AN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL- · PDF fileAN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL-MAHDI. First edition: ... It is...

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AN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL-MAHDI

Transcript of AN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL- · PDF fileAN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL-MAHDI. First edition: ... It is...

AN INQUIRY CONCERNING AL-MAHDI

First edition: 1400/1980

Published by:

World Oraanization for Islamic Services,P. 0. Box No. 11365-1545,

Tehran - IRAN.

AN INQUIRY CONCERNING

By :

MUHAMMAD BAQIR AS-SADR

An introduction condescended by his EminenceAyatu'llah as-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr,may his noble patronage be preserved as a blessingfor this great comprehensive work.

WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICESTEHRAN -IRAN.

AL-MAHDI

In the Name of Allah,

the Most Compassionate, the Merciful

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all beings;

the Most Compassionate, the Merciful;the Master of the Day of Judgement;

Thee only we serve, and to Thee alone we pray

for succour;Guide us in the straight path;

the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,

who are immune from Thy wrathand have never gone astray.

O'Allah send your blessings to the head ofyour messengers and the last of

your prophets, Muhammadand his pure and cleansed progeny.

Also send your blessings to all your

prophets and envoys.

CONTENTS

Page

ForewordIn Arabic .......................... 13English translation ................... 15

Introduction ............................ 17

1. How was this long life grantedto al-Mahdi ? ....................... 29

2. The Miracle and the Long Life ......... 433. Why all this desire to Prolong

his Life? .......................... 504. How was the Preparation of the

Expected Leader Achieved ............ 605. How can we Believe in the

Existence of al-Mahdi ? ............... 716. Why has the Leader not Appeared yet ? ... 83

7. Can An Individual Assume this Role ? . . . . 91

8. How will the Change on theAppointed Day Occur? .............. 94

Dear Reader,

The book you now have in hand is one ofthe many Islamic publications distributed by thisOrganization throughout the world in differentlanguages with the aim of conveying the messageof Islam to the people of the world.

You may read this book carefully and shouldyou be interested to have further study on suchpublications you can contact us through a letter.Naturally, if we find you to be a keen and ener-getic reader we shall give you a deserving responsein sending you some other publications of thisOrganization.

In the Name of Allah,the Most Compassionate, the Merciful

And we want to bestow our favours onthose who were oppressed on earth, andmake them leaders of mankind and makethem the inheritors. (The Story, 28:5)

FOREWORD

We are pleased to present the English trans-lation of the book Bahth hawl al-Mahdi ( An En-quiry Concerning al-Mahdi). Praise be to Allahfor the success we have had in our progress tothis book. It is enough, by way of introductionto say that the author, as-Sayyid Muhammad Bdqiras-Sadr is one of the great scholars of Islamicthought, and it is enough, by way of introductionto as-Sayyid as-Sadr, to let him introduce himselfby his works and writings; the only thing we cando is to enable the worthy readers to becomeacquainted with his thought. The reader can seefor himself the stature of the writer from study-ing his works, of which the present book is an ex-ample, albeit small, but containing great meaning.

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This is the fourth book which we have so farpublished from the writings of as-Sayyid as-Sadrin the English language. And we pray to Alldh, mayHe be praised that He guide our steps, and leadus in the right path. He is the best Guide, thebest Helper.

WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR ISLAMIC SERVICES,

6/2/1400

(Board of Writing, Translation & Publication).

Tehran - IRAN.26/12/1979

INTRODUCTION

Not only is al-Mahdi (the Guided One) amaterialization of an Islamic belief of a spiritualnature, but a model to a particular goal whichhumanity has been striving to achieve, as well asa form to a natural inspiration, through which peo-ple came to realize - in spite of their different faithand means of access to the unseen - that there isan appointed day on earth, when the Divine mess-ages will be fulfilled in all their great significanceand final aim, when the exhausting march whichhumanity took in the course of history will leadto stability and security, after a long struggle.

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However, the awareness of this expectedfuture is not limited to those who believe in theunseen from a religious angle, but it has extendedto others and has even been reflected in thoseideologies which strongly denied the existence ofthe unseen and any of its aspects, such as dialec-tical materialism, that interpreted history in termsof contradictions, but at last admitted the fact thatthere was an appointed time in which these contra-dictions would be resolved when peace and har-mony would prevail on earth.

Thus we find that the psychological experi-ence of this awareness, which humanity has under-taken in the course of time, is one of the widestand most commonly held among people.

So, if religion strengthens this awareness byreaffirming that at the end of matter, the earthwill be filled with justice after having been filledwith injustice and tyranny, it is in reality providingit with its objective value and turning it into a

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decisive belief in human destiny, which is notonly a source of consolation but of generosityand strength.

A source of generosity, since belief in al-Mahdi is in reality belief in the protest against allforms of oppression and tyranny although theystill prevail in the world.

It is also a source of strength and a refutationthat cannot dwindle, since it is a ray of light thatis continually struggling against despair within people and keeping the flame of hope ablaze withintheir hearts in spite of the gloomy conditions andthe might of oppression under which they live,because the appointed day confirms the fact thatjustice can challenge a world filled with trans-gression and tyranny, that it can shake its foun-dations, and rebuild it anew; that oppression isonly an unnatural condition, regardless of itspower and extent in the different corners of theworld; that it will eventually be defeated; that the

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ultimate defeat of oppression while on the summitof its glory, brings great hope before every perse-cuted individual and every oppressed nation, intipping the balance and rebuilding the world.

If the idea of al-Mahdi is older and widerthan Islam, the detailed outlines, which the latterhas fixed for it, have proved more satisfactory toall those ambitions that have been seeking its real-ization since the dawn of history as well as a moregenerous gift and a stonger prediction for the feel-ings of those who have been persecuted and op-pressed in the course of history. This is becauseIslam has turned the idea from the unseen intoreality, and from an aspiration for a saviour theworld would produce in the distant and unknownfuture into the conviction that he actually existslooking forward with other people to that dayand the right circumstances that would make itpossible for him to assume his great role.

Thus, al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) is no

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longer an idea waiting to be materialized nor aprophecy that needs to be substantiated, but aliving reality and a particular person, living amongus in flesh and blood, who is sharing our hopes,suffering, sorrows and joys, actually witnessing allthe sufferings, sadness and transgression that existon the surface of the earth, who is affected withall this from near or far, who is waiting for theappropriate moment when he can stretch his handsto every oppressed and needy person and. eradicatethe tyrants.

However, it has been decreed that this expect-ed leader is not to reveal anything concerning hislife or person to other people, although he is livingamongst them, waiting for the appointed moment.

It is obvious that thinking in terms of theseIslamic indictions narrows the gap of the unseenbetween the oppressed people and the expectedsaviour and reduces the psychological distancebetween him and them, no matter how long the

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expectation may last.

