All the Righteous Children of Abraham (a.s.) Attaining Imāma

The Qur’an divides the descendants of Abraham (a.s.) into two general groups: “doers of good” (muḥsin) and “those unjust to themselves” (ẓālim li-nafsih); “And among their descendants are doers of good and those who are clearly unjust to themselves” [37:113]. A muḥsin is someone who not only fulfills their religious duties but also acts benevolently towards others. Therefore, if someone is benevolent to others but oppresses themselves, they cannot be considered a muḥsin.

Considering this verse and the phrase “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers” [2:124], the covenant of Imāma has reached the muḥsin children of Abraham (a.s.). After God divided the children of Abraham into the two groups of muḥsinīn and ẓālimīn, and stated that His covenant does not reach the wrongdoers, it follows logically that His covenant does reach the muḥsinīn. If the covenant did not reach the muḥsinīn, the division of the descendants and the specific restriction in the verse would be futile, and God’s words are free from such futility.

On this basis, the covenant of Imāma reached all the muḥsin children of Abraham, the Friend of God. This means that all divine prophets and saints from his progeny will also be Imāms. Although the Qur’an does not explicitly mention the Imāma of many Abrahamic prophets, such as Moses, Jesus, and the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.), based on the general principle mentioned above, we can confidently say that all the righteous descendants of Abraham (a.s.), from Ishmael and Isaac to the Master of the Age (may our souls be sacrificed for him), attained the station of Imāma.

The attainment of the covenant of Imāma by all the infallible descendants of Abraham (a.s.) can also be proven through another explanation: humanity can be divided into four groups, based on whether they are infallible or non-infallible, and whether they descend from Abraham or from others. Based on previous discussions and the noble verse under consideration, the covenant of Imāma reached all the infallible descendants of Abraham (a.s.). This is because: God, who answered the prayer of Abraham, does not break His promises.

The failure of the Imāma to reach the infallible descendants of Abraham would mean the non-fulfillment of his prayer.

If the divine covenant of Imāma does not even reach the infallible, the phrase “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers” would become meaningless.

In other words, in this verse, which is in the context of limitation, when God says “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers”, it implies that His covenant does indeed reach the infallible. The non-infallible, whether from the descendants of Abraham or others, are excluded from this covenant. This does not imply that only the wrongdoers among Abraham’s descendants are deprived of the Imāma; as stated earlier, based on the correspondence between the ruling and the subject, Imāma is incompatible with any form of oppression. Furthermore, based on the concept of priority, if some of Abraham’s descendants are deprived of Imāma due to oppression, then other wrongdoers are even more certainly deprived of the divine covenant of Imāma.

The general context of the sentence “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers” is one of the non-restrictable generalities. The well-known phrase “There is no general except that it has been specified” has itself been specified; because not every general or absolute is subject to specification or restriction. Just as the generalities about the attributes of the Almighty, such as “Indeed, God has power over all things” [2:20], “God has knowledge of all things” [4:176], and “Your Lord does not wrong anyone” [18:49], are free from specification, so too is the exclusion of wrongdoers from God’s covenant.

The affirmative part of the phrase “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers” establishes Imāma only for the infallible children of Abraham, but it does not necessarily imply that Imāma extends to infallible individuals outside Abraham’s progeny. The absence of evidence in the Qur’an regarding the Imāma of non-Abrahamic infallibles suggests that this must be proven through other sources. Meanwhile, the negative part of the phrase is absolute: if someone is not virtuous and righteous, whether they descend from Abraham or not, they will not attain Imāma.

The use of the plural, definite article “the wrongdoers”, implies that God’s covenant does not reach any wrongdoer. Thus, the divine covenant of Imāma does not extend to the wrongdoers among the descendants of Abraham, according to the explicit meaning of the verse, and by logical priority, it does not extend to wrongdoers from outside his lineage either.

The verse does not indicate the higher levels of infallibility:

Although the verse under discussion is a definitive proof for negating the eligibility of false claimants to imāma and confirms the imāma of the infallible Imāms (a.s.), it does not address the higher levels of infallibility. This verse only indicates the infallibility of the Imām from sin and oppression. Therefore, his infallibility from forgetfulness and oversight must be established through other evidence.