One of the Saudi Parrot in Jannatul Baqi tried to prove that Ulul Amr does not mean Shia Imams - and he mocked the beliefs of Shias.
Let us see what was his objections in general.
Objection :
The verse 59 of Chapter al-Nisa which says "Atte’u–llaha wa atti’u
rasoola wa Ulu al-Amr-e minkum. Wa in Tanazatum fi shay....." confirms
the invalidity of the concept of Imamate. Because if the Imams were
infallible, then the verse should not have the phrase "Wa in Tanazatum
...". It should have been an absolute statement, "Obey Allah and the
Prophet and the Ulul Amir." The phrase proves that you can have a
dispute with the Ulul Amr and if you do, then refer back to Allah (SWT)
and the Prophet (pbuh). Moreover, if there is a dispute and if Imamate
was a valid concept, then it should have said, "Rudduhu ilal-Allah wa
Rasoolehi wa ila Ulil Amr-e minkum".
Concise Answer :
The verse in question is comprised of two parts. In the first part the
infallibility of those in authority can be inferred from the
absoluteness of the verse about obeying God, the Prophet (s) and those
who are in authority. The command is unrestricted and unconditional.
Since all necessary conditions and adverbs are mentioned in divine
words and if it was likely of those in authority to make a mistake, God
would certainly restrict their obedience with some conditions and He
would not give an injunction without any restriction or a condition as
it is in the case of obeying parents where obedience of them has been
forbidden if their commands are in contrast with divine commands. Since
there is no condition and adverb in this verse it is clear that those
who are in authority are infallible like the Apostle (pbuh). Having
said, we have to see who the manifestation of Ulul Amr (those
in authority) is and in order to get an answer to, we advise the reader
to refer to question No.3057 (website:4302). To find out why "those who
are in authority" is not mentioned in the rest of the verse you can
refer to the following detailed answer.
Detailed Answer :
The verse in question is
verse 59 of chapter of al-Nisa (4) where the Quran says:"O you who
believe! Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those in authority from
among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the
Apostle, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and
very good in the end[1]."
Obviously,
the verse has two parts. In the first part, obedience of God, the
Apostle and those who are in authority has been brought up and then
there is guideline as to whom people should refer to in case of any
disputes.
In the first
part of the verse, God speaks of obeying Him, the Apostle and those who
are in authority. Two points are important and should be noted here:
1-Absoluteness of the verse about obeying the Apostle and those who are in authority
2-Manifestation of "those who are in authority" and its compliance with twelve Imams
First point:
From the absoluteness of God's command to obey the Apostle and with no
condition and adverb qualifying the statement, it can be inferred that
as there is obviously no condition in God's obedience there is also no
condition in obeying the Apostle and if it was least likely of the
Apostle to make a mistake, God Who is Omniscient and All-Wise would not
command His servants in an absolute way.
So this verse implies that the Apostle is infallible and does not
command or forbid anything against God's commands otherwise it would be
meaningless for God to command people to obey the Messenger in an
absolute way if he were likely to make mistakes. So his obedience is
exactly the same as God's obedience. Verse 8 of chapter 4 of the Quran
refers to this fact where it says:" Whoever obeys the Apostle, he indeed
obeys Allah[2]"
If it was least likely of the Apostle to commit a sin, God would have
certainly restricted his obedience as in the case of parents where God
says:"And if they contend with you that you should associate (others)
with Me, of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them[3]"
The infallibility of the Apostle is proven. It is accepted by Shiites and majority of Sunnis though."Those in authority" is added to "the Apostle" without repeating "obey"
for "those in authority" (unlike its repetition for the Apostle) which
clearly indicates that what has been said about the Apostle and his
infallibility is applicable to and confirmable about "those in
authority". Therefore "those in authority" should be infallible and they
are.
When it comes to
second point i.e. the manifestation of "those who are in authority" and
its application to the twelve Imams, refer to the answer of question
no.3057 (site: 4302) in this regard.
Here we deal with the second part of the verse i.e. referring to God and the Apostle in quarrels and disputes:
The question here has something to do with the first part in which the
infallibility of those who are in authority is substantiated and their
absolute obedience has been commanded, why haven’t they (those in
authority) been mentioned here and it has not been said to refer to God,
the Apostle and those who are in authority and only God and the Apostle
have been mentioned?
In response to this question it should be said:
First, this objection can be made to some Sunnis such as Fakhr Razi[4], Zamakhshari[5], Tabari[6]
and so on since this question can be posed in every case no matter what
meaning may be inferred from "those who are in authority".
Second, if "those who are in authority" are disputed over, we cannot
refer to “those in authority” to settle the dispute. Therefore not
mentioning or repeating "those who are in authority" in the rest of the
verse does not imply their fallibility or their being unqualified to
rule the Muslim nation after the demise of the Apostle.
Third, this statement is baseless to say that not mentioning "those who
are in authority" in the rest of the verse means that the belief in
Imams is false; by the reasons offered earlier we know that the Apostle
is infallible while verse 10 of chapter 42 of the Quran says:"And in
whatever thing you disagree, the judgment thereof is (in) Allah's (hand)[7]"according
to the reasoning mentioned earlier should it be said that the Apostle
is not infallible so he is not mentioned by God in this verse?! Or
should it be said that the belief in the Apostle's prophecy –we take
refuge to God – is a baseless belief while no one has said such a
statement. In other words, the verse in question does not imply not to
refer to Imams or to judges and so on.
Apart from all this, the issue of referring to "those who are in
authority" has been brought up in verse 83 of chapter 4 of the Quran
where it says:" and if they had referred it to the Apostle and to those
in authority among them, those among them who can search out the
knowledge of it would have known it" so referring to "those in authority[8]" is also stated in this verse.
[1]Quran 4:59
[2]Quran 4:80
[3]Quran 29:8
[4]Razi, Fakhruddin Muhammad, Mafatihul Gayb, vol.10, p.144, Dar Ehyaat-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, third edition, 1998
[5]Zamakhshari, al-Kashshaf, vol.2, p.524, DarulKitab al-Arabi, Bairut, third edition, 1985
[6]Tabari, Jami'ol Bayan fi Tafsir al-Quran, vol.5, p.180, Darul Ma'rifa, Beirut, first edition, 1990
[7]Quran 42:10
[8]Quran 4:83
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