Short Q&A 2

33. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 1)

In every period of time, there should be an Imam among people. This Imam must be spiritually a perfect human who knows everything and is able to guide people. This prefect man is connected to the world of unseen and is the deliverer of Allah’s words to people. This man should not let people to unanimously go astray and if the majority of people adapt the wrong path, he should oppose them. This is an idea that we must prove it.

One of the ways to certify this claim is that we see, our ancestors from the beginning of the creation of mankind up to the demise of Prophet Muhammad, had access to a Perfect man. This prefect man was a prophet or his successor.

The Jews believe that by the demise of Moses, their connection to heaven was cut and there was no one to directly mediate between people and Allah. Christians also believe that this divine grace continued till the end of Jesus’ life and then, the line between people and Allah was broken. (Of course by Christians, we mean Protestant not Catholic who believe Jesus is God.) Muslims also believe that people had access to this divinely prefect man till the Prophet was alive. After the demise of the Prophet, Sunni believe that people had no access to the Upper World and there was no one to connect them to the world of unseen.

34. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 2)

… Here a question comes to mind that why people in the past were privileged by being in contact with such a divinely appointed man, but we who live in the current world, should be deprived. Are we worse than those or they were more important than us? Why did Allah grant them such bounty, but has prevented us from having it?

One may say that the religion was completed by the Prophet and there was no need for a Perfect man to exist among people.

The answer is that after the demise of the Prophet till now, many misconceptions have risen among people, many verses of the Quran need to be clarified and many forms of disagreement with regard to the true religion exist among people. In each period of time, a new religious, social, and economic issue appears that its ruling should be made clear. Some people, under the name of Islam, kill others and some people gradually lose hope and become impious. Why in our time that people are more in population and have more flourishing thought should solve their problems by themselves, while people in the past could easily refer to the Perfect man and ask him to solve their unanswered questions? Of course the religion of the Prophet was completed, but did Moslems know everything about their religion and the interpretation of the Quran after the demise of the Prophet? …

35. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 3)

...With no doubt the Prophet told everything that people needed, but to whom did the Prophet tell that; to ordinary people or to the next Perfect man who was his successor? Certainly, the Prophet did not introduce the complete religion to ordinary people; otherwise, after the Prophet people should not refer to the Prophet’s successors to ask many of their problems. Even ‘Umar, whom the Sunni regard as the successor of the Prophet, could not give a correct answer to many of people’s questions nor could he solve their disputes. There is a famous quotation from ‘Umar to have said in many occasions that people should refer to Imam Ali, or “If Ali was not present ‘Umar would be perished.”^[1]

Add to it, that although science has progressed in our time, still people have taken many regressive steps with regard to their religion. Most of people in the world have become materialistic and consider the world the only place to live; therefore, they regard pleasure the most important thing in their life. This has led them to exploiting the weaker people. Then people now are in more dire need of a Perfect man than those in the past. But, unfortunately, we see that Allah has done extremely conversely! Those who were less dependent to the Perfect man had access to him, but we who are needier are deprived of!!! …

36. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 4)

… The Shia, clearly has solved this problem. They believe that after the demise of the Prophet, his real successor was Ali bin Abī Tālib whose knowledge was equal to the knowledge of the Prophet. He was connected to the world of unseen and he knew everything. There is not even a single record about the Imam to offer his unawareness about solving a problem.

In the same way, in our age the twelfth successor of the Prophet who is Imam Mahdi exists among people. He is the Perfect man, and despite he is hidden, he is mindful of people’s affairs and solves many of their problems.

Based on this intellectual reasoning, we, like the people in the past, have access to a Perfect man, but those who do not regard Imam Ali and his progeny as real successors of the Prophet, could not answer the mentioned question that why Allah has differentiated between people in the past and us in having access to a Perfect man while we need such a man more than our ancestors…

37. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 5)

… It is a must that a man, who is spiritually perfect, exists among people. This prefect man sometimes is a prophet and sometimes is an Imam. One of the reasons that such a man should exist among people is that obviously, people cannot directly talk to Allah, ask Him their questions and get answers from Him. There should be a man who is prefect and sublime enough to mediate between people and Allah. This man is connected to the world of unseen and knows everything that people need.

After the demise of Prophet Muhammad, Islam was still nascent and many of its rulings were not delivered from the Prophet to people. Those rulings and principles were just bestowed to the successor of the Prophet. The real successor of the Prophet was the one whose knowledge was equal to the knowledge of the Prophet. He was no one, but Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib who never failed to give a proper answer to any inquiry and never remained unable to offer a solution to any predicament.  After passing away of Imam Ali, his eleven sons one by one were the next Imam and, in our time, Imam Mahdi who is the eleventh son of Imam Ali possesses this position …

38. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 6)

That an Imam must be present among people can be proved through some intellectual and theological reasoning, one of which is called “the Principle of Grace” or “the Argument of Grace”.

The explanation is that, as theologians have stated, “We are sure that if people have access to a perfect man who undertakes the responsibility of leading people, settling down their worldly and spiritual dispute; a perfect man who is able to take the right of the oppressed from the oppressors, and prevent people from oppressing, then if people follow him, they would be closer to the right path and distance from corruption and degeneration.”

Then the theologians add that, this Grace is obligatory to Allah^[2] since Allah has not created us in vain as He says,

﴿أَ فَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّما خَلَقْناكُمْ عَبَثاً وَ أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنا لا تُرْجَعُونَ﴾^[3]

"Did you think that We created you in vain and you would not be returned to Us?"

Therefore, there is a great purpose behind this magnitude and vast creation. It requires that there should be an Imam to make the ground prepared from people to easily walk on the right path, otherwise, people would lose the right path and go astray. This is what “the Principle of Grace” implies…

39. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 7)

… Also, we know that Allah made us dutiful about many detailed religious acts that by acting upon them we can worship Him truly. Acting upon these religious responsibilities requires that someone from Allah makes us aware of them, otherwise, we could not worship Allah as He demands. Therefore, there should be a Perfect Man like a prophet or an Imam to teach us our duties and show us the path of getting close to Allah.

On the other hand, we are certain that Allah possesses three qualifications,

1. Allah is Wise and whatever He does is based on wisdom;
2. Allah is not stingy and never withholds any possible mercy;
3. Allah is able to do whatever He desires.

The result is this: The existence of a divine guide, who is an Imam, among people is indispensable because it is based on wisdom, is mercy and Allah is able to appoint such man among people.

“The Argument of Grace” postulates that the Imam who is among people prevents them from unanimous agreement on accepting an error that is related to religion. This Imam should not be indifferent about what people do and behave. If people, without dissent, decide not to worship Allah, this perfect man should oppose them and should not let them unanimously go astray.

This is why in many Sunni narrations we read from the Prophet to have said,

«لا تجتمع‏ أمّتي‏ على‏ الضلالة»^[4]

“My Ummah do not agree on a (religious) aberration.”

If this narration is true, it means that if all people accept something that is religiously incorrect, an Imam should exist among people to oppose, do not accept it and make people aware of the reality. Therefore, a consensus among the Ummah on accepting that wrong action would not take place because the Imam who is one of the Ummah does not agree with others. Otherwise, if an Imam does not exist among people to oppose them and all the people accept an error, then, the mentioned narration from the Prophet would not be true. …

40. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on Intellectual and Theological Reasoning? (part 8; last section)

… It is unavoidable that a man, who is spiritually perfect and we name him the “Perfect Man”, exists among people. This Prefect man sometimes is a prophet and sometimes is his successor. It is obvious that people cannot directly take their religious obligations from Allah and there should be a mediator like a prophet.

During the life of the Prophet, the religion was completed and everything that should be said to people was delivered to the prophet, but the Prophet did not express all of them to people since, firstly, some of those pieces of knowledge were so high that people at that time could not digest them, and secondly, people at the time of the Prophet did not need some of them since those points were about some special issues which people yet, were not involved with; just as we see that people, after the demise of the Prophet, every time they got engaged with an issue that its law was unknown to them, they referred to the successor of the Prophet and asked him their questions. As a result, the Prophet should bestow those detailed and comprehensive knowledge to a Perfect Man who, like the Prophet could gradually deliver them to people and he was no one but Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib whose knowledge was equal to the knowledge of the Prophet.

This is why Shia believe that Imamate, which is a title given to the successors of the Prophet, is a must and it just should be granted to those whom the Prophet had appointed in his life since just the Prophet knew to whom he bestowed the entire of his knowledge.

41. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on the Argument of Purpose? (part 1)

Putting aside the authentic narrations written in the books of traditions, there are some intellectual arguments that prove the necessity of Imamate one of which is called the Argument of Purpose.

We know that there is a purpose behind whatever Allah does; and Allah Who is All-Wise never creates something that is useless in which there is no clear purpose or reason behind it. Some Sunni theologians who are called Ash‘arites believe that it is not a must that there should be a goal behind what Allah does since it forces Allah to just follow a purpose while no one can oblige Allah to do anything.

Contrary to this wrong belief, the Shia and another sect of Sunni theologians who are called Mu'tazilites believe that if Allah does not intend to follow a purpose in His creation it leads to futility and pointlessness, while Allah clearly rejects it in the Quran by saying,

﴿أَ فَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّما خَلَقْناكُمْ عَبَثا﴾^[5]

“Did you think that We created you in vain?” …

42. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on the Argument of Purpose? (part 2)

…To give answer to the misconception of Ash‘arites, we can say that,

Firstly, we do not impel Allah to do something, rather Allah Who describes Himself in the Quran tells us that His attributes requires that He just should follow a purpose since doing something in vain is not suitable for the magnificent position of Allah the Great.

Secondly, the benefit of whatever Allah intends as purpose does not go back to Himself, rather it just reaches His creatures.

Now back to the Argument of Purpose, we ask, why Allah created this vast and splendid world with all of these glory, beauty, and exact order. This vast universe that our galaxy is just a small spot in it, could not cause any perfection in fierce animals since they have no intellect. Of course, it should cause perfection in mankind and the world should be created for him.

On the other hand, we witness that not all the people can receive this perfection since some of them are totally brutal, usurper, violator, and barbarian. Can we say that Hitler, who killed many people, was the goal behind this creation?

There is no way but to confess that this world is created for a Perfect Man who possesses all of the required merits and good moralities; a man who can sense every details of this scientific world and the far-reaching methods applied in the universe. …

43. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on the Argument of Purpose? (part 3)

… We, the human, also do the same and are more willing to bestow our favor to the man whom we respect more. For instance, if we invite some people in our house for a dinner, when we want to provide food for them, we are more willing to put the best of it in front of the one whom we love more. Our natural inclination and our basic instinct lead us to pay attention more to the one who is more beloved or more important. Even sometimes we hold the whole ceremony just for that special guest and because of him, we invite others.