So, when we are supposed, as far as we areconcerned, to consider the idea of al-Mahdi asactually designating a particular living person whois observing events like we are, it is to inspire uswith the fact that the idea of the unconditionalprotest against all sorts of transgression and tyr-anny, which al-Mahdi stands for, has alreadymaterialized in the expected dissident leader whowill emerge, paying no homage to the transgressors,as it has been mentioned in the hadith (tradition),and that by believing in him we are in reality be-lieving in this unyielding and living protest andparticipating in it.

Indeed lots of ahadith (traditions) are con-stantly urging those who believe in al-Mahdi toexpect release from suffering and be prepared forhis coming, which is a consolidation of that spiri-tual bond and emotional tie between them and thedissident leader and every value he stands for both

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of which could not have existed had he not actual-ly materialized as a contemporary living person.

Thus we come to realize that this material-ization has given a new impetus to the idea andmade it a source of strength and generosity of ahigher degree in terms of what any dissident in-dividual finds of comfort consolation and relieffrom the pains that he has to suffer under tyrannyand deprivation, when he comes to feel that hisImdm and leader shares them with him, since thelatter is a contemporary person and not an ideato be realized in the future.

However, the above mentioned materializ-ation has led many people, who found it hard tobelieve or assume, to take negative attitudes evenregarding the idea of al-Mahdi.

Since they all wonder if the idea of al-Mahdiactually designates a living person who has co-existed with all these consecutive generations for

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more than ten centuries, who will continue to doso until the time comes for him to emerge on thesurface, how can such a human being live all thislong and yet be immune from the laws of naturewhich compel any person to pass by the phase ofold age and decrepitude and from there to hisdeath. Is not such a matter impossible from anexistential point of view?

Also, why should Allah show all this desirefor this particular person - for whom the lawsof nature would be obstructed - and endeavoursto prolong his life and preserve him for the ap-pointed day; has humanity become barren fromyielding capable leaders? Why should not that daycome when a leader will be born at its dawn andgrow up like anyone else and gradually assumehis role until the earth be filled with justice afterhaving been filled with injustice and transgression?

They also wonder if al-Mahdi is the nameof a particular person, who is the son of the elev-

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enth Imdm of the family of the Prophet (Ahlu'1-bayt - peace and blessing of Alldh be upon them),born in the year 256 A.H. whose father died inthe year 260 A.H. . This means that he was veryyoung when his father died, not exceeding theage of five, which is too early for him to havecompleted his religious and intellectual educationat the hands of his father. Therefore how and bywhat means could he personally be prepared toassume that great role from religious, intellectualand scientific angles.

Moreover, if the leader is ready why shouldhe wait all these hundreds of years? Is not whatthe world has witnessed of afflictions and socialdisasters enough to justify his appearance on itssurface for the establishing of justice on earth?

They also wonder how can we believe in hisexistence even if we were to assume that this couldbe possible? Can anybody admit the validity ofa hypothesis of this kind when it is not actually

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supported by any conclusive legal or scientificevidence? Should some narratives (ahadith) relatedto the Prophet (blessing and peace of Allah be up-on him and his progeny), of which we doubt theauthenticity be enough for us to approve such ahypothesis?

As far as the role that this individual is goingto play on the appointed day is concerned theywonder how a single person can assume this greatdecisive role in the world, while we know thathowever great an individual is, he cannot createhistory nor lead it into a new phase; whereas theseeds of any historical movement ripen undercertain objective circumstances and their comingtogether; and the sublimity of the individual is thefactor which selects him to shape these objectivecircumstances and provide the required solutions?

They also wonder how we can imagine whatthis individual would achieve of enormous changeand decisive victory for justice and its message

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against the realities of injustice, oppression andtyranny in spite of what they have of power andinfluence and what they possess of means ofdestruction as well as what they have achievedof high standards in scientific, political, socialand military capabilities.

Questions in this connection recur often inone form or another, however the true motivesbehind them are not only intellectual, since theyhave also a psychological source expressed in termsof the fear that dominates the world and themeagerness of all opportunity of change fromthe roots. Therefore, doubts deepen and questionsincrease, the more one becomes aware of the harshreality that has prevailed in the world in the courseof time. Thus failure, meagerness and the weak-ness that the human being is subject to lead himto feel under a psychological pressure wheneverhe attempts to imagine the tremendous changeof the world which would relieve it of its contra-dictions and historical oppression and would pro-

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vide it with a new structure based on justice andtruth, This pressure makes the individual doubtthe whole concept of change and leads him torefuse it for one reason or another.

As far as we are concerned, we are going todeal with all these questions in sequence answeringeach one briefly due to the limits provided bythese pages.

(1) HOW WAS THIS LONG LIFE

GRANTED TO AL-MAHDI

In other words, is it possible for a man to livefor many centuries, as is the case with the ExpectedLeader, for the change of the world, whose agemust be actually one thousand one hundred andforty years, or fourteen times the average age ofan ordinary person who would pass through thephases of life from childhood to old age normally.

The word possibility here has one of the threefollowing meanings, namely: Practical possibility,scientific possibility and philosophical or logicalpossibility.

I mean by practical possibility that a taskis feasible in a manner that enables me, you or athird person to perform it, such as taking a journeyacross the ocean, reaching the depth of the sea or

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going to the moon, all of which are practicallypossible since they have actually been performedby people in one way or another.

By scientific possibility I mean that there aresome tasks that neither I nor you nor a third per-son can practically perform with the means thatare accessible to present civilization. However thereis nothing in the alterable trends of science whichcan indicate a justification for the rejection of thepossibility of these tasks and their occurrenceconforming to certain special circumstances andmeans. For example, there is nothing in sciencethat could deny the possibility of travelling toVenus, because all its existing trends indicate thepossibility of such a task, although that is still notpossible for me or you since the difference betweengoing to the moon and travelling to Venus is onlyone of degree. The latter representing a stage ofovercoming some relative difficulties stemmingfrom the fact that the distance is longer. Fromthis we deduce that it is scientifically possible to

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travel to Venus even if it is still not feasible froma practical angle.

Contrary to that is the idea of travelling tothe sun in distant space since it is scientificallyimpossible, meaning that science would neverentertain the possibility of this task, for one can-not assume scientifically or empirically the possi-bility of inventing that preventive armour thatcould protect the body against the heat of thesun which is like an enormous kiln constantlyburning with a degree impossible to imagine.

By logical or philosophical possibility I meanthat there is nothing in the intellect, conformingto what it knows of previous laws - (precedingthe experiment) - that could justify the rejectionof a task nor decide that it could not occur.

Say, for example, the grouping of three or-anges into two equal parts, this is logically imposs-ible, since the intellect knows - before carrying

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out such an experiment - that three is an oddnumber, thus it is impossible to divide it into twoequal parts, first it would turn into an even num-ber, which would be a contradiction, which isimpossible in logic.

But if a man were to be exposed to fire, orif he were to go to the sun without burning, thatwould not be impossible from a logical point ofview, since there is no contradiction in the assump-tion that heat does not penetrate into a body oflower temperature from one of higher temperature.That would only run contrary to the experimentwhich proved that heat actually penetrates intoa body of lower temperature from one of highertemperature until both bodies get an equal tem-perature.

