Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Introduction of Wilayat- Adl wa Nabuwat (Justice and Prophet hood)

It was the will of Allah to introduce Himself, and He introduced Himself through wilayat. He made it compulsory upon Himself to introduce wilayat to all of His creation. There are two forms of introduction. One

is through “asar” (influence, guide). The other is “khabar” (message, news). Asar eWilayat is called “adl”. Khabar e Wilayat is called “nabuwat”. Because my purpose is to give you those beliefs of Shia, which Aimmah (as) have taught to us, I am avoiding certain issues that, are not relevant to my purpose.

Adl

By this point of our book, you should have become aware from the previously mentioned aspects of wilayat that all the aspects of wilayat depend upon adl It has been proven from knowledge, commandment, and order/rule that whatever aspect comes out of wilayat is based upon adl We will discuss it in details, but before doing this we will explain what the term “adl” itself means.

Explanation of Adl

There are various definitions of adl that have originated from the various experts of knowledge. The mehfoom (meaning) of their explanations is all the same. Creation and the survival of creation are impossible without adl. The experts of language have explained adl in these words: “to put something in its true place”. If you reflect upon this explanation, you will immediately realize

if anything from within the universe is removed from its original place, then it will cause the destruction of the whole universe. Sun, moon, stars, oceans, etc. survive because they have remained in their places of origin. If one of them is removed from its place even for only a second, then one cannot even imagine what catastrophic effects it would have upon the rest of creation.  Forget about other things. Look at your own body. Think about the systems of the human body. Every system in the human body even the smallest of veins are a witness of adl. In present times medical science has reached its culmination. If you ask the most talented surgeon in the world to put your liver in the place of your heart, he will automatically say it is impossible. No human power can change the system of adl. What has been mentioned, even those with no intellect, cannot deny. Now every mind will be forced to think and should reach this conclusion. It is compulsory on the one who created all of creation that:

He possesses the knowledge of all things, their apparent realities, their hidden realities, their shapes, their effects on itself as well as others, and has knowledge of the actions and reactions of those things, which will act against it.

Along with this knowledge, He must have the ability/power to create and organize these things. If he simply possesses knowledge, then it is of no benefit.

Along with knowledge and ability, He must have order/rule over that which He is to create in order to implement His knowledge and commandment over His creation.

The combination of these three things is called wilayat. One who has knowledge regarding a certain creation also must know their origins, their movements, and must have full commandment over all of creation in order to put them in their correct places of origin. He must also have order/rule over these creations. Every particle of the universe is introducing Wilayat e Muttaliq (absolute wilayat).

The great scholars explained adl as “the center of the circle”. It means “nuqta” (dot). This dot is called Imam. If the center of the circle leaves its spot even for the blink of an eye, the circle loses its existance. It is also not possible that the center of the circle can be moved from its spot of origin. It cannot be far to the right in one instance then far to the left in another. The center must have equal distance in relation to all points of the circle in order for the circle to exist. You will find such hadith in the chapter of Imamate in which Masoomeen (as) have said again and again that “Imam is the cause of the survival of the universe. ” If an Imam is not present, then the heavens and earth will be destroyed. Also reflect upon this very important point that the center is not dependent on the circle. Wherever the center will be, a circle can be created around it, but the circle is dependent upon the center for the survival of its existance. This whole universe is a circle which is dependent upon its center for its survival. Moula Ali (as) said inNajul Balagha saying no 108 , “We, Ahlul Bayt (as), hold such central and balancing position in religion (dot) that those who are deficient in understanding and acting upon its principles, will have to come to us for reformation, and those who are overdoing it have got to learn moderation from us .” The scholars of “ilm e kalam” (theology) have explained adl in a different way. “The adl of Allah is to believe Allah cannot do any injustice or wrong towards anyone.”(Ahsan ul Aqaid page no. 111)   The scholars have used the terms of ilm e kalam (theology) in this explanation. I will explain its meaning briefly so you can understand its mehfoom (meaning).

There are two words “husn” and “qabeeh”. Husn is when a thing is comprehensibly complete. Qabeeh is when a thing is incomplete. Allah is comprehensibly complete. In other words He is the creator of completeness. It cannot even be imagined there is anything regarding Him which is incomplete. Automatically whatever is complete is associated with Him and every incompletion cannot be associated with Him. Allah has blessed man with a way of examining the husn and qabeeh. If man uses this blessing, he can easily determine whether anything is good or bad. That blessing is ‘qalb’ (intellect).

