hat religion
consists mainly in devotion to the Imam. The tragic end of 'Ali and his
sons invested them with peculiar interest. When grieving for the sad end of
their leaders, the Shi'ahs found consolation in the doctrine which soon
found development, _viz._, that it was God's will that the Imamat should
continue in the family of 'Ali. Thus a tradition relates that the Prophet
said: "He of whom I am master has 'Ali also for a master." "The best judge
among you is 'Ali." Ibn Abbas, a Companion says: "I heard the Prophet say:
'He who blasphemes my name blasphemes the name of God; he who blasphemes
the name of 'Ali blasphemes my name.'" A popular Persian hymn shows to what
an extent this feeling deepened. {77}

"Mysterious being! none can tell
The attributes in thee that dwell;
None can thine essence comprehend;
To thee should every mortal bend--
For 'tis by thee that man is given
To know the high behests of heaven."

The general idea is, that long before the creation of the world, God took a
ray of light from the splendour of His own glory and united it to the body
of Muhammad, to which He said: "Thou art the elect, the chosen, I will make
the members of thy family the guides to salvation." Muhammad said: "The
first thing which God created was my light, and my spirit."[67] The body of
the Prophet was then in some mysterious way hidden. In due time the world
was created, but not until the birth of Muhammad did this ray of glory
appear. It is well known to all Musalmans as the "Nur-i-Muhammadi"--light
of Muhammad.

This "Nur" is said to be of four kinds. From the first kind God created His
Throne, from the second the Pen of Fate, from the third Paradise, and from
the fourth the state, or place of Spirits and all created beings. According
to a statement made by 'Ali, Muhammad said that he was created from the
light of God, whilst all other created beings were formed from the "light
of Muhammad."[68]

This "light" descended to 'Ali, and from him passed on to the true Imams,
who alone are the lawful successors of the Prophet. Rebellion against them
is sin; devotion to them the very essence of religion.

The doctrine of the Imamat has given rise to endless discussion and
dissension, as the numerous sub-divisions of the Shia'h sect will show.
They are said to be thirty-two in number. The Shia'h proper is the largest
and most influential of them. The following are the Shi'ah tenets regarding
the Imam, based on o