The Awaited
Reformer
The belief in the Mahdi is not only an
essential doctrine deep-rooted in Islamic faith; it is rather an
embodiment of human nature regardless of one’s religious affiliations.
For it is the universal desire of humans as a whole to try to achieve or
at least witness the realisation of the ultimate objective of their
existence, through which they will achieve perfection and social
happiness in its entirety. Therefore, by reason of inner necessity and
inspiration, humans will see a day when society will be replete with
justice.
More importantly, from a religious
perspective the concept of the Mahdi is the culmination of human
struggle in their path towards God the Almighty. It is when true Justice
will be established through human hands but with Divine succour
resulting in the prevalence of truth over falsehood and all its
offshoots.
And say:
Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever
bound to vanish. (Holy Quran XVII, 81)
Having identified that the need for
the Mahdi is a subject of inner necessity that is instilled into the
hearts of humans, it is essential to outline the duties of the human
race as a whole in trying to achieve a purgatory state of social
felicity in the outward absence of the Mahdi that would lay a foundation
for his imminent reappearance.
However, in the case of such a state
being reached, it prompts one to question the fundamental motive behind
the concealment of the Mahdi despite when the social and political
factors are welcoming to his presence and his precepts. To this we say;
Yes Indeed, this is exactly where the problem lies! The principle reason
that is delaying the reappearance of the Mahdi is that the people
aren’t ready to acknowledge the perfect leader and the perfect ideology
that is to be established by him, as clearly mentioned by the Mahdi
himself in one of his narrations;
‘If our Shi’a (followers), may
Allah help and succeed them to His obedience, were united in
wholeheartedly honouring the promise and obligation that is upon them,
there would have been no delay in meeting us (i.e. in our reappearance),
and bliss and felicity for them would have hastened by seeing us with
full knowledge and certainty of testifying to our (leadership)’
Therefore, each and every one of us
has to be very cognisant of their acts, in relation to the part we play
during the occultation of the Mahdi. This period has been like none
other before nor is the test set upon the Muslim Ummah and humanity at
large like any before. With lack of direct contact with the divine
leader of the time and the many injustices that have overwhelmed today’s
society resulting in moral demise on another side, many seek the help of
Allah (SWT) and pray for the hasty reappearance of the Mahdi and his
promised victory. Strong faith in the promised triumph in the midst of
injustice and darkness is a means of separating the true believers from
the rest. A brief look into history shows endless of these so-called
followers who eventually betrayed their leaders and thus put eternal
shame and disgrace on themselves. A perfect example being the story of
the inhabitants of Kufah at the time of the great ancestor of the Mahdi,
Husayn son of Ali, for whom he weeps blood each day until the day of his
reappearance.
Certainly those fortunate and blessed
individuals who will take part in this grand culmination of servitude,
which will result in the prevalence of Truth over all forms of
falsehood, will be those whose conviction in the Mahdi and the promised
day is resolute. The believers will be constantly tested by those whose
aim is staunchly fixed in denying the Mahdi, by using arguments such as
his age, for the Mahdi’s age is now 1169 years. Many find it difficult
to believe that a human can live for a period of this length, however,
the impossibility in this objection is relative and its relation is to
some person, place and time. What is an impossibility to one person,
time or place may be very possible to another, as we well know.
Moreover, it should be said that living for such a length of time is
neither a scientific nor a logical impossibility. Today scientists have
succeeded in prolonging the life of certain animals, hundreds of times
beyond their normal life spans by artificially creating conditions that
delay the degeneration of their tissues and cells. The failure of this
being effectively carried out on humans is merely due to the increased
difficulties involved, however, it is in no way an impossibility, from a
scientific point of view, to achieve this in the future.
The Mahdi was born on the fifteenth of
Sha’ban in the year two hundred and fifty five after Hijrah. His birth
was kept secret since the authorities of the time were actively seeking
to execute him should he be found alive. The circumstances of his birth
were therefore, very similar to that of the Prophet Moses who was also
been searched for by the authorities of his time, for the Pharaoh was
well aware of the prophecy that a child would grow up to prevail over
him and his evil rule and would replace this with the belief in the true
One God whose Power, Might and Wisdom is Absolute.
Similarly, the Abbasid Caliphate was
well aware of the Mahdi and of how he would fill the world with justice
and truth after it had been filled with injustice and falsehood, from
several traditions originating from the Prophet Muhammad. These
narrations are present to date in both Shi’a and Sunni books.
“The world will not come to an
end until a man from the descendants of Husayn takes charge of the
affairs of the world and fills it with justice and equity as it is
filled with injustice and tyranny.”
At the age of five, after the tragic
martyrdom of his father, the eleventh divine successor of the Prophet
Muhammad – Hassan son of Ali, the Mahdi went into a minor occultation.
