9. Ninth objection
He says: The roots of religion, according to Shia Imamiyah are four:
Monotheism, divine justice, prophethood and Imamate, the last of them being the
base. They regard the issues of negation of divine qualities, creatibility of Quran
and impossibility of seeing God in the hereafter, to be parts of divine monotheism
and the issues of negation of divine power are discussed in the principle of divine
justice and they believe that Almighty Allah does not have the power of guiding
or misguiding anyone; or to perform an act; as whatever He wants, does not
happen and what He does not want, happens; and they do not believe that God
has creatibility, power and discretion.1
Reply to the ninth objection
It is clear that this man is ignorant from the way he does not differentiate
between roots of religion and roots of faith, without awareness of the beliefs of
others he tries to analyze them. He has totally omitted Judgment Day, which is a
root of religion, and all Shia believe in it. Whereas one, who regards Imamate as
root of religion, is not deviated, since Allah, the Mighty and Sublime says:
إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ (٥٥)
“Only Allah is your Guardian and His Apostle and those who believe, those who keep up prayers and pay the poor-rate while they bow.”2
…in which the Almighty Allah has equated Mastership (Wilayat) of
Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) as His own Mastership (Wilayat) and Mastership
(Wilayat) of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and implication of ‘believers’ in the verse, as was hinted before and will mentioned again later and also it would be mentioned
in detail that it is Ali (a.s.).
In the same way, in the verse:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيْتُ لَكُمْ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion.”3
Almighty Allah has placed perfection of religion in Mastership (Wilayat) of
His Eminence (a.s.) and this does not mean, except that Imamate should be
regarded as the basic principle of religion in such a way that without it, religion is
deficient and divine bounties are incomplete on and only with that religion
became the chosen one of God – that is Islam.
Also, on the basis of the verse:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ (٦٧) (
“O Apostle! deliver what has been revealed to you from your
Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His
message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely
Allah will not guide the unbelieving people.”4
According to this verse, the significance of Mastership (Wilayat) is clear
from the fact that God has deemed not announcing Mastership (Wilayat) to be
same as non-fulfillment of the duty of prophethood!
This was hinted at previously that Mastership (Wilayat) of Ahle Bayt (a.s.) is
the condition of acceptance of deeds and meaning of it being the root, is nothing,
except this and divine monotheism and prophethood being roots are also as such
and do not have any branch.
As if, in view of senior companions, this meaning is natural, from this aspect
when two persons argued before Umar bin Khattab, he said: This man, Ali is my
master and the master of all believers; and one, whose master he is not, is not a
believer5
And it was also natural that malice towards him was sign of hypocrisy and
infidelity and his existence after the Prophet, is standard of belief and enmity to
him is a sign of faithlessness, as we would soon mention some conclusive
traditional reports regarding this. These reports also show that Mastership
(Wilayat) is like prophethood and divine monotheism: that whoever deviates
from them deviates from the right path.
Since many rules of divine monotheism and prophethood are applicable in
Imamate, regarding it as the basic principle is more likely and absence of a small
incident from rules of those two, from the aspect of wisdom and social exigency,
will not be hurdle in believing mastership (Wilayat) to be a fundamental
principle.
Denial of qualities
If his implication is same as what the Shia intend: that quality is the actual
being and negation of it being added to the being, this is real monotheism. But if
his implication is the incoherent view of ‘Motalla’,6 then indeed the Shia were
and are aloof from this and the pristine Shia belief is free of this.
Creatibility of Quran
In books of beliefs, according to evident proof, it is proved in detail that
Quran had not been always with God that it should be as old as God.
Denial of seeing God
It is in fact, denial of corporeality of God, as correct reasonings based on
Quran and Sunnah definitely testify for it.
As for other issues, which he has attributed to Shia, are all absolutely false
and Shia, from the time of their origin till now regard believing in them to be
deviation