Therefore, we come to realize that logicalpossibility has a wider scope than scientific possi-bility and that the latter is wider than practicalpossibility.

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There is no doubt about the logical possi-bility of the prolongation of human life for somethousands of years, because that is not impossible from an abstract intellectual point of view,also there is no contradiction in an assumptionof this sort, since life as it is understood does notfathom sudden death and no one can disputethis fact.

Also, there is no doubt or controversy thatthis prolonged life is not possible from the prac-tical aspect, as is the case in going down to thedepths of the ocean or ascending to the moon.That is because science with what it owns of mod-ern means and instruments, that were made avail-able by concomitant human experiments, cannotprolong human life for hundreds of years, this iswhy we find that even those among people whoare more eager about life and more able to utilizescientific possibilities can only live to the extentof what is usual.

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As far as scientific possibility is concerned,there is nothing in science, nowadays which couldjustify the denial of that fact from a theoreticalpoint of view. This inquiry is in reality related tothe nature of the physiological interpretation ofthe phenomenon of old-age and decripitude amongpeople. Does this phenomenon indicate a naturallaw that compels the tissues of the human bodyand its cells to harden gradually and become lessefficient in the performance of their task oncethey have reached the summit of their growth,until they die at a particular moment, even if wewere to isolate them from the influence of someexternal failure? Or is this hardening of the bodilytissues and cells and the lack of efficiency in theperformance of their physiological tasks a resultof their struggle against certain external factors,such as microbes or poison that penetrate thebody from an excess in food or from the heavywork that the person might perform or any otherfactor.

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Now this is the question that science has tofind an answer to, yet many answers present them-selves on a scientific level in this respect.

If we are to consider the scientific point ofview that tends to interpret old-age and the weak-ness that goes with it, as a result of reactions againstsome external factors, it means that it is theoreti-cally possible, once we have isolated the tissuesthat compose the body from these influences,to prolong life to the extent of surpassing thephenomenon of old-age and even overcoming it.

On the other hand, if we consider the otherpoint of view which sees old-age as a natural pro-cess with regards to the living tissues and cells, itwill mean that they hear within themselves theseed of their own ultimate death, once the phaseof old-age has been completed.

I say: If we take this point of view intoconsideration it should not mean that there is no

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flexibility in this natural law, rather the assump-tion o£ its existence shows that it is in fact flexible,since we find in our everyday life, in addition towhat has been found by scientists through the ex-periments that they carry out in their laboratories,that old-age as a phys;.ological phenomenon hasno fixed time, since a man can be very old andyet possess tender limbs, with no trace of old-ageappearing on him as has been mentioned by somedoctors. Moreover some scientists take advantageof this flexibility and prolong the life of someanimals by a hundred times their natural age, bycreating certain circumstances and factors thatdelay the process of old-age.

Thus it has been proved scientifically thatthis process can be postponed, by creating specificcircumstances and factors, even if this experimenthas not been carried out by science on a particularcomplicated creature such as the human being,owing to the difference in the difficulty of carryingit out on the human being and other organisms.

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This means that, from a theoretical point ofview, science, with all its alterable orientations,has never had any objection to the prolongationof human life, whether old-age has been inter-preted as the product of a struggle and close con-tact with some external influences, or as a resultof a natural process of the cells and tissues thatleads them towards their death.

Thus we deduce that the prolongation ofhuman life and its survival over many centuriesis possible logically as well as scientifically but itis still impossible from a practical angle, and thatnevertheless scientific progress has a long way togo before realizing this possibility.

In light of what has been discussed we shalldeal with the age of al-Mahdi (peace be uponhim) and what has been surrounding it of wonderand surprise.

Thus we notice that since the possibility of

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this prolonged life has been confirmed both logi-cally and scientifically, science is in the process ofgradually transforming the theoretical possibilityinto a practical one. There is no room left forwonder except the remoteness of the probabilitythat al-Mahdi might have preceded science in thistransformation, before that the latter could have,in its evolutionary course, reached the standardof actual capacity for such a transformation, whichwould make him equal to that person who had pre-ceded science in discovering the cure for cancer.

The question now is - How could Islam -which determined the age of the Expected Leader- have preceded science in the field of this trans-formation?

The answer is that this is not the only fieldin which Islam preceded science. Has the Islamicshari `ah (revealed law) as a whole not come beforescience and the evolution of human thought bymany centuries? Did it not promulgate certain

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symbols that submitted plans to be put into prac-tice, which man could achieve only after hundredsof years of his independent activity? Did it notformulate certain regulations perfect in wisdom,the secrets of which were realized by man onlyafter a certain length of time? Did the Divinemessage not reveal mysteries about the universe,that could never have occurred to people's minds,which science came later to confirm and support?

So, if we are convinced by these facts whythen should we regard as too much that the senderof this message - the Exalted - anticipates sciencein determining the age of al-Mahdi ?

Here I mentioned only those aspects of pre-cedence that we can notice in a direct manner,we can also include the aspects of precedencementioned in the Divine message, for example,when it informs us about the night journey whichthe Prophet undertook from al-Hardm Mosqueto al-Aqsd Mosque. If we are to understand this

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journey within the frame of natural laws, we willfind that it shows that these laws were utilizedin a way that science could achieve only afterhundreds of years.

Therefore, the same Divine knowledge whichenabled the Messenger (peace and blessing of Allahbe upon him and his progeny) to undertake thisfast motion before science could achieve it, hasalso enabled his designated successors to have aprolonged life before science could realize sucha project.

Certainly, this prolonged age that Allah, theExalted, has bestowed on the Expected Saviourmay seem rather strange, if it is considered withinthe limits of the everyday in people's lives andwhat has been achieved by the experiments ofscientists. But is the decisive and transformativerole which has been prepared for this Saviour notstrange within the limits of the ordinary in people'slives and what they have experienced of historical

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evolution? Has he not been entrusted with the taskof changing the world and rebuilding its civilizationon the basis of justice and truth? Why should wedisapprove if the preparation of this great role ischaracterized by strange and unusual aspects, suchas the prolongation of the Expected Leader's age?For this remoteness of those aspects and theirunusual aspects, however great they are, cannotsurpass the remoteness of the great role that hasto be achieved on the appointed day? Therefore,if we approve the validity of that unique role froma historical angle in spite of the fact that there hasnever been in the history of humanity a role similarto it, why should not we also approve that pro-longed age which is still unique in our ordinarylife?

I wonder if it is a coincidence that only twoindividuals should carry out the task of emptyinghuman civilization of its corrupt elements and rebuilding it, which means that they must have beenof an excessive age many times superior to our

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ordinary lives. The first is Nuh (Noah) who hadassumed his role in the humanity's past. TheQur'an mentioned that he had lived among hispeople for nine hundred and fifty years. His rolewas to reconstruct the world after the Great Flood.

The other one is al-Mahdi, who is to assumehis role in the future, who has lived among hispeople until now for more than a thousand years.It has been ordained that he will reconstruct theworld on the appointed day.

