Are there any thorns in my comments on Shafeen's article posted by kmaherali. If kmaherali's post stays there why not mine. This is called act of balance. There are contradictions in Shafeen's article. Let me post again.
Comments:
Following are the Farman of MSMS:
In every time Imam has something new to reveal.
You should obey the Farmans of the Imam of the time.
My Farmans in years to come will be QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE PRESENT ONES.The whole world will change, therefore you should obey the Farmans of the Imam of the time.
As the time changes so do the Farmans change.
In 1950 MSMS himself replaced the sentence Ali Sahi Allah to Aliyyullah in Dua. He also issued a Farman; " I have made this change with my hands and this Dua is for the jamaits of India, Pakistan, and African jamaits".
The meaning of Aliyyullah in Dua meaning books is " Ali is from Allah", published by ITREBs and this meaning is given on instructions from Imam of the time.
Shafeen wrote:
Why is the “Ali Allah” reality a key to the recognition of the Imam?
Reply:
None of our Imams claimed to be Allah.
Shafeen wrote:
Who or What is the Imam in relation to God?
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (A.S.), our 5th Imam:
“We are the gates of God. … He who approaches Him through us is brought near Him. … He who turns away from us goes astray.”
Reply:
Imam Jafar said," We are the gates of Allah ", Imam has used the words 'gates of Allah'. It does not imply 'We are Allah' as Imam said.
Shfeen wrote:
The answer lies in the concept of “mazhar” which in Arabic literally means that which makes something “batin”, hidden, “zahir”, apparent or manifest. When God breathes His spirit (ruh) into Adam, God makes Himself “zahir”, apparent or manifest, through Adam. Adam is, therefore, a “mazhar” of God. Adam is also a “wasilah”, a “means of approach” or a vessel, through which, God makes Himself known. When the angels were asked to prostrate to Adam, they were not prostrating to the body of Adam; they were prostrating to the batin, which that body, made zahir, the spirit of God, within Adam. In other words, the Imam, in every age and time, fulfills the nature and purpose of Adam as mentioned in the Qur’an, to be the mazhar and khalifa of God on earth.
Reply:
Here comes the contradiction. You wrote, Adam is MAZHAR OF ALLAH, Adam is WASILAH, MEANS OF APPROACH, KHALIFAH it shows you are talking about INTERCESSOR.
Please read the meaning of Dua given by Imam where the word 'BI HAQQI' which means Wasilah, Tufail, or in the name of Allah, is used 5 times.
Shafeen wrote:
In this age and time, it is our 49th hereditary Imam, Mawlana Hazir Imam Shah Karim al-Hussaini (A.S.), who, as per our faith, is the mazhar, witness or proof of God on earth, and God’s khalifa, bearing the Nur, as he himself has said:
Since my grandfather, the last Aga Khan, died, I have been the bearer of the “Nur” a word which means ‘The Light’. The Nur has been handed down in direct descent from the Prophet.
Reply:
Here again Shafeen is contradicting his assertion that Imam is GOD. The words used are, mazhar, wittness or proof of God.
Noor of who? Obviously that is Noor of ALLAH. Two different entities.
Shafeen wrote:
Alternatively, what we currently recite in our Du’a and Tasbihs, “Aliyyullah”, written in Arabic as Aliyyullah_graphic, is grammatically a genitive case called iDafa, and translates to “Ali of Allah”. Making the substitution for “Ali” based on the above, “Aliyyullah” also means “Nur of Allah”. The genitive case implied in “Ali Allah” is made explicit in Arabic through “Aliyyullah”, with the meaning remaining the same, “Nur of Allah”.
Reply:
In the phrase Aliyyullah there is no mention of noor in this phrase. Ali means High, Exalted and Noor means light. Imam has not used the words Noorullah in Dua.
Shafeen wrote:
This is the esoteric significance of the word “Sahi” in the saying “Ali Sahi Allah”, also from the old Ismaili Du’a, with the word “Sahi” representing “direct”. Direct indicates that there is no “intercessor”, no “go between”, no step, no stair, between Ali and Allah. If Allah is completely transcendent and if Ali is in “direct” contact with Allah, this, then, makes Ali the means (“wasilah”, as mentioned in the last section) from, and to, Allah. Two necessary truths must also follow.
Reply:
Again contradict. Shafeen wrote,"...then makes Ali the means "Wasilah" from and to Allah. Two necessary Truths.
Two necessary truths shows two different entities and Ali is Wasilah from and to Allah does not imply Ali is Allah.
Dua is foundation of Ismaili Tariqah, one must learn and follow the meaning of Dua.
