Question:

Can the Imam be referred to as a Lord (Rabb)?

Answer:

The use of such a designation depends on the intended meaning. In reports of the Qur’an and the people of the house (a.), the word “Lord” as “Rabb” (رب), whose plural is “Arbab” (أرباب), has two meanings.

[1.] Forbidden meaning as a description for a creature:

The Qur’an says:

“They took their scholars and their monks as lords in place of God, as well as Christ, the son of Mary. Yet they were only commanded to serve one God. There is no God but Him. Praise be to Him! He is exalted above all that they have added to Him.” [At-Tawbah 9:31]

اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله والمسيح ابن مريم وما أمروا إلا ليعبدوا إلها واحدا لا إله إلا هو سبحانه عما يشركون

Hisham Ibn Salim reported that Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (a.) said: “A group came to the commander of the believers (a.) and said: “Peace be upon you, O our Lord ( besides God). He then called on them to repent, but they did not repent. Then he had a pit dug for them and lit a fire in it, and he had another pit dug next to it and made a connection between the two. When they still did not repent, he threw them into the pit and lit a fire in the other one until they died.” Muhammad Baqir Al-Majlisi writes: “Good (Hasan).” [Al-Kafi of Al-Kulaini, volume 7 page 258 – 259 Hadith 18; Mir’at-ul-Uqul of Al-Majlisi, volume 23 page 401]

علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن هشام بن سالم، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: أتى قوم أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام فقالوا: السلام عليك يا ربنا فاستتابهم فلم يتوبوا فحفر لهم حفيرة وأوقد فيها نارا وحفر حفيرة أخرى إلى جانبها وأفضى ما بينهما فلما لم يتوبوا ألقاهم في الحفيرة وأوقد في الحفيرة الأخرى [نارا] حتى ماتوا. وقال شيخ الإسلام المجلسي رضي الله عنه: حسن

Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari reported that Imam Ali (a.) said: “Know, O Abu Dharr, that I am a servant of God and His successor for His servants. Do not make us to be Lords (besides of God) and say what you like about our merits, but you will not grasp us or even the end of it, because God gave us a greater and more mighty gift than what can be described and is described by you or can carry the heart of one of you. If you acknowledge us in this way, then you are believers.” [Bihar-ul-Anwar of Al-Majlisi, Volume 26 Page 2 Hadith 1]

عن محمد بن صدقة عن أبي ذر الغفاري رضي الله عنه أن أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام قال: اعلم يا با ذر أنا عبد الله عز وجل وخليفته على عباده لا تجعلونا أربابا وقولوا في فضلنا ما شئتم فإنكم لا تبلغون كنه ما فينا ولا نهايته، فان الله عز وجل قد أعطانا أكبر وأعظم مما يصفه وأصفكم أو يخطر على قلب أحدكم فإذا عرفتمونا هكذا فأنتم المؤمنون

Muhammad Ibn Ali reported that Imam Ali Ar-Rida (a.) said: “God, I renounce myself from all power and strength with You, for there is no power and strength except through You, God, I renounce with You from those who attribute to us a right that is not ours, God, I renounce with You from those who say about us what we have never said about ourselves, God, You are in possession of creation and from You comes the matter, You we serve and to You we ask for help (1:4). God, You are our Creator and the Creator of our former and later fathers, God, no one is entitled to rule but You and no one is worthy of worship but You. Cursed be those Nazarenes who diminished Your mightiness and cursed be those who compared You to Your creation through their word. God, we are Your servants and the sons of Your servants; neither is the harm of our soul in our hands, nor the benefit, nor death, nor life, nor resurrection. O God, whoever claims that we are Lords (instead of You), we renounce him from You. Whoever claims that creation and provision come from us, we renounce ourselves from them to You in the same way that Jesus (a.) renounced the Nazarenes. God, we never called them to do what they claim, so do not blame us for what they say and forgive us for what they claim! My Lord, let none of the disbelievers continue to dwell on the earth. If You let them (live) (71:26-27), they will mislead Your servants and bring into the world only those who are full of evil and very disbelieving.” [Al-I’tiqadat Fi Din Al-Imamiyyah of As-Saduq, pages 99-100]

عن محمد بن علي بن بابويه عن الإمام علي بن موسى الرضا عليهما السلام أنه قال: اللهم إني أبرأ إليك من الحول والقوة، فلا حول ولا قوة إلا بك اللهم إني أبرأ إليك من الذين ادعوا لنا ما ليس لنا بحق. اللهم إني أبرأ إليك من الذين قالوا فينا ما لم نقله في أنفسنا. اللهم لك الخلق ومنك الأمر، وإياك نعبد وإياك نستعين. اللهم أنت خالقنا وخالق آبائنا الأولين وآبائنا الآخرين. اللهم لا تليق الربوبية إلا بك، ولا تصلح الإلهية إلا لك، فالعن النصارى الذين صغروا عظمتك، والعن المضاهين لقولهم من بريتك. اللهم إنا عبيدك وأبناء عبيدك، لا نملك لأنفسنا ضرا ولا نفعا ولا موتا ولا حياة ولا نشورا. اللهم من زعم أننا أرباب فنحن إليك منه براء، ومن زعم أن إلينا الخلق وعلينا الرزق فنحن إليك منه براء كبراءة عيسى – عليه السلام – من النصارى. اللهم إنا لم ندعهم إلى ما يزعمون، فلا تؤاخذنا بما يقولون واغفر لنا ما يزعمون رب لا تذر على الأرض من الكافرين ديارا إنك إن تذرهم يضلوا عبادك ولا يلدوا إلا فاجرا كفارا