Why then should we accept Noah, who musthave reached a thousand years at least, and yetreject al-Mahdi?

(2) THE MIRACLE AND THE

LONG LIFE

Up to now we have seen that the prolongationof life is scientifically possible. But let us supposethat it is not, that the process of old-age and decrepitude is quite rigid, that it cannot either nowor in the long run overcome nor alter its conditionsor circumstances - what will this mean? It willmean that the prolongation of human life - as isthe case of Noah, or al-Mahdi - runs contrary tothe natural laws which science confirmed thanksto modern instruments of experimentation. Thusthis condition becomes a miracle that has hindered

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the applicability of a natural law under a certaincircumstances, in order to preserve the life of aparticular individual whose role is to cherish theDivine message.

Yet this is not the only miracle of its kind,nor is it remote from a Muslim's faith, whichderives from the Qur'dn and the sunnah. Moreover the process of old-age is no more rigid thanis the process of the passage of heat from a bodyof higher temperature to another of lower tem-perature until both of them become equal. Thishad occurred in the case of Ibrdhim (peace beupon him) when the only way to preserve his lifewas by hindering that process, when it was saidto the fire in which he was thrown

We said, "O fire be cool on Ibrdhim andkeep him safe."

(Qur'dn, 21:69)

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So, he emerged from it safe and unharmed.There are also other cases where natural lawswere hindered to protect some of the prophetsor Proofs of Allah on earth. When the sea was splitfor Musa (Moses), when the Romans were misledin thinking they had caught 'isa (Jesus) or whenMuhammad (peace and blessing of Allah be uponhim and his progeny) left his house, while it wassurrounded by the troops of Quraysh who werewaiting for hours to attack him but Allah, 'theExalted, hid him from their eyes while he waswalking in their midst. All of these cases showa hindrance of the laws of nature to protect anindividual, whom the Divine wisdom wished topreserve. Therefore, why not include here theprocess of old-age and decrepitude?

From this we can deduce a general notion,which is that whenever the preservation of theProphet's life (the Proof of Allah on earth) depends on the hindrance of a natural law, and theprolongation of his life comes to be necessary for

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the performance of his task, Divine care thenintervenes by delaying the process so that thetask of that individual can be accomplished., Onthe other hand, once the Divine mission of thatindividual has been fulfilled he either dies natural-ly or as a martyr depending on what is determinedby natural laws.

Thus we find ourselves confronted with thepresent question in connection with this generalnotion: How can the process be obstructed? Howcan the necessary correlation that exitsts betweennatural phenomena, be sundered? Does it notcontradict science, which discovered the existenceof that natural law or process and defined thatnecessary correlation on experimental and de-ductive bases ?

The answer is that science has already solvedthe problem by giving up the idea of necessity asfar as natural laws are concerned. To clarify thiswe can say that science discovers natural laws

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through systematic observations and experiments.For example, when the occurrence of a naturalphenomenon is followed another one, we deducefrom this a natural law which is: that wheneverthe first phenomenon comes into existence it isautomatically followed by another phenomenon.

However, science does not propose a necess-ary correlation between the two phenomenastemming from their nature, since necessity is aninvisible condition that experimentation and theinstruments of scientific and inductive inquirycannot demonstrate. Therefore, the logic of mod-ern science emphasizes that natural law - as it isdefined by science - does not indicate a necessarycorrelation, but an uninterrupted connection,between two phenomena. But when the miracleoccurs and separates one from the other, it doesnot mean that their correlation was sundered.

The truth of the matter is that the miracle,in its religious sense, has become, in the light of

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modern scientific logic, more understandable thanbefore, under the classical view of causal cor-relation. This old view assumed that every twophenomena, in which one is followed automati-cally by the other must have a necessary correla-tion, which means that it is impossible to separateone from the other. However, this correlation hasbeen transformed thanks to modern scientificlogic into a law of correlation or of consecutivesuccession between two phenomena without thehypothesis of invisible necessity.

Thereby the miracle becomes an exceptionalcondition with regard to this connective successionwithout running against a necessity or leading toan impossibility.

So, in the light of the logical foundation ofinduction we agree with the modern point of viewwhich says that induction does not demonstratethe existence of a necessary correlation betweentwo phenomena. We find that it shows that there

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is a common interpretation for the consecutiveconnection between the two. Since this commoninterpretation can be formed on the basis of theassumption of subjective necessity, it can also beformed on the assumption of a wisdom that madethe Creator of the universe to continuously com-bine some particular phenomena with others.The same wisdom sometimes calls for exception;thus a miracle occurs.

(3) WHY ALL THIS DESIRETO PROLONG HIS LIFE

Now we should deal with the second questionwhich is: Why should Allah, the Exalted, showall this desire for this person in particular? Whyshould the natural laws be hindered just to pro-long his life? Why should the leadership of theappointed day not be left to a person born inthe future, who will appear then and assumehis expected role?

In other words: What is the use of this longabsence and what is the motive behind it? Indeed

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many people ask these questions, yet at the sametime none of them is prepared to accept the Divineanswer for them. However we believe that thetwelve Imdms form a unique group of individuals,none of whom could be substituted. But thesepeople require a social interpretation of the situ-ation, in the light of tangible realities, for thegreat operation of change and the understandablerequirements for the appointed day.

On these bases, we will temporarily disregardthe characteristics that we believe should be ful-filled in the infallible Imdms and ask the followingquestions

As far as the expected operation of change,of the appointed day, is concerned and as far asit is understandable in the light of the norms andthe experiences of life, can we consider the pro-longed age of its preserved leader as one of thefactors for its success? And of his ability to leadit in a better way ?

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We can give an affirmative answer to thisquestion because of many reasons among whichare the following

First, that the great operation of changerequires from its leader a unique psychologicalattitude, filled with a sense of success and a senseof the insignificance of the mighty existence whichhe has been prepared to struggle against and trans-form into a new civilized world.

Thus the more the leader's heart is filledwith the triviality of the civilization he is fighting,and the clearer is his sense that it is no more thana speck of dust on the long path of human civili-zation, the more he is ready from a psychologicalangle, to oppose, resist and persevere in his effortsagainst it until victory is achieved.

It is clear, therefore, that the scope requiredfrom this psychological attitude ought to be pro-portionate to the size of change to be brought

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about and what needs to be rooted out of civili-aation and existence. So, whenever the oppositionis to a mightier existence and a loftier and deeplyrooted civilization, the greater is the thrust re-quired from this psychological attitude.

Since the message of the appointed day isto change, in a comprehensive way, a world filledwith injustice and tyranny, it is therefore naturalthat it is looking for an individual whose psycho-logical attitude is superior to that whole world;a person whose age exceeds those who were bornin that world and who were brought up in theshade of its civilization which he is to destroyand replace with one based on justice and truth.For whoever is brought up in a deeply-rooted civi-lization, that dominates the world with its valuesand modes of thinking, would be overwhelmedby it, since he would have been born while it hadbeen in existence, and opened his eyes just to seeits different aspects, and would have been broughtup under its power and influence. Unlike that is a

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person who has deeply penetrated history, whohas come to life long before that civilization whichcompletes the cycle of the story of humanitybefore the appointed day saw the light. He seesit as little seeds, hardly visible, then graduallygrowing and taking roots within human societies,waiting for the right moment to blossom and ap-pear. Then he witnesses it, as it starts to grow andadvance, sometimes relapsing, sometimes meetingwith success, then when it begins to prosper andbecome gigantic, gradually dominating the destiniesof the world, such a man who has lived throughall these stages with sagacity and caution, watchingthis giant - (against which he has to struggle) -under that long historical perspective which he haslived in reality, and not just read about in books ofhistory, such an individual would consider it as adefinite destiny, unlike Jean Jacques Rousseau'sconsideration of the monarchy in France, whenhe was terrified at the mere imagining of Francewithout a king, in spite of the fact that he wasone of the heralds, both intellectually and philo-

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sophically, of the evolution of the political situ-ation that existed in those times. That was becauseRousseau lived in the shade and under the influ-ence of the monarchy.

On the other hand this individual who hasthoroughly penetrated history, would have thedignity and strength of history and a powerfulsense that all that surrounds him of civilizationand existence was born at a certain time in history,when the way was paved for its existence, that itwould disappear to the extent that nothing of itwould remain as when there was nothing of itbefore it came into existence in the distant or nearpast, that the historical life spans of any civili-zation, however long they may be, are only limiteddays in the long era of history.

Have you not read the chapter of the cavein the Qur'dn (surah al-Kahf)? Have you notread of those youths who believed in their Lord,whom Allah increased in guidance, who opposed

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a ruling pagan existence that was ruthless anddid not hesitate to suppress every single seed ofat-tawhid (Unity of Allah), so that it might notrise above the level of idolatory. So these youthsbecame depressed to the point of despair, oncethe windows of hope had been closed before theireyes; so they sought refuge in the cave, wherethey begged Alldh for a solution to their problemafter having exhausted all the possibilities. Forthey could not tolerate the fact that falsehoodwas ruling, transgressing and subjugating the truthand suppressing anyone whose heart showed aninclination towards the truth. Do you know whatAlldh did to them? He made them sleep for threehundred and nine years in that cave and causedthem to rise up from their long sleep and sentthem to the ouside world, after that the existencewhich had bewildered them with its power andtransgression had collapsed and became a chapterin history that could frighten no one nor activateanything. They were brought out so that theycould see all this with their own eyes and learn

that falsehood is insignificant.

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Indeed if this clear vision had been true inthe case of the people of the cave, with all that itbore of psychological loftiness and thrust out ofthat unique event which prolonged their age bythree hundred years, then the same event couldoccur in the case of al-Mahdi, the Expected Leader,whose extended age would make him see the giantas a dwarf, the tall tree as a seed and the hurricaneas a breeze.

Add to this that the experience that is grantedby the concomitants of those consecutive civiliza-tions and the direct confrontation with all theirmovements and changes, has a great influence onthe intellectual preparation and the deepening ofexperience of the Expected Leader, since it putshim face to face with the many various practicesof others, with all they contain of weakness andstrength, and the different aspects of their errorsand accuracy. And this enables him to classify the

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social symptoms with a complete awareness oftheir causes and their historical circumstances.

Moreover the preserved operation of change,which is the task of the Expected Leader, is found-ed on a particular message, namely the message ofIslam. Therefore, it is natural that in this case, therequired leadership should be more proximatewith the original sources of Islam, that his person-ality be fully shaped in an independent way, freefrom the influence of that civilization which issubject to his struggle on the appointed day, un-like that individual who would have been bornand brought up in its atmosphere, whose intellectand feelings would have blossomed within itsframe. Quite often such a person cannot free him-self from the effects and residues of that civiliza-tion, even if he were to lead a movement of changeagainst it.

Thus, in order that the preserved leader benot influenced by the civilization he has been

5 9

prepared to transform, it is necessary that hispersonality should be fully shaped during a pre-vious stage of civilization, as near as possible tothe universal spirit, and in terms of the principlesof that civilized condition, which the appointedday is aiming at realizing under his leadership.

( 4)

HOW WAS THE PREPARATION OF THE

EXPECTED LEADER ACHIEVED

Now we have reached the third questionwhich is: How could the preparation of the Ex-pected Leader be achieved, while we know that heonly remained five years with his father, al-Imamal-`Askari - which is a period of childhood notsufficient for the maturity of his personality.Therefore, under what circumstances has thisachievement taken place?

The answer is: That al-Mahdi (peace be uponhim) was appointed as a successor to his father,

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for the leadership of the Muslims, which meansthat he was an Imam in the fullest intellectualand spiritual sense of the word in a very earlyage of his noble life.

Moreover, the early Imamate (leadership) isa previous phenomenon in the case of his fore-fathers (peace be upon them all), for example,al-Imam Muhammad son of `Ali al-Jawad (peacebe upon him). We call it a phenomenon becauseit has given in the case of al-Mahdi's forefathers(peace be upon them), a perceptible and a prac-tical meaning, which the Muslims have lived andbeen aware of, in all their experiences with theImams, in one way or another. Therefore, wecannot claim the proof of a clearer and widerphenomenon than the experience of a wholecommunity. So, we can clarify the issue in thefollowing points

1) The leadership of the Imams of Ahlu'1-bayt (descendants of the Prophet) has never been

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one of the centres of influence and power that aretransmitted through inheritance, from father toson, with the full support of the ruling regime, aswas the case, in the leadership of Fdtimid caliphsand the `Abbdsids; but it has always won the goodwill of its wider popular bases, on the grounds oftheir intellectual and spiritual conviction aboutthe worth of the Imdmate for the leadership ofIslam.

2) These popular bases have existed sincethe dawn of Islam and became wider during thetimes of the two Imdms, al-Bdqir and as-Sddiq(peace be upon them). The school that thesetwo Imams led within the boundaries of thesebases formed a very wide trend that stretched allall over the world of Islam, bringing together hun-dreds of jurists (fugahd') theologians ( mutakal-limun) and commentators (mufassirun) on theQur'dn and the learned in the different branches ofIslamic and human sciences that were predominentin those times, to the extent that al-Hasan son of

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`Ali al-Washsha said, "I went into al-Kixfah Mos-que and found nine hundred sheikhs all of themwere saying, 'Ja'far son of Muhammad relatedto us .

.

. , "

3) This school and what it represented ofpopular bases from Islamic society, had certainconditions which it believed in and abode by, inthe appointment of the Imam and his suitabilityfor the role because it believed that an individualcannot be appointed as Imam unless he is the mostlearned among the agnostic of his time.

4) That both this school and its popularbases were ready to give sacrifices, for the sakeof their belief in the Imamate, since the latterwas considered, in the opinion of the concomitantleadership, as a hostile line, even from an intellec-tual point of view. This was the reason that ledthe authorities to carry out several campaigns ofpurging and torture to the extent that many peoplewere either killed or were put into prisons, while

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hundreds of them died in the darkness of the cells.This meant that those who believed in the Imamatewere ready to pay a lot, and the only instigationthey had was their nearness to Alldh.