During this period, the Mahdi was in contact with his followers through
appointed deputies. This lasted for a period of about sixty nine years.
A few days before the death of his fourth and final deputy the Imam
informed his followers, through his deputy, that there would be no more
deputies after the death of the current one and after this period the
Imam would go into a Major Occultation, which would continue until the
day God grants permission to the Imam to manifest himself. During this
period, none would be able to approach the Imam through deputies or
through direct contact. In regards to the duration and the importance of
this period, the Prophet Muhammad was once asked about the nature of the
reappearance of the Mahdi. In his reply the Prophet likened the time of
the Reappearance of the Mahdi to that of the Hour of Resurrection and
then narrated the Quranic verse;
“He alone will manifest it at
its proper time. It is heavy in the heavens and the earth. It cometh not
to you save unawares” (Holy Quran VII, 187)
An important question is raised in
relation to this specific period, by those who doubt or question the
existence of the Mahdi. What is the benefit of the Imam to his
followers during his occultation?
In order to answer this question, one
should realise that the position and the role of an Imam is not only to
administer the affairs and the needs of the Ummah, rather he is the link
between man and God, the link between the material and the spiritual
worlds. Moreover, his physical presence or absence has no bearing on his
position in regards to this role. This can be derived from one of the
sayings narrated by the Imam himself;
‘My benefit (to the people) during my occultation is
similar to that of the sun when it disappears from sight behind the
clouds.’
Examining
the above saying from a scientific approach, we understand that just
like how the Earth is sustained with the Sun’s energy and light
irrespective of whether it is behind clouds, similarly, we derive
immense spiritual benefit from the Imam regardless of whether he is
physically with us or not. Furthermore, one can also obtain another
important role of Imamate from the saying above. Today, we know that the
Sun is the centre of the solar system and its existence nourishes and
nurtures for the planetary objects around it, similarly the Imam’s sole
presence, whether active or not, is of paramount importance as it is the
source of life for all as without the existence of God’s proof on Earth
the world is tantamount to complete annihilation.
We therefore
have to be mindful of what we do and should endeavour in making our
souls pure by nourishing them with the Divine light thus making our
souls the abode for Allah and his beloved angels. Spiritual perfection
should be our goal and if there is any doubt as to whether the Imam is
aware of our acts and is overlooking the welfare of his followers, a
saying by the Imam should suffice;
‘We have not ignored your consideration, and have not
forgotten your mention; otherwise hardship would have descended upon you
and your enemies would have exterminated you.’
The Imam is
therefore watching over our affairs and is patiently awaiting our
response to his call. The matter regarding the return of the Imam is not
one simply related to awaiting a time frame chosen by the Almighty
Allah, rather in accordance to the narration from the Prophet (SAW), it
has a direct relationship with our own actions, as he says;
‘The best of actions is awaiting Al-Faraj (the return)’
The emphasis
in this saying is on the word ‘actions’, because it is in reference to
participating in an action in order to bring about that awaited time.
From this narration stems the School of Awaiting which is a
comprehensive study into the necessary approaches and actions of the
Muslim community in order to hasten the appearance of the return.
It is this
exact approach that the AhlulBayt Islamic Mission (AIM) undertakes as
its core doctrine, and it is through this that all AIM projects are run.
It is therefore the objective of the AhlulBayt Islamic
Mission, to outwardly promote a platform for the
blessed return in all fields of life, and to
encourage and motivate the masses to embrace true Islam and work towards
the fulfillment of the command of Allah on Earth.
AIM believes that the solution to all problems be they on
a worldly or individual level, and that the completion of the Divine
plan is realized with the return of the Imam of our time. Based on this
and on the narration mentioned earlier, AIM believes that it is the duty
of every Muslim to continually remember the central significance of the
Imam and to place all efforts in to working for the return of the Imam.
It is therefore necessary for everyone to work tirelessly
for this objective and to remember that this mission is the only
legitimate solution to the problems faced by mankind at large.
It is the responsibility of everyone to remind those around them of this
sacred mission and it is likewise their responsibility to sacrifice
their time, efforts and even their finances for the cause of the awaited
Imam.
It is a frequent saying
amongst many Muslims, when they remember the martyrs of Karbala to
chant: “If only we were with you, for surely we would have been
victorious.” We today have that option, we have an Imam in occultation
waiting for us to reach out towards him. He is patiently waiting for
that time to come where a small group of people would truly be of his
followers such that he may appear and lead this Ummah towards salvation,
and yet we as a people sit and do nothing.
The AhlulBayt Islamic
Mission, calls on everyone to join its ranks and help in this sacred
mission to bring about the return of the Imam of our time, for surely as
the Imam himself stated:
“In my return is
your return"
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