The failure of the Imamate to be attained by the oppressors

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### The Ineligibility of Wrongdoers for the Imamate

**Question:**
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. How can it be proven that anyone who has committed an act of *Zulm* (wrongdoing/injustice), even for a single moment in their life, does not attain the station of Imamate, even after repentance, based on the Almighty’s saying: *”My covenant does not include the wrongdoers”* (Quran 2:124)? Please provide illustrative examples.

**Answer:**
Dear Brother Abu Ali,
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

When Abraham (peace be upon him) asked for the Imamate for some of his descendants, the response was to negate it for the wrongdoers among them.

However, one might ask: What is the nature of the *Zulm* (wrongdoing) intended in this verse? Is it wrongdoing for even a specific period of a person’s life, or is it wrongdoing throughout the person’s entire life?

The answer becomes clear through what the author of *Al-Mizan* relates from some of his teachers, stating:

> “People, according to logical categorization, fall into four categories:
> 1. One who was a wrongdoer throughout their entire life.
> 2. One who was not a wrongdoer throughout their entire life.
> 3. One who was a wrongdoer in the beginning of their life but not at the end.
> 4. One who is the opposite (a wrongdoer at the end but not the beginning).
>
> Abraham (peace be upon him) was of too high a stature to ask for the Imamate for the first and fourth categories of his descendants. Thus, two categories remained. Allah negated one of them—the one who was a wrongdoer at the beginning of his life but not at the end—leaving only the other: the one who was never a wrongdoer throughout their entire life.” *(1)*

May you remain in the care of Allah.

***

*(1) Tafsir al-Mizan, 1:274, regarding the verse: “And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham was tried by his Lord with commands…”*