Short answers to a few questions and doubts
- The longevity of Imam Mahdi
After passing almost twelve centuries, Imam Mahdi is currently alive and lives among people by the will and power of God the Omnipotence. This long life is because he is the last proof of the Almighty God and divine reserve for realization of the Prophets’ goals; therefore, he must remain alive until his global uprising and establishment of the rule of divine justice throughout the world. This fact has been clearly mentioned in many authentic Hadiths.
Now a question may arise: “How can someone live for such a long time?” The origin of this question is the fact that what is common in today’s world is the limited life of people around that usually does not reach a hundred years; therefore, the general public cannot believe that a human being may live for hundreds of years, whereas this is not considered an impossible issue from scientific and natural perspectives, and scientists have experimentally found that humans can live for many years. The efforts of scientists to discover the secret of longevity and overcome aging are clear proofs of such a possibility. It has been mentioned in some prophetic and divine books that there were people who lived much longer than usual.[1] For instance, according to the Quran, Prophet Noah preached and guided his nation for 950 years,[2] and according to some narrations, he was more than 2000 years old at the time of his death.
Additionally, this is very easy and simple to accomplish considering the endless power of the Omnipotent God. All Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, teach that God the Exalted the Glorified controls all atoms of the world and that all causes depend on His will; i.e. if He does not want it, all causes will immediately cease to be effective, and He is capable of doing whatever He wills. He is the same God who made the burning fire cool and safe for Prophet Abraham[3], parted the sea for Prophet Moses and his followers,[4] and so on. So will He not be able to grant a long life to the Promised Saviour of mankind (Imam Mahdi) to fulfill the great promise mentioned in the Quran that is the ultimate triumph of the Truth over the Falsity and the utopian establishment of the rule of the oppressed and the pious faithful people.
- The possibility of meeting Imam Mahdi during the time of Major Occultation
As mentioned earlier, Shiˈas were in contact with Imam Mahdi indirectly through four special deputies during the Minor Occultation period. also in addition, a few Shiˈas had the rare opportunity of being in his presence during that time; however, during the Major Occultation period, such a direct relationship with the Imam is not possible normally and even through special people. Hence, Imam Mahdi, in his last letter to the fourth special deputy (Ali bin Muhammad al-Samurī), called those claiming to have seen and met the Imam after the beginning of Major Occultation as liars:
“... And such a period will emerge on my Shi’as when some people will claim that they have seen me or they represent me. Be alert that whoever makes such a claim before the advent of Sufyānī and the Call from the heavens is a liar and an impostor...”![5]
In this case, "observing" the Imam refers to seeing him and communicating with him, while "claiming" refers to announcing it and making the people aware of it. It is clear that in the above sentences, the liar means the one who claims to be his special representative after the death of his last special deputy and introduces himself as the link between the Imam and the people; otherwise, many Shiˈite scholars believe that meeting the Imam at the era of Major Occultation is not impossible as it has happened many times according to many authentic evidence recorded in the history.
Types of meeting the Imam
According to the experiences of people who had the grace to meet Imam Mahdi, visiting him mostly occurs when one is in a state of intense need and hopelessness, though it is also possible to meet him in rare occasions in a normal state, too, especially for highly pious and purified believers. To put it more clearly, sometimes, the visit to the Imam is only aimed to help or guide people being completely hopeless in a difficult situation; e.g. the story of some individuals who got lost in different places like deserts or during the Hajj journey and the Imam or one of his companions saved them from getting lost and wandering around. Even though most of the stories of meeting the Imam have been of the kind mentioned, there are some other cases that the Imam has been met in non-urgent states, too; so those individuals have been granted the chance to visit the Imam at the time of his disappearance because of their high purity and spiritual reputation. It is clear that in such a situation, the pre-condition for visiting Imam Mahdi is the purity of soul and self-improvement, and only those who have a healthy soul and are far away from the sins as well as worldly attachments and carnal desires will be granted such a blessing opportunity. However, it is important to note that the opportunity of meeting the Imam in the era of Major Occultation does not mean that everyone will be able to gain this chance; rather only a very few pious and righteous people will attain this significant success. Therefore, not every story about visiting the Imam cannot and should be accepted. It is important to mention that the true privileged visitors of the Imam most commonly do not disclose the event to anyone except in very exceptional cases for their close relatives or companions conditioned that they promise not to disclose or disseminate it as long as they are alive.
