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Chapter 31
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References to the Holy Imams (Dependent/Lesser Prophets of Muhammad) in the Holy Quran.
(Based on the writings of the Imams as cited in "Introduction to Shi'i Islam" by Moojan Momen, p. 151-153; and the Bahá'í writings).

1)
The Possessors of Authority

4:59 O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you. If ye differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to God and His Apostle, if ye do believe in God and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination.
-- Qur'an: 4 - AN-NISA.

And likewise in the sacred verse: "Obey God and obey the Apostle, and those among you invested with authority." By "those invested with authority" is meant primarily and more especially the Imáms -- the blessings of God rest upon them! They, verily, are the manifestations of the power of God, and the sources of His authority, and the repositories of His knowledge, and the daysprings of His commandments.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 90


2)
The Cord of God

3:102 O ye who believe! Fear God as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islám.

3:103 And hold fast, all together, by the rope [cord] which God (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude God's favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth God make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.

3:104 Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity.

3:105 Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: For them is a dreadful penalty,-

3:106 On the Day when some faces will be (lit up with) white, and some faces will be (in the gloom of) black: To those whose faces will be black, (will be said): "Did ye reject Faith after accepting it? Taste then the penalty for rejecting Faith."

3:107 But those whose faces will be (lit with) white,- they will be in (the light of) God's mercy: therein to dwell (for ever).

3:108 These are the Signs of God: We rehearse them to thee in Truth: And God means no injustice to any of His creatures.
-- The Qur'an: 3 - AL-I-IMRAN,

Below, Imam Ali states he is the Cord of God.

The truth is Mine and certitude is at My side. Leadership is Mine and the righteous shall follow Me. I am the first to acknowledge faith, the Cord of God that shall not be broken, the One who will raise the world to justice even as it hath been brought low by oppression. I am the companion of Gabriel and the archangel Michael is beside Me. I am the tree of guidance, and the essence of righteousness. I shall gather together the world of creation through the Word of God that gathers together all things. I give life unto humanity and I am the treasury of all divine commands. To Me hath been given the Luminous Pen and the Crimson Camel[6].
-- Imam Ali, Sermon of Glorification (a provisional translation by K. Fananapazir).
Full text available at: https://bahai-library.com/imam-ali_khutbat_iftikhar


3)
The Signs of God

29:49 Nay, here are Signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: and none but the unjust reject Our Signs.

29:50 Ye they say: "Why are not Signs sent down to him from his Lord?" Say: "The signs are indeed with God: and I am indeed a clear Warner."

29:51 And is it not enough for them that we have sent down to thee the Book which is rehearsed to them? Verily, in it is Mercy and a Reminder to those who believe.
-- Qur'an: 29 - AL-`ANKABUT

7:9 Those whose scale will be light, will be their souls in perdition, for that they wrongfully treated Our signs.
-- Qur'an: 7 - AL-A`ARAF.

He whose acceptance of my guardianship is based on external reality more than internal truth, he is that one "whose balance will be Light" [Qur'an 7:9] Those whose scale will be light, will be their souls in perdition [Qur'an 23:103 and 101:8]. Salman! The faith of no believer will attain perfection unless and until he recognizes me with luminousness. If he attains this then he has truly attained faith whose heart is tested with true faith and whose chest is dilated in true Islam whose faith is based on discernment. He who is convicted of shortcoming in this cognition he will be a doubter immersed in disbelief.

O Salman! And O Jandab [Abu Dharr]! In truth My recognition in luminousness is the recognition of God [Ma'rifat Allah] and Recognition and knowledge of God is indeed my knowledge and this is what is meant by sincere devotion/pure religion [ad-Deen al Khaalis, Qur'an 39:3]...

Salman! We are the Mystery of God [Sirru'llah] that shall not remain hidden. We are His light that shall never be extinguished, His Grace that is not to be expected from any one but Him. Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all.

Muhammad is our first, Muhammad our last, Muhammad our all. He who recognises us in this regard has consummated the Faith in truth...
-- Imam Ali, Sermon of Recognition with Luminousness. A provisional translation by K. Fananapazir.

