“The Sun Behind the Clouds” Series
Part 1: The Lost
“The Sun behind the Clouds” is the name of a series which elaborates on different aspects of the analogy between Imam Mahdi and the sun when it is behind the clouds. This series is produced in whiteboard animation style and the title of its first episode is “The Lost”. You can download this episode in different resolutions or watch it online.
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The text of the Clip
Salam my friend!I hope you are getting along well.
Think about the clouds with the sun behind them!
What situation does it make for the earth and its inhabitants?
Is there anything special about the sun behind the clouds?
Let me first discuss a specific fact
that no one usually pays attention to …
Have you ever wondered
if the clouds are closer to the earth or the sun?
Well, you would probably answer:
What a funny question!
It’s obviously clear that the clouds are much closer to the earth.
Actually, clouds sometimes get so close to the earth
that a thick fog covers the earth;
and if they happen to go very high
they will be at most about 18 kilometers
from the surface of the earth.
on the other hand, their distance to the sun
is almost 150 million kilometers.
So the clouds are much closer to the earth,
such that it is not even comparable to their distance from the sun.
In fact, if we tend to draw the solar system on paper,
and then decide to add some clouds to our drawing,
we should draw them as close to the earth as they are stuck to its floor.
Clouds are like curtains in front of the earth’s
inhabitants and their eyes.
Now there is a question: According to the facts we mentioned earlier,
Is it really the sun that is behind the clouds?
or it is US who are behind the clouds
and can’t see the sun and the rest of the sky on a cloudy day?
On cloudy days, we can’t see the sun;
and the stars at cloudy nights.
While the bright sun is, and has always been there,
granting light and warmth with generosity;
stars and other planets are all there; but the clouds
don’t let us see them through.
As a matter of fact, the sun is not behind the clouds.
We are behind the clouds.
You might have experienced a situation that
In a very crowded place, like Imam Reza’s (Peace be upon him) holy shrine,
a boy of three or four years old,
while crying loudly and rushing from one place to another,
screams out: “Dad ... Dad …”
and draws people’s attention.
A moment later, one of the servants reaches out to him asking:
“What is the matter with you, my son?”
And the boy who is still sobbing
and trying to wipe his tears with his hands,
answers: “My dad is lost ... My dad is lost …”
At this point, one of the audience chuckles,
but immediately hides it asking:
“Darling, is your father lost or are you lost?”
The boy gives him an angry look and cries out:
“No, my dad is lost... My dad is lost…”
The Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him and his pure family)
Imam Sadiq (Peace be upon him)
and Imam Mahdi (May Allah hasten his reappearance),
the three glorious divine lights,
compared the “Imam in the occultation era”
to the “sun behind the clouds”;
A comparison with several points for us,
that we will discuss in our future clips;
but this point is very important that
these clouds are like some curtains in front of our eyes
and as a result of that, it’s us
that don’t see the shining bright sun
Is our father really absent?
or is it us who are lost?
Our father is right here, among people;
compassionate and concerned about us.
It is us that let go of his hand …
We are lost …
And we don’t see our father anymore ...
The text of the Hadiths contained in the clip
...أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ هَلْ یَنْتَفِعُ الشِّیعَةُ بِالْقَائِمِ فِي غَیْبَتِهِ؟
فَقَالَ : إِي وَالَّذِي بَعَثَنِي بِالنُّبُوَّةِ إِنَّهُمْ لَیَنْتَفِعُونَ بِهِ وَ یَسْتَضِیئُونَ بِنُورِ وِلَایَتِهِ فِي غَیْبَتِهِ کَانْتِفَاعِ النَّاسِ بِالشَّمْسِ وَ إِنْ جَلَّلَهَا السَّحَابُ.
بحار الأنوار، ج52، ص92
… He asked the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his pure family): “Would the Shiites benefit from the Qa'im (May Allah hasten his reappearance) in his occultation?”
He (Peace be upon him) said: “Yes, by Him who sent me with the prophecy, they will benefit from him, and they will be illuminated by the light of his guardianship (wilayah) during his occultation, just as people benefit from the sun, even if it is shrouded by clouds.”
...فَقُلْتُ لِلصَّادِقِ فَکَیْفَ یَنْتَفِعُ النَّاسُ بِالْحُجَّةِ الْغَائِبِ الْمَسْتُورِ؟
قَالَ : کَمَا یَنْتَفِعُونَ بِالشَّمْسِ إِذَا سَتَرَهَا السَّحَابُ.
کمال الدین، ج1، ص207
… “So I said to As-Sadiq (Peace be upon him): ‘How can people benefit from the hidden, absent Hujjah (Imam Mahdi)?’
He said: ‘As they benefit from the sun when the clouds cover it.’”
قالَ الإِمَامُ المَهْدِيُّ : ...وَأَمَّا وَجْهُ الاِنْتِفاعِ بِي فِي غَیْبَتِي فَکَالاِنْتِفَاعِ بِالشَّمْسِ إِذَا غَیَّبَهَا عَنِ الْأَبْصَارِ السَّحَابُ...
الاِحتجاج، ج2، ص469
Imam Mahdi (May Allah hasten his reappearance) said: “As for benefiting from me in my occultation, it is like benefiting from the sun when it is hidden from sight by the clouds ...”