Rope of Allah and the pillar of light

Question 29: Why is it that if the earth was free from an infallible or a Proof of Allah over the people of the earth, then the Earth would have been consumed along with its people as narrated from the Imams (pbut)?

The Answer: There are many narrations which convey this meaning, and from them: Abu Hamza said, “I said to Abu Abdullah pbuh, ‘Will the Earth ever remain without an Imam?’ He pbuh said, ‘If the Earth had ever remained without an Imam it would be consumed.’”.

Abu Jafar pbuh said, “If the Imam had been lifted from the Earth for one hour it would surge with its inhabitants just as the ocean surges with its inhabitants.”

And this is because the Proof pbuh is the location of the overflow that reaches to the earth. Thus due to his existence in all the Heavens and in the high and holy ranks, his example on this Earth is that of an infant’s navel, and it is the location of the obtainment of nourishment from the mother to the infant, so his example pbuh is that of the umbilical cord which comes down from the sky to the earth, transmitting the divine overflow to the earth, “Through them you are sustained, and through them you are showered.”

Hence he is the firm rope of Allah and the pillar of light which descends from the sky to the earth, and if not for him the earth would be consumed along with its people, meaning that the Divine Light will not reach the earth, and the earth will will waste away and it and its people will return to being nothing, therefore it is not possible to describe the greatness of the favor of the Proof pbuh over all the creation.

Ahmed Alhasan
The Allegories – volume 2