10:6 Verily, in the alternation of the night and the day, and in all that God hath created, in the heavens and the earth, are signs for those who fear Him.

10:7 Those who rest not their hope on their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present, and those who heed not Our Signs,-

10:8 Their abode is the Fire, because of the (evil) they earned.
-- Qur'an: 10 - YUNUS.

10:101 Say: "Behold all that is in the heavens and on earth"; but neither Signs nor Warners profit those who believe not.
-- Qur'an: 10 - YUNUS.

22:55 Those who reject Faith will not cease to be in doubt concerning (Revelation) until the Hour (of Judgment) comes suddenly upon them, or there comes to them the Penalty of a Day of Disaster.

22:56 On that Day of Dominion will be that of God: He will judge between them: so those who believe and work righteous deeds will be in Gardens of Delight.

22:57 And for those who reject Faith and deny our Signs, there will be a humiliating Punishment.
-- Qur'an: 22 - AL-HAJJ.

8:29 (Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may mediate on its Signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition.
-- Qur'an: 38 - SUAD.


4)
The Way

25:27 The Day that the wrong-doer will bite at his hands, he will say, "Oh! would that I had taken a (straight) path with the Apostle!
-- Qur'an: 25 - AL-FURQAN.

6:153 Verily, this is My way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous.
-- Qur'an: 6 - AL-AN`AM.

29:69 And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily God is with those who do right.
-- Qur'an: 29 - AL-`ANKABUT.

The Commander of the Faithful (Imám `Alí) hath said: "I am He Who can neither be named, nor described." And likewise He hath said: "Outwardly I am an Imám; inwardly I am the Unseen, the Unknowable." Abú-Ja'far-i-Túsí hath said: "I said to Ábí `Abdi'lláh: `You are the Way mentioned in the Book of God, and you are the Impost, and you are the Pilgrimage.' He replied: `O man! We are the Way mentioned in the Book of God,--exalted and glorified be He--and We are the Impost, and We are the Fast, and We are the Pilgrimage, and We are the Sacred Month, and We are the Sacred City, and We are the Kaaba of God, and We are the Qiblih of God, and We are the Face of God.'"
-- Bahá'u'lláh, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 112

These are among the attributes of the exalted, and constitute the hall-mark of the spiritually-minded. They have already been mentioned in connection with the requirements of the wayfarers that tread the Path of Positive Knowledge. When the detached wayfarer and sincere seeker hath fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can he be called a true seeker. Whensoever he hath fulfilled the conditions implied in the verse: "Whoso maketh efforts for Us," he shall enjoy the blessing conferred by the words: "In Our ways shall We assuredly guide him."
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 195

31:15 "But if they strive to make thee join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration), and follow the way of those who turn to me (in love): in the end the return of you all is to Me, and I will tell you the truth (and meaning) of all that ye did."
-- Qur'an: 31 - LUQMAN.


5)
The Guides of Men

7:181 Of those We have created are people who direct (others) with truth. And dispense justice therewith.

7:182 Those who reject Our signs, We shall gradually visit with punishment, in ways they perceive not;
-- Qur'an: 7 - AL-A`ARAF.


6)
The Possesors of knowledge

3:7 He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.
-- Qur'an: 3 - AL-I-IMRAN


7)
The Straight Path

1:6 Show us the straight way,
-- Qur'an: 1 - AL-FATIHAH.

6:153 Verily, this is My way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you. that ye may be righteous.
-- Qur'an: 6 - AL-AN`AM.

15:41 (God) said: "This (way of My sincere servants) is indeed a way that leads straight to Me.
-- Qur'an: 15 - AL-HIJR.

16:76 God sets forth (another) Parable of two men: one of them dumb, with no power of any sort; a wearisome burden is he to his master; whichever way be directs him, he brings no good: is such a man equal with one who commands Justice, and is on a Straight Way?
-- Qur'an: 16 - AN-NAHL.

20:135 Say: "Each one (of us) is waiting: wait ye, therefore, and soon shall ye know who it is that is on the straight and even way, and who it is that has received Guidance."
-- Qur'an: 20 - TA HA.

43:42 Or We shall show thee that (accomplished) which We have promised them: for verily We shall prevail over them.

