The Need for the Imam — Page 21
D ar u rat-ul-Imam 21 throws a stone and runs away, without letting anyone know who he was and where he went. God Almighty, on the contrary, comes very close to them, slightly un- veiling His Holy and Lustrous countenance which is all Light. This experience is not for others, who at times feel as if someone had been trifling with them. Revealed prophecies of the Imam of the age are tanta- mount to disclosing the unseen. In other words, they get a complete hold over the unseen, just as a rider has a horse under full control. The reason why their revela- tion is granted this vigour and [sense of] discovery, is that the pure revelations vouchsafed to them may not be mistaken for satanic inspirations, and may serve as incontrovertible arguments. Let it be clearly understood that satanic inspirations are a fact, and ordinary seekers do receive them. Simi- larly, there is a self-suggestion known as confused dreams. Anyone who denies it, denies the Holy Quran, for it testifies to their existence. God Almighty says that as long as man’s self is not fully cleansed and purified, it is possible for him to experience satanic inspirations, and he is described as: 21 21 [They descend] on every great liar and sinner. — Al-Shu ‘ ar a ’, 26: 223 [Publishers]