Allah also does the same and although He loves all of His creatures, His most important purpose is to create this world for a Perfect Man whom He loves more and because of that Perfect Man, others also receive a portion of Allah’s mercy.

In addition, perfection has various levels. Beside the Perfect Man who possesses the utmost spiritual level, other pious and virtuous individuals also can have a share of it. Because of this, these people also could be the purpose behind the creation of this world. …

44. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on the Argument of Purpose? (part 4; last section)

… Here, we have to consider an important point which is that if the most Perfect Man did not exist, others would not be able to obtain a high level of piety, were not able to worship Allah properly and would lead a barbarian life since they could not directly get connected to Allah to receive their rulings and their worldly and ritual obligations. Without the Perfect Man people would just consider their life in this world as the only possible phase of existence and would not believe in the next world. Therefore, people would want to gain as much as possible of this world since they do not believe in the Day of Judgment and consider their death the final level of existence. Then, would we be worthy enough to be the purpose of Allah’s creation of this world?

This is why we read in many authentic narrations that if the Prophet or Imam (who is the Perfect Man) was not among people, the earth would swallow its inhabitants.^[6] It means that only the Infallibles are the purpose of the creation of this world and if they were not among people, Allah would not let others to enjoy life on the earth.

Moreover, we read in a similar supplication, that is named al-‘Adīlah, after naming the Prophet and naming his successors from Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib up to Imam al-Hassan al-‘Askarī (the eleventh Imam),

«ثُمَّ الْحُجَّةُ الْخَلَفُ الصَّالِحُ الْقَائِمُ الْمُنْتَظَرُ الْمَهْدِيُّ الْمُرْجَى الَّذِي بِبَقَائِهِ بَقِيَتِ الدُّنْيَا وَ بِيُمْنِهِ‏ رُزِقَ‏ الْوَرَى‏ وَ بِوُجُودِهِ ثَبَتَتِ الْأَرْضُ وَ السَّمَاء...»^[7]

“After him, the Proof of Allah, the righteous offspring, the Upriser who is the awaited al-Mahdi, the expected that because of him the earth is existent and due to his blessing, people will receive their sustenance and because of his existence the earth and the heaven are stable.”

45. How can we demonstrate the necessity of Imamate Based on the Argument of Instinct?

The other intellectual proof of the necessity of Imamate is called the Argument of instinct. People with different religions have an instinctive tendency towards a Perfect Man as the Savior who knows everything, can solve every problem, and is able to bring about peace, security, and unity in the world. When all people in the world without a single example are like this, it means that Allah has created this feeling as an instinct within us.

Add to it, that to create a feeling in someone without fulfilling it makes the creation of the feeling to be without a purpose. It would be like the creation of thirst without the creation of water, or like the creation of ability to see without the creation of light to let us see something.

Let me explain it more, one of the reasons proving the existence of the next world and that pious people will enter heaven is that one of the created fillings in our inner body is an insatiable demand of good things. For instance, if someone is after wealth, would he says that, that amount of wealth is sufficient for him and will no longer add any penny to it and that he does not want to become wealthier? Even those who are after knowledge like the scholars, scientists, discoverers, and inventors would they suffice themselves to a limited part of knowledge and then say we are saturated and never want to add anything to our learning? Of course not. This non-stop feeling tells us that Allah should saturate it and it is done in the heaven as many verses of the Quran point to by telling that people in Heaven will have whatever they want and still the available kinds of mercy are more than what they could imagine. In addition, because of the feeling to be alive forever and never die, people in Heaven will stay alive forever.

Back to our discussion, when all people in this world strongly need that there should be a mighty and powerful man to fulfill their need of security and safety in this world, this feeling should be saturated in this world and there should exist a Perfect Man to fulfill this feeling.

46. Why is not the name of Imam Mahdi explicitly mentioned in the Quran?

In addressing this question, one should note that the Quran uses various ways to refer to an individual:

• By referring to people’s names: This is like the name of the Prophet Muhammad, Abraham, and some other individuals as we read in Surah al-Fath, verse 29,

 ﴿مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ...﴾

“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah…”

• By referring to the number of a group of people: This is like the 12^th verse of Surah al-Mā’edah that Allah says,

﴿وَ لَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ ميثاقَ بَني‏ إِسْرائيلَ وَ بَعَثْنا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقيباً...﴾

“And verily, Allah took the covenant from the Children of Israel; and We appointed twelve chieftains from among them...”

• By pointing out to their traits: This is like the 157^th verse of Surah al-A‘rāf that Allah refers to some of the features of the Prophet of Islam without referring to his name and says,

﴿الَّذينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوباً عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْراةِ وَ الْإِنْجيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ يَنْهاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ...﴾

“Those who follow the unlettered Messenger whose characteristics they will find written in their own Scriptures; in the Torah and the Gospel [will see that] this Messenger enjoins [people] to what is good and forbids them from what is evil…”

In the same way, Imam Mahdi is the one whose name is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran, but there are many verses that give reference to him and his followers implicitly.

Moreover, if he would be mentioned by name in the Quran, the opponents could again claim that it referred to another man with the same name and not to him. This is exactly like what the people of the book did in regard to the Prophet of Islam. As the Quran says, they were as familiar with the signs and personalities of the Prophet as they were with their own children, but they intentionally denied him. This is what Allah says in the 146^th verse of Surah al-Baqarah,

﴿الَّذينَ آتَيْناهُمُ الْكِتابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَما يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْناءَهُمْ وَ إِنَّ فَريقاً مِنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَ هُمْ يَعْلَمُون‏﴾

“Those to whom We gave the Scriptures recognize him as they recognize their sons [since they have read about Messenger's characteristics in the Torah and the Gospel]. But verily, a party of them conceal the truth stubbornly while they know it only so well.”

It should also be noted that the verses of the Quran have general meanings and are not limited to some specific cases. Therefore, if a narration explains a verse in a way that is related to Imam Mahdi, it just points to the best or one of the best examples of it and never harms the generality of the verse. The verses of the Quran, as the commentators of the Quran believe, have many layers without any contradiction existing between them. As a result, these narrations sometimes point to a deeper layer of a verse without contradicting its apparent meaning or limiting its generality.

47. Is it possible to prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Islamic Hadiths?

Shia believes that Imam Mahdi was born in the year of 869 A.D (255 A.H) in Samara and went into the hiding for a wisdom that Allah considered. He is a promised man that Allah has preserved for the benefit of mankind to save them from oppression and degradation. The promise of such a man is mentioned in previous holy books; however apart from the viewpoint that believes he is alive know and that his name is Mahdi, other religions fail to believe so. Sunnis mostly believe that he has not been born yet.

Shia for his claim refers to some groups of Islamic narrations that are profusely mentioned in Shia and Sunni sources. If we do not interpret these narrations with what the Shia believes we have no other way but to say that these narrations are meaningless since there would remain no other acceptable meaning for them.

Some of these narrations are so strong and healthy that their chain of transmitters and the books containing them are not questionable at all. They are so clear and numerous that the scholars believe they have reached to the level of certainty. Surprising enough, many of these narrations exist in Sunni sources.

These narrations are just suited with what the Shia believes and no other famous doctrine can be in agreement with the content of them. In following we refer to a group of these narrations.

48. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith al-Thaqalain (Two precious things) (part 1)?

All of the Islamic traditionists from various Islamic branches have a unanimous agreement that this narration is healthy and is narrated from the Prophet and no Islamic figure doubts the authenticity of it.

It is enough for the validity of this narration to be mentioned by some great Sunni figures like Moslem in his Sahīh, al-Tirmezī and Ahmad bin Hanbal in their Mosnads, al-Nasāee in his Khasāes, Hākim al-Naysābūrī in al-Mostadrak ‘Ala al-Sahīhayn, Abu Dawūd and Ibn Mājeh in their Sonans.

In Shia sources this narration is so widely narration that to mention the sources is beyond the scope of this short writing.

The text of this narration defers from source to source and it indicates that the Prophet used to utter it in many occasions with different wordings. However, most of these sources say that the Prophet said, 

«إِنِّي أَوْشَكَ‏ أَنْ‏ أُدْعَى‏ فَأُجِيبَ‏ وَ إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ وَ عِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي وَ إِنَّ اللَّطِيفَ الْخَبِيرَ أَخْبَرَنِي أَنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَيَّ الْحَوْضَ فَانْظُرُوا مَا ذَا تَخْلُفُونِّي فِيهِمَا.»

“I am about to receive a call (to leave this world) and I will answer it, but I am leaving among you two precious things: The one being the Book of Allah in which is like a rope hung from the sky to the earth (and those who hold it fast will be saved from falling) and the second are the members of my household. Allah the Subtle the Aware has informed me that these two will never be separated till they come to me by the Pond (in the Day of Judgment), so consider how you act regarding them after my departure.”^[8] …

49. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith al-Thaqalain (part 2)?

… In another similar narration the Prophet says:

 «إنّي تارك فيكم ما إن تمسكتم به لن تضلوا بعدي; أحدهما أعظم من الآخر; كتاب الله حبل ممدود من السماء إلى الأرض وعترتي أهل بيتي ولن يتفرقا حتى يردا على الحوض فانظروا كيف تخلفوني فيهما»

“I will leave among you something that if you cling to them you will not lose the right path. One of them is greater than the other. (They are:) the Book of Allah that is like a rope hung from the sky to the earth and my household. These two will never be separated till they come to me by the Pond, so consider how you act regarding them after my departure.”^[9]

A shorter version of this narration is mentioned by Hākim al-Naysābūrī in al-Mostadrak and he believes that his narration contains a healthy chain of transmitters based on the viewpoint of Moslem and Bokhārī in their Sahihs although they did not narrate it.^[10]

Intelligibly, these narrations contain some distinct points:

1. The Prophet leaves behind himself two successors to guide his Ummah, namely the Quran and his household.
2. These two successors will remain existent till the Day of Judgment and will never separate.
3. The Prophet ordains his Ummah to cling to both of them to be saved from misguidance and to cling here means to follow and obey them and implement whatever they dictate. …

50. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith al-Thaqalain (part 3; last section)?

… In these noble narrations, if we link the first notion (that the Prophet leaves two precious things after his demise) with the second one (that these two will always remain connected) we find out an indispensable principle which is that there is always a member from the Household of the Prophet among people and that he will never be segregated from the Book of Allah.

Bin Hajar al-‘Asqalānī, the famous Sunni scholar, clearly has come to the same conclusion and says, “The narrations persuading people to refer to the Book of Allah and the Ahl-al-Bait point to the fact that the trustworthy members of the Prophet will always succeed each other till the Day of Judgment just as the same as the Quran will remain alive till that day. Therefore, the Household of the Prophet bring about safety and stability for the residents of the earth. As we will explain, there is another prophetical narration proving this fact which states, ‘Among each generation of my nation, there are some just individuals from my household.’”^[11]

No doubts, these narrations strongly suggest the truth that constantly, there is a religious leader among people who is descended from the Prophet.

