There can be no doubt that Imam ʿAli, peace be upon him, is the foremost of the legatees, and that his superiority over the other Imams, peace be upon them, is self-evident.
ʿAli, peace be upon him, is the greatest gate to the city of knowledge—even for the other Imams, peace be upon them. The Master, the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is the gate to the Prophet’s city of knowledge; that is, among the gates of knowledge, he is the greatest.
For Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, too, ʿAli, peace be upon him, is a path and a way to God: the Master is a way among the ways that lead to God.
عن أبی وهب البصری قال: دخلت المدینه فأتیت أبا عبد الله ع فقلت جعلت فداک أتیتک و لم أزر قبر أمیر المؤمنین ع قال بئس ما صنعت لو لا أنک من شیعتنا ما نظرت إلیک أ لا تزور من یزوره الله تعالى مع الملائکه و یزوره الأنبیاء مع المؤمنین [و یزوره المؤمنون] قلت جعلت فداک ما علمت ذلک قال فاعلم أن أمیر المؤمنین ع أفضل عند الله من الأئمه کلهم و له ثواب أعمالهم و على قدر أعمالهم فضلوا.
کامل الزیارات، النص، ص: 38
Abu Wahb al-Basri relates:
“I entered Medina and went to see Abu ʿAbd Allah, peace be upon him. I said, ‘May I be your ransom, I have come to see you, but I have not visited the grave of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him.’
“He said, ‘You have done ill. Were you not one of our followers, I would not even look at you. Why did you not visit the one whom God Most High visits with His angels, and whom the prophets visit along with the believers?’
“I said, ‘May I be your ransom, I did not know this.’
“He said, ‘Know, then, that the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is superior in the sight of God to all the Imams, and he receives the reward for their deeds. Their rank, meanwhile, is in proportion to their own deeds.’”
Kāmil al-Ziyārāt, translated by Zehni Tehrani, p. 111
In describing Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, it is said:
الدلیل على ذات الله
و الوفی و المبارک و التابع و الرضی لله و الشاری نفسه لله و الدال على ذات الله
Al-Hidāya al-Kubrā, p. 202
Here, however, “dhāt” does not mean the essence, substance, or reality of the Exalted Truth. Rather, it means direction, orientation, path, and the pursuit of God’s pleasure.
In effect, the meaning is:
Imam Husayn, peace be upon him, is a guide to God = a guide to God’s path = a guide to winning God’s pleasure = a guide to gaining God’s favor.
If “dalīl” is understood as an intensive form, Imam Husayn is one of the highest guides to God.
This virtue is also mentioned in connection with the Master, ʿAli, peace be upon him: the Master was resolute “in the cause of God”—that is, in matters pertaining to God, His religion and laws, and adherence to His commands:
علی بن أبی طالب فإنه خشن فی ذات الله عز و جل غیر مداهن فی دینه
Some meanings of “dhāt” in the Noble Qur’an (the feminine form of “dhū”):
“Dhāt” meaning “possessor of”:
Al-Baqara 2:105: ...و الله ذو الفضل العظیم
Al-Baqara 2:243: ... إن الله لذو فضل على الناس و لکن أکثر الناس لا یشکرون
Al-Baqara 2:251: ... الله ذو فضل على العالمین
Al-Baqara 2:280: و إن کان ذو عسره ...
Āl ʿImrān 3:4: ...و الله عزیز ذو انتقام
Al-Anʿām 6:133: و ربک الغنی ذو الرحمه ...
Ghāfir 40:15: رفیع الدرجات ذو العرش...
Al-Dhāriyāt 51:58: إن الله هو الرزاق ذو القوه المتین
Al-Raḥmān 55:27: و یبقى وجه ربک ذو الجلال و الإکرام
Al-Burūj 85:15: ذو العرش المجید
Al-Anfāl 8:1: ...و أصلحوا ذات بینکم ...
Al-Anfāl 8:7: ... أن غیر ذات الشوکه ...
“Dhāt” meaning “direction”:
Al-Kahf 18:17: و ترى الشمس إذا طلعت تتزاور عن كهفهم ذات الیمین و إذا غربت تقرضهم ذات الشمال و ...
The use of “dhāt” in hadith with a meaning other than “essence”:
ا و إنی لو قتلت فی ذات الله و حییت ثم قتلت ثم حییت سبعین مره لم أرجع عن الشده فی ذات الله و الجهاد لأعداء الله
Al-Zuhd, text, p. 18
In a letter to Muʿāwiya the accursed, Imam ʿAli, peace be upon him, writes: “If I were killed for God’s sake—to win His pleasure, in His cause—and brought back to life, then killed again and brought back to life again, and this were repeated seventy times, I would never relent in my resolve in God’s cause or in my struggle against the enemies of God.”
