The meaning of the Words with which Ibrahim was tested by his Lord, which he completed

I asked him about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And when Ibrahim was tested by his Lord with Words» (2:124). What are these Words? He said: They are the Words which Adam received from his Lord, after which He accepted his repentance, and it is that he said: «O Lord, I ask you by the right of Muhammed, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Hussain, I beg that You accept my repentance» after which Allah accepted his repentance, and He is the Accepter of Repentence, the Merciful. Then I said to him: O son of Allah’s Messenger, then what does He, Exalted and Glorious is He, mean with His saying: «completed them»? He said: He means that he completed them until the Riser, peace be upon him, twelve Imams, nine from the sons of Hussain, peace be upon him. Mufaddal said: Then I said to him: O son of Allah’s Messenger, then inform me about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And He made it a remaining Word among his descendants» (43:28)? He said: By that He means the Imamate; Allah made it among the descendants of Hussain until the Day of Resurrection. He said: Then I said to him: O son of Allah’s Messenger, then how did the Imamate become among the sons of Hussain, not the sons of Hasan, when they are both the sons of Allah’s Messenger, his grandsons and the Masters of the youth among the people of Paradise? Then he, peace be upon him, said: Indeed, Musa and Harun were two Prophets, Messengers and brothers, and Allah made the Prophethood in the backbone of Harun, not the backbone of Musa, and it was allowed not for anyone to say: Why did Allah do that? For indeed, the Imamate is the Successorship of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He. None is allowed to say: «Why did Allah make it in the backbone of Hussain, not the backbone of Hasan» because Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, is the Wise in His actions; He is not asked about what He does, whereas they will be asked. For [1] the saying of Allah, Exalted is He: «And when Ibrahim was tested by his Lord with Words» is another indication, and what we mentioned is its origin. Testing is of two kinds: one of them is impossible for Allah, Exalted be His Mentioning; and the other is possible. As for the one that is impossible, it is that He tests him by what the days will reveal about him. This is not right, because He, Exalted and Glorious is He, is the Knower of unseen things. The other kind of testing is that He tests him until he is patient with what He tests him with, and then, what He will give him of grants is in the form of deservingness, and that the looker may look at him, follow him and know from the Wisdom of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, that the causes of Imamate lie with none but the Sufficient, the Independent, whom the days have revealed his news. As for the Words, among them is what we have mentioned. Also, among them is certainty, and that is the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And in that manner We show Ibrahim the Kingdom of the Heavens and the earth, and that he might be among the certain» (6:75). Also, among them is conscious knowledge of the Ancientness of His Creator, His Oneness and declaring His innocence from resemblance, until he looked at the planets, the moon and the sun and denoted with the setting of each one of them that it has come to existence, and with its coming to existence (he denoted) to their Causer to exist. Furthermore, He taught him, peace be upon him, that judging with the stars is wrong, as in the saying of Hi, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Then he cast a look at the stars, and he said: Indeed, I am about to become ill.» (37:88-89) Allah only restricted him with one look because one look does not bring about an error except after the second look, by the denotation of the saying of the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, when he said to the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him: «O Ali, the first look is (permissible) for you, and the second is (forbidden) upon you, not (allowed) to you.» Also, among them is bravery. Days have revealed it, by the denotation the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «As he said to his fosterer and people: What are these statues to which you are devoted? They said: We have found our fathers, of them, worshippers. He said: Certainly, you and your fathers have been in clear aberration. They said: Have you come to us with the truth, or are you one of those who jest? He said: Rather, your Lord is the Lord of the Heavens and the earth, who split them, and I am, to that, of those who testify. And by Allah, I will harm your idols after you leave, having turned away. Then he made them into fragments, except for a large one among them, that they might return.» (21:52-58) The resistance of one man to thousands of the enemies of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is the completion of bravery. Furthermore, the meaning of forbearance is included