In our time, the only example that can be imagined for this narration is Imam Mahdi; otherwise, we have to confess that for centuries these noble narrations had no proper meaning since one may ask that after the demise of Imam Hassan al-‘Askarī (the Shia eleventh Imam) that took place in the third century after Hijrah who was among people until now to supervise the religious affairs of people, a totally learned man who would be considered the second only to the Quran and a man that people should believe in him and had to obey him? How do those believing that Imam Mahdi has not been born or that the Imam Hassan al-‘Askarī had no son interpret these narrations?

The conclusion is that Imam Mahdi is alive and lives among people but, for some reasons that Allah is aware of, he is hidden and people could not recognize him. Imam Mahdi, although being out of people’s sight, oversees people’s affairs, is not inattentive to their problems and as the Prophet has said, is like the sun behind the clouds that its rates come to people.

51. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Death of Ignorance” (part 1)?

According to the narration of “the Death of Ignorance”, those who die while they did not recognize the Imam of their time, their death is like the death of those who had died at the Age of Ignorance^[12]. Based on these narrations, we have to realize who this Imam is that people have to know him and that to know him is so important that if people do not recognize him they would die like an ignorant man who died before the advent of Islam.

The sources of this narration

This narration is remarkably reflected in Islamic sources and both the Shia and Sunni scholars have referred to some versions of it.

1- Moslem, the famous Sunni traditionist, narrates in his Sahīh from the Prophet to have said,

«مَنْ مَاتَ وَ لَيْسَ‏ فِي‏ عُنُقِهِ‏ بَيْعَةٌ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة.»

“The one who dies while he did not owe allegiance (to a just leader or Imam) his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[13]

2- Bokhārī narrates in his Sahīh from the Prophet saying,

«مَنْ كَرِهَ مِنْ أَمِيرِهِ شَيْئاً فَلْيَصْبِرْ، فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنْ السُّلْطَانِ‏ شِبْراً مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.»

“If someone disliked an action from his emir he has to remain patient since if someone disobeys his sultan even a little (equal to the span of the hand) he will die like a man at the Age of Ignorance.”^[14]

3- Ahmad bin Hanbal narrates from the Prophet saying,

«مَنْ‏ مَاتَ‏ بِغَيْرِ إِمَامٍ‏ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.»

“The one who dies while he has no Imam his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[15]

4- Hākim al-Naysābūrī narrates from bin Umar, the son of the second caliph, who narrates from the Messenger of Allah to have said,

«من مات و ليس عليه إمام‏ جماعة فان‏ موتته‏ موتة جاهليّة.»

“The one who dies while he did not accept the leadership of an Imam who is the leader of a group of people his death is indeed like the Death of Ignorance.”^[16]

5- Al-Zamakhsharī narrates from the Prophet to have said,

«من مات و ليس في‏ عنقه‏ لإمام‏ المسلمين‏ بيعة فميتته ميتة جاهلية.»

“The one who dies while he did not owe allegiance to a Moslems’ Imam his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[17]

6- Ahmad bin Hanbal narrates from the Prophet saying,

«من مات وليست عليه طاعة مات ميتة جاهلية فان خلعها من بعد عقدها في عنقه لقى الله تبارك وتعالى وليست له حجة.»

“The one who dies while he has not accepted to obey (an Imam) his death is like the Death of Ignorance and even if someone accepts the leadership of an Imam, but later on rejects him he will meet Allah the Exalted the Glorified while he has nothing to offer as an excuse.”^[18]

7- Fakhr al-Din al-Rāzī narrates from the Prophet saying,

«من مات و لم یعرف امام زمانه فلیمت ان شاء یهودیا و ان شاء نصرانیا.»

“The one who dies while he did not recognize the Imam of his age he has a choice to die as a Jew or a Christian.”^[19]

8- Al-Mottaqī al-Hindī narrates from the Prophet saying,

«من‏ نزع‏ يدا من‏ طاعة جاء يوم القيامة لا حجّة له‏.»

“The one who stops following (the just leader) will enter the Day of Judgment while he has nothing to offer as an excuse.”^[20]

9- Moslem narrates in his Sahīh from the Prophet to have stated,

«مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنَ الطَّاعَةِ وَ فَارَقَ‏ الْجَمَاعَةَ فَمَاتَ‏ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.»

“The one who stops following (the just leader) and distance from what the majority of people do and die (in that status), his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[21] …

52. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Death of Ignorance” (part 2)?

… Now let's have a look at the sources of this narration in Shia books. The Shia also relate this narration with many different wordings:

1- It is narrated from Imam al-Hassan al-‘Askarī (the Shia eleventh Imam) to have said,

«أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ لَا تَخْلُو مِنْ حُجَّةِ اللَّهِ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَ أَنَّ مَنْ‏ مَاتَ‏ وَ لَمْ‏ يَعْرِفْ‏ إِمَامَ‏ زَمَانِهِ‏ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة.»

“The earth, till the Day of Judgment does never remain without an Imam who is (sent) from Allah to people and indeed if someone dies while he did not recognize the Imam of his age his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[22]

2- Yahyā bin ‘Abdullah narrates from Imam al-Sādiq (the Shia sixth Imam) to have said to him,

«يَا يَحْيَى بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مَنْ‏ بَاتَ‏ لَيْلَةً لَا يَعْرِفُ‏ فِيهَا إِمَامَهُ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.»

“O Yahyā! The one who spend (even) a night while he does not recognize his Imam in that night, his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[23]

3- Umar bin Yazīd narrates from Imam al-Kāzim (the Shia seventh Imam) to have related,

«مَنْ مَاتَ بِغَيْرِ إِمَامٍ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً إِمَامٍ حَيٍّ يَعْرِفُهُ ... قَدْ وَ اللَّهِ قَالَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ قَالَ وَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ مَنْ مَاتَ وَ لَيْسَ‏ لَهُ‏ إِمَامٌ‏ يَسْمَعُ‏ لَهُ‏ وَ يُطِيعُ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.»

“The one who dies while he did not recognize an Imam who is living, his death is like the Death of Ignorance… Indeed, by Allah, the Messenger of Allah uttered this narration and also stated that the one who dies while did not have an Imam to whom he listen and obey, his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[24]

4- Imam al-Ridā narrates from his fathers who narrate from the Prophet to have said,

«مَنْ مَاتَ وَ لَيْسَ‏ لَهُ‏ إِمَامٌ‏ مِنْ‏ وُلْدِي‏ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة.»

“The one who dies while he did not have an Imam who is from my progeny his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[25]

5- In another narration from Imam al-Sādiq (the Shia sixth Imam) through a healthy chain of transmitters, the Imam states,

«إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ‏ لَا تَصْلُحُ‏ إِلَّا بِالْإِمَامِ وَ مَنْ مَاتَ لَا يَعْرِفُ إِمَامَهُ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة.»

“Indeed the earth will never be in a correct way but just with the Imam and if someone dies while he did not recognize the Imam of his age, his death is like the Death of Ignorance.”^[26]

6- Abī al-Yasa’ narrates that he asked Imam al-Sādiq about the pillars in which Islam is built upon, those that no one is allowed to dismiss and the Imam stated,

«شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَ الْإِيمَانُ بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص ... مَنْ مَاتَ لَا يَعْرِفُ إِمَامَ زَمَانِهِ مَاتَ‏ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّة.»

“(They are) to bear testimony to the oneness of Allah and to believe to the prophethood of the Messenger of Allah… and if someone dies while he did not know the Imam of his age, his death is like the Death of Ignorance”^[27] …

53. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Death of Ignorance” (part 3; last section)?

… These are some samples of this narration in Sunni and Shia sources and we just sufficed ourselves with a little portion of them. The fact is that when a narration is related so extensively in Islamic sources, no one should doubt the authenticity of it. Also, these narrations are uttered by the Prophet and the Imams by a variety of different wordings it shows that the Prophet and the Imam’s uttered them repeatedly in different occasions and it indicates how much it was important for them to repeat them again and again.

In summary, these narrations contain the following points:

• It is duty upon everyone to know the Imam of his time; and to recognize the Imam is part of the religion. On the other hand, not to know him or to reject him is rendered as to be like the people at the Age of Ignorance.
• The one who dies while he did not accept the leadership of the Imam his death is like the Death of Ignorance though he would be a learning man.
• People should obey the Imam and should listen to his orders.
• In each time, there should be an Imam and the line of these consecutive Imams should not be broken even for a short period of time (so that there would be no one to die without an Imam in that time.)

Here a question is raised that who this Imam is that people have to recognize and obey him; or else, they would be like those who died before Islam (which means their Islam will be of no use for them).

This Imam, of course is not one of the unjust or tyrant ruler since Allah in the Quran ordains people not to take them as friends or guardians and says,

«وَ لا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَ ما لَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِياءَ ثُمَّ لا تُنْصَرُونَ»

“Do not depend on those who do wrong, lest the fire may seize you too; for you there is no guardian but Allah; and you will receive no help [If you disobey Allah's command].”^[28]

And Allah says in other verses,

«وَ لا تُطيعُوا أَمْرَ الْمُسْرِفينَ * الَّذينَ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ لا يُصْلِحُونَ»

"And do not obey the orders of the extravagant chiefs [who exceed Allah's limits;]. Those who make corruption in the earth and do not amend themselves."^[29]

Also in another verse, Allah puts emphasis to this matter and says,

«أَ لَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِما أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَ ما أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ يُريدُونَ أَنْ يَتَحاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَ قَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِه»‏

“[O, the Messenger!] Have you not observed those who claim that they believe in the revelations which have been sent down to you and was sent down before you, and they wish [in their deep down] to go for judgment [in their disputes] to the Satanic and unjust rulers though they have been ordered to reject them?”^[30] …

54. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Twelve Caliphs” (part 1)?

We, the Shia, claim that Sunni sources are replete with narrations proving our claim which is that the Imam was born centuries ago and is now alive. These narrations are so much remarkably narrated in Sunni sources that no one can dismiss them or misinterpret them.

We, in the previous series of this discussion, studied the “Hadith al-Thaqalayn (the two precious things)” and the hadith known as “the death of ignorance” and now are going to study another set of narrations which is famous as “the twelve caliphs”.

The sources of this narration

1. Muslim narrates in his Sahīh from Jābir bin Samurah saying,

«سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول: لَا يَزَالُ الْإِسْلَامُ عَزِيزاً إِلَى اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً ثُمَّ قَالَ كَلِمَةً لَمْ أَفْهَمْهَا فقلت لأبي ما قال فقال كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْش».^[31]

“I heard the Prophet to have said, ‘Islam will remain respectful as far as twelve caliphs rule over people.’ Jābir adds, ‘Then the Prophet said something that I could not hear. Therefore I asked my father (who was present and was closer to the Prophet), ‘What did the Prophet say?’ And he replied ‘The Prophet said, ‘All of them are from the Quraysh tribe.’”

