Bismillah
arRahman arRaheem:
Alif
Lam Mim. This Book, there is no
doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil). Those who believe in
the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them.
Although
considering the universality of the concept of Mahdi, the only religion to give
a concrete and practical form to this fundamental belief is the Shiites. In Shiite Islam the Mahdi is not
someone that will come at the end of time, nor a dream of salvation that will
be realized in the distant future, He is here amongst us, sharing our joys and
sorrows.
A
professor by the name of Henry Corbin said: “To my mind, the Shiite is the only
sect which has preserved and perpetuated the link of Divine guidance between
man and God through its belief in the Imamate. According to the Jews, the Prophethood, a real link between
man and God, came to an end with Moses.
They do not believe in the Prophethood of Jesus and Mohammad. The Christians too, do not go beyond
Jesus. The Sunni sect has also
stopped at the Prophet Mohammad and belies that the link between man and God
has been severed with the end of the Prophethood”
It
is only the Imami, ithna Asheri’s that have this link to God which will never
be severed through, the Awaited Saviour, Imam alHujjat bin alHassan.
Now
this fundamental belief was not a wild dream that the shias dreamt up overnight
to console their aching hearts, because of the oppressive conditions prominent
in their lives. It is REALITY. The Prophet of Islam, the one described
in the Quran, as one that does not speak of his own volition, but only that
which is revealed to him has prophesized the existence and the coming of this
Saviour (as). (la yantuq 3an
alhawa, in howa illa wa7yun you7a)
Said:
Even
if there remained only one day of the world left, Allah will send a man from my
household, who will fill the earth with justice as it was fill with oppression. The Prophet also narrated: Al-Qaem
from my ummah will carry my name and my epithet (kunya), his features will
resemble my features, his sunnah will be like my sunnah, he will re-establish
the people on my doctrine and Shariah.
And he will call them back to the Book of Allah. Whoever obeys him obeys me, and whoever
disobeys him disobeys me, and whoever renounces him during his occultation has
renounced me, and whoever belies him has belied me, To Allah, I complain about
those who belie me in this matter, and refute my words in regards to him, and
about those who misguide the people from my ummah away from his path.
Imam
al-Mahdi in another tradition wrote through one of his special deputies during
the minor occultation:
"Rest assured, no one has a special relationship with Allah.
Whoever denies me is not from my (community). The appearance of the Relief
(al-Faraj) depends solely upon Allah. Therefore those who propose a certain
time for it are liars. As to the benefit of my existence in occultation, it is
like the benefit of the sun behind the clouds where the eyes do not see it.
Indeed, my existence is an amnesty for the inhabitants of the earth. Pray much
to Allah to hasten the Relief, for therein also lies the release from your
sufferings
Inshallah
we that are present here are not of those that refute and belie the prophet, and
that we are of those that show obedience to the Imam, in his occultation and if
we are favoured with being of those who will rise with him, or are alive during
his reappearance that we will manifest the prophets words with action. This manifestation is not only
compulsory during his reappearance, it is mandatory on us even during his
ghaibat.
Now
each and everyone on us should take a few moments to reflect, and ask these
following questions: are we following him, as Allah requires us to? Have we or
are we preparing ourselves in the right path in readiness for his reappearance?
Will the imam accept us as companions in his journey of revival of the
religion? Even if our fate is that we meet death before his reappearance, will
we die reassured that he is satisfied with us?
How
do we become of those who are his true and sincere followers?
Our
first duty is to recognize the Imam, who is the Imam of our Age. This is such an essential task that the
prophet has said in many traditions:
"He who dies without recognizing the Imam of his age is like one
who had died during the jahiliyyah
To die during the jahiliyyah means a death devoid of Islam and faith. And it is
obvious that one who dies without recognizing the Imam of his age is counted a
disbeliever.
Does
recognizing the Imam, mean solely that we believe in his existence and then sit
idly awaiting his reappearance? No
one with any sense of logic and faith in Allah and the last day would agree to
this.
What
is required of us is what the Imams have narrated: Imam Ali said: for our Qaem
there is a long absence and it is as if I see the shia, roaming around like
sheep during his occultation, searching for their pasture, but not finding it. (This means that the Shia during the
ghaibat is likened to sheep without a shepherd to lead them to the greener
pastures, so too the shia will be without an Imam to lead them to guidance)
The
Imam continues, for whoever remains steadfast from them in their religion, his
heart will not become hardened because of the extent of his absence, therefore
he will be with me in the hereafter.
During
the ghaibat we are required to remain firm in belief to achieve the same level
in paradise as Imam Ali. Allah
subhanahu wa’Tala says: Has not the time yet come for those who
believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and
what has come down of the truth? And
that) they should not be like those who were given the Book before, but
the time became prolonged to them, so their hearts hardened, and most of them
are transgressors.
The
ta’weel of this ayah is in reference to the people during the absence of the
Imam, It is as if Allah is saying , O’ummah of Mohammad, O’shias, do not be
like those who were given the book before you. Do not be of those that doubt the Proof of Allah
(HujjatAllah), or assume that Allah will leave the earth devoid of the Imam for
even a blink of an eyelid. We should not lose hope, because when all hope is
lost the heart becomes hardened as was the case with Bani Israel, who as
mentioned in the Holy Quran, when Nabi Moussa’s absence was extended without
their knowledge, and when He didn’t arrive on the prescribed time, they lost
hope and their hearts became hardened, leading them to misguidance, and kufr.
In
the same manner, There will be of the Shia whose hearts will harden and they
will turn away from the Quran and Sunnah. I only say Shia because the others are already on a
path of destruction, a path to eternal damnation. We have to practice patience in his absence. Much suffering
will prevail, as Imam Ali said: Certainly, a time will come upon you after me
when nothing will be more concealed than rightfulness, nothing more apparent
than wrongfulness and nothing more current than untruth against Allah and His Prophet…
The holders of the book will throw it away and its memorisers would forget it.
In these days the Qur'an and its people will be exiled and expelled. They will
be companions keeping together on one path, but no one will offer them asylum…
How
can we save ourselves except through adhering firmly to the chosen ones: the
near ones, companions, treasure holders and doors (to the Sunnah). Houses are
not entered save through their doors. Whoever enters them from other than the
door is called a thief, as Imam Ali said. The door to the true religion and to
the absolute recognition of the absent Imam is through non other than the
teachings of the Imams that preceded him (as).
Those
who suffer and repudiate the lies that are propagated about the Imam during his
absence, by holding fast to the religion of Mohammad and His Ahlul Bait, are
likened by Imam al-Hussein, to those who did jihad with RasoolAllah.
O’Shia
of Mohammad don’t let the absence of the Imam, be a cause for your misguidance,
don’t let those whose heart is full of illness turn you away from the truth by
implanting doubts in your head.
These people are in no doubt about the existence of prophet Khidr, and
that he is still amongst us, walking the earth, and they are in no doubt about
the age of Prophet Noah, who’s age at his time of death was well over a
thousand years. But when it comes
to one chosen from the household of Mohammad, they will place question mark
upon question mark, about its authenticity and call it shia fabrication. Beware that you are not of the
shia Imam alBaqir described saying: of you there will be one who will awake
believing that he is following our (ahlul Bait) Shariah, but by the time night
falls, he will have departed from it.
The
awaited Saviour, the Mahdi, The remnant of Allah on earth and his proof IS al-Hujjat ibn al-Hassan, the 12th
Imam from the Household of Mohammad, as prophet Mohammad answered one who asked
this question, “He is from us (Ahlul-Bait), with him Allah will seal the
religion in the same way he opened it.
Through us they will be saved from trials (fitna) as they were saved
(through us) from polytheism (shirk), and it is through us that Allah will
unite the hearts that became hostile during the period of trial (fitna) in the
same manner He united the hearts after they became hostile from the polytheism.
And it is through us that they will become brothers after the hostility of trial in the same way that they
became brothers after the hostility of polytheism.
The
bottom line is holding fast to the rope of Allah, the Ahlul Bait. And walking without wavering on the
straight path, the straight path of Mohammad and his Ahlul Bait, the keys to
the doors of Allah’s paradise.
Only by adhering to this path will you truly know the Imam of the Age
(ajallah tala farajahu alshareef), and maybe even be blessed with a meeting
with Him.
May
Allah illuminate our hearts by his love,
And count us among his sincere and loyal servants. Ameena rabil
alameen!!!