43:43 So hold thou fast to the Revelation sent down to thee; verily thou art on a Straight Way.
-- Qur'an: 43 - AZ-ZUKHRUF.


8)
The Firmest Handle

2:256 Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in God hath grasped the most trustworthy hand- hold, that never breaks. And God heareth and knoweth all things.
-- Qur'an: 2 - AL-BAQARAH.


9)
The Light of God

64:8 Believe, therefore, in God and His Apostle, and in the Light which we have sent down. And God is well acquainted with all that ye do.

64:9 The Day that He assembles you (all) for a Day of Assembly,- that will be a Day of mutual loss and gain (among you), and those who believe in God and work righteousness,- He will remove from them their ills, and He will admit them to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: that will be the Supreme Achievement.

64:10 But those who reject Faith and treat Our Signs as falsehoods, they will be Companions of the Fire, to dwell therein for aye: and evil is that Goal.
--Qur'an: 64 - AT-TAGHABUN.

4:174 O mankind! verily there hath come to you a convincing proof from your Lord: For We have sent unto you a light (that is) manifest.
--Qur'an: 4 - AN-NISA.

6:122 Can he who was dead, to whom We gave life, and a light whereby he can walk amongst men, be like him who is in the depths of darkness, from which he can never come out? Thus to those without faith their own deeds seem pleasing.

6:123 Thus have We placed leaders in every town, its wicked men, to plot (and burrow) therein: but they only plot against their own souls, and they perceive it not.

6:124 When there comes to them a sign (from God), They say: "We shall not believe until we receive one (exactly) like those received by God's apostles." God knoweth best where (and how) to carry out His mission. Soon will the wicked be overtaken by humiliation before God, and a severe punishment, for all their plots.

6:125 Those whom God (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islám; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth God (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.

6:126 This is the way of thy Lord, leading straight: We have detailed the signs for those who receive admonition.
-- Qur'an: 6 - AL-AN`AM.

7:157 "Those who follow the apostle, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the law and the Gospel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper."
--Qur'an: 7 - AL-A`ARAF.

9:32 Fain would they extinguish God's light with their mouths, but God will not allow but that His light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).

9:33 It is He Who hath sent His Apostle with guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, even though the Pagans may detest (it).
-- Qur'an: 9 - AT-TAUBAH.

57:28 O ye that believe! Fear God, and believe in His Apostle, and He will bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide for you a Light by which ye shall walk (straight in your path), and He will forgive you (your past): for God is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful.
-- Qur'an: 57 - AL-HADID.

66:8 O ye who believe! Turn to God with sincere repentance: In the hope that your Lord will remove from you your ills and admit you to Gardens beneath which Rivers flow,- the Day that God will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say, "Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us Forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things."
-- Qur'an: 66 - AT-TAHRIM.


10)
The Sun and the Moon

91:1 By the Sun and his (glorious) splendour;

91:2 By the Moon as she follows him;

91:3 By the Day as it shows up (the Sun's) glory;

91:4 By the Night as it conceals it;
-- Qur'an: 91 - ASH-SHAMS.

The Prophet is the Sun and Imam Ali is the Moon. The Day refers to the Imams and the Night to the Caliphate which "covered" Imam Ali.
-- Cited in "Introduction to Shi'i Islam" by Moojan Momen, p. 151-153.

The term "suns" hath many a time been applied in the writings of the "immaculate Souls" unto the Prophets of God, those luminous Emblems of Detachment. Among those writings are the following words recorded in the "Prayer of Nudbih": "Whither are gone the resplendent Suns? Whereunto have departed those shining Moons and sparkling Stars?" Thus, it hath become evident that the terms "sun," "moon," and "stars" primarily signify the Prophets of God, the saints, and their companions, those Luminaries, the light of Whose knowledge hath shed illumination upon the worlds of the visible and the invisible.
-- Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 35

More explanation of the symbolic term "Moon" available at the following link on the two classes of Prophets.


11)
The Two Seas

55:19 He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together:

55:20 Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress:

55:21 Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?

55:22 Out of them come Pearls and Coral:...