This narration is mentioned in Sahīh Muslim through some different chain of narrations.

2. Muslim also narrates in his Sahīh saying,

عَامِرِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ بنِ أبی وقّاص قَالَ: «كَتَبْتُ إِلَى جَابِرِ بْنِ سَمُرَةَ مَعَ غُلَامِي نَافِعٍ أن أَخْبِرْنِي بِشَيْ‏ءٍ سَمِعْتَهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ قال: فَكَتَبَ إلیَّ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ص يَوْمَ جُمُعَةٍ ... یَقُولُ: لَا يَزَالُ الدِّينُ قَائِماً حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ أو يَكُونَ عَلَيْكُمُ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْش».^[32]

“‘Āmer bin Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqās says, ‘I wrote to Jābir bin Samurah to write to me something that he heard from the Messenger of Allah and I sent the letter to him with my slave Nāfe`. Jābir wrote to me, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah on Friday… to have said, ‘The religion of Islam will remain strong till the Day of Judgment, or if there are twelve caliphs who rule over you and all of them are from the Quraysh tribe.’”

3. Al-Termezī narrates from Jābir bin Samurah saying,

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: «يَكُونُ مِنْ بَعْدِي اثْنَا عَشَرَ أَمِیراً. قال: ثُمَّ تَكَلَّمَ بِشَيْ‏ءٍ لَمْ أَفْهَمْهُ. فَسَأَلْتُ الَّذِي يَلِينِي فَقَالَ: قَالَ كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ».^[33]

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘After me there are twelve emirs.’ Then the Prophet said something that I could not hear, therefore, I asked a person who was next to me about it and he said, ‘The prophet said, ‘all of them are from the Quraysh tribe,’”

Then al-Tirmizī adds, “This narration is accepted (meaning it possesses a healthy chain of transmitters).” …

55. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Twelve Caliphs” (part 2)?

… 4-    Abū Dāvūd narrates from Jābir bin Samurah saying,

«سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول: لَا يَزَالُ هَذَا الدِّينُ عَزِيزاً إِلَى اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً قَالَ فَكَبَّرَ النَّاسُ وَ ضَجُّوا ثُمَّ قَالَ كَلِمَةً خَفِيَّةً فَقُلْتُ لِأَبِي: یا أَبَةِ مَا قَالَ؟ قَالَ: كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْش‏».

“I heard the Messenger of Allah to have said, ‘This religion will still remain honorable (and impenetrable by the enemy) as so far as there are twelve caliphs (among them)’ Here people said ‘Allah is the Great’ and the voice of excitement raised among them. Then the Prophet said something in a lower voice (that I could not hear) and asked my father, ‘My dear father! What did he say?’ And he replied, ‘The Prophet said, ‘All of them are from the Quraysh.’”

5-         Hākim al-Haskānī narrates from Abū Juhayfah saying,

«كنت مع عمى عند النبي صلى الله عليه و آله فقال: لَا يَزَالُ أَمْرُ أُمَّتِي صَالِحاً حَتَّى يَمْضِيَ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً ثم قال كلمة و خفض بها صوته فقلت لعمى و كان امامي: ما قال يا عم؟ قال: قال: يا بَنِيَّ كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْش‏».

“I along with my uncle were in the presence of the Prophet and he said, ‘My nation will still remain righteous as long as there is twelve caliphs among them.’ Then the Prophet lowered his voice and said something. I told my uncle who was in front of me, ‘O my uncle! What did the Prophet say?’ and he replied, ‘O my dear son! He said that all of them are from the Quraysh.’”

6-         Al-Muttaqī al-Hindī narrates from Jābir bin Samurah saying,

«لا يزال هذا الامر ظاهرا على من ناواه، لا يضره مخالف ولا مفارق حتى يمضي منهم اثنا عشر خليفة من قريش».

“This religion will remain always victorious over its enemies and no one who opposes it nor someone who leave this religion will do any harm to it as long as there is twelve caliphs, who are from the Quraysh, are among them.”

7-         Al-Muttaqī al-Hindī narrates from the Prophet to have said,

«يكون لهذه الأمة اثنا عشر قيما لا يضرهم من خذلهم، كلهم من قريش».

“There will be twelve guardians for this nation then those who want to make them despicable cannot do any harm to them. All of them are from the Quraysh.”

8-         Al-Muttaqī al-Hindī relates another narration from the Prophet to have said,

«لن يزال هذا الدين قائما إلى اثني عشر من قريش، فإذا هلكوا ماجت الأرض بأهلها».

“This religion will remain strong as long as there are twelve (Caliphs), who are from the Quraysh, among them. When these people pass away the earth will not remain steady for its inhabitants.”

9-         Ahmad narrates in his Musnad from Masrūq saying,

«كُنَّا جُلُوساً عِنْدَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ يُقْرِئُنَا الْقُرْآنَ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ هَلْ سَأَلْتُمْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و سلم كَمْ يَمْلِكُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ مِنْ خَلِيفَة؟ فَقَالَ عبد الله بن مسعود: مَا سَأَلَنِي عَنْهَا أَحَدٌ مُنْذُ قَدِمْتُ‏ الْعِرَاق‏ قبلك ثم قال: َ نَعَمْ سَأَلْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و سلم فَقَالَ: اثْنَا عَشَرَ عِدَّةُ نُقَبَاءِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل‏».

“We were sitting in the presence of ‘Abd al-Allah bin Mas‘ūd and he was reciting the Quran for us when a man asked him saying, ‘O Abā ‘Abd al-Rahmān! (the cognomen of Abduallah bin Mas‘ūd) did you asked the Messenger of Allah that how many of caliphs his nation will have.’ ‘Abd al-Allah bin Mas‘ūd replied, ‘Since I came to Iraq no one ever asked me about it.’ Then he said, ‘Yes. We asked it from the Messenger of Allah and he replied, ‘They will be twelve like the twelve headmen of the Children of Israel.’”

10-       Ibn Kathīr narrates from Jābir bin Samurah saying,

«قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم: لَا تَزَالُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةُ مُسْتَقِيماً أَمْرُهَا ظَاهِرَةً عَلَى عَدُوِّهَا حَتَّى يَمْضِيَ اثْنَا عَشَرَ خَلِيفَةً كُلُّهُمْ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ إِلَى مَنْزِلِهِ أَتَتْهُ وُفُودُ قُرَيْشٍ فَقَالُوا لَهُ: ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مَا ذَا؟ قَالَ: يَكُونُ الْهَرْج‏»

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘The affairs of this nation will not be twisted and it will be victorious over its adversaries up until the twelve caliphs who are from the Qurysh exist among them.’ When the Prophet returned back to his home, the Quraysh came to him asking, ‘Then, what would happen after that?’ The Prophet replied, ‘After that (the earth) would be in chaos.’ (It may mean that the Day of Judgment will begin.)” …

56. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Twelve Caliphs” (part 3)?

… Ahmad bin Hanbal relates this narration in his Musnad from Jābir bin Samurah through thirty four different chain of transmitters (with little differences in wordings).^[34]

The sources of this set of narrations are much more in Sunni books than what we mentioned. Moreover, in Shia books, this narration is narrated so much that have reached the level of certainty and many of them are authentic.

Sheikh Hurr al-‘Āmilī gathered the different versions of this narration from various books and they equal nine hundred and twenty seven ones all of which points to the twelve Imams (caliphs). In some of them the name of these Imams are clearly mentioned that leaves no dark points with regard to what the Shia believe.^[35]

If we study these narrations, we can conclude that the Prophet should utter them in various occasions and in different places since many people have narrated them. The result is that it is impossible to claim that these narrations are all forged, especially when a considerable part of these narrations possesses a healthy chain of transmitters. …

57. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Twelve Caliphs” (part 4)?

…
Some points with regard to these narrations:

1. The number of these caliphs is twelve and they consecutively come one after each other and after the twelfth one, the life of the next world will begin. Some of the mentioned narrations say that they are equal to the number of headmen of the Children of Israel as Allah says in the Quran:

﴿وَ لَقَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ ميثاقَ بَني‏ إِسْرائيلَ وَ بَعَثْنا مِنْهُمُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ نَقيبا﴾^[36]

“And verily, Allah took the covenant from the Children of Israel; and We appointed twelve chieftains from among them.”

2. As long as these caliphs are among people, the earth will remain clam. But after the twelfth one, the earth would become an unsteady place and no one can live on it (meaning that the Day of Judgment will begin then).
3. All of these Imams are just and rightful to the degree that Islam will become consolidated by them and the adversaries could not harm it. Consequently, no oppressor ruler like Mu’āwiyah‎ who opposed Imam Ali in different battles or Yazīd who killed Imam al-Hussain, or Walīd and Mutiwakkil are not included in this list.
4. After the Prophet up to the Day of Judgment, there will be no time that the earth is vacant of one of these caliphs.
5. All of these twelve caliphs are from the Quraysh tribe.
6. After the twelve caliphs there will be chaos on the earth that would mean the Day of Judgment would begin and the earth would not be a steady place for its inhabitants. 

It is totally interesting to see that Abū Dāwūd in his Sunan when relating this narration places it under the title of “the narrations pertaining to al-Mahdi” it shows that he realized these narration just can be in agreement with the twelve Imams of the Shia whose final Imam is Imam al-Mahdi.^[37] …

58. How can we prove the existence of Imam Mahdi among people, according to Hadith “the Twelve Caliphs” (part 5; last section)?

…

Conclusion:

The claim is that these narrations just include the twelve Imams of the Shia, the first of which is Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib and the last of them is Imam al-Mahdi. These people are exactly twelve and all of them are from the Quraysh tribe and each of them succeeded the previous one without a gap.

Sunni brothers put themselves into severe difficulties to find out who these twelve people are but they failed to find them.

For instance, Ibn ‘Arabī in his explanation on the book of Sunan written by al-Tirmezī states, “We listed the caliphs who came after the Prophet and witnessed that the first of them is Abū bakr then ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, Ali, al-Hassan, Mu‘āwiyah‎…” then he enumerates twenty seven of them. When he wanted to come to the conclusion adds that either we have to stop to the twelfth of them while the number is much more, or have to count the most important of them which does not goes beyond the number five who are the four Sunni caliphs and ‘Umar bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz. Therefore, no clear meaning is understood from these narrations.^[38]

We can also add that why the Prophet, in all of these numerous narrations, just insisted on this fixed number while Sunni caliphs were more than that. The Prophet did not know the exact number of them or he purposefully wanted to offer a wrong number?

