The Need for the Imam — Page 4
4 relied upon. On the other hand, such revelations some- times cause one to stumble. And until spiritual knowledge is conveyed through the guidance of the Imam, one is not immune to such dangers. An example of this can be found in early Islam: A scribe of the Holy Quran, who, by virtue of being close to the Pro- phetic light, would often partake of the revelation of Quranic verses just as the Imam—the Holy Prophet sa — was going to dictate it. One day the scribe thought to himself, 'What difference is there between me and the Holy Prophet sa ? I too receive Divine revelation!' This thinking led him to his ruin. It is recorded that even his grave threw him out, quite like Balaam 8 who was similarly ruined. Hadrat Umar ra 9 too was the recipient of Divine revelation, but he regarded himself unwor- thy and had no ambition to be a partner in the True Im a mat established on earth by the God of Heaven. Rather, he considered himself to be a humble ser- vant. The Grace of God, therefore, made him the vicegerent of the True Im a mat. Uwais Qarni ra was recipient of Divine, was also the recipient of revela- tion. He was so humble that he thought it 8 A learned man among the Israelites. (Num. 31:16, 2Pet. 2:15) [Publishers] 9 ‘Umar ibn Al-Kha tta b (r. 634-644), the second Rightly Guided Caliph. [Publishers]