Question
“(We sent) messengers as the givers of good news and as warners, so that people should not have a plea against Allah after the (coming of) messengers; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (Q 4:165)
The good news could have been the designation of Hazrat Alī as imām after him and the coming of the imāms after Alī. This verse also shows that the Prophet (sws) was only a warner and there will be guides after him.
Regards,
Shoaib
Answer
My dear brother, understanding Islam cannot be based on works of guess and estimation. The meaning of the verse is crystal clear and all the significant experts of the Qur’ān, the Shī‘ī and Sunni, in principle have the same understanding of the “givers of good news” in the verse that is a translation for the word “Mubashshirīn“. According to their understanding, which is also in line with other verses of the Qur’ān, the good news is the fact that those who accept the message of a Messenger will reach salvation and paradise in the hereafter.
If unlike all the Shī‘ī and Sunni experts of the Qur’ān, you believe that “good news” here means the designation of Alī (ra) as the Imām then the onus is on you to prove this. We are supposed to learn our religion from the Qur’ān, not to interpret the verses of the Qur’ān based on our own understanding of religion. What you are doing here is exactly what Alī (ra) has advised us not to do in Nahj al-Balāghah, that is, leading the Qur’ān to our personal beliefs rather than letting the Qur’ān leading us to the correct belief.
The verse has no indication that the Prophet (sws) was not a guide and that there will be guides coming after him. In fact, this goes directly opposite to what the verse is saying. The verse is saying that after the Messengers there remain no excuses for people. A genuine excuse emerges when there is a genuine unfulfilled need. The verse is in fact saying that this “need” is fulfilled with the coming of the Messengers.
I would also like to remind you that according to Shī‘ī, the Prophet (sws) himself was an Imam. Therefore according to Shī‘ī, the Prophet (sws) was also a guide.
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-02-26