Then Bin Hajar al-‘Asqalānī in one of his books quotes from Bin Jūzī who says “I really spent time to understand the meaning of these narrations, but could not actually understand its real meaning.”

Then Bin Hajar who apparently could not solve the problem adds that in some traditions a man with the name al-Mahdi will come and it is probable that these twelve people come after him since, all of them are from the Quraysh.

If what Bin Hajar says is true, then why did the Prophet say that “after him” there are twelve caliphs?

Moreover, why should the Prophet talk so much about twelve caliphs after the Mahdi while there is no single talk about them in other narrations? Also, why the Prophet should ignore his immediate caliph like Abū bakr and never regard him as his caliph even in a single narration, but talk so much about twelve caliphs after al-Mahdi who are totally unknown and unnamed and there is no sign of them in other narrations?

Al-Sīyūtī is another example of those who explained away these narrations, the man is one of the famous Sunni scholar, and says, “The Prophet just said that after him till the Day of Judgment there will be twelve just caliphs and never said that they will consecutively come after each other.”^[39]

This explanation of al-Sīyūtī is irrelevant to these narration and is so far-fetched that Mahmūd Abū Rayyāh says about it in his book, “al-Sīyūtī here is like a man who wants to collect firewood at night (who in darkness sees nothing and would make his hands wounded by touching sharp things like the thistles and the thorns)”^[40]

The multiple strange justifications that Sunni brothers tried to offer is never relevant with the easy meaning of these narrations. However, we the Shia are at ease with those intricate explanations and believe that the Prophet has pointed to the twelve Imams of the Shia who are all from the Quraysh and they consecutively followed one after the other without any interruptions and the last one of them is Imam Mahdi who is bestowed with a long age.

59. After the reappearance of Imam Mahdi, how long will it take for him to establish the rule of justice?

Based on the narrations that are available to us, he will reappear in Mecca. After the elite of his followers join him there, they will then advance toward 'Iraq, Shām (the present day, Syria), and from there toward Jerusalem. Thereafter the lands of Europe, Turkey, China, Afghanistan, and of other regions will be conquered by him, and so after eight consecutive months of struggling, the rule of justice will be established, and peace and security will become prevalent. But about the duration of his rule, there is inconsistency amongst the narrations. Some of the related durations are as follows: 19 years and some months; seven years; 40 years; 10 years and the like.

60. Will any needy individuals remain after his rule has been established?

After Imam Mahdi rises and establishes the rule of justice, the earth will yield to him her treasures of mineral deposits and crops. The shares that rightfully belong to the destitute and poor will be exacted from the rich and the oppressors to be justly distributed, as the result of which no poor person will remain, to the extent that there will be no use for charities and Zakat. Imam Sādiq (the sixth Imam of Shia) says, "The world will be revitalized by the implementation of justice, the sky will send down abundant rain, trees will reveal their fruit, and the earth will deliver her plants, embellishing herself for her inhabitants."

At that time, people will be so well-off that it has been narrated from the Prophet to have said, "People will be searching for someone poor who would accept charity or gifts from them, to no avail; they will put aside the Zakat of their wealth, but they will not find anyone to give it to, for all will be made well-off by Allah grace."

61. Is it true that he will be martyred at the hands of a bearded old woman? How does such a crime take place despite the Imam's uprooting of oppression?

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 recorded in Ilzām al-Nāsib and lacks authentic narration. However, if we do accept this narration, it must be noted that what is for certain is that the universal rule under Imam Mahdi will be the rule of justice and equity, and as such the rule of the oppressors will be destroyed. However, this does not necessarily certify that there will be no possibility of individuals sinning.

62. Who is the One-Eyed Dajjal?

One of the signs of the appearance of Imam Mahdi is the coming of the Dajjal. In Sunni sources the advent of the Dajjal is considered to be a sign of the Day of Judgment. The appearance of the Dajjal is even mentioned in the Testaments.

It is understood from the root of the word Dajjal (that means deception and lying) on the one hand and from hadith resources on the other hand, Dajjal is not exclusive to one person, but rather it is a title for a group of deceivers and cunning people who use any means to attract people to themselves.

One of the reasons for this claim is what we read in a famous hadith that the Prophet says,

 “There has been no prophet after Noah but forewarned his nation from the conspiracy of the Dajjal and I also forewarn you about it!”^[41]

It is clear that the previous prophets shouldn’t have warned their people about the conspiracy of the Dajjal who will appear at the End of Days when it is thousands of years ago. Especially, when the final parts of the abovementioned narration says,

 “… Then the Prophet explained its characteristics for us and said, “Maybe some of those who have seen me or have heard my expression are alive in the time of the Dajjal!”

It indicates that after the Prophet some people who had the traits of the Dajjal would appear. This hadith may point to people who tried to deviate others from the way of the truth.

Consequently, in every different period of time some people exist who are titled as the Dajjal. It also is mentioned in some Islamic narrations that the Dajjals will appear before the advent of Imam Mahdi!

Anyway, the fact is that in any society, there are some deceiving people who try to mislead people, but, before the advent of Imam Mahdi activities of these Dajjals, who come one after another, increase in order to delay the advancement and improvement of the divine religion. However, it is highly probable that there is one great Dajjal who is above them all and supervises them.

63. If we commit sins, are we rendered as those who stand against the Imam Mahdi?

The term “to stand against the Imam” should be made more clear. If it means not to act in accordance to the Imam’s desire the answer is yes. To sin, regardless of it being minor or major, leads to opposing God and the Imam. But if the mentioned term means that when one commits a sin he in reality opposes the Imam and rejects him and that the Imam would no longer accept the man as one of his followers, the answer is that it is dependable. Some of the sins are so great and make the man so corrupt and corruptive or the effect of those sins in one’s life and in his society is so profound and deep that it will be regarded as an act contrary to the mission of the Imam. However, there are some minor sins committed in secret that are done due to the lack of piety or sudden negligence or one’s inability against the power of lust and the like. These sort of sins do not necessarily mean that the sinner wants to oppose God and the Imam.

64. How committing sins keeps us away from Imam Mahdi?

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. A real Moslem should protect his faith and should refrain even from the minor sins. It is narrated from Imam Sādiq to have said,  “One who is submissive to Allah can claim to love us and those who disobey Allah, they are our enemies. No one can claim to accept our guardianship but through piety and good actions.”

(Usūl al-kāfī vol. 2, p. 74, hadith 3.)

3- There is a criterion to realize how much one loves God and the Imam or opposes them. Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib says,

 “If one wants to know how his statues is with God he should pay attention how much God is great to him when he faces an (alluring) sin. His position with God is equal to the position of God to him.” (Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 67, p. 18, hadith 11.)

Exactly the same, if one wants to know how much the Imam will honor him, he should look how much he would honor the Imam (who sees our actions) when he faces a sin. It means that when man commits a sin he has dishonored God and the Imam and dismissed their presence.

4 – If one commits a sin and does not repent it will becomes easier for him to do the next sin. Man should be cautious that it would result in such a degradation that would be unimaginable at first. This is what God says in the Quran,

 “Perdition was the end of those who committed the worst things: They denied the signs and miracles of Allah and made ridicule of them.” (The Quran, 30:10)

Such a man will be so drown in darkness that he would deny the Imam or would oppose him and his mission.

65. Do we really love our Imam?

The fact is that no one can claim to love someone but in action does not do what the lover demands. Just a mere love that is not accompanied with required action could not be a real love.

The proof of this is clear because man definitely loves something due to some perfections that he finds in some one. Man will never love something that does not have anything going for him. For example, if we love a person it is because we love his or her skills, talents, beauty, power, spiritual sanctity and other different perfections and impeccabilities. Therefore, man’s love of his Imam is because the Imam is the principle source of all perfection. Then add to it, that such an existent that by the permission of Allah is the source of all the goodness and beauty has a very perfect program from Allah. In this state, how is it possible for man who loves perfection to reject these programs? If he rejected it, does not it show that he is not really in love?

Based on this, to love the Imam has to accompany the required action. Likewise, those who claim to love Allah, the Leaders of Islam, the soldiers in the path of Allah, or the righteous but there is no similarity between  these figures and people’s actions they are nothing but liars or Satan misrepresents the case for them and makes them just feel they are the real lovers while in reality they are not. Those who are polluted with sins from head to toe but claim their hearts are filled with the love of Allah, the Prophet, and the Divine Leaders of Islam or believe that faith and love is only in the heart and does not have any relation with actions are completely unaware of Islamic logic.

66. What is the real meaning of loving Imam Mahdi?

 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 Imam which is so weak that does not have any reflection in man's action. This kind of love is useless and one cannot be called a lover with him. A real love definitely have practical effects. The lover connects himself to the loved Imam and tries to bring the Imam’s desires into reality.

It is quoted from Imam Sādiq to have said,

«كَذَبَ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ مِنْ شِيعَتِنَا وَ هُوَ مُتَمَسِّكٌ بِعُرْوَةِ غَيْرِنَا»

“One who claims that he is among our followers (and loves us), but he practically follows others’ commands he is a liar.” (Bihār al-Anwār, vol. 2, p. 98, hadith 49.)

Imam Bāqir in another hadith says,

«مَنْ كَانَ لِلَّهِ مُطِيعاً فَهُوَ لَنَا وَلِيٌّ وَ مَنْ كَانَ لِلَّهِ عَاصِياً فَهُوَ لَنَا عَدُوّ»ٌ

 “The one who is obedient to Allah, he is our lover and the one who disobeys Him, he is our adversary.” (al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 75, hadith, 3.)

The conclusion is this, if we claim to love our Imam, we have to obey him and should implement his desires in our life. Just the sole heartfelt inclination is not sufficient. Of course, the one who loves the Imam is not like those who hate him or those who do not believe in him. However, this mere love is not enough and a real Moslem has to prove with his action that his love is real.

67. Paying attention that Imam Mahdi is totally aged, how would he look like when he appears?

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»^[42]

“Although he is totally aged, he is still young.”

2- Imam Sādiq says,

«َ لَوْ خَرَجَ الْقَائِمُ لَقَدْ أَنْكَرَهُ النَّاسُ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَابّا»^[43]

“When the Upriser appears, some people reject him since he will come to them as a young man.”

3- Imam Ridā also says,

«إِنَّ الْقَائِمَ هُوَ الَّذِي إِذَا خَرَجَ كَانَ فِي‏ سِنِ‏ الشُّيُوخِ‏ وَ مَنْظَرِ الشُّبَّانِ قَوِيّاً فِي بَدَنِه‏»^[44]

“Certainly, the Upriser is a man when appearing, he has as long age as the elderly, but looks like the young and is physically strong.”

4- It is narrated from Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib to have said,

«المَهدی مولِدُه بِالمَدینه مِن اَهل بَیتِ النّبی... یَبعث و هوَ ما بینَ الثّلاثین والاَربعین»^[45]

“Al-Mahdi will be born in Medina and he is from the Household of the Prophet… He will arise while he is around thirty or forty.”