The Two Seas are Imam Ali and Fatima (both equal in rank) and the "Pearls and Coral" are their sons Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn.


12)
The Men of the Battlements (who determine who goes to heaven or to hell)

7:46 Between them shall be a veil, and on the heights will be men who would know every one by his marks: they will call out to the Companions of the Garden, "peace on you": they will not have entered, but they will have an assurance (thereof).
-- Qur'an: 7 - AL-A`ARAF.


13)
Apostles rehearsing the signs of God.

7:35 O ye Children of Adam! whenever there come to you apostles from amongst you, rehearsing My signs unto you,- those who are righteous and mend (their lives),- on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.

7:36 But those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, - they are companions of the Fire, to dwell therein (for ever).
-- The Qur'an: 7 - AL-A`ARAF

The apostles mentioned above can be paralleled to those who came after Moses mentioned below.

2:87 We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of apostles; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
-- The Qur'an: 2 - AL-BAQARAH


14)
In the passage below, Imam Ali, the first Dependent Prophet of Muhammad, is named a Temple, and is the first of the angels referred to in Qur'án 2:210: "Will they wait until Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds, with angels (in His train)." "angels (in His train)" refers to the Holy Imams who appeared in succession after the ascension of Muhammad. "Allah comes to them" is also a reference to the fact that the Holy Imams are Manifestations of God (Dependent Prophets of Muhammad, one of the two classes of Prophets). Those who rejected Imam Ali ("He came down in the clouds of Revelation in the Temple of 'Ali"), a Manifestation of God, brought their own perdition.

Say I swear by God! They to whom you attribute knowledge and have accepted them as your divines they are in the sight of God the worst of men nay the quintessence of evil flees from them. Thus has the matter been inscribed in the scrolls of God's knowledge. We testify that they have not drunk from the fountains of knowledge and they have not attained unto a word of Wisdom and have not become aware of the mysteries of Revelation and have been racing in the land of their selfish desires. Nothing of rejection and denial against a prophet or a successor of a prophet has come to pass except after their permission. Thus has always been their injunction carried out on the Countenances of holiness.

Say to them: O ignorant ones! Did We not reveal in the past: "A Day that God shall come in the canopies of clouds."[4] How is it that when He came down in the clouds of Revelation in the Temple of 'Ali [Imam Ali], you turned away and rejected Him and waxed haughty and brought about your own perdition?[5] Was it not also revealed in your Book: "the Day when Thy Lord comes or certain of the signs of Thy Lord."[6] And when He did come with evident signs wherefore did ye turn away from those signs and veiled yourselves with the veils of self?..
[4] Qur'án 2:210.
[5] Qur'án 25:18 and 48:12.
[6] Qur'an 6:158.
-- Baha'u'llah, Surih-i-Sabr (Lawh-i-Ayyúb), Surih of Patience or Tablet of Job - (Trans. Fananapazir)

208. O ye who believe! enter into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the Evil One; for he is to you an avowed enemy.

209. If ye backslide after the clear (signs) have come to you, then know that Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.

210. Will they wait until Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds, with angels (in His train) and the question is (thus) settled? But to Allah do all questions go back (for decision).

211. Ask the Children of Israel how many Clear (Signs) We have sent them. But if anyone, after Allah's favor has come to him, substitutes (something else), Allah is strict in punishment.

212. The life of this world is alluring to those who reject faith, and they scoff at those who believe. But the righteous will be above them on the Day of Resurrection; for Allah bestows His abundance without measures on whom He will.
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 2.

17. The Day He will gather them together as well as those whom they worship besides Allah, He will ask: "Was it ye who led these my servants astray, or did they stray from the Path themselves?"

18. They will say: "Glory to Thee! not meet was it for us that we should take for protectors others besides Thee: but Thou didst bestow, on them and their fathers, good things (in life), until they forgot the Message: for they were a people (worthless and) lost.

19. (Allah will say): "Now have they proved you liars in what ye say: so ye cannot avert (your penalty) nor (get) help." And whoever among you does wrong, him shall We cause to taste of a grievous Penalty.

20. And the messengers whom We sent before thee were all (men) who ate food and walked through the streets: We have made some of you as a trial for others: will ye have patience? For Allah is One Who sees (all things).