in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Indeed, Ibrahim is, verily, forbearing, grieving and and frequently returning.» (11:75) Furthermore, it is openhandedness, and its clarification is in the narration of Ibrahim’s honored guest. Furthermore, the meaning of isolation from the household and the clan is included in His saying: «And I will isolate from you and what you call upon besides Allah» (19:48) - the verse. With regards to enjoining good and forbidding evil, the clarification of that in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «O fosterer, why do you worship that which does not hear, nor sees nor avails you at all? O fosterer, indeed, it has, verily, came to me of knowledge what has not come to you, so follow me, I will lead you an even path. O fosterer, do not worship Shaytan. Indeed, Shaytan was for the Merciful, gravely disobedient. O fosterer, indeed, I fear that it afflicts you punishment from the Merciful, by which you become to Shaytan a befriender.» (19:42-45) With regards to repelling the bad with the good deed, it is when his father said to him: «Are you desiring away from my gods, O Ibrahim? Certainly, if you do not stop, I will, verily, stone you, so abstain from me for a prolonged time» (19:46) and then he said in reply to his fosterer: «Peace be upon you. I will ask forgiveness for you from Lord. Indeed, He is to me ever Hospitable.» (19:47) With regards to trust in Allah, its clarification is in His saying: «And He who created me, and so, He guides me, and He who feeds me and gives me drink, and when I am ill, He heals me, and He who makes me die, then revives me, and He whom I seek will forgive me my grave mistake on the Day of Judgement.» (26:78-82) Furthermore, with regards to rulership and association with the righteous, it is in His saying: «My Lord, grant me rulership and join me with the righteous» (26:83). It means the righteous who do not rule except by the judgement of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, and do not rule by opinions and analogies, until it is testified for him, by those who will be after him of Proofs, with truthfulness. The clarification of that is in His saying: «And make for me a reputation of truthfulness among the descendants.» (26:84) With this he intended the virtuous nation, and so Allah responded to him and made for him and others of His Prophets a reputation of truthfulness among the descendants, that is Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him. That is His saying: «And We made for them a reputation of truthfulness, Ali.» (19:50) [2] The ordeal with himself was when he was placed in the catapult and thrown with it into the fire. Then, it was the ordeal with his son, when he was commanded to slaughter his son, Isma’il. Then, it was the ordeal with the family, when Allah saved his sanctity [3] from the ill manners of the Coptic, in the report that is mentioned about this story, and then it was patience with the ill manners of Sara. Then, it was limiting oneself in obedience, as in His saying: «And do not disgrace me on the Day they are resurrected.» (26:87) Then, it was moral correctness, as in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Ibrahim was neither Jewish nor Christian, however, he was an orthodox, Submitter, and he was not from the polytheists.» (3:67) Then, it was the combining of the conditions of words, as in His saying: «Indeed, my prayer, my asceticism, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, He has no associate. By that I was ordered, and I am the first of the Submitters.» (6:162-163) He gathered in His saying: «my living and my dying are for Allah» the total conditions of acts of obedience, all of them, so that no thing from them is unincluded, and that no meaning from it is absent. Moreover, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, responded to his call when he said: «My Lord, show me how You revive the dead» (2:260). This verse’s denotation is inexact, and its meaning is: He asked about the state of things, and the state of things is from the actions of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He. When a knowledgeable does not know it, no defect afflicts him nor does there appear any lack in his belief in Monotheism. Hence, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «Have you not believed? He said: Sure.» (2:260) This is the general condition of those who believe in Him, that whenever one of them is asked: «Have you not believed?», it becomes obligatory that he says: «Sure», like how Ibrahim said. When Allah, Exalted and Glorious, said to all the souls of the sons of Adam: «Am I not your Lord? They said: Sure.» (7:172) the first to say «Sure» was Muhammed, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and so, he became with his precedence to «Sure», the Master of the first and the last, the best of the Prophets and Messengers. Hence, the one who does not answer this question with the answer of Ibrahim, he has desired other than his creed. Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, said: «And who desires other than the creed of Ibrahim except for he who ridicules himself?» (2:130) Then, Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, chose him in this world, and then it followed His testimony for him with regards to fate that he is among the righteous, in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «We have, certainly, chosen him in this world, and he is, indeed, in the Hereafter, verily, among the Righteous.» (2:130) The Righteous are the Prophet and the Imams, Allah’s blessings be upon them, who took from Allah His commandment and prohibition, who appeal for righteousness from Him, who avoid own opinions and analogy with regards to His Religion, as in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «As his Lord said to him: Submit. He said: I have submitted to the Lord of all the worlds.» (2:131) Then, it was the following of those after him of the Prophets, peace be upon him, to him, as in His saying: «And Ibrahim bequeathed with it to his sons and Ya’qoub: O son, indeed, Allah has chosen for you the Religion, so, do not die except that you are Submitters.» As well as in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He, to His Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family: «Then We revealed to: Follow the creed of Ibrahim, orthodoxly, and he was not from the polytheists.» (16:124) As well as in the saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «The creed of your father, Ibrahim. He named you Submitters from before.» (22:79) The conditions of the words of the Imam are taken from what is needed by the nation from the aspect of the interests of this world and the Hereafter. With regards to the saying of Ibrahim, peace be upon him: «and from my progeny» (2:124), «from» is a letter of the partitive, that it may be known that from the progeny are those who deserve Imamate, and that among them are those who do not deserve it. This is from the (opinion of the) majority of the Muslims, and that is due to it being impermissible for Ibrahim to pray for a disbeliever that he is granted Imamate and for a Muslim who is not Infallible. Hence, the valid is that the partitive applies on some specific ones among the believers, and the specific only became specific by distancing from disbelief. Moreover, the one who abstains major sins becomes, from the specific, (even) more specific. Furthermore, an Infallible is the more specified among the specified, and if there was for the specification a form that is higher of rank than it, then this would have been made among the characteristics of the Imam, as Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, named Isa as being from the progeny of Ibrahim, when he was the son of his daughter after him. Hence, since it is right for the son of a daughter to be from the progeny, and that Ibrahim prayed for his progeny that they be granted Imamate, it would be necessary for Muhammed, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, to follow him with regards to placing Imamate in the Infallibles among his progeny, like the following of (the footstep of) one sandal to another sandal, after Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, had revealed to him and judged for him by His saying: «Then We revealed to: Follow the creed of Ibrahim, orthodoxly» (16:123) the verse. If he had opposed that, he would have been included by His saying: «And who desires other than the creed of Ibrahim except for he who ridicules himself?» (2:130) May a Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, be glorified above such, for Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, has said: «Indeed, those of the people who are the most rightful to Ibrahim, are, verily, those who followed him, and this Prophet and those who have believed.» (3:68) The Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, is the father of the progeny of the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, and he had placed Imamate in him, and he placed it in his progeny, the Infallibles, after him. The saying of Him, Exalted and Glorious is He: «My Covenant does not include the wrongdoers.» (2:124) With that He meant that Imamate does not suit for the one who has worshipped an idol or statue or who has associated partners with Allah with (as much as) a blink of an eye, even if he had accepted Islam after that. Wrongdoing is to place something in other than its place, and the greatest of that is polytheism. Allah, Exalted and Glorious, said: «Indeed, polytheism is a great wrongdoing.» (31:13) Similarly, it does not suit for Imamate, the one who has committed forbidden acts, be it a small or a big thing, even if he had repented after it. Similarly, it may not be carried out the fixated punishment by the one for whom is a fixated punishment (to be carried out). Hence, the Imam is nothing but Infallible, and Infallibility is not known except by an affirmation of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, on the tongue of His Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, because Infallibility is not in the apparent disposition in which you may see blackness, whiteness and so on. Rather, it is hidden, not recognized except by specification of the Knower of Hidden Things, Exalted and Glorious is He.