Indeed he (Muhammad SAW) did see, of the Greatest Signs, of his Lord (Allah) (Quran 53:17)
Somehow it does not compute in my brain that when the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.)
arrived at his (s.a.w.) destination in Me’raj, there was one of these people who go
around calling themselves the ‘great sign of Allah’, sitting there waiting for him.
And in Ziyarat, the Holy Imam (a.s.) is referred to as the great sign of Allah (s.w.t.).
Peace be upon you o Doyen of the Martyrs, Peace be upon you of Great Sign of Allah(s.w.t.).(BIHAR UL ANWAAR VOL. 97 H 5)
Imam Ali (a.s.) said: If I make the intention to see the wonders of the earth and the
seven heavens in the twinkling of an eye, then I can do so for I have the Great Name
and I am the Great Sign and the magnificent Miracle.(BIHAR UL ANWAAR VOL. 54 H 26)
(Allah) said: "O Iblis (Satan)! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with Both My Hands. Are you too proud (to fall prostrate to Adam) or are you one of the high exalted?"(Quran 38:75)
The above ayah refers to the incidence where Iblis the Satan refuses to prostrate in sajda before
Aadam (A.S). This act of pride and refusal makes him the rejected one and he ultimately
becomes ‘Kafir’ though he still believed in Allah’s Oneness and Greatness.
When we observe the later part of the above ayah we find that Allah (SWT) is questioning Iblis
on his not prostrating to Aadam (A.S) by asking whether he has turned arrogant or does he
think he is from amongst the Alin? This shows the presence of Alin - the mighty ones even
before the creation of Aadam (AS). And they were made superior to Aadam (A.S) in their
position by Allah (SWT). We can further infer that Allah (SWT) dislikes arrogance and pride
and He equally dislikes someone who compares himself to these mighty ones since in the
above ayah Allah (SWT) has specifically questioned the Satan on these two aspects. If someone
still thinks that he can match them and be like them in position, he is following the footsteps
of the Satan and such a person is at a risk of losing everything which he has earned in his
lifetime and it would lead him to ‘Kufr’; though he still might be a believer of Allah’s
Oneness and Greatness.
This shows that ‘Alin’ are the Greatest Signs of Allah and to accept their superiority is key to
enhance our faith. The other thing worth knowing is that the word ‘Alin’ is the plural form of
‘Ali’ in Arabic.
The following excerpts from the tafsir of our beloved Imam Hasan Askari (A.S) would help us
identify them and their greatness:
Imam Hasan Askari (A.S) has reported from his forefathers (pbut) that the holy Prophet
(pbuh) has said: "When Allah created Adam and Eve (Allah's peace be upon them), they
strutted around Heaven, then Adam told Eve:" Allah hasn't created any beings better
than us." so Allah sent this revelation to Jibriel (A.S): Bring me my servant who is in
the higher Paradise. Then when they entered the paradise, they saw a female servant
sitting on one of Heaven's carpets. She had a crown of light on her head and on her
ears, she had earrings of light. The heavens had brightened from the beauty of her
face?! So he (Jibriel) said: This is Fatima (pbuh) the daughter of Mohammad (pbuh);
a prophet who your descendants will begat at the end of time. So he said: What is this
crown on her head? He said: Her husband Ali (pbuh) son of Abi Talib, he said: And
what are those earrings on her ears? He said: Her sons Al Hasan (pbuh) and Al
Hussein (pbuh). He said: My beloved Jibriel! Have they been created before me? He
said: They existed in the obscure knowledge of Allah Almighty, before you were
created in four thousand years.
(Ref: Tafsir Al-Imam Al-Askari p.219, Bihar Al-Anwar vol.26 p.326, Ta'weel Al-Ayat al-
Zahira vol.1 p.44, Qasas Al-Anbiaa p.43)
This clarifies that the ‘Alin’ so mentioned in ayah of Surah-e-Saad are Mohammed (SAW), Ali
(A.S), Fatema (S.A), Hasan (A.S) and Hussain (A.S). They have been created four thousand
years prior to Aadam (A.S) and they are superior to all other creations. Loving and accepting
their superiority is enhancement of faith and would lead to salvation. Iblis could not understand
this and became Satan while Aadam (A.S)’s mistake was forgiven when he accepted their
superiority. As Quran says:“(Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He turned to him mercifully;
surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.)”
Allah (SWT) in order to forgive Aadam (A.S)’s mistake, taught him some words and when
Aadam (A.S) recited these words Allah (SWT) turned to him mercifully and his mistake was
forgiven. The commentators have agreed that these holy words mentioned in the above ayah
which Aadam (A.S) recited to invoke Allah (SWT)’s Mercy are the names of Mohammed
(SAW), Ali (A.S), Fatema (S.A), Hassan (A.S) and Husain (A.S). (Ref: Durr-e-Mansur,
Suyuti, vol 1 P 16).
From the above contemplation we can conclude now that Allah (SWT) created the holy
Prophet (pbuh) and his holy Progeny (pbut) superior to his every other creations and termed
them as ‘Alin’- The Mighty Ones and made them His Greatest Signs as submitting to their
superiority is faith and rejecting to accept them as leaders is ‘Kufr’. They are so purified that
only through their intercession Allah’s Mercy can be invoked and would He listen to our
prayers and forgive our sins.
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