The meaning of the Imam here is: the one who precedes existence, just as the father precedes the child in nurturing him, distinct from all other souls.
And an Imam who acquainted you with the right guidance, just as the one who guided you precedes all others; he is the one who entrusted to you the wisdom and the secret of God the Almighty. Between each one of these and the other lies a distinct difference and a vast distance.
As for the one who begot you, he possesses no inherent right over you even if he nurtured you, because he did not approach his wife seeking your specific existence, nor desiring your manifestation from nonexistence into being. Rather, he was merely seeking the fulfillment of [his own desire] 1 , and [his care] 2 in nurturing you was a mercy from God and an inspiration for the preservation of the species and the continuity of existence.
[80] This is [according to the statement of the Prophet] 3 , majestic is his glory: "The young child is loved until he grows up, the absent one until he returns, and the sick one until he