“God said: ‘Some countenances shall on that day look towards their Lord.’”[513]
They say besides, that if he gave access to heaven to all creatures, or sent them to hell, it would not be unjust; because tyranny can be exercised every where except in his empire. They maintain also, that the office of an Imam becomes firm by union and election, not only by manifestation and establishment: because, if there was manifestation, it did not remain occult, and the excitements occasioned by the report of it were abundant. Upon the plank of the children of Sáâdah[514] they united to elect _Abubeker_; after having established Abubeker, they chose _Omar_; and after consultation _Osman_, and afterwards their choice fell upon _Alî_ (the blessing of God, the Highest, be upon them all!). The order of their succession in the office of Imam was according to the order of their excellence.
An example of what was said about the ancients is to be found among the possessors of the sacred sayings, the Imam Ahmed Hanbal[515] and Dáúd Ebn Ali Muhammed Jsfahánî[516] and the Jamáâtî of the ancients (the blessing of God be upon them!) who proceeded as leaders upon the high road of the ancients, such as Málik Ans and Makábil Ben Solîman, and persevered upon the high road of peace, saying: “We made oath by the book and the Sonna, and we were no opposers to the interpretation;” therefore they placed confidence in the book of God, and the Sonnites said: “We know that the Lord Almighty is not like any thing that is created, and none of the created beings is like the Lord Almighty;” and they were very careful of the simile, and said: “Whoever makes a motion with his hand in reciting these words:
“or extends his finger, repeating these words of the sacred sayings:
‘The heart of the believer is between two fingers of God the Merciful.’
“it shall be necessary to cut off his hand.” They said besides: ”We persevere in the interpretation of it, because there is a remedy for the heart, which remedy proceeded from the heavenly revelation; namely,
“They whose hearts are inclined to error will follow that which is parabolical therein (the Koran), out of love of schism and a desire of the interpretation thereof; yet none knoweth the interpretation thereof, except God. But they who are well grounded in knowledge say: ‘We believe therein the whole is from our Lord.’[517]