Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalaam Alaikum! My question is regarding Hazrat Ali ibne Abu Talib (as)`s position in our belief--whether we believe Him as the 1st Imam or not? 

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality)

 

Answer:

 

Ali is first imam or not

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

It is only the Prophets of Allah Subhanah who come to mankind and declare that they have been appointed as Prophets from the Lord of the Worlds.  No Imams, no dais, no sheikhs, no one – other than the Prophets can come to mankind and declare that they have been appointed by Allah Subhanah as the leaders or ‘imams’ of mankind. 

 

The Imams, Khalifahs, Dais, Sheikhs, Peers, Muftis, or whatever titles there may be, are all chosen by man himself.   Never did any righteous Imam or Khalifah declare that he was appointed by Allah Subhanah, nor would it behove them to do so.  

 

Thus,  Hadrat Imam Ali ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.) was indeed chosen as the Imam and Ameer-ul-Mumineen by the believers after the martyrdom of Hadrat Uthmaan (r.a.);  and he (r.a.) is respected and recognized by the believers as one of the Four Righteous Khalifahs or Imams.   To believe in Hadrat Ali (r.a.) as the first Imam or Khalifah after the death of the Messenger of Allah (saws) is inaccurate according to the recorded history of Islam.  Hadrat Ali (r.a.) himself gave allegiance to the first Khalifah,  Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) and that incident is appropriately recorded in history.

 

The deen of Islam was completed,  the Quran revealed,  and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was established at the time of the death of the Prophet (saws).   Whatever happened after the death of the Prophet (saws) is the History of the Muslims, and this is in the knowledge of Allah Alone.   Allah will not hold us accountable for the deeds of these people,  nor ask us about them on the Day of Judgment.   We will be asked about our deeds and what we did do for the cause of Islam. 

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 134: They were a people who passed away. They shall receive the reward of what they earned, and you shall have the reward of what you will earn. And you will not be questioned as to what they did.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your Brother in Islam,

 

 

Burhan