[2.] Allowed meaning as a description for a creature:

The Qur’an says:

“And the one from Egypt who had bought him said to his wife: ‘Prepare a friendly home for him. May he be of use to us, or perhaps we will adopt him as a child.” And We gave Joseph a position of respectability in the land. And We would teach him the interpretation of the stories. And God is superior in his matter. But most people do not know. When he had reached his full strength, We gave him judgment and knowledge. Thus do We reward the righteous. And those in whose house he was, tried to seduce him. She locked the doors and said: “Come here.” He said: “God forbid! He, my lord, has provided me a pleasant abode. Those who do wrong shall not prosper.” She nearly fell for him, and he nearly fell for her if he had not seen his master’s proof. This (was) done that We might ward off from him the evil and the shameful. For he is one of our chosen servants. They both sought to reach the door first. She tore his shirt from behind. And they met their master at the door. She said: “The reward of anyone who would do evil to your family is prison or a painful torment.” [Yusuf 12:21-25]

وقال الذي اشتراه من مصر لامرأته أكرمي مثواه عسى أن ينفعنا أو نتخذه ولدا وكذلك مكنا ليوسف في الأرض ولنعلمه من تأويل الأحاديث والله غالب على أمره ولكن أكثر الناس لا يعلمون ولما بلغ أشده آتيناه حكما وعلما وكذلك نجزي المحسنين وراودته التي هو في بيتها عن نفسه وغلقت الأبواب وقالت هيت لك قال معاذ الله إنه ربي أحسن مثواي إنه لا يفلح الظالمون ولقد همت به وهم بها لولا أن رأى برهان ربه كذلك لنصرف عنه السوء والفحشاء إنه من عبادنا المخلصين واستبقا الباب وقدت قميصه من دبر وألفيا سيدها لدى الباب قالت ما جزاء من أراد بأهلك سوءا إلا أن يسجن أو عذاب أليم

Al-Mufaddal Ibn Umar reported that Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq (a.) mentioned the verse: “And the earth shines in the light of its Lord. The book is laid down. The prophets and the witnesses are brought. And judgment shall be made between them according to the truth, and no wrong shall be done to them.” (39:69) He said: “By the Lord of the earth is meant the Imam of the earth.” I said: “What will happen when the Imam appears?” He said: “The the people will not pay any attention to the light of the sun and the moon and they will have a share in the light of the Imam.” [Tafsir Al-Qummi by Ali Ibn Ibrahim, Volume 2 Page 253]

حدثنا محمد بن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: حدثنا جعفر بن محمد قال: حدثني القاسم بن الربيع قال: حدثني صباح المدائني قال: حدثنا المفضل بن عمر انه سمع أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول في قوله: وأشرقت الأرض بنور ربها. قال رب الأرض يعني إمام الأرض، فقلت: فإذا خرج يكون ماذا؟ قال: إذا يستغني الناس عن ضوء الشمس ونور القمر ويجتزون بنور الامام

Ash-Sharif Ibn Muhammad reported that Imam Ali (a.) said: “I am the Lord of the earth, by which the earth comes to peace.” [Mir’at-ul-Anwar by Abu Al-Hasan Al-Amili, page 59]

عن الشريف بن محمد عن الإمام علي عليه السلام أنه قال: انا رب الارض الذي يسكن الارض به

Ahmad Ibn Zain Ad-Din reported that Imam Ali (a.) said: “I am a branch of the branches of lordship.” [Sharh Az-Ziyarat Al-Jami’ah Al-Kabirah of Al-Ahsa’i, Volume 1 Page 70]

عن أحمد بن زين الدين عن الإمام علي عليه السلام أنه قال: أنا فرع من فروع الربوبية

Abu Hamzah reported that he asked Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (a.) about the verse: “And he who denies the faith, his deeds are worthless and in the hereafter he belongs among the losers.” (5:5) He said: “The explanation of this lies in the inner meaning of the Qur’an: “And whoever denies the authority (wilayah) of Ali, his deeds are worthless.” Ali is the faith.” I then asked him about the verse: “And the disbeliever seeks help against his Lord.” (25:55) He said: “The explanation of this lies in the inner meaning of the Qur’an: “Ali is his lord in authority and obedience.” But as for the (one) Lord, He is the Creator, Who is not overpowered by the descriptive power.” [Basa’ir-ud-Darajat of As-Saffar, page 97 Hadith 5]

عبد الله بن عامر، عن محمد البرقي، عن الحسين بن عثمان، عن محمد بن الفضيل، عن أبي حمزة قال: سألت أبا جعفر عليه السلام عن قول الله تبارك وتعالى: ومن يكفر بالايمان فقد حبط عمله وهو في الآخرة من الخاسرين قال: تفسيرها في بطن القرآن ومن يكفر بولاية علي، وعلي هو الايمان. وقال: سألت أبا جعفر عليه السلام عن قول الله: وكان الكافر على ربه ظهيرا قال: تفسيرها في بطن القرآن: علي هو ربه في الولاية والطاعة، والرب هو الخالق الذي لا يوصف

Al-Faid Al-Kashani writes: “God is the Lord of all the lords. The Imams (a.) are the means to reach the knowledge of His being. They are the intermediaries for the manifestation of His attributes and the lords of His creation.” [As-Safi Fi Tafsir Kalamillah Al-Wafi, Volume 1 Page 113]

قال الفيض الكاشاني: والله سبحانه رب الأرباب. وقال الكاشاني: لأنهم عليهم السلام وسائل معرفة ذاته ووسائط ظهور صفاته وأرباب أنواع مخلوقاته