5- Abū Basīr narrates from Imam al-Sādiq to have said,

«لَيْسَ صَاحِبُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ مَنْ‏ جَازَ أَرْبَعِين‏»^[46]

“The Owner of this Matter (Imam al-Mahdi) won't look like a man over the age of forty.”

It is worthy of noting that although some narrations refer to different number of age, there is no contradiction between them since they try just to say that the Imam has a similar appearance to a young man who is around thirty or forty and these numbers do not represent the exact age of the Imam.

68. Can you offer a scientific justification for Imam Mahdi’s staying young?

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 the scientific study of old age and the process of aging, and the particular problems of old people. Based on the research on this field, aging is caused by three main factors:

1. Chronic diseases, such as the diseases of the stomach and the diseases of malnutrition.
2. Mental illness that destroys the freshness of vital cells.
3. External factors such as the environment, climate, cold, heat, and humidity.

Then, the scientists have come to the conclusion that if they work on these factors they will be able to postpone the process of aging for a long time.

For instance, they realized that by adding vitamin B6 and Nucleic acid and pantothenic acid to the food of some animals they can lengthen the life of them for 46 percent and also rejuvenate them for a much longer time.

In addition, there are some creatures that will never get old as long as they live. An instance of it is the snail. It remains young till it dies due to an accident or special illness.

Additionally, some biologists believe that the Stem Cells of the body or the genes would not be destroyed at all and it may open the door to find a way to live for a considerably long time.

Consequently, the Imam whose knowledge is emanated from the knowledge of Allah, is entirely aware of the details of this secret and would meticulously apply them in his life.

69. Can you offer a Quranic proof for Imam Mahdi’s staying young?

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 the town was totally dilapidated. He said by himself that how Allah would ever bring the dead people of the town back to life. When he made this statement in his mind, Allah caused him to die and he remained dead for 100 years. Then Allah brought him back to life and asked him how long he had stayed there. Ezra who did not know what happened to him assumed that he was asleep for one day or lesser. But Allah told him that he had remained there for one hundred year.

Here Ezra after one century did not felt any sings of oldness in his body. Moreover, Allah told him, to look at his food and drink and Ezra witnessed that they remained intact and were not rotten. But his donkey was totally decomposed. Then Allah revived the donkey in front of his eyes to show him how He would resurrect people in the Day of Judgment.^[47]

Here Allah by his power remained Ezra and his food and drink safe for one century. So if He wills He can do the same to His Agent Imam Mahdi.

The second example is about the People of the Cave who slept in the cave for three hundred and nine years. But when they woke up they supposed that they just had taken a nap or slept for a day or part of a day. However, their body was just the same as before they went to sleep so they did not realize the passing of that long time.^[48]

In philosophy, they say that the best reason for the possibility of an event is that it takes place. When something occurs it shows that it was not intellectually impossible to happen. Likewise, when we see that sometimes some of the natural laws of nature would no longer be efficacious, we realize that there is a supernatural power above them that is able to put them aside and this is the power of Allah.

70. What is the Philosophy of Occultation?

For finding an appropriate answer, we had better refer to Islamic sources. In some of our narrations the wisdom of Occultation are as follows,

1. 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." I (Hassan bin Fazzāl) asked him, ‘O the son of the Messenger of Allah! What’s the reason of it?’ He said: "Because their Imam will have entered the state of Occultation." I went on asking the reason of Occultation. He said: "This will be, so that when he rises by sword he will have paid no allegiance to anyone.” ^[49]

If the Imam would sign a non-intervention treaty with the cruel rulers, he would have been bound to the treaty. As a result, he would be not able to fight against tyrannies, because Islam regards a treaty binding on those who have agreed to its terms. Moreover, the oppressors and unjust rulers would never be tied to acting upon the content of such an agreement because of the perceived danger of the Imam to their power. Hence, they would have murdered the Imam as the only solution for their continued domination over humanity.

2. To be immune from murder:

In a narration reported by Zurāra from Imam Sādiq, we read,

 “Indeed the Qāim (Imam al-Mahdi) will have an Occultation before his rising." I (Zurāra) asked, ‘why is that?’ He said: "He is afraid" and pointed to his stomach meaning that he is afraid to get killed.” ^[50]

Indeed, the Imam of the Age, like his forefathers, is not afraid of being killed in the path of Allah as all of his forefathers suffered martyrdom for disseminating the true religion and reforming the society. Nevertheless, his being killed is not in the interest of the religion or the society because when the previous Imams were killed, they had an infallible son to succeed them, but the twelfth Imam is the final Imam and there is no other infallible Imam to succeed him. So, if the twelfth Imam is killed the earth would remain without Allah’s Proof to guide people and supervise their affairs.

Of course, Allah has the power to protect the Imam from the evil of his enemies, but generally, Allah’s custom in this world is to do things in the most normal fashion, using the regular channel of causation. Allah, would not want the Imam to be protected in an extraordinary way.

3. A divine secret:

Besides the two mentioned philosophis, some traditions declare that the reason of Occultation is hidden and it is a secret of Allah,

 “‘Abd-u-llah bin al-Fazl al-Hāshemī relates, “I heard Imam al-Sādiq to have said, ‘The Imam will necessarily have an invisible life and this is unavoidable. This will lead those who are already astray into doubt.’ So I asked the Imam the reason of it. He said, ‘We (the Household of the Prophet) are not permitted to reveal its secret to you.’ I went on seeking the philosophy behind the invisible life of him and the Imam said, ‘It possesses the same wisdom that existed in prior situations when other Proofs of Allah (the apostles) also went into occultation. However, the true secret behind it will not become manifest until after he has appeared, just as the wisdom behind making the boat defective, killing the boy, and repairing the falling wall [in the story of Moses and Khizr in the Qur'an]^[51] were revealed to Moses only after the two had decided to part company. O the son of al-Fazl! The subject of Occultation is related only to Allah and is a divine secrets, it is a concealed matter whose knowledge is only with Allah. Since we regard Allah the Exalted, the Glorified to be Wise, we must also affirm that His acts are based on that perfect wisdom, even when the detailed understanding is not accessible to us.” ^[52]

This hadith points to the fact that the main reason for Occultation is not explained to people because they have no preparation to grasp it, or because of other reasons. We have to keep patience with the issue and the Imam will inform us about the reason when he comes.

4. To test people during the Occultation:

Let us end this answer by saying that one of the possible wisdoms for Occultation is that Allah wants to test us then we would realize how firm we are in our faith. If the Imam is not visible, do we act in accordance to our religious responsibilities or we would lose hope and stop continuing.

In a narration from the Holy Prophet its reason is stated saying,“He will go into hiding in order to distinguish those who are misguided (from others). (His occultation will last so long that) ignorant people will say that there is no need for Prophet's household.”^[53]

71. Could you please explain the necessity of Imam in simple words?

At the time of Imam al-Sādiq some of the Imam’s close companions like, Muhammad bin No‘mān, Hishām bin Sālim, and Tayyār were in the presence of the Imam.  Among them was also a young and a very clever man who was named Hishām bin al-Hakam. The Imam, addressed Hishām bin al-Hakam and said to him,

 “O Hishām! Don’t you inform us about what you did with ‘Amr bin ‘Ubaid and how you discussed with him?”

Hishām replied, “O the son of the Prophet! I render you as a very great man and I am ashamed to talk in your presence so much that I feel I could not talk correctly.”

The Imam again told him, “When I commanded you, you had better comply with it.”

Here, Hishām started talking and said, “I was informed that ‘Amr bin ‘Ubaid (who was a Sunni man and did not accept the Imamate of Imam al-Sādiq) used to hold a circle of discussion in the mosque of Basra. I decided to go to Basra to participate in his session. I travelled from Kufa and arrived there when it was Friday. When I went into the Mosque I saw ‘Amr sitting in the middle of a large group of people and they asked him some questions. I sat at the end of the crowd, stood on my knees and told him, ‘I am a stranger. Do you permit me to ask?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’

I asked him, “‘Do you have eyes?’ He replied, ‘My dear son! What kind of question is this? Why do you ask about something that you clearly see?’ I said, ‘My question is just this. Do you have eyes?’ ‘Amr said, ‘Yes, I have eyes, though your question was silly.’ I asked again, ‘What do you do with your eyes?’ He said, ‘By the help of it, I am able to see colors and people.’”

I once more asked, “‘Do you have nose?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘What kind of job do you do with it?’ He replied, ‘With it, I can smell’”

Here Hishām continued asking ‘Amr about his mouth and his ears and their usage and ‘Amr answered him.

Then Hishām added, “I asked him, ‘Do you have brain?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘What do you do with it?’ He said, ‘I can check the trueness of what is sensed by my senses.’ I said, ‘Doesn’t your other body parts suffice you from your brain?’ He replied, ‘No.’ I then asked, ‘How could not they suffice you from your brain while they are sound and healthy?’ He replied, ‘My dear son! When my senses feel something, they refer it to my brain to obtain certainty and to remove doubts.’ Here I confirmed what he said, and asked, ‘Then Allah appointed the brain to discard the doubts of the other parts; otherwise your body parts could not obtain certainty.’ He answered, ‘Yes.’”

Here Hishām continued, “At the moment, I asked him, O Abā Marwān! Allah the Exalted, the Glorified did not leave your body parts without a leader and appointed for them an Imam to correct for them what should be corrected and to make them certain about what they doubt, then is it fair for Allah to leave all of these people alone to live in perplexity and doubts and disagreement and does not appoint an Imam for them to refer to him in order to remove their doubts?’”

‘Amr remained silent for a while and then looked at me and said, “’Where are you from?’ I said, ‘from Kufa’ ‘Amr immediately said, ‘Then you are Hishām bin Hakam!’”

Here Hishām continued, “‘Amr came to me, hold me, placed me where he was sitting, went to a cornerm and didn’t say anything till I started to go.”

Here Imam al-Sādiq smiled and said,  “Oh Hishām! Who taught you this knowledge?”

Hishām replied, ‘It was something that I learned from you.’ Then the Imam continued, “By Allah it was written in the books of Abraham and Moses.”^[54]

72. What is the relationship between Imam al-Hussain's movement and the global movement of Imam al-Mahdi?

These two infallible Imams are the real successors of Prophet Muhammad so, they pursue a common divine policy and their movements are to implement the glorious goals of all the prophets and their successors. Regarding this, the most important common goals between these two divine leaders are to stand against the oppression and social corruptions and to prepare the ground for applying justice.

