Ain Al-Hayat, The Essence of Life.pdf - Higher Intellect | Content ...

• He asked,” Are you Hisham’s companion?”
• I replied,” No.”
• He asked,” Where do you hail from?”
• I replied,” I am an inhabitant of Kufa.”
• Hearing this he said,” Then! I have no doubt you are Hisham!” Then getting up he
embraced me and made me sit near him. After this dialogue Umro refrained from
making any remarks against the True Faith.
Imam Jafar e Sadiq (a.s.) smiled and asked,” O Hisham! Where did you learn all this?”
Hisham said,” Master! These thoughts just came to my mind.”
The Imam (a.s.) said,” the things which came to you as an intuition are recorded in the
books of Ibrahim and Moosa (a.s.).”
Imam Zainul Abedin (a.s.) has said,” we are the Vicegerents of Allah and the Prophet
(a.s.) for the people of this world. We are the Masters of the pious and the shield against
the retribution of Allah for them, the same way as the stars are the shields for the
inhabitants of the sky. We are the people for whom, and because of whom, Allah has
protected and kept the earth intact. With our intercession the rain falls. If the earth were
devoid of us, the Imams (a.s.), then it would break and its inhabitants would perish in the
debris. “
Then the Imam (a.s.) added, “ Ever since Allah created Adam (a.s.), the earth has never
been without a Vicegerent ( Hujjat ). This Hujjat or Caliph of Allah has always been
there, either publicly proclaimed or in the state of hiding. If such was not the case, then
there wouldn’t have been the worshippers of Allah on this earth.”
The narrator adds that he asked the Imam (a.s.), “ O son of the Prophet (a.s.)! If the
Hujjat or Imam remains in hiding, then what advantage will be there?”
The Imam (a.s.) replied, “ The Imam (a.s.) remaining in hiding is like the time when the
sun goes into hiding. You do understand the advantage accruing while the sun remains in
hiding!”
Jabir Jaafi narrates that he asked Imam Jafar e Sadiq (a.s.) about the need of the people
for prophets and Imams.
The Imam (a.s.) replied, “ The Prophet (a.s.) or his Vicegerents are necessary for the
human race to remain in a constant state of progress and protect them from Allah’s
Punishment through their Intercession.”
Therefore, Allah has Himself observed, “ O My Habeeb ( the endearment Allah has used
for the Prophet Mohammed )! As long as you are on the earth, I shall not inflict My
azaab (punishment) on its inhabitants” The Prophet of Allah (a.s.) has said, “ The stars
provide protection to the denizens of the skies so also my Ahl al Bayt, the members of my
family, are a guarantee for the protection of the people of the earth. If the stars are