If intellect considers something to be good, then it is good. If intellect considers something to be bad, then it is bad. This is the basic principle. Ask anyone in this world which is good, truth or lie. Every person will answer without hesitation that truth is a good thing and a lie is a bad thing. If you ask which is good, knowledge or ignorance, they will reply knowledge is good and ignorance is bad. If you ask someone which is good, adl or zulm (cruelty), every one will reply adl is good and zulm is bad. Now I will

explain by using the words of Allama Hilli. “Because adl is a ‘husn’ (comprehensively complete), it is wajib (compulsory) upon Allah, and it cannot be separated from Allah. Because zulm (cruelty) is ‘qabeeh’ (incomplete), no such act of cruelty can be associated with Allah. Adl is wajib for Allah and cruelty is impossible.”The scholars have explained the adl through this principle which we mentioned in the chapter of shirk in detail. It means creation naturally cannot accept any incompletion from its Creator. For this reason, when the creation considered anything to be comprehensively complete in themselves, then they expect to see it present in their Creator. Creation’s understanding of whether or not something is complete is limited due to their intellect.. It does not mean their Creator is also limited to their understanding. We can only say regarding the comprehensively completeness of our Creator that He is free from every incompletion.

Because cruelty is an incompletion, it cannot be associated with the Creator. When it has been disassociated with the Creator, then justice will be proven automatically.

It has been proven completely that Allah’s attributes and His actions are revealed through His Mahzer and Trustee which is His Wali e Muttaliq (Moula Ali as). This is why every particle of creation and its organization within the universe is a proof that His Wali e Muttaliq is free from all kinds of incompletion. This is adl.

Proof Adl is from Usool e Deen (principles of religion)

It is an established fact that adl is compulsory on Allah and zulm (cruelty) is impossible. People ask us; what is the reason you put adl in Usool e deen? Usool e deen (principles of religion) is one that if you stop performing it even for a moment then you become kafir (disbeliever). There are so many answers to this question. First of all I would like to remove a misconception that Shia are the ones who included adl in Usool e deen. In reality adl was included in the principles of religion before the creation of religion. We will prove this later in our book.

It has been proven that if you leave those things, which are in furoo e deen, you will not receive an eternal punishment. Then why was Iblees punished for not doing sajda to Nabi Adam (as)? He has been accursed for eternity. Iblees did not deny tawheed, nabuwat, or the day of judgement, which are all in Usool e deen. If simply not performing sajda was the reason for his eternal punishment, then if a Muslim does not pray zuhr (noon prayer), he misses performing eight sajdas. So then how much punishment will he receive? Eight times more than Iblees. We see when Allah asked him “What stopped you from performing this sajda?”  He then replied, “I am greater than Adam (as). You created me from fire and Adam from clay. “

Because it is against the adl of Allah to ask one which is in reality greater to do sajda to one which is in reality lower to it, his refusal to perform sajda is not the reason Iblees was punished for eternity. He was punished because his words were a direct attack against the adl of Allah (meaning he accused Allah of doing an unjust act). This is proof that adl is included in Usool e deen.InBab e Tawheed regarding the proofs of tawheed we also declared organization as a proof of tawheed. We proved this organization is adl. Adl

itself is a proof of tawheed. Tawheed cannot be proven without the presence of adl.Allah could have punished and rewarded upon the basis of His knowledge. Instead He made His caliphs which is proof of adl. If Allah had not sent His Hujjat (proof) and did not give man the chance to prove his right for jannah (paradise) or jahannum (hellfire), then it would have a zulm (act of cruelty). If you do not believe adl is included in usool e deen, then religion will lose its credibility. Then every act of cruelty will become associated with Allah. Maybe He will send a false prophet and reveal miracles through him; in this case we will be unable to recognize which is a true prophet and which is false. Then all the orders of Allah become doubtful. Religion will become a game of chance.

Allah can never be an oppressor

Oppression is the opposite of adl. Allah is denying Himself as being an oppressor.Sura Aal e Imran ayah 108 “Allah wills no oppression upon His creation .”  In reality there is always a reason behind every act.

Obviously there is even a reason behind acts of cruelty and oppression. Here are the reasons:

Jahil (ignorance)

Need

Worldly desires

Tyrant (one who pressurizes and forces others to do acts of oppression)

Since our writings are based upon wilayat, we will look at these reasons to see if any of them are viable towards Allah being an oppressor.

When knowledge is at its highest, then ignorance becomes null and void itself.

When commandment is at its highest, then need becomes null and void.

In the presence of these two things, worldly desires become null and void.

When power and order are at their highest level, then tyranny becomes null and void.

When all these four reasons have become null and void in the presence of Allah, then there is no reason these acts of oppression will come from Allah. There is no other way except to disassociate oppression from the attributes of Allah. Then when oppression has been disassociated from Allah, then adl is automatically proven as present. After our brief discussion on adl, now we come to nabuwat.