“Dhāt Allāh” means “for God’s sake,” or “in the cause of winning God’s pleasure.”
قال أبو عبد الله ع ما ابتلی المؤمن بشیء أشد من المواساه فی ذات الله عز و جل و الإنصاف من نفسه و ذکر الله کثیرا- ثم قال أما إنی لا أقول سبحان الله و الحمد لله و لکن أذکره عند ما حرم
Mishkāt al-Anwār fī Ghurar al-Akhbār, text, p. 57
Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, peace be upon him, said: “God does not test a believer with anything more difficult than three qualities from which he is deprived.” He was asked, “What are these qualities?” He replied: “Sharing what one has for God’s sake, being fair even when it is against oneself, and remembering God often.”
In the visitation of the Imams buried in al-Baqīʿ, peace be upon them:
...السلام علیکم أهل النجوى أشهد أنکم قد بلغتم و نصحتم و صبرتم فی ذات الله و ...
Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 4, p. 559
“Peace be upon you, people of intimate communion. I bear witness that you fulfilled your mission, offered counsel, and showed patience for God’s sake ...”
Al-Kāfī (Islamic edition), vol. 8, p. 361
انظروا أهل دین الله فیما أصبتم فی کتاب الله و ترکتم عند رسول الله ص و جاهدتم به فی ذات الله أ بحسب أم بنسب أم بعمل أم بطاعه أم زهاده
When they entered Mecca, complaints against the Commander of the Faithful (ع) grew numerous. The Messenger of God (ص) therefore ordered his herald to proclaim among the people: “Keep your tongues from speaking against ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib. He is uncompromising in the cause of God, Mighty and Exalted, and will not compromise in matters of his religion.” The people stopped speaking ill of him and complaining about him, and understood the high standing he held with the Prophet (ص), and how displeased the Prophet was with anyone who sought to disparage him. The Commander of the Faithful (ع) remained in his state of ihram, following the example of the Messenger of God (ص).
*Al-Irshād fī Maʿrifat Ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā al-ʿIbād*, vol. 1, p. 294
*Al-Irshād fī Maʿrifat Ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā al-ʿIbād*, vol. 1, p. 173
(This is a lengthy account.) … The soldiers were angered by ʿAlī’s conduct. When they reached Mecca, they made many complaints about the Commander of the Faithful (ع) to the Messenger of God (ص). The Messenger of God (ص) then ordered his herald to call out among the people: “Keep your tongues from complaining about ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, for he is uncompromising in matters concerning God and will not compromise or turn a blind eye where religion is concerned.” So they stopped speaking ill of him and making complaints, and realized how highly the Prophet (ص) regarded him.
By my life, the Imam is none other than one who judges by the Book, upholds justice, follows the true religion, and devotes himself wholly to God’s cause. And peace.
*Al-Irshād fī Maʿrifat Ḥujaj Allāh ʿalā al-ʿIbād*, vol. 2, p. 39
From the words of the Commander of the Faithful (ص) on brothers and the duties of brotherhood in faith: People are brothers, but those whose brotherhood is not for God’s sake are enemies. This is what God, Mighty and Exalted, says: الأخلاء یومئذ بعضهم لبعض عدو إلا المتقین. From a person’s brothers, one comes to know the worth of men.
*Kanz al-Fawāʾid*, vol. 1, p. 93
… He would not turn back until he had trampled her temples beneath his heel and quenched her flames with his might—wearied in the cause of God, close to the Messenger of God, a leader among God’s friends. Yet you lived in ease and security, at rest and in joy, waiting for news, and retreating at the first clash of arms—until God, through Muḥammad (peace be upon him and his family), raised aloft the pillar of religion.
*Dalāʾil al-Imāma*, modern edition, p. 115
*Rawḍat al-Wāʿiẓīn wa-Baṣīrat al-Muttaʿiẓīn*, old edition, vol. 1, p. 37
Any affection founded on anything other than devotion to God is misguidance, and relying on it is futile.
Whoever gives of his wealth for God’s sake will have it promptly replaced.
Whenever a people form a bond of brotherhood for anything other than God’s sake, that brotherhood will become a cause of loss for them on the Day they are brought before God.
… the Jew—here is Noah (ع), who endured patiently for God’s sake, and thus fulfilled his duty toward his people when they denied him. ʿAlī (ع) said to him, “It was indeed so. Muḥammad (ص) endured patiently for the sake of God, Mighty and Exalted.”
So their judgment is mistaken: a person’s standing should not blind us to their errors.