Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Sir,

You last answer on hate and pity raises an important point. You are not sure if the theory about the Imam in parda is true. Yet God promises in the Quran that the Imam's family will continue unbroken till the day of judgement. This means that there is definitely an ascendent of the Imam's family who is alive. The Quran also says that is a mumin dies without identifying and owing his allegiance to the Imam of his time, then his death will be considered same as the death of an unenlightened man and not a mumin.

Then it is our duty to recognise and give our allegiance to the Imam of our time.If this is so and if the theory of the Imam in parda is incorrect, then who is the Imam of our time. It is important for us to recognise him or our deaths will be considered unenlightened deaths by Allah.

Also i have read in a book by a sunni author that he went to Iraq and there he met the descendant of the Rasul, who the people of Iraq consider their Imam. What is your view on this matter?

Thank you.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Allah promises in the Quran that Imamat will continue

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

1. Your Comment: Yet God promises in the Quran that the Imam's family will continue unbroken till the day of judgement.

2. Your Comment: The Quran also says that is a mumin dies without identifying and owing his allegiance to the Imam of his time, then his death will be considered same as the death of an unenlightened man and not a mumin.

I swear by The One Who Created the heavens and the earth in Truth, the above two aayahs are not from the Holy Quran! I challenge you or anyone else on this planet earth to provide me with the reference of above two aayahs, which you claim are from the Holy Quran.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 17:Who can be a greater sinner than the one who himself forges a lie and ascribes it to Allah, or falsifies His real Revelations? Indeed, the criminals can never attain true success.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 11 Surah Hud verses 18-24:And who can be more unjust than the one who ascribes false things to Allah? Such persons shall be brought before their Lord and the witnesses will say, “These are the people who ascribed false things to their Lord.” Beware! Allah’s curse rests upon the unjust people! Who debar others from Allah’s Way, and seek to make it crooked, and who disbelieve in the Hereafter. They were unable to frustrate Allah on the earth, nor had they ‘auliyaas’ to defend them against Allah. Now they shall be given double chastisement for they would neither listen to others nor see the Truth for themselves. These are the people who brought about their own loss and all that they had invented vanished from them. No doubt they shall be the greatest losers in the Hereafter. As regards those who believed and did righteous deeds and dedicated themselves exclusively to their Lord, most surely they shall be dwellers of Paradise, and shall abide therein for ever. These two groups may be likened to two men, one of whom is blind and deaf, and the other can see and hear! Can they be alike and equal? Do you not ponder?

If you cannot provide us the evidence for your quotations from the Holy Quran, and you will never be able to provide the evidence because what you have said is not from the Quran; my humble advise to you is to beg forgiveness from Allah for ascribing a false thing to His Blessed Name.

Your Comment: You are not sure if the theory about the Imam in parda is true.

I am absolutely sure that the fantastic theory of a four-year old imam is in ‘purdah’ since 526 Hijrah, is an absolute fabrication and does not have an iota of truth around it. And the reason I am so sure is because no such thing is mentioned in the Holy Quran, nor has the Messenger of Allah (saws) ever said such a thing. And if Allah and His Messenger (saws) have not mentioned any such thing in Islam, then I am absolutely sure there is no such thing in Islam!

Your Comment: Then it is our duty to recognise and give our allegiance to the Imam of our time.If this is so and if the theory of the Imam in parda is incorrect, then who is the Imam of our time. It is important for us to recognise him or our deaths will be considered unenlightened deaths by Allah.

Since this theory is not from the Holy Quran or from the Messenger of Allah (saws), then obviously it is the creation of ‘somebody’ who is misguided in Islam. If one wants to follow true Islam, then he has to obey and follow Allah and His Messenger (saws). And if one wants to follow anybody else other than Allah and His Messenger (saws), then he can keep guessing and waiting for this imam who is in ‘purdah’ for a good 870 years; because he is not going to come! If you genuinely believe that there is such a thing as an imam in ‘purdah’, then find me the aayah that authenticates this belief from the Holy Quran. And if you cannot produce the aayah, then please try to answer these logical questions:

Where is the Imam today?

Is he alone living somewhere, or does he too have a following like the Syedna?

If he has a following in today’s world, we would definitely know it, as they would be similar in belief and actions to the Dawoodi Bohras. Wouldn’t they?Why is he still in seclusion? Why does he not come out and proclaim himself? There is no apparent threat to his life or belief today.

We are made to believe that the Imam and Syedna correspond to each other by ‘ilhaam’, whereby the Imam comes in the Syedna’s dreams. Has Allah indeed given any man the power to come in another’s dream at will and correspond with him? Allah did not even give this kind of powers to His appointed Messengers!!

Is it the same 4 year old Imam Tayyeb alive today after these hundreds of years, or is it his descendants?

Today we live in a secular and non-Godly world. There would absolutely be no harm to the Imam’s life or mission if he were to reveal himself to mankind today (if there is indeed one to be revealed!).

How come the leadership never mention anything about the Imam, except his name?

And the most important question of all…. If this concept of the appointment of the Imam is so important and pivotal to Islam and its survival, how come nothing (absolutely nothing) has been mentioned about it in the Holy Quran? How come the Messenger of Allah (saws) never mentioned anything about this Imam and his seclusion? Did Allah and His Messenger (saws) forget to tell us about this very important aspect of Islam and its survival?

Your Question: Also i have read in a book by a sunni author that he went to Iraq and there he met the descendant of the Rasul, who the people of Iraq consider their Imam. What is your view on this matter?

I have not read this book, and would appreciate if you could advise me the name of the book and its author so that I can read it.

The truth is that there are thousands of people who claim to be the direct descendants of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Allah Alone knows if their claim is true or not. The two famous families who have records and proof that they are indeed the descendants of the Prophet (saws) are:

King Abdulla of Jordan

The Aga Khan.

The lives of the above two descendants of the Messenger of Allah (saws) are bare in front of our eyes to see! King Abdulla of Jordan is probably the biggest enemy of Islam in current times, and the less said about the life of the Aga Khan, the better! They might be the direct descendants of the Prophet of Allah (saws), but they are definitely not good examples of Islam. We are not commanded by Allah to follow the descendants of Prophet Mohamed (saws), but rather, Allah has commanded us in the Quran to follow the example of the Prophet (saws).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32: Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love those, who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.

Allah will not forgive a person simply because he is the descendant of the Prophets. Allah termed the father of Prophet Abraham (a.s.) as a kaafir; He destroyed the son of Prophet Noah (a.s.) because he was an unbeliever; He destroyed the wives of Prophet Noah (a.s.) and Prophet Lot (a.s.) because they were unbelievers! Just because one is related to the Prophets, does not give him an automatic right to Paradise! That is the guidance of the Holy Quran.

I humbly urge you to read and understand the Message that Allah Himself has revealed for our guidance. If you read the Glorious Quran with understanding, then no one will ever be able to mis-guide you in Islam and sell you stories of four-year old descendants of the Prophet (saws) going into ‘purdah’, etc. Islam is a religion and deen based on knowledge, wisdom and commonsense; not a collection of some mythological stories! The imam in ‘purdah’ is the back-bone of some sects of Islam, and on this very pretext have some unscrupulous leaders created their whole following. Just imagine your state when you are presented in the Court of Allah on the Day of Qiyaamah, and that is when you find out that this whole ‘purdah’ story is a fabrication! Allah has commanded us in the Quran that we are to follow Allah and His Last Messenger (saws), not some man-made mythological story!

May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan