Author: admin

What Is the Benefit of Having the Imam in Occultation?

Posted by | Jun 12, 2013 | , |

What Is the Benefit of Having the Imam in Occultation? If the Imam is the leader of the people he should be present among them. What is the benefit of having an Imam who lives an invisible life? What is the use of having an Imam who lives in the state of occultation for centuries without fulfilling any of the functions that he normally under takes: such as propagating religion, solving the problems of society, responding to the attacks of his opponents, commanding the good and forbidding the evil, helping the poor and redressing the wrongs committed against the downtroddens upholding the ordinances of God by instituting proper penalties and explaining the lawful and the unlawful to the people, and so on. The people are surely deprived of the benefits that you have enumerated during the occultation. However, the benefits of the Imam’s presence are not limited to these. In fact, there are other benefits that are available during the occultation. The following two are among those many other benefits that you have not enumerated: First, in accord with all that we have said previously and the proofs that were derived from the writings of Muslim scholars, including the hadith reports that spoke about the necessity of the Imamate, the existence of the Imam as a perfect and unique embodiment of humanity serves as a link between the material...

Read More

who are ulu 'l-amr

Posted by | Jun 12, 2013 | , |

who are ulu ‘l-amr those vested with authority? o you who believe! obey allah and the messenger and those vested with authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to allah and the messenger if you believe in allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end. (4:59) ibn babawayh has narrated through his chain from jabir ibn abdillah al-ansari that he said: “when allah, the mighty, the great, sent to his prophet, muhammad (s.a.w.a.), the verse, o you who believe! obey allah and the messenger and those vested with authority from among you, i said, ‘o messenger of allah! we know allah and his messenger, but who are those vested with authority whose obedience allah has conjoined to your obedience? (the prophet) said: ‘they are my caliphs, o jabir! and the imams of the muslims after me. the first of them is ‘ali son of abutalib, then al-hasan, then al-husayn, then ‘ali son of al-husayn, then muhammad son of ‘ali who is mentioned as al-baqir in the torah; you will surely meet him, o jabir! when you see him convey my salam (greetings) to him. then as-sadiq ja’far son of muhammad; then musa son of ja’far; then ‘ali son of musa; then muhammad son of ‘ali; then ‘ali son of muhammad; then al-hasan son of ‘ali; then muhammad (whose...

Read More

The Signs of the Appearance (Zuhur) of the Mahdi

Posted by | Jun 12, 2013 | , |

Many people have narrated from the prophet concerning the reappearance at the end of the time, of the Mahdi who is a descendent of his daughter Fatimah, and how he will spread justice and equity throughout the world, after it has been overcome by injustice and oppression. All sects of Muslims have accepted this good tiding, but with different interpretations. It is not a new opinion or idea that has come into existence only among the Shi’a, and in which they were prompted to believe by oppression, dreaming of someone who would come to clear the world of injustice, as some malevolent sophists have suggested. On the contrary, the concept of the reappearance of the Mahdi has been well known among all Muslims, and they have believed in it. Proof of this is that some persons falsely called themselves Mahdi during the first century after the advent of Islam; such were the leaders of the Kaysaniyyah;s the `Abbasids and the `Alawiyyah. Only because people believed in the Mahdi could these persons have deceived them, exploited their belief and seized power. So they made their claims in order to impress the people and spread their influence. We, the Shi’a, on the one hand, believe in the truth of the Islamic religion as the last Divine religion, and have no expectation of another religion to come and reform humanity. But, on...

Read More

PERSPECTIVE OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Posted by | Jun 12, 2013 | , |

AWAITING IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESPONSIBILITIES: Awaiting’ (Intezar) is the result of two condi­tions. Firstly, he is not satisfied with the present circumstances and secondly, he expects the improve­ment in his circumstances. If either of these condi­tions are not fulfilled then it is not awaiting and the person concerned is not an ‘awaiter’ *(Muntazir). The awaiting of Hazrat Imam Mahdi (A.S.) also holds the same distinct characteristics. Even here awaiting purports that an awaiter is not satisfied with his present circumstances and is hoping for a bright and better future. A believer is a witness to the assaults of the enemies of Islam which they are inflicting on Islam with their full might and munitions. The genuineness of beliefs and deeds are not judged as per the criterion set by Quran and Hadith. Instead they are examined through the clannish prejudice and norms set by their forefathers. In such circumstances, a genuine awaiter should not sit idle. Rather, the Holy Quran has instructed him in these words: “And say to those who do not believe that you act as much you can. We are also trying. You all await and surely we all are awaiting.” It is an open challenge for the enemies, that let them make their best efforts. In the light of this challenge can anyone say that awaiting implies sit­ting idle and remaining oblivious ? Or...

Read More

The Secret Birth of Hadhrat Mahdi (a.s.)

Posted by | Jun 12, 2013 | |

The Secret Birth of Hadhrat Mahdi (a.s.) Shaykh Mufid, a distinguished Shi’ite scholar, also wrote in al Irshad: “When Imam Hasan al-‘Askari (a.s.), passed away, the caliph of that time, pursued his son because the Shi’ite Imamiyyah’s belief was famous and was spread about that the Shi’ites were awaiting His Eminence.” Mu’tadid, one of the tyrant ‘Abbasid caliphs who ruled from 279 to 289 A.H., decided all at once to destroy the entire family of al ‘Askari when he heard that more than twenty years had passed since the birth of the son of Imam Hasan al-‘Askari (a.s.), and that he was still living in spite of the attempts of the preceding caliph to kill him. One of Mu’tadid’s officers said: “Mu’tadid has ordered me and two other persons, each of us to mount a horse and to proceed to Samarra’ in full speed without even stopping for prayer. He gave us the address of (Imam) al-‘Askari and instructed us to enter his house without his permission and to bring him the head of whoever we find there.” As a matter of fact, they were unaware that the same power which had protected the Imam from the former caliphs would give him protection from his evil, because: “Allah disdains (nothing) save that He shall perfect His light, however much the disbelievers are averse” (IX 32). Indeed what an immature...

Read More

Categories