Imam al-Hussain remarked his goals when he left Medina for the last time by saying:

«أَنِّي لَمْ أَخْرُجْ أَشِراً وَ لَا بَطِراً وَ لَا مُفْسِداً وَ لَا ظَالِماً وَ إِنَّمَا خَرَجْتُ لِطَلَبِ الْإِصْلَاحِ فِي أُمَّةِ جَدِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ آمُرَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَ أَنْهَى عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَ أَسِيرَ بِسِيرَةِ جَدِّي وَ أَبِي‏ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ…»^[55]

"I do not arise (against Yazīd) for a sole desire or as an insolent, corruptive, or tyrant person. I have arisen (against Yazīd) seeking to apply amendment in the Ummah of my grandfather. I wish to enjoin the good and forbid the evil, and act according to the path of my grandfather and my father, Ali bin Abī Tālib…"

Also pertaining to accomplishing the divine mission of Imam al-Mahdi, Imam al-Hussain says,

«لَوْ لَمْ‏ يَبْقَ‏ مِنَ‏ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا يَوْمٌ‏ وَاحِدٌ لَطَوَّلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ رَجُلٌ‏ مِنْ‏ وُلْدِي‏ فَيَمْلَأَهَا عَدْلًا وَ قِسْطاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْراً وَ ظُلْماً كَذَلِكَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ يَقُول‏»^[56]

 “Even if there should not remain, but a single day from the world, Allah, the Exalted, the Glorified, will prolong that day so much that a man from my progeny arises. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it will be replete with injustice and oppression. This is what I heard from the messenger of Allah”.

Consequently, the most important achievement that Imam al-Hussain wanted to gain will exist in the global governance of Imam al-Mahdi as well. In his government, the aims of the previous prophets and their successors will be actualized and people will taste the real meaning of justice, safety and salvation.

73. After Imam al-Mahdi establishes his rule, will there be any oppressors remaining in power?

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 been waiting for the time when those promises would be realized. Now since Allah, His messengers, and their infallible successors do not breach their promises, they would not raise the hopes of people without a good reason. This means that this promise will certainly be realized and that a just government will be established, consisting of the aforementioned characteristics.

This promise is so vital and real that its realization can be considered the rationale behind the creation of humankind; a promise that once realized will lead to the unity of the whole of humankind under the banner of monotheism and, by Allah's Mercy, the uprooting of disbelief, polytheism, and hypocrisy from amongst them. The narrations that express this are numerous.

74. Will be sin totally annihilated after Imam al-Mahdi’s rule has been established?

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 the certainty that all Divine promises are true and as such will certainly be fulfilled, regardless of the aversion of the enemies and their effort to obstruct their realization; if he reaches the certainty that there will be a resurrection, a reckoning, that paradise and what it holds are incomparably superior to the life of this world – in such a case, there will be no motive for sinning. This is especially true based on a few narrations to the effect that at the commencement of the Imam's revolution, Satan will be killed, hence putting an end to his tempting and decoying. (adapted from Tafsir al-Qummi)

Moreover, during that time, there will be innumerable obstacles in the way of sinning – such as, the inescapable and universal rule of justice, the healthy and secure environment, and the general rejection of corruption and sin by society. Therefore, there will remain very little motive for sinning, and at the same time, there will be obstacles in its way, which means that sin will be at its lowest ebb.

There are also numerous narrations in this regard, such as: Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib has thus described that era,

«...و يذهب الرّبا و الزّنا، و شرب الخمر و الرّياء، و تقبل النّاس على العبادة و المشروع و الدّيانة... و تؤدّى الأمانة، ... و تهلك الأشرار، و يبقى‏ الأخيار...»^[57]

"… Usury, illicit gender relationships, alcoholic beverages, and pretention will vanish. People will turn their attention to worship and obedience…; and they will righteously honor their trusts... The evil people will perish, and the virtuous will remain…"

75. Does Imam Mahdi is informed of the time of his appearance?

There are two opinions as response:

1. 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.”^[58]

Also, it has been accentuated by the Imams to have said, “For sure, we (the Ahl al-Bayt) do not set a certain time for the appearance at all for anyone.”^[59]

Furthermore, there are some narrations declaring, “The time of the appearance is likened to the time of Resurrection, so none but Allah can reveal its exact time.” 

2. From the other point of view, some scholars advocate the belief that Imam Mahdi is aware of the time of his advent.

According to this opinion, the abovementioned narrations are not going to express that the time of the appearance is unknown to the Imam, rather they want to declare that people are not aware of the time then no one would have the fortune to set a time in order to misuse it. Those who determine a time for the appearance are the liars since Allah and Ahl al-Bayt never made anyone aware of the time. Paying attention to the content of the mentioned narrations, the Imams did not say, “We do not know the time of the appearance.” instead they say that they have not set a time for anyone.

Also, the narrations that liken the time of the appearance to the time of Resurrection are justifiable because, though the time of Resurrection will become manifest only by the will of Allah, it would be possible for some divinely appointed people to know its certain time as well. To prove this claim there are some narrations expressing that the knowledge of the Imams is connected to Allah’s knowledge, and this is why they are informed of the news of the past and the future. For instance, Sheikh al-Kulaynī in his noble book (al-Kāfī) mentions a particular chapter titled,  “Indeed, the Imams’ knowledge includes the past and the future and there is not anything beyond their knowledge”^[60].

This is what Allah says in the Quran: “Allah is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not let anyone be informed of His secrets, save a Messenger whom He has Chosen.”^[61]

As a result, the time of the appearance like the time of the resurrection would be among those secretes that Allah would have revealed to the Prophet and his household.

However, besides being useless for the Imam’s followers to argue about the Imam’s knowing of the time of his advent, it is difficult to say something expressly in this regard and we do not know exactly if Imam Mahdi is informed of the exact time of his appearance or not and there is a serious debate between scholars. But it seems that the last viewpoint is more acceptable and in accordance to the majority of Shia scholars’ belief.

76. Why should we pray for Imam Mahdi’s health?

Answering the mentioned question we can point to the following reasons:

First, our Infallible Imams used to do the same: In some Islamic reliable sources it has been indicated that supplicating for Imam Mahdi refers to the manners of the Infallible Imams who used to allocate the best times of their life, e.g. in their prayer, to pray for Imam Mahdi’s health, and they have taught us to do the same. For example: Imam al-Ridā (The Shiite eighth Imam) recommended us to pray continuously for Imam Mahdi by this supplication:

“O Allah distance the whole difficulties from Your successor (on the earth) and protect him from the evil of all of Your creation and preserve him from his right, left, from above and beneath (his feet) with Your protection that if You protect someone he would not face destruction.” ^[62]

In this regard, Sayyed bin Tāwūs (after pointing to the rewards of praying for one’s religious brothers) states, “Whenever praying for our brothers has this great reward, so praying for a leader who is the cause of our creation must be more important and its reward would be more valuable; a leader who be believe that if he was not created, Allah would not create us as well. Therefore, praying for our Imam should be done before praying for ourselves, our family, and our brothers.”

Second, Imam Mahdi possesses a human body like others: Based on our belief, Imam Mahdi has been born for centuries and he will remain alive till his appearance, but it is so clear that Imam Mahdi is a human and possesses a human body and it makes it highly probable that he would be inflicted with diseases or sustain some sorts of damages in his body. In accordance with some proofs and narrations, it is said that even the prophets and Infallible Imams had some illnesses since they possessed a human body like other people. This is what we read in the Quran that Allah addresses his prophet saying,

 “(O the Prophet!), Say: I am just a human being like you (with this difference that) I receive revelation (from Allah).” ^[63]

77. What is the advantage of our pray for Imam Mahdi’s health?

One should not say that if Allah decides to remain the Imam healthy, He can do it without our prayer since the answer is that, in this world, Allah has intended to do everything through a natural cause and effect procedure and our prayer is one of the causes that will have its own effect.

However, there are numerous benefits to obtain through praying for Imam Mahdi. Here we enumerate a few of them:

1. In fact, this is a path to remember our Imam and thus we can be spiritually connected to him. Actually, this connection serves for our spiritual perfection and its sublimity and excellence since certainly, if we pray for the Imam, he will remember us in his prayers, and his special kindness will be extended to us as well. For sure, his prayer will not be at all rejected by Allah.
2. To pray for the Imam means that we can take him into our consideration and we are going to give him precedence over a lot of beings in this world. Therefore, this issue causes that our affection towards Imam al-Mahdi’s increases in our heart since remembering someone who is beloved, causes the lover to love him more and more. 
3. This is a fact that praying for Imam al-Mahdi means to swear allegiance to him because one who wishes his health, he tries to avoid everything that bothers him. It also helps us not to be negligent about our Islamic duties and to always be cautious not to act irreligiously. 

Consequently, according to the Infallibles’ statements and narrations, praying for Imam al-Mahdi’s health is acceptable and also recommended because, praying is not only a sort of Allah’s worshiping, but also is influential in preventing difficulties and constraints imposed on our life too. On the other hand, praying for our Imam’s health has a great role in human’s spiritual purifications and it causes to love our Imam more. In other words, although Allah protects the twelfth Imam from serious diseases and problems throughout his life, we should pray for his health so that we could show our affection to him and by this way we can attract his kindness to ourselves.

78. How will be the way of Imam Mahdi’s behavior towards his opponents at the time of his appearance?

According to some authentic narrations, before the appearance of Imam Mahdi, especially on the threshold of his advent, wars and killings and calamities will befall human beings, but we should not, by mistake, attribute these wars and killings to Imam Mahdi because these events will take place before the time of his emergence, or at the very beginning of his advent and therefore he is not responsible for that; however, in response to this question briefly, there are three different views on the way of Imam Mahdi’s behavior towards his opponents at the time of his appearance:

• The first view, which is the conception of the extremists; and those who are the enemies of Islamic savior propound it as their viewpoint, and unfortunately even some Muslims have believed it, is that Imam Mahdi will appear in the shape of a bloodthirsty ruler and will kill a large number of his opponents.
• Contrary to the previous viewpoint, some people have adopted the opposite extreme and unreasonable theory and believe that when the Imam appears, there would never occur any war with the opponents, and there would be no bloodshed at all or just so little that is not considerable.
• And according to the third view, the conduct of Imam Mahdi will be the same as the manner of the prophet Muhammad. So, he firstly will enlighten and guide the opponents; then he will fight with the adamant enemies who are strict obstacles on the path of his divine mission i.e. the elimination of tyranny and the establishment of a divine government throughout the world.

In contrast with the extremist view mentioned above, there is an opposite extreme misconception in which its adherents believe that the Imam, after his appearance, will subdue all creatures through divine power miraculously and supernaturally; hence, the death toll will be very few, and there will just a little bloodshed that is considered as being usual.

According to the third view, there are many authentic Hadiths explicitly declaring the method of Imam Mahdi’s governance in common with the method of the prophet Muhammad. Confirming this assertion, there is a narration from the Prophet to have said,

“A man from among my progeny will rise and act according to the path of mine.” ^[64]

To explain the conduct of the Prophet, the Holy Quran calls him as the Prophet of mercy where Allah says,

﴿وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ﴾^[65]

“And We sent you [O the Prophet!] not save as a mercy unto the worlds.”

