There are two opinions as response: Some scholars believe that the Imam does not know the time of his appearance. Regarding this, they refer to some groups of authentic narrations: In some of them, those who have set a time of the appearance are considered as the liars. For instance, Imam Bāqir says about these people,  “Those who set a time for the appearance are the liars.”[1] Also, it has …

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The most important motives for the human being's sinning are, on the one hand, his avarice in hoarding material wealth and, on the other hand, his sense of need for the goods of this world. If the human being possesses a sufficient amount of wealth, and a good social reputation, if his mentality becomes Divine-permeated, if the world and her goods are belittled in his eyes, and he thus reaches …

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The characters of the universal rule of Imam al-Mahdi will be the worldwide maintenance of peace, security, justice, and the annihilation of the foundations of corruption, decadence, oppression, and crime. This has been the main purpose of all the prophets and establishing worldwide peace and security has always constituted one of their promises. And so the unpolluted souls of mankind at large, ever since the beginning of human history, have …

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For finding an appropriate answer, we had better refer to Islamic sources. In some of our narrations the wisdom of Occultation are as follows, No to pay allegiance to unjust rulers: Hassan bin Fazzāl narrates from Imam Ridā to have said, "As if I see my followers in the aftermath of the death of my third descendant [Imam al-Hassan al-‘Askarī) looking for their Imam everywhere and do not find him." …

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Allah’s power is absolute and He is able to do everything that is intellectually possible. The Quran is replete with examples in which Allah presented His wonderful power. In the Quran there are some instances that the passing of time did not cause any physical change in the body of some people.  One of these examples is Ezra the Prophet. He passed by a town riding on his donkey and …

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Aging and death is caused by some factors that if we know them and try to keep them at bay, we will remain young and healthy for a long time. Scientists look for some techniques to extend the life span of people and anticipate to find out some strategies. For about three hundred years ago, a new branch of study was added to biology which is called “Gerontology”. This is …

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Imam Mahdi was born in 255 A.H. and till now, he is around 1183 and is in the second millennium of his life. Apparently, he should bear a physical resemblance to a very aged man, but there are some narrations that say otherwise, for instance: 1- Imam Bāqir says: «هُوَ شَابٌ‏ بَعْدَ كِبَرِ السِّنِ‏»[1] “Although he is totally aged, he is still young.” 2- Imam Sādiq says, «َ لَوْ خَرَجَ …

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To love the Imam is not just a weak heartfelt inclination that does not have any effect in man’s actions and in his intention. In reality, a natural effect of love is that man moves in the direction of the loved one and tries to accomplish what that beloved one desires. Of course, it is possible that just a small amount of love be found in one’s heart towards the …

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There are various narrations about Imam Mahdi's martyrdom or demise; and as this event is due in the future, obviously the only way of unveiling the mysteries surrounding it is by studying the narrations related from the Infallibles in this regard. Nevertheless, the narration pertaining to the event of Imam Mahdi being murdered by an old woman is not accepted as authentic by most scholars. This story has only been …

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To answer the question,the following notes would be beneficial: 1- The Imam is the agent of Allah and acts exactly as Allah wants and desires so, if our sins are so hideous that they mean we are opposing Allah it, of course, would mean that we have moved against the Imam. 2- Committing sins makes one distances from his Imam and it widens the gap between man and the Imam. …

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