسَنُ وَالْحُسَيْنُ مِنْ أَئِمَّةِ الْحَقِّ.

Translation:

Mansoor, may God protect him, said: The verse indicates that time is not empty of the Imam of the truth and the Imam of falsehood; because it is not empty of people of the truth and people of falsehood, and if every people will be called with their Imam, then inevitably, there must be an Imam for people of the truth to be called with him, and an Imam for people of falsehood to be called with him, and this is a narration from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq), who said: “There are always two Imams in the world: the righteous Imam and the wicked Imam. The righteous Imam is the one about whom God has said: ‘And We made them Imams who guide by Our command’, and the wicked Imam is the one about whom God has said: ‘And We made them Imams who invite toward the fire, and they will not be helped on the Day of Judgment’”, and this is another narration, which is the interpretation of the verse as the fact that all people will be called with the Imam of the truth of their time so that those who have followed him will be separated from those who have not followed him, and there is no contradiction between the two narrations; because all people will be called with the Imam of the truth of their time, then they will be told: “Whoever of you has followed this Imam shall come toward Heaven with him”, so a group will come and a group will remain, then those who remain will be called with their Imams, and they are the Imams of falsehood of their time, then they will be told: “Whoever of you has followed this Imam shall come toward Hell with him”, and they will be constantly called (in the same way) until none of them remains, and Ali, Hasan, and Husain were among the Imams of the truth.