Those who know the proper position of the Imams should fear them as much as they fear God and respect them as much as they respect God. For God has linked our obedience to them with our obedience to Him and has made them a medi um between Him and the people. They have been appointed by Him to scrutinize our actions and certify them before Him. Their pleasure is the pleasure of God and their displeasure is the displeasure of God. We shall be rewarded or punished through them.
Imam Jafar, far, peace be on him, says “God is worshipped through us and is obeyed and dis- obeyed through us. He who obeys us obeys God and he who disobeys us disobeys God. God has emphatically declared that He will not take notice of the good deeds of anybody if they are not done through us i.e. according to our instructions. We are the gate of God. We are His ‘hujjats.’ We are the guardians over His people and the guardians of His mysteries. We are the deposi- tories of His knowledge.’
It is the duty of every one of us to ingratiate himself with the Imams by his devotion to them and by doing things which are good in their eyes. We should do what they order us to do and should not do what they do not want us to do. We should act in a way that pleases them the most and yet we should fear them the most. Fear is one of the means of making us near and dear to God. He has promised those who fear Him, the ‘jannat’. The Prophet is narrated to have said “He who does not fear men does not fear God.” The word ‘men’ mentioned in the tradition refers to the Imams.
Imam Jafar, greetings be on him says in this connection “We are the men referred to who are envied by the people because of the Imamat which God has conferred on us. Those who know our position fear us the most. God says “None fears God excepting the learned from amongst His servants.” Again He says “O men of learning fear Me.” Those followers of the Imams who have attained to a high position with them are the persons who should fear them the most. The angels who are nearmost to God fear Him the most and are more assiduous in their devotion to Him than mankind.
If people possess anything in their hands, they are usually afraid lest some one should snatch it away from them. It is said that once Christ went on a journey accompanied by one of his disciples. They arrived at a desert where the disciple began to fear. When his fear increased Christ said to him “Have you got anything with you?” The disciple said “Yes.” He took out a piece of gold and showed it to him. Christ asked him to throw it away. He threw it away and said nothing. When he forgot everything about the piece of gold, Christ said “This is the place where one has to fear.” The disciple said “O Breath of God, we have nothing with us to make us fear.”
The one who has attained to a high position before the Imam, should revere him the most and fear him the most. If he takes care to see that he does not do anything which should lower him in the estimation of the Imam, if he keeps away from indulging in things which are pro- hibited by God and if he pays his ‘amanat’ and fulfils all his obligations to him and lives a life which is above suspicion; even then he should not feel secure in his position. He should continue to fear him and keep a strict watch over his con- duct. For, neglect is the root of sins. The angels who fear God more than all His creatures and are more devoted to Him than the rest, commit no sins. Yet they fear lest they should commit it.
He who does not fear a particular thing has a false notion of security and takes no precautionary measure to ensure his safety. We must bear in mind that by fearing the Imams we respect their position and safe-guard their dignity. We must know this well and should always preserve our awe for them not only in our words and deeds but also in our thoughts. We should not do things which are disliked by them and which lower us in their estimation. If we do so we shall be dep- riving ourselves of the favours they usually confer upon us. In short, we shall be incurring their wrath. May God protect us from this and may we not do things which call for their wrath.
Most of the people suffer because they become overconfident of themselves and become proud of their good deeds or their relationship with the Imams. They imagine that it is their own actions which are responsible for their elevation. They think that they have acquired the position as a matter of right. They go a step further and say that because of their achievements they have established a claim оп the Imams. I have made it clear somewhere else in this book that none has a claim whatsoever on the Imams. Whatever their followers receive from them they get as a mere matter of favour from them. Good actions bring us near to them and please them and bad actions keep the culprits away from them even if they happen to be related to them or con- nected with them in one way or the other. There are many people who are closely related to them and yet they are away from their hearts. There are many people who are physically close to them but are spiritually distant from them. May God protect us from the people of this type. Those who do not know the true position of the Imams and are not known to them, although their con- dition before God is not an enviable one and they are deprived of His mercy, all the same, are better than those people who have been turned away by the Imams and are kept at a distance.
O momins, try to gain intimacy with the Imams by your good deeds. But do not be deceiv ed by your intimacy with them or by your good deeds. Let not your intimacy with them mislead you and embolden you to indulge in wrong doing.