In fact, Imam Mahdi will arise to establish justice as a natural and innate desire of human beings; therefore, the Imam cannot act in such a way that people wish they did not see him or, because of the cruelty he commits, to say that he is not from the progeny of Muhammad and does not resemble the promised savior!

79.  What is the reason behind the battles of Imam Mahdi with the enemies?

According to Islamic narrations, during the emergence of Imam Mahdi, he will confront various groups and sects as non-believers in him; however, he will adopt different methods against each group of his opponents because all of these disbelievers would not be the same. Of course, a majority of the disbelievers are the ordinary people who do not know the Imam and the magnificent rank of the Imamate so, at the beginning of his advent, the Imam will introduce himself to them and will try to convince them and guide them to the right path. But a few of them are such strict enemies that they will stand against the Imam in a way that they would be considered as the serious obstacles in the path of his divine mission; like tyrant rulers, the heads of false and deviant sects, and hypocrites, etc.

Besides, it should be noted that some sects or groups of people would not accept the Imam as a divine leader, but they also would not stand against the Imam and would not be rendered as an impediment on the way of his mission. As it is clear, the Imam will not move against them.

In this situation and on the threshold of establishing his government, it would necessary for the Imam to fight with those obstacles to uproot them. However, the method and diplomacy of Imam Mahdi in this regard generally is only the continuation of the conduct of his ancestor, Prophet Muhammad. In better words, though Imam Mahdi is the full embodiment of Divine mercy, his mode of conduct with the enemies and disbelievers depends on their reaction against him. In other words, Imam Mahdi, as the last savior for mankind, will not remain silent on any kind of tyranny at all.

Undoubtedly, bloodthirsty oppressors rule the world before and while the advent of the Mahdi. Now, in such a case, how could be possible for the Imam, who has risen against all this perversion and tyranny to remain silent? Clearly the opposition groups who have usurped the rights of people and whose positions have been endangered and whose hands are stained with the blood of human beings are standing up to the reformist Imam’s movement. Therefore, Imam Mahdi as the universal reformer who rises and has a mission to form ‘the one-world government’ must have a plan to remove the obstacles. Therefore, he will have to fight against the strict enemies of Islam to implement the divine justice hardly because in front of him, are the enemies armed to the teeth, with having access to the world’s vast economic potential and have benefited from the advanced technology and by enjoying powerful armies who will raise the flag of opposition.

80. Will Imam Mahdi be a violent Upriser?

A large number of narrations about the wars and the killings at the End of Time are related to the era before the appearance of Imam Mahdi which should not be ascribed to the Imam and the period of his ruling. As for those narrations dedicated to the time of the advent of Imam Mahdi and depict his uprising violently and murderously, they bear a serious problem in terms of the authenticity in their narrators and their texts. These problems occurred in these narrations due to the prominent role of the exaggerators, forgers of narrations, and the carelessness of the weak narrators. Also, some narrations going to the opposite extreme deny the possibility of any war and bloodshed at that time. These narrations are also unacceptable due to lacking the required criteria in their chain of transmitters. Add to it, the occurrence of a battle is one of the natural prerequisites in a universal revolutionary movement.

However, based on the authentic Hadiths, the way of Imam Mahdi’s military confrontation with enemies will be the same as that of his noble ancestor, Prophet Muhammad. Basically he will come to establish justice which is the natural desire and heartfelt wish of human beings; therefore, the Savior cannot behave in such a way that people wish they did not see him. Literally such a person cannot be harsh, ruthless, callous, cruel, and unfair on people. As opposed to this image of the Imam, Islamic narrations depict the infallible Imam as an excellent embodiment of divine grace and mercy. For instance, there is a tradition from Imam Ridā (the eighth imam of Shia) saying,

«...الإمام الأنیس الرّفیقُ و الوالِدُ الشَّفیقُ و الاَخ الشقیق و الاُمُّ البَرَّه بِالوَلَدِ الصَّغیر وَ مَفْزَعُ الْعِبَادِ فِي الدَّاهِيَةِ النَّآدِ.»^[66]

“Imam is a close friend, a kind father, a brother of the same blood and a beneficent mother to her baby, and a refuge for people in difficult conditions.”

However, the truth is that Imam Mahdi will emerge at a time when human beings are swamped with tyrannical regimes and counterfeit schools of thought claiming the salvation of humanity. In general, the excess of pervasive corruptions, immorality, oppressions, all kinds of social calamities, crisis, and various social unrests, etc. lay the groundwork for public acceptability of seeking justice so that, when the Imam appears with divine permission, downtrodden people bring themselves to the Imam, and the number of his companions increases from moment to moment, so that in less than a year, with the help of people themselves, the rule of universal justice will be established throughout the earth, and all kind of oppression and tyranny will vanish and humanity will achieve its common and perpetual dream for a worldwide Justice, security, and comfort. Of course, this will not be easy to occur because those who see their illegal benefits endangered will oppose the reformist Imam’s movement. In such a case, Imam Mahdi like all the saints of Allah, firstly will call them to the right path variously and warns them not to break out war. Regarding this, there is a Hadith from Imam Sādiq (the sixth Imam of Shia) to have said,

«... يَدْعُوهُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَ اَلْمَوْعِظَةِ اَلْحَسَنَةِ فَيُطِيعُونَهُ...»^[67]

“…Mahdi invites them to accept the truth with wisdom and fair admonition, then many of them obey him…”

However, there will be some obstinate opponents who insist on their stubbornness and oppressive position. Therefore, the Imam will have to resort to a coercive manner to put them in subjection.

81. Dose Imam Mahdi love us? 

The answer is that some kinds of love and affection are inherent and are out of man’s control, like the parents’ affection for their children. Parents are never forced to love their children. That is why it is not recommended to say, "O the parents! Please love your children." Instead, the Quran has emphasized and recommended children to respect their parents and to be kind to them.^[68] That is because parents love their children regardless of their children like them or not. Parents deeply believe that their children are a part of their hearts.

Another kind of affection is not natural, rather it is created in hearts step by step by the passage of the time or it is made due to relationships with others or getting familiar with somebody after a while. This is like the love that exists within the friends in society.

By knowing these two kinds of love, we need to comprehend that the affection of the Prophet and his household especially the Imam of the Age towards us is inherent. We, the Shiites, are a part of our Imams’ hearts as we read in a narration from Imam Sādiq (the Shia’s sixth Imam) to have said,

"Our Shia (real followers) are part of us; they are created from the rest of our nature." ^[69]

"Therefore, the defect and fault is on our side that has led us to lose the real affection of our spiritual fathers especially our Imam of the Age who has said about us,

«إِنَّا غَيْرُ مُهْمِلِينَ‏ لِمُرَاعَاتِكُمْ وَ لَا نَاسِينَ لِذِكْرِكُم‏»^[70]

"Surely, we do not neglect your conditions nor are we forgetful of your remembrance."

When a small child is separated from his parents his/her parents will never forget the child even until the end of their lifetime. But the child will forget his/her parents just after a while. The same thing has happened to many of us in our relationship with the Imam. Unfortunately, getting involved in our worldly affairs has resulted to the detriment of our affection and fondness towards Imam Mahdi. Maybe days pass and we do not think about the Imam at all as if there is no more love left in our hearts for him. Admittedly, the kindliness of Imam Mahdi towards us has not reduced, rather we have become ignorant. He is always close to us even if we are far from him.

82. How can we create a strong love for Imam Mahdi in our hearts?

The fact is that great love and affection towards Imam Mahdi is not given to a man up until an intensive need for the Imam of the Age becomes created in his heart.

The truth is that if we have cognizance about the real stance of our Imam, Imam Mahdi in the world and in our life, we cannot suffice ourselves with a little interest in him.

The second truth is that, whoever wants to have a cordial and emotional connection with the Imam, gradually, he will feel more and more passion for him.

Basically, and naturally, we need someone to love with all of our hearts to warm our lives by this love. This very intense love cannot belong to anyone but to the Imam of the Age. When we believe that the Imam is the caliph of Allah on the earth, it means that as we love Allah more than anyone and anything else, we have to love the Imam like this. Consequently, if our affection for Imam Mahdi is not strong enough, it shows that we have a problem in our hearts.

The first step in feeling that love and affection for the Imam is that our actions and thoughts must be in congruence with him. No doubt that if our spirit, mind, and actions do not be in line with our Imam how can we expect to have a permanent love towards him in our hearts. The mentioned congruity is the first and most important factor for reaching to Imam Mahdi. If two things want to be connected and correlated with each other, the only way is that there should exist a congruity and compatibility between each one to another.

Since Imam Mahdi is the divinely chosen servant of Allah and an infallible Imam; therefore, the first way of making a congruity with the Imam depends on trying to observe the utmost level of piety. It means that all of the obligatory duties must be done precisely by the lover of the Imam. For example, not lonely one must say the prayers at the beginning of their times, but also during his prayers all of his thoughts and concentration must be on what he says and on its meaning. He also must preserve his careful attention to Allah while he prays. On the other hand, one must try to refrain from all kinds of forbidden acts completely. In addition, he should not think about sins even in his heart. By doing so, gradually it becomes a habit for him.

Furthermore, man in order to reinforce this love and affection towards Imam Mahdi, his knowledge and cognition about the Imam must be increased. This goal can be gained by reading the competent books written by skilful scholars about this subject; especially by reading the narrations related to Imam Mahdi (such as the section of narrations related to the chapter al-Hujjat in Usūl al-Kāfī). This knowledge will become like a bridge that makes one closer to his Imam.

Certainly, if one feels a real need for Imam Mahdi, or in other words, when one understands his own inner and spiritual deficiencies and considers that the correction of his spiritual problems is in the hand of Imam Mahdi who is a perfect human and the deputy of Allah on the earth, he will become attached to the Imam and the love of the Imam will become created in his heart.

That is how the love and affection for Allah and His chosen people are allowed to inter in man’s heart (because if the heart is infected, that love and affection will find no way to get into the heart). At this moment, man who has fallen in love with Allah and his deputy gradually feels a deeper love in his heart and will become so tender-hearted that would shed tears just by a little talking and resorting to Allah, feels a strong willing on praying and worshipping Allah. He becomes eager to performing midnight prayers and supplications and to seeking forgiveness from Allah at twilight. He hates sin with all of his senses. He sheds tears when he appeals to the Imam of the Age and over time, he becomes closer to Imam Mahdi. Such a person will also love the friend of the Imam’s friends; he seeks to guide those who have gone astray and turn people’s attention to the Imam. He always tries to make the Imam loveable to people and to create the Imam’s passion and love in the hearts of others. In this way, man will attract more attention from the Imam and the mutual love gains power and his love towards the Imam will intensify.

Compiled by: Ḥamid Saˈādat

http://Mahdism.net