The Divine Reality Behind the Human Forms of the Imams

Sayyid Hashim al-Bahrani (d. 1697):

"Fifth: Sharaf al-Din al-Najafi in "What Was Revealed About the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) from the Qur'an" narrated from Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Fadl ibn Shadhan, through his chain of transmission, from Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju'fi, from the learned Imam Musa ibn Ja'far al-Kadhim (peace be upon him), who said:

"Indeed, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, created the light of Muhammad from a light He generated from the light of His grandeur and majesty. It is the divine light that manifested from His divinity and appeared to Moses (peace be upon him) on Mount Sinai, but it did not settle for him, nor could Moses withstand its sight, and he could not bear it until he fell down unconscious and overwhelmed. That light was the light of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). When Allah wished to create Muhammad from it, He divided that light into two parts: from the first part, He created Muhammad, and from the second part, He created Ali ibn Abi Talib. He created no one else from that light. Allah created them by His own hand and breathed into them His own spirit for Himself. He formed them according to their own likeness and made them His trustees, witnesses over His creation, and vicegerents over His creatures. They are His eyes upon them and His tongue to them. He entrusted them with His knowledge, taught them the means of expression, and disclosed to them His unseen. He made one of them His essence and the other His spirit, and neither can function without the other. Their outward appearance is human, but their inward reality is divine. They appeared to creation in human forms so that people could bear to see them, as Allah says: 'And We would have confounded them with what they confound themselves' (Surah Al-An'am, 6:9). They represent the position of the Lord of the Worlds and serve as a veil for the Creator of all creation. With them, the creation began, and with them, the dominion and decrees will conclude.

Then He derived from the light of Muhammad his daughter Fatimah, as He derived his light from his light. And He derived from the light of Fatimah and Ali, Hasan and Husayn, just as one derives lights from other lights. They were created from the lights, and they transferred from one loins to another, from one back to another, and from one womb to another, in the highest levels, without impurity, but rather from transfer to transfer. They were not created from contemptible water or weak sperm like the rest of His creation, but from lights that transferred from the loins of the purified to the wombs of the purified. They are the elite of the elite, chosen by Him for Himself. He made them the repositories of His knowledge and His spokespeople to His creation. He established them in His position, for He cannot be seen, nor comprehended, nor understood in His essence. Thus, these are the speakers on His behalf, conveying His commands and prohibitions. Through them, His power is manifested, and from them, His signs and miracles are seen. Through them and from them, His servants recognize Him. Through them, His commands are obeyed. Without them, Allah would not be known, nor would it be understood how to worship the Most Merciful. Allah conducts His affairs as He wills, in whatever He wills. He is not questioned about what He does, but they are questioned." [Ghayat al-Maram, Volume 1, Page 37-38]

الخامس: شرف الدين النجفي فيما نزل في أهل البيت (عليهم السلام) من القرآن عن الشيخ أبي محمد الفضل بن شاذان بإسناده، عن جابر بن يزيد الجعفي، عن الإمام العالم موسى بن جعفر الكاظم (عليه السلام) قال: " إن الله تبارك وتعالى خلق نور محمد من نور اخترعه من نور عظمته (3) وجلاله وهو نور لاهوتية الذي تبدى الاه (أي من إلهيته من إنيته الذي تبدأ منه) وتجلى لموسى (عليه السلام) في طور سيناء، فما استقر له ولا أطاق موسى لرؤيته، ولا ثبت له حتى خر صعقا مغشيا عليه، وكان ذلك النور نور محمد (صلى الله عليه وآله) فلما أراد أن يخلق محمدا منه قسم ذلك النور شطرين: فخلق من الشطر الأول محمدا، ومن الشطر الآخر علي بن أبي طالب، ولم يخلق من ذلك النور غيرهما، خلقهما الله بيده ونفخ فيهما بنفسه لنفسه، وصورهما على صورتهما وجعلهما أمناء له، وشهداء على خلقه، وخلفاء على خليقته، وعينا له عليهم، ولسانا له إليهم، قد استودع فيهما علمه، وعلمهما البيان، واستطلعهما على غيبه، وجعل أحدهما نفسه والآخر روحه ولا يقوم أحدهما بغير صاحبه، ظاهرهما بشرية، وباطنهما لاهوتية، ظهروا للخلق على هياكل الناسوتية، حتى يطيقوا رؤيتهما، وهو قوله تعالى: * (وللبسنا عليهم ما يلبسون) * فهما مقام رب العالمين، وحجابا لخالق الخلائق أجمعين، بهما فتح بدء الخلائق، وبهما يختم الملك والمقادير. ثم اقتبس من نور محمد فاطمة ابنته، كما اقتبس نوره من نوره، واقتبس من نور فاطمة وعلي الحسن والحسين كاقتباس المصابيح هم خلقوا من الأنوار، وانتقلوا من ظهر إلى ظهر، ومن صلب إلى صلب، ومن رحم إلى رحم في الطبقة العليا من غير نجاسة، بل نقلا بعد نقل، لا إنه ماء مهين، ولا نطفة خشرة كسائر خلقه، بل أنوار انتقلوا من أصلاب الطاهرين إلى أرحام المطهرات، لأنهم صفوة الصفوة، اصطفاهم لنفسه، وجعلهم خزان علمه، وبلغاء عنه إلى خلقه، أقامهم مقام نفسه، لأنه لا يرى ولا يدرك ولا تعرف كيفية إنيته، فهؤلاء الناطقون المبلغون عنه، المتصرفون في أمره ونهيه، فيهم يظهر قوته، ومنهم ترى آياته ومعجزاته، وبهم ومنهم عرف عباده نفسه، وبهم يطاع أمره، ولولاهم ما عرف الله، ولا يدري كيف يعبد الرحمن، فالله يجري أمره كيف يشاء، فيما يشاء، لا يسأل عما يفعل وهم يسألون " (١).

Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei (d. 1992) :

13294 - Hashim ibn Sulayman:

Shaykh al-Hurr said in "Tadhkirat al-Mutabahhirin" (1041): "Sayyid Hashim ibn Sulayman (ibn Isma'il ibn Abd al-Jawad) al-Husayni al-Bahrani al-Tubali: A virtuous, knowledgeable, skilled, meticulous, jurist, expert in exegesis, Arabic, and rijal. He has a large book on the interpretation of the Qur'an, which I have seen and narrated from." [Mu'jam Rijal al-Hadith, Volume 20, Page 268]

13294 - هاشم بن سليمان:

قال الشيخ الحر في تذكرة المتبحرين (1041): " السيد هاشم بن سليمان (ابن إسماعيل بن عبد الجواد) الحسيني البحراني التوبلي: فاضل، عالم، ماهر، مدقق، فقيه، عارف بالتفسير والعربية والرجال، له كتاب تفسير القرآن كبير، رأيته ورويت عنه ".