Arba'in — Page 106
106 And then He [Allah] said: He will call upon his elder H a m a n to light the fire of persecution saying: ‘Initiate the edict of apostasy yourself because people have greater regard for you, and you can incite them all with your edict. Therefore, you should be the first to put a stamp of approval, so all ulem a’ might be excited, and follow your stamp with their stamps, so that I should discover whether God is with this man or not though I consider him a liar. ’ (Then he put the stamp. ) Both hands of Abu Lahab [the Father of Flames] per- ished and so did he perish himself 1 ٭ (one with which he 1. ٭ These words of God make it clear that those who reject and call me a non-believer are ruined people. Therefore, they are not worthy of any member of my Jam a ‘at offering Prayer behind them. Can a living per- son offer his Prayer behind one who is dead? So remember, as God has informed me, it is forbidden, indeed strictly forbidden that you should offer your Prayer behind a person who calls me a non-believer, liar and who plays back and forth. Rather, it is required that your Imam should be from among you. From one aspect, the Hadith in [ S a hih al- ] Bukh a r i ْ ُم ك ْ اِمَامُكُم ْ مِن [‘Your Imam from among you’] is indicative of this, that is, when the Messiah would descend then you have to totally shun all other sects who claim to follow Islam, and your Imam would be from among you. Hence, you should follow this instruction. Do you wish to come under the blame of God with all your actions coming to naught, and do you want to remain completely unaware? The person, who accepts me with his heart, his heart also obeys me, and he considers me the H akam –the final decision maker under all circumstances, and wants to resolve every dispute with my judgment. But you will find that the person who does not accept me with his heart is arrogant, self-conceit- ed and self-centred. Know then that he is not from me, because he does not respect the words that I have received from God. For this reason, there is no respect for him in the heavens. Author