LECTURE TENTH : THE LOVE OF THE IMAMS IS A DUTY IMPOSED BY GOD

The ‘Shia' learned divines maintain that God has enjoined on the followers of the Prophet to give him a return for the lamp-posts of guidance which he has erected from them. The holy Qur'an says, "Say, I do not ask you for a return excepting the love for the relatives." They say that once a group of people came to the Prophet saying, "O the Prophet of God, you came to us at the time when we had lost the way, God guided us through you. We were poor, God made us rich through you. Our wealth is at your disposal. Take from it whatever you like." "It was on this occasion," say the learned divines from amongst the ‘Shias' "that the above verse relating to the love for the relations was revealed." The Qur'anic expression, ‘the love for the relations' according them means ‘the for ‘Ali, Fatma, Hasan, Husain and their descendents.'

Their opponents who do not approve of this explanation maintain that the above verse has been cancelled by another verse in the Qur'an which runs thus, "Say, whatever I ask you regarding my return, it is for you, I depend for my reward on none but God and He is a witness to every thing." The ‘Shia' divines refute this statement by saying that the second verse which has been quoted by their opponents and which according to them has a nullifying effect on the first one, has been either revealed before the first verse namely, "I ask you of no other return than the love of relations" or after this verse. If it has been revealed before this verse it cannot cancel the verse that had been revealed after it. On the other hand if it is revealed after the verse pertaining to ‘the love for the relations', it makes the first verse all the more emphatic. For, the verse, "Say, whatever I ask you in the way of return, is meant for you," means that the love for the relations of the Prophet which he has asked for, does no good to him in the least. It does good to them and secures their salvation. This is corroborated by the saying of Imam Jafar Sadiq which is as follows: "If a servant of God were to worship Him between the ‘rukn' and the ‘muqam' in the Ka'ba until his physical body begins to dissolve, his devotion will not be recognized by God if he does not approach Him through us."

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