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Home / Books / Kitāb al-Ghayba / Volume 1 / Reason of occultation of the Imam from his followers / Hadith 205
Hadith 205
Hadith #
205
Book
Kitāb al-Ghayba
Volume
1
Section
22
Part
Content
Chapter
Reason of occultation of the Imam from his followers
Source
Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī
۞
If the devotee was in a better position, he would not have failed the miracle of the Imam. Therefore, he must make up for this shortcoming. No one can say that this is a duty beyond his capacity and reliance on an unknown event in the future, because this devotee does not know his specific shortcoming in contemplation and reasoning, so he could make up for it and prepare himself for it; we believe you are binding him to something that does not legitimately bind him. That can be the case with regard to a religious duty that is sometimes clear and sometimes confusing with some other duty; and if the capacity with respect to both duties exists, then when the devotee introspects and sees that the Imam does not appear to him and he does not consider the aforementioned wrong reasons of the occultation valid, he realizes that the reason of the occultation is indebted to himself; and when he realizes that the strongest proof is what we mentioned, he discerns that the shortcoming is his own with respect to the miraculous signs and their conditions. Therefore, he must reflect on it and get rid of doubts and anything causing confusion. Whoever toils in this regard and reflects well, will definitely discover the difference between right and wrong. Man is knowledgeable of himself on occasions as this. It is not possible to do anything beyond, to go to extremes in investigation and research and to find and submit to truth. We mentioned that this case is similar to what we say to our opponents when they see our proofs and do not attain satisfaction.
وليس لأحد أن يقول هذا تكليف لما لا يطاق وحوالة على غيب لأن هذا الولي ليس يعرف ما قصر فيه بعينه من النظر والاستدلال فيستدركه حتى يتمهد في نفسه ويتقرر ونراكم تلزمونه ما لا يلزمه وذلك أن ما يلزم في التكليف قد يتميز تارة ويشتبه أخرى بغيره وإن كان التمكن من الأمرين ثابتا حاصلا. فالولي على هذا إذا حاسب نفسه ورأى أن الإمام لا يظهر له وأفسد أن يكون السبب في الغيبة ما ذكرناه من الوجوه الباطلة وأجناسها علم أنه لا بد من سبب يرجع إليه،وإذا علم أن أقوى العلل ما ذكرناه علم أن التقصير واقع من جهته في صفات المعجز وشروطه فعليه معاودة النظر في ذلك عند ذلك وتخليصه من الشوائب وما يوجب الالتباس فإنه من اجتهد في ذلك حق الاجتهاد ووفى النظر شروطه فإنه لا بد من وقوع العلم بالفرق بين الحق والباطل وهذه المواضع الإنسان فيها على نفسه بصيرة وليس يمكن أن يؤمر فيها بأكثر من التناهي في الاجتهاد والبحث والفحص والاستسلام للحق. وقد بينا أن هذا نظير ما نقول لمخالفينا إذا نظروا في أدلتنا ولم يحصل لهم العلم سواء.
Tags Occultation

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