ne of their standard books of {78} divinity.[69] The
Imam is the successor of the Prophet, adorned with all the qualities which
he possessed. He is wiser than the most learned men of the age, holier than
the most pious. He is the noblest of the sons of men and is free from all
sin original or actual: hence the Imam is called ma'sum (innocent.)[70] God
rules the world by wisdom, hence the sending forth of prophets was a
necessity; but it was equally necessary to establish the Imamat. Thus the
Imam is equal to a prophet. 'Ali said: "In me is the glory of every prophet
that has ever been." The authority of the Imam is the authority of God, for
(I quote the Hyat-un-Nafis) "his word is the word of God and of the
Prophet, and obedience to his order is incumbent." The nature of the Imam
is identical with the nature of Muhammad, for did not 'Ali say: "I am
Muhammad, and Muhammad is me." This probably refers to the possession by
the Imam of the "light of Muhammad." The bodies of the Imams are so pure
and delicate that they cast no shadow.[71] They {79} are the beginning and
the end of all things. To know the Imams is the very essence of the
knowledge which men can gain of God. "The Holy God calls the Imams His
word, His hands, His signs, His secret. Their commands and prohibitions,
their actions too, He recognises as His own." As mediums between God and
man they hold a far higher position than the prophets, for "the grace of
God, without their intervention, reaches to no created being." These
extravagant claims for the Imams culminate in the assertion that "for them
a pillar of light has been fixed between the earth and heaven, by which the
actions of the Faithful are made known to them." The Imam is the supreme
Pontiff, the Vicar of God on earth. The possession of an infallible book is
not sufficient. The infallible guide is needed. Such wisdom and discernment
as such a guide would require can only be found amongst the descendants of
the Prophet. It is no longer, then, a matter of wonder, that in some cases,
almost, if not entirely, divine honour is paid to 'Ali and his
descendants.[72]

The Usul, or fundamental tenets of the Shia'h sect are five in number. (1)
To believe in the unity of God, (2) To admit that He is just, (3) To
believe in the divine mission of all the prophets, and that Muhammad is the
chief of all, (4) To consider 'Ali the Khalif next in order after Muhammad,
(5) To believe 'Ali's descendants from Hasan to Mahd