Another point is that disclosure of the stories of meeting the Imam during the era of Major Occultation by others has brought about many benefits and blessings through strengthening the people’s faith in the hidden Imam, increasing love and compassion for him, and taking recourse to him spiritually. Hence, some Shiˈite scholars have usually quoted or narrated samples of a few authentic stories and even written independent books regarding this issue. It is worth noting that resorting to Imam Mahdi, who is the proof from the side of the Almighty God on the Earth, is in fact an indirect request of help from the All-Wise God, so this request will only be responded and realized if God wishes and considers it useful and appropriate. Therefore, if a lover does not attain the honor of visiting Imam Mahdi or his/her request is not realized immediately, despite his/her dire passion and effort, he/she should not despair and consider it as a sign of the Imam’s lack of grace and care to him/her. Instead, he/she should strive to establish a spiritual connection with this honorable Imam and take advantage of his blessings in the Occultation era; this path is open to all, of course.
Although it is a great honor and pleasure to see the luminous face of Imam Mahdi and speak with him, the Infallible Imams have never advised the Shiˈas to concentrate all their efforts and lives only on the subject of visiting the hidden Imam; they have been highly recommended to constantly remember the Promised Mahdi and pray for the hastening of his appearance, instead. Moreover, they have been advised to try to obtain the Imam’s pleasure in their words and deeds and to follow the path of his divine commands and purposes step-by-step so that the conditions for his noble appearance may be eased in the shortest time possible, and thereby, the entire world may benefit from the grace of his appearance. Yes, if the followers and expectants of the Promised Mahdi, instead of excessive focusing on the issue of visiting the Imam, be aware of this reality that the Imam sees and observers all their actions, much of the ground for his appearance will be prepared as the Imam needs pious and well-prepared companions for both his uprising and establishment of the global just government.
- The issue of the marriage of Imam Mahdi
Similar to other aspects of Imam Mahdi’s personal life, there are differing opinions about the issue of his marriage. According to some scholars, the Imam is married, and the main reason they put forward is that marriage is an Islamic tradition that has been recommended by the Quran and the Prophet of Islam. So, naturally, Imam Mahdi is more worthy than other Muslims to implement this Islamic tradition. In contrast, some others believe that since the Imam has currently a hidden life in an exceptional situation that limits his communication with people, this can be an obstacle for him to having an ordinary life like other people. So, due to the special circumstances, sometimes, an obligatory (Wājib) duty can be taken off a person’s shoulders, let alone a recommended (Mustaḥabb) thing. Moreover, this Prophetic tradition of marriage, if performed even once in the life of a Muslim, can be said that this good deed and Islamic tradition has been performed. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that Imam Mahdi will perform this Sunnah after his uprising and appearance and establishment the global just government by the help and will of God. On this basis, it can be said that the prayers in which his family is also mentioned probably refer to the post-Appearance time and not to the current time that he in occultation.
On the other hand, some scholars clearly and decisively deny the marriage of Imam Mahdi and believe that one of the requirements for his marriage is that his wife should also live as long as the Imam’s, which there is no evidence for; otherwise, when his first wife dies, he must marry so many other ladies up until his Occultation comes to an end by the will of God and appears at the End of the Time. As a result, he must have too many children and a large generation during all these long years and out of his countless marriages. It inevitably causes the Imam to become known, which is incompatible with the special conditions of Imam Mahdi during the long period of Occultation, because he should take care of his family and children as their father. In better words, the Imam’s Occultation is more important than his marriage, so he can abandon the Mustaḥabb issue of marriage during his hidden life and postpone the practice of this Muhammadan tradition (Sunnah) until after his appearance for the sake of higher expediency. Of course, it can be said that perhaps the Imam was married during either the Minor Occultation or the Major Occultation and his wife passed away after living with him for several years. In this case, the Imam has followed the custom of the Prophet and it has caused no problem for carrying out his big divine mission under special circumstances in the Major Occultation period. Therefore, the issue of Imam Mahdi’s marriage during the Occultation era cannot be denied.
In general, it must be said that due to the special circumstances of the period of Major Occultation, many aspects of the personal life of Imam Mahdi are obscure and unknown; so, it is not possible to comment on them with much certainty.
- Imam Mahdi’s residing place
As mentioned earlier, due to the special circumstances of the period of Major Occultation, it is not possible to talk about the details of Imam Mahdi’s personal life with certainty. The hidden life of the Imam requires that his residence place also remains completely hidden and unknown, like other aspects of his personal life. So, it is not possible to consider a specific area or location as the exact place of his residence or inhabitance. On the other hand, some claims about the Imam residing in an environment other than this material world or in a distant and unknown island are not substantiated and documented, too; what is certain is that, like other humans, the Imam lives on the earth among the people anonymously. Of course, it is not far-fetched that he may, sometimes, live in holy places like Medina or Mecca, or away from the lay people for a while in the mountains and deserts; nobody knows but God.
Source: From the book: The Promised Mahdi (In the view of Shiˈa)