21. Such as fear not the meeting with Us (for Judgment) say: "Why are not the angels sent down to us, or (why) do we not see our Lord?" Indeed they have an arrogant conceit of themselves, and mighty is the insolence of their impiety!

22. The Day they see the angels -- no joy will there be to the sinners that Day: the (angels) will say: "There is a barrier forbidden (to you) altogether!"

23. And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did (in this life), and We shall make such deeds as floating dust scattered about.

24. The Companions of the Garden will be well, that Day, in their abode, and have the fairest of places for repose.

25. The Day the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and angels shall be sent down, descending (in ranks) --

26. That Day, the dominion as of right and truth, shall be (wholly) for (Allah) Most Merciful: it will be a day of dire difficulty for the Misbelievers.

27. The Day that the wrongdoer will bite at his hands, He will say, "Oh! would that I had taken a (straight) path with the Apostle!
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 25.

Surah 48

Al Fath (The Victory)

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

1. Verily We have granted thee a manifest Victory:

2. That Allah may forgive thee thy faults of the past and those to follow; fulfil His favor to thee; and guide thee on the Straight Way;

3. And that Allah may help thee with powerful help.

4. It is He who sent down Tranquillity into the hearts of the Believers, that they may Add Faith to their Faith; for to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is full of Knowledge and Wisdom;

5. That He may admit the men and women who believe, to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for aye, and remove their ills from them; and that is, in the sight of Allah, the highest achievement (For man)

6. And that He may punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Polytheists, men and women, who imagine an evil opinion of Allah. On them is a round of Evil: the Wrath of Allah is on them: He has cursed them and got Hell ready for them: and evil is it for a destination.

7. For to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.

8. We have truly sent thee as a witness, as a bringer of Glad Tidings, and as a Warner:

9. In order that ye (o men) may believe in Allah and His Messenger, that ye may assist and honor Him, and celebrate his praises morning and evening.

10. Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah: the Hand of Allah is over their hands: Then anyone who violates His oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and anyone who fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, Allah will soon grant him a great Reward.

11. The desert Arabs who lagged behind will say to thee: "We were engaged in (looking after) our flocks and herds, and our families; do thou then ask forgiveness for us." They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say: "Who then has any power at all (to intervene) on your behalf with Allah, if His will is to give you some loss or to give you some profit? but Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do.

12. "Nay, ye thought that the Messenger and the Believers would never return to their families; this seemed pleasing in your hearts, and ye conceived an evil thought, for ye are a people lost (in wickedness)."

13. And if any believe not in Allah and His Messenger, We have prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 48.

153. Verily, this is My Way, leading straight: follow it: follow not (other) paths: they will scatter you about from His (great) path: thus doth He command you that ye may be righteous.

154. Moreover, We gave Moses the Book, completing (Our favor) to those who would do right, and explaining all things in detail, and a guide and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord.

155. And this is a Book which We have revealed as a blessing: so follow it and be righteous, that ye may receive mercy:

156. Lest ye should say: "The Book was sent down to two peoples before us, and for our part, we remained unacquainted with all that they learned by assiduous study."

157. Or lest ye should say: "If the Book had only been sent down to us, we should have followed its guidance better than they." Now then hath come unto you a Clear (sign) from your Lord, and a guide and a mercy: then who could do more wrong than one who rejecteth Allah's signs, and turneth away therefrom? In good time shall We requite those who turn away from Our Signs, with a dreadful penalty, for their turning away.
7
158. Are they waiting to see if the angels come to them, or thy Lord (Himself), or certain of the signs of thy Lord! the day that certain of the signs of thy Lord do come, no good will it do to a soul to believe in them then, if it believed not before nor earned righteousness through its Faith. Say: "Wait ye: we too are waiting."

159. As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.

160. He that doeth good shall have ten times as much to his credit: he that doeth evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil. No wrong shall be done unto (any of) them.

161. Say: "Verily, my Lord hath guided me to a way that is straight, a religion of right, the path (trod) by Abraham the true in faith, and he (certainly) joined not gods with Allah."
-- The Qur'an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 6.



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