“WhatshallIsay?”hereplied.“IfIsaywe havenodifference,thenI
lie.AndjustasIsaidtheBookofAllahandthe sunnahof theProphet
shouldtakeaway thedifferencesbetweenus,sothisalsoisuntrue,be-
cause,inmanyinstances,theBookofAllahandthesunnahdonothave
a clear and obvious meaning that could dispel our differences.”
Sothe manfromDamascussaidthathewantedtoasktheverysame
question from Hishām. The Imam agreed.
“OHishām.Whoismorelovingtowardspeople?God,orthepeople
themselves?”
“God.”
“Did hesend them someone toprotect the unityof Muslims andto
take over their control, to explain to them the truth and falsity?”
“Are you talking about the time of the Prophet, or about now?”
“In the time of the Prophet, it was him; no, tell me about now.”
“Todayitisthismanwho isseated hereandto whompeoplecome
fromeverycorneroftheland,andwhogivesusnewsoftheheavenand
the earth; and this knowledge wasbequeathed to him from his father
and so on back to the Prophet.”
“How can I verify and accept this statement for myself?”
“Go now and ask him anything you like.”
“That's right, there is no excuse; only I must ask.”
ThenImamJa`faras-Sādiq(a.s.)toldhimabouthisjourneyandofthe
thingsthathadhappenedtohimonhiswaywhichonlythemancould
knowof.Whenhehadexplainedsothatnodoubtremainedforhim,the
man declared his belief in the Imam.
* * *This lesson has been adapted with minor changes from Dar Rah-e
Haqq,The Roots of Religion, Qum, Iran.