Birthdays are commonly being celebrated and this is an age old practice. Individuals celebrate their own birthdays, nations celebrate birthdays of their leaders, and families and groups celebrate birthdays of their beloved ones, relatives and friends. Whilst there is a common purpose and meaning to all birthday celebrations, the purpose and meaning attached to the occasion of Imam's birthday is unique as it bears testimony to Allah's Mercy and Allah's Justice, in this that Allah has placed His Hujja (Proof) and His Mazhar (Centre of Manifestation) in this world to guide mankind. As Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:

"O ye who believe! fear God and believe in His Apostle, and He will bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide for you a Light by which you shall walk straight in your path..." In another verse of the Holy Qur'an, Allah says:

"O men! you have received clear evidence from your Lord. We have sent forth to you a Manifest Light."

The Light about which Allah speaks in the Qur'anic verses is the Light of Imamat (Noor-e-Imamat) and Imam is therefore the Mazhar (Centre of Manifestation), the physical form which is the medium between the Divine and the human. Thus the physical form becomes an important aspect of Allah's Mercy to mankind or how else could the Noor which is Divine in nature guide mankind? Allah, surely is All-Powerful and He could, if He wished, guide mankind to His Noor without manifesting It through a medium, but Allah in His plan to guide mankind chose a way which was only natural and logical, considering the fact that He has blessed human beings with the power of reasoning