Just as we previously showed in the story of Abraham, peace be upon him, the Quran refers to the state of imamate and leadership of Abraham, peace be upon him, to follow the stage of prophethood, Divine mission and passing the difficult tests presented to him. It says:
و اذا بتلی ابراهیم ربه بکلمات فا تمهن قال انی جاعلک للناس اماما
البقره 2/124
“And remember that Abraham was tried by his Lord with certain commands which he filled. He said, ‘I will make you an Imam to the nations.” (2:124)
The Holy Quran and various histories show that he attained this stage after struggling with the idol worshippers of Babel, his migration to Damascus, his building of the Ka’bah and taking his child, Ishmael, to the place of sacrifice.
If prophethood and the Divine mission must be determined by God, imamate and leadership must also be determined by God for it relates to all aspects of the human being and it is to help direct them towards perfection. This is not something that the people may do. The Holy Quran says:
“I will make You an Imam to the nations.” (2:124)
In another verse it says,
و جعلنا هم ائمه یهدون بامرنا و اوحینا الیهم
الانبیاء 21/73
“And We made them leaders guiding (men) by Our Command and We send them Inspiration “(21:73)
Similar, to this, it can be shown in other verses of the Quran that God must select Imam and beyond this, at the time when we read that Abraham asked that his offspring be included, he was told:
“But My promise is not Within the reach of wrong doers.” (2:124)
It says that his prayer will be answered but those who had committed oppression would never reach this high station.
Noting the fact that an oppressor, both in the meaning of the word as well as the logic of Quran, has an extensive meaning, including the clear and hidden sins of polytheism and any kind of oppression against other people and noting that only God can know this in a complete and perfect way, because only God is aware of what goes on inside people, it is clear that only God can select the person for this stage.
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