5) The Imdms these bases yielded to werenot isolated from them, only when the authoritiesprosecuted them or sent them into exile. This iswhat we come to know through the narrators whorelated to us the events of each one among thetwelve Imdms, and on the one hand from whathas been copied from the letters that they sent totheir contemporaries and the trips that they took,and on the other hand from representatives thatthey dispatched to the different corners of theIslamic world, as well as the frequent visits thatthe Shi'ahs used to pay to their Imdms in theholy city of Medina, when they went to the sacredlands for the performance of the holy rites of hajj.All of these factors show an uniterrupted inter-action between the Imdm and his popular bases,that stretched over the different parts of the world

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of Islam, with all their different classes includingthe learned as well as the others.

6) That the caliphate which was contem-porary with the Imams (peace be upon them)used to consider their spiritual leadership as agreat threat against its existence and its destiny.Because of that it deployed all of its efforts forthe sake of disintergrating that leadership andbore a lot of negativism in that respect, sometimesappearing under the guise of cruelty and trans-gression when its security was at stake. The cam-paigns of persecution and victimization were apermanent event with respect to the Imam, inspite of what that left behind of sadness and dis-gust among the Muslims and their supportersfrom the different classes of society.

If we take these six points into considerationknowing that they are all historical facts, it leavesno room for doubt, and we come out with thefollowing result: That the phenomenon of the

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early Imamate was a fact and not an illusion.Because the Imdm who emerges while still youngand declares openly that he is the spiritual and theintellectual leader of the Muslim community asa whole, and whom that wide trend pledges itsloyalty, must surely be in possession of a remark-able, let alone a very wide knowledge and agnosisand a very wide horizon as well as a proficiencyin jurisdiction, exegesis and the articles of faith,otherwise the popular bases would not be con-vinced of his spiritual leadership. We should alsobear in mind the fact that the Imdms took certainpositions that made the interaction with their basespossible and threw different lights on their wayof life and personality.

Do you think then that a young child whodeclares his Imdmate (spiritual leadership) andhoists out of it a flag for Islam, with the full knowledge of the masses among his popular bases whobelieve in him and are prepared to sacrifice theirlives and security without taking the trouble to

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discover his condition, or without being incitedby the phenomenon of the early Imamate to in-quire about the validity of the situation and theestablishment of the worth of this young Imdm?

Now supposing that people did not attemptto assess the situation, would it then be possiblethat after days, months or even years, the wholeaffair would go unnoticed without its truth comingto the surface, although there has been a naturaland constant interaction between the young Imdmand the rest of the people? Is it rational that theworth of a young child's way of thinking andknowledge would not be obvious after this longinteraction ?

Therefore, if we assume that the popularbases of the Imdms of Ahlu'1-bayt (descendants ofthe Prophet) were not able to discover the truthof the matter, why did the existing caliphate keepsilent and did not attempt to find out, if it werefor its benenefit ?

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Nothing could have been easier for the auth-orities then if the Imam had been a child, quiteimmature in his education and way of thinking,the normal case in all children.

No plan would have been more successfulthan to present this child to his supporters (theShi'ah) and others and prove to them that he wasnot fit for the Imamate and the intellectual andspiritual leadership.

If it is indeed difficult to convince peopleof a man in his forties or fifties, already in pos-session of a great deal of education for the role ofthe Imamate, there can be no difficulty in convinc-ing them of the incapacity of an ordinary child forthe same role, in the sense that the Shi'ah know,regardless of his intelligence and awareness.

All this would have been possible and easierthan the complicated means of suppression andrecklessness which the authorities resorted to in

these times.

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The only explanation for the caliphate'shesitation in playing this card, is that it realizedthat the early Imdmate was a real phenomenonand not an invented idea. The truth is that it hadrealized the fact after it had attempted to playthat card but failed. History relates to us manyof these attempts and their failure, while it doesnot mention at all the occurrence of a situationin which the phenomenon of early Imamate wasput into question, where the Imam was confrontedwith difficulties or complications which surpassedhis ability or shook people's trust in him.

This is what we mean when we said earlierthat the early Imdmate is a real phenomenon inthe life of Ahlu'1-bayt (descendants of the Prophet), moreover this phenomenon has similar rootsand situations in the Divine heritage that stretchedover all the messages and the Divine leadership.It is enough to cite one example of an early leader-

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ship of Ahlu'l-bayt (peace be upon them) in thecase of Yahyd (peace be upon him) when Alldhsaid

"0 Yahya take the Book with strength,"and We have given him wisdom when hewas a little child ( Qur'dn, 19:12)

Now that the early leadership has been provedas an existing and real phenomenon in Ahlu'l-bayt's life there is no more objection to the leadership of al-Imam al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) norto his succession to his father while very young.

( 5) HOW CAN WE BELIEVE IN THE

EXISTENCE OF AL-MAHDI?

Now we have reached the fourth questionwhich is: Supposing that the hypothesis of theExpected Leader and all that it comprehends ofprolonged life, early leadership and a silent ab-sence, is possible, that would not be enough prooffor his existence, thus, how can we indeed believein the existence of al-Mahdi ? Would some narra-tives related in books on the Great Messenger(peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and hisprogeny) be enough for perfect conviction in theexistence of the Twelfth Imam, in spite of what

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this supposition bears of peculiarity and deviationfrom the norms? Or rather, how can we prove thatal-Mahdi had a true historical existence and that heis not only an assumption, for which psychologicalcircumstances have been combined to confirm hisexistence in many people's minds?

The answer is: That the idea of al-Mahdi, asthe Expected Leader, who will change the worldfor the best, has been already mentioned in severalof the narratives (ahadith) related from the GreatMessenger in general, and the Imams of Ahlu'I-baytin particular. Moreover, it has been reconfirmed,with a degree beyond doubt, in many texts. I couldcount up to four hundred narratives of the Prophet(peace be upon him and his progeny) which reach-ed us through our brothers, the Sunnis, (e.g., thebook al-Mahdi written by my uncle as-SayyidSadru'd-Din as-Sadr, may Allah bless his noblesoul), as well as a great number of reports aboutal-Imam al-Mahdi through both the Shiites andthe Sunnis - nearly more than six thousand

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narratives, (e.g., the book entitled Muntakhabal-athar fi al-Imam aththdni `ashar [ Selection oftraditions concerning the Twelfth Imam] by ash-Shaykh Lutfu'lldh as-Sdfi), which is very highstatistical number, not found in many of the self-evident Islamic issues.

As regards the materialization of this ideain the Twelfth Imdm (peace be upon him) we dopossess enough justifications to be convinced thathe is the one. They can be summed up into twogroups of evidence - the first Islamic, and theother scientific.

By the Islamic evidence we confirm theexistence of the Expected Leader.

By the scientific evidence, we can prove thatal- Mahdi is not just a myth or a supposition buta reality which has been confirmed by historicalexperience. The Islamic evidence appears in thehundreds of narratives related from Allah's Mess-

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enger (peace and blessing of Allah be upon himand his progeny) and the Imdms of Ahlu'1-bayt(peace be upon them), which prove that al-Mahdiwill be appointed as Imdm, that he is from thedescendants of the Prophet and Fatimah and theninth descendants from al-Husayn, that the caliphs( Prophet's successors) are twelve.

All of these narratives limited that universalidea by personifying it in al-Mahdi, the TwelfthImdm of Ahlu'1-bayt. Moreover they reached agreat number and diffusion, although the Imdmstook a great precaution and care, fearing theirexposure on a general level, in order to protectthe righteous descendants against assassination oran unpredicted assault on his life.

However, the numerical abundance of thesenarratives is not the only reason for their validity,for in addition to this, there are certain virtuesand coherences to be taken into account forproving their validity.

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The Prophet's narratives (ahadith) about thefact that the Imams, caliphs, or amirs - dependingon the style of the narrative in its different ways -are twelve. Some writers counted up to more thantwo hundred and seventy narratives taken from themost well-known books of Sunni and Shi'ah tra-ditions such as al-Bukhdri, al-Muslim, at-Tirmidhf,Abu Dawizd and the collection of Ahmad ibn Han-bal and the Rectification of the Judge on the TwoSahfhs (al-Hdkim, Mustadrak `ala s-sahihayn).We should bear in mind here that al-Bukhari whohad compiled these narratives, was a contemporaryto both al-Imam al-Hddi and al-Imam al-`Askariwhich means quite a lot, since it proves that thenarratives were recorded from the Prophet (peaceand blessing of Allah be upon him and his progeny)before that the realization of their contents andthe idea of the Twelfth Imdm had materialized.This means, therefore, that there is no room leftfor doubt, that the recording of the narratives wasnot influenced by the fact of the Twelfth Imam, orthat it might have been a reflection of it, because

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the false narratives (ahadith) that are related fromthe Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be uponhim and his progeny) are either a reflection or ajustification for a fact occurring later in time. Now,they did not precede in their appearance andrecording in the books, that fact which they cameto reflect, therefore, as long as we possess thematerial evidence, which is that the mentionednarrative had already preceded the historical se-quence of the twelve Imams, and that it had beenrecorded in the books of ahadith (books of tradi-tions) before that the event took place, we canbe sure that this narrative is not a reflection ofan event but an expression to a truth from Allah,uttered by the one who did not speak out of fancy(the Holy Prophet) when he said: "Surely thecaliphs after me are twelve". So, the event of thetwelve Imams was fulfilled, starting with al-Imam`Ali and ending in al-Mahdi, this way being theonly rational interpretation to that noble narrativeof the Prophet.

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As far as the scientific evidence is concerned,it is formed out an experience, lived by a com-munity of people, lasting nearly seventy years,which we call the period of the minor occultation(ghaybah as-sughra). To elucidate this point, wewill pave the way by giving a brief description.

This minor occultation marks the first phasein the Imamate of the Expected Leader (peace beupon him). From the time that had been predestined, from the time he assumed the role, he re-mained hidden from the outside world, distantfrom all the events that were taking place althoughbeing at the same time proximate to them in hismind and heart.

We should bear in mind that had this occul-tation occurred suddenly, the result would havebeen a great shock among the popular masses,who believed in the Imdmate since they wereused to contacting their Imam in every period,to consulting him for solutions to their various

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problems. Thus, had he suddenly vanished, hissupporters would have felt cut off from spiritualand intellectual leadership. Such an event wouldhave created an enormous gap which would havethoroughly shaken the whole structure and under-mined its unity. Therefore, it proved necessarythat the way should be paved to this occultation,so that these bases might get used to it and grad-ually adapt themselves to the new situation.

So the plan was this minor occultation, duringwhich al-Imam al-Mahdi vanished from the uni-versal scene, while keeping in touch with his popular bases and supporters through his delegates orrepresentatives and the most reliable among hiscompanions, who acted as a link between theImdm and those who believed in his line.

The position of representative of the Imdmwas held in those times, by four personalities,whom the popular bases agreed as to their fear ofAlldh, piety and integrity. They were:

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1) `Uthmdn ibn Said al-`Amri;

2) Muhammad ibn `Uthmdn ibn Said al-`Amri;

3) Abu'1-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Rah; and

4) Abu'1-Hasan `Ali ibn Muhammad as-Samuri.

These four individuals assumed the role ofrepresentative of the Imdm (al-Mahdi) accordingto the above classification. So whenever one ofthem died, the other succeeded him, after beingdesignated by al-Imam al-Mahdi (peace be uponhim).

The representative of the Imdm used to get intouch with the Shi'ahs and submit their questionsand problems to the Imdm and return to themwith his answers. Sometimes orally and very oftenin a written form. So these masses who lacked thevision of their Imdm, found some comfort andconsolation in these indirect communications.

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Moreover they could notice that the signa-tures and the letters were all written in the sameway, during the time of the four representativesthat lasted nearly seventy years. The last represen-tative, as-Samuri, declared that the period of theminor occultation, which was characterized by thedesignated delegates, was over; that the period ofthe major occultation, in which there would beno designated individuals to mediate between theImam and the Shiites, had began. This transitionmeant that the minor occultation had already ac-complished its mission and achieved its goal, sinceit immunized the Shiites against the great shockand the feeling of the profound gap caused by theImdm's occultation. In that way, it enabled themto adapt themselves to the situation and graduallyprepared them to accept the idea of general rep-resentation on behalf of the Imdm. By this tokenthe latter changed from a representation by adesignated individual to a more general line mani-fested in the just mujtahid (a legalist who arrivesat an independent judgement), who has a keen

8 1

insight into the religious and worldly issues of theMuslims, in view of the transition from the minorto the major occultation.

Now you can have an idea about the situ-ation, in the light of what has been discussed upto now, so you can clearly realize that al-Mahdiis a reality that a community of people has livedand which has been expressed for seventy years,by the representatives and the mediators of theImam, whom no one could suspect of cheatingnor of playing on words.

For can you imagine - by your Lord - thata he could survive for nearly seventy years, whichfour individuals would successively assume andagree upon and continue to interact with otherson its basis as if it were a reality that they lived;that nothing would escape their control, whichwould cause a doubt in people's minds; that therewould be no particular relation between the fourthrough which they could gain the .trust of every-

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one and their belief in the truth of the matter,which they pretend to live and feel?

An old proverb said, "The rope of lies isshort"; also logic in life confirms the fact that itis impossible that a lie could survive in this wayand for all time through these relations and stillwins everyone's confidence.

Thus, the phenomenon of the minor occul-tation can be considered as a scientific experimentwhich has confirmed the factual objectivity of theImdm's existence, his birth, life and occultation,on account of which he has been hidden from theworld and has not revealed himself to anyoneever since.

( 6) WHY HAS THE LEADERNOT APPEARED YET?

Why has the leader not appeared during allthis long period? If he were really prepared toassume his social work? What prevented him fromemerging during the period of the minor occulta-tion or after, instead of extending it into a greaterone, when the conditions for any social and trans-formative work were much simpler and easier andwhen the leader's relation with the people, owingto the minor occultation organizations, could havemade it possible for him to organize the ranks andstart the work with strength. Also the authorities

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that existed then did not have that tremendouslevel of strength and power which humanity hasachieved thanks to its technical and scientificevolution?

The answer is: That the success of any oper-ation of social change is bound by certain con-ditions and objective circumstances without whichit cannot achieve its aims.

However all the operations of social changethat are sent to earth from heaven are marked bythe fact that the contents of their message are notbound by any objective circumstance. Since themessage on which the whole operation dependsis of the Lord's making and is not created bythese objective circumstances, but rather relieson them on its executive side as well as for itstiming, heaven waited five centuries of ignorance(al-jahiliyyah) before sending its last message intothe hands the Prophet Muhammad (peace andblessing of Alldh be upon him and his progeny),

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since the connection that should exist betweenthe objective circumstances and the executionrequired its postponement although the worldhad been waiting for it for a long time.

Among the objective circumstances that havean effect on the executive part in the operationof change, are those that create the right climateand the general atmosphere for the intendedchange, while others form some details requiredby the movement of change in its elaboration.For example, in the case of the operation of changeled by Lenin in Russia, this operation. was con-nected to an important factor manifested in thefirst world war and the decline of the Tsar, whichplayed a major part in creating the appropriateclimate for the operation of change. It was alsolinked to partial and limited factors such Lenin'shealth, during his trip and when he entered Russiaand led the revolution. For had he met with anincident while on his way, he would have beendelayed and the revolution would have lost its

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ability for that swift move.

However, the unchangeable custom of Allahin every Divine operation of change proceeded,in its executive side, in accordance with the objective circumstances that created the appropriateclimate and the general atmosphere for its success.

Hence Islam came only after a great gap andlong period which lasted for centuries after themessengers.

Although Alldh, the Exalted, could have over-come all the obstacles and difficulties that wereon the way of the Divine message and created theappropriate climate by way of miracles, He pre-fered not to use such a style, since the tests, trialsand the afflictions that make the human beingperfect required that this Divine task be naturaland objective.

However, this did not prevent Alldh, the Ex-alted, from interfering from time to time with

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some details that did not shape the appropriateclimate but which were sometimes needed forthe movement within such a climate, such as thesupport that Alldh, the Exalted, bestows on hissaints during some of their difficult moments, soas to protect the message. So suddenly Numrud'sfire becomes cool and a peace for Ibrdhim. Whenthe traitor's hand which was bearing the swordto strike the Prophet's hand was suddenly para-lysed and lost its ability to strike, also when sud-denly the storm swept away the unbelievers andthe polytheists' camps, when they were encirclingMedina, on the Day of the Ditch (yawmu'1-Khan-daq), thus terrorizing them. However, all of theseevents did not go beyond certain details and theprovision of assistance during some decisive mo-ments after the appropriate atmosphere had beenalready formed for the operation of change in anatural way and in accordance with the objectivecircumstances.

In this light we can examine al-Mahdi's

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position to find that the operation of change,for which he had been prepared, is linked, onthe executive side, as is the case with any otheroperation of social change to certain objectivecircumstances that participate in securing theconvenient climate under which it will occur.

We must bear in mind that al-Mahdi has notbeen prepared for a limited social task nor for anoperation of change limited to a particular partof the world or another. Since the message whichAlldh decreed for him has been a comprehensivechange of the whole world and the leadership ofhumanity away from the darkness of transgressionto the light of justice. However, it is not enoughfor this great operation that its message and itsleader be made available, for otherwise its condi-tions would have been fulfilled in the time of theProphet (peace be upon him and his progeny).Rather, an operation of such a scale requires aworld-wide climate and a universal atmospherewhich will fulfil the required objective circum-

stances for its realization.

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From a human perspective we should considerthe feeling that the man of civilization experiencesof exhaustion as an essential factor for the creationof that appropriate climate, which paves the wayfor the acceptance of the new message of justice.This feeling is established and implanted throughthe various experiments of civilization, out ofwhich man comes overloaded with negativism re-garding what has been built, and realizes his needfor help, thereupon turning with his natural dis-position to the unseen or the unknown.

From a material angle, it is possible that mod-ern conditions of life are better equipped to realizethe aims of the message world-wide than the conditions that existed in the previous periods - suchas the period of the minor occultation - owingto what has been achieved in terms of shorter dis-tances and a greater ease of interaction betweenthe different nations of the world, as well as the

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availability of instruments and means that a cen-tral organization needs in order to carry out itsprogramme for the awareness of the differentnations of the world and their education on thebases of the new message.

Yet what I hinted at here, which is a fact,is the growth of military strength and equipmentthat faces the leader of the appointed day whenever his appearance is delayed. But to what availcan the growth of the material aspect be, whenthey already exists a psychological defeat for itfrom within and the spiritual collapse of that manwho possesses all these equipment and power?

Indeed many were the occasions, in history,when the gigantic structure of a whole civilizationcollapsed only with the smallest conquering gesture. That was because it has been already fallingapart and loosing confidence in its existence andtrust in its reality.

(7) CAN AN INDIVIDUAL ASSUME

Now we have reached another question inthis series which is: Can an individual, howevergreat he may be, achieve this great role? Is notsuch an individual only that one who is selectedby circumstances and faced with the realizationof their movement?

The idea here, is related to a particular viewof history which interprets the latter on the basisthat man is only a secondary factor in it, whilethe objective strength that surrounds him is the

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THIS ROLE?

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essentials. In this sense the individual can only be,in the best of situations, the intelligent expressionto that essential factor.

However, we had already made it clear, inother chapters of our printed books, that historyis made up of two poles: The first one being manand the second the material strength that sur-rounds him. Thus, while this material stength, thecircumstances of production and nature affectman, the latter also exerts an influence upon them.Moreover, there is no evidence for the assumptionthat the movement starts from material conditionsand ends up with man, except when there is an evi-dence for the contrary, since both factors interactin time. Therefore, within this framework, an in-dividual can be more than a parrot in the historicaltrend, especially when we take into account hisrelation with heaven, since the latter intervenes,then, as a guiding power to this historical trend.That has been the case in the history of all theprophets, especially the last one since by virtue

9 3

of the relation of his message with heaven, theProphet Muhammad (peace and blessing of Alldhbe upon him and his progeny), assumed by himselfthe reins of the historical movement and started acivilized expansion which the objective circum-stances that existed around him, could not bringabout in any case, as we have already mentionedin the introduction of al-Fatawa al-wadihah.

Therefore, what had been achieved at thehands of the Great Messenger could occur alsoat the hands of the Expected Leader from amonghis progeny whom he announced and whose rolehe hinted. at