Do the Imams Have Any Authority on the Universe?

Do the Imams Have Any Authority on the Universe?
By
Ayatullah Muhammad Jawad Chirri
Late Director of the Islamic Center of America
The mercenary writers have tried more than one way to insult the followers of the Members of the House of the Prophet Muhammad. Among these shameful ways is the allegation that the Shi'ite Muslims believe that the Imams from the Members of the House of the Prophet Muhammad control the atoms of the universe.
These writers declare that such a belief is a belief in the divinity of the Imams. They tried to prove this accusation by another allegation. They accused the revolutionary Islamic leader, Imam Khumayni, of saying in one of his books or lectures that the Imams from the Members of the House of the Prophet Muhammad control the atoms of the universe.
I have never read such a statement in the books or lectures of Imam Khumayni. However, let us assume that he indeed said this. But let us try to understand his words instead of deliberately trying to misunderstand them. Did the revolutionary leader mean that the Imams have an independent authority over the atoms of nature separate from the authority of God Almighty? Did he mean that the Imams are able, by their own power, to change the course of nature?
Could he not have meant that the Imams are so absolutely obedient to God, and that because of their purity and obedience to Him, He responds to their prayers? Therefore, if they ask Him to change a natural course, their prayers are answered. There is no doubt that Imam Khumayni does not think that the Imams have power independent from the Almighty. He is too pure and righteous to voice such a thing, write it, or think it. He is one of the most righteous, pure, and obedient to the Almighty.
If Imam Khumayni had said that the Imams can control the atoms of the universe, he undoubtedly meant that the Imams of the House of the Prophet Muhammad had ascended in their obedience and worship to God to such a high degree that they could have asked the Almighty to transform the atoms of one object into the atoms of another, and He would have granted their request.
Furthermore, if they had asked Him to revive a dead person, God would have brought him back to life. Is this a belief in the divinity of the Imams? Those who attribute such a statement to Imam Khumayni and consider it a deviation from the Islamic course should give the matter serious thought. They should test such a statement with the contents of the Holy Qur'an.
The Great Book informs us of the miracles of the Prophets of God. And what is that in thy right hand, O Moses? He said: This is my staff. On it, I lean, and with it, I beat branches for my sheep, and in it I find other uses. "God said: Cast it down, O Moses! He cast it down, and behold! It became a snake, slithering. God said: Grasp it and fear not. We shall return it to its former state. "And draw thy hand to your side, it will come forth white without harm. That will be another miracle." (ch. 20. vs. 17-22).
This means that the dead cells which composed the rod of Moses were transformed into living cells. Then those living cells miraculously went back to dead cells.
In chapter Al-Shu'ara, we read the following words of the Almighty: "We revealed to Moses: Strike the sea with thy staff. It parted, and each part was like a huge mountain." (ch. 26, v.64)
Does this not mean that God made the sea obedient to Moses to such a degree that Moses was able to divide the water of the sea into two solid parts, each of them as huge as a mountain in height and size?
The Qur'an informs us of Jesus
In Al- 'Imran, we read that the Almighty informed us about Jesus: "And we will make him a messenger to the children of Israel (with this message): I come to you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird, by Allah's leave. I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by Allah's leave . . ." (ch. 3, v.49)
Here we see that the Almighty enabled Jesus to transform a piece of clay into a living bird that could fly like other birds. Is this the work of Moses or Jesus? Would the Qur'an invite us to deify someone other than God?
The Qur'an Informs us of Muhammad
In regard to the Prophet Muhammad, we read God's word in the chapter of The Moon: "The hour (of judgement) is near, and the moon has been split. But if they see a sign, they turn away and say: This is prolonged magic." (ch. 54, vs. 1-2)
This verse informs us that Allah split the moon in response to His Messenger Muhammad's prayer, and this never happened before the time of Muhammad.
A Tree Walked In Response To The Order Of Muhammad
We find in Nahj al-Balaghah that Imam Ali reported that he was with the Prophet when the chieftains of Quraysh challenged him and asked him to order a nearby tree to uproot and walk to him. They said that this would be visible evidence of his prophethood. The Messenger of God spoke to the tree saying:
"Tree, if you believe in Allah and the Hereafter and know that I am a Messenger of God, uproot and walk until you stand in front of me, with permission of God."
The tree, obeying the Prophet, uprooted and walked to him while making a loud noise like the wings of a flying bird. When the chiefs saw the tree standing in front of the prophet, they asked him to make half the tree come forward and keep the other half in its original place. When he did that, they said: "Let the half that came to you go back to the other half. He did." (Nahj al-Balaghah, part 2, pp.158-9)
Ibn Hisham reported similar to this: "Rukanah Al-Muttalibi was the strongest man in Mecca. He met the Messenger outside Mecca and the Messenger invited him to Islam. Rukanah said:
"If you can prove that you are a true messenger, I will follow you."
The Messenger said:
"What do you say if I wrestle you down? Will that make you believe that I am a true prophet?"
Rukanah said:
"Yes."
The Prophet wrestled him down twice.
Rukanah said:
"Muhammad, this is really amazing. Did you really wrestle me?"
The Prophet said:
"I will show you more amazing things than this if you obey God and follow my way."
Rukanah said: What is it?
The Prophet said: "I will call this tree which you are looking at, and it will come to me."
Rukanah said: Call it, and the Prophet called it. The tree came until it stood in front of him.
The Prophet said to it: "Go back to your place," and it went to its original place. (Ibn Hisham, AI-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah, part 1, page 391)
These miracles which occurred in response to prayers of the Messenger of God testify, as documented in the Qur'an, that Allah empowers His great servants to perform miracles by His permission.
In other words, He responds to the prayers of His Messengers by creating miracles. What happened through the prophets does not indicate that they had any touch of divinity. On the contrary, it testifies that those prophets were true servants of God. They ascended to the highest degree of servitude to Him, and that their obedience to Him was absolute. Had they been otherwise, they would not have been able to perform any miracles, and no prayer by them would have been answered. They obeyed God completely and He responded to their prayers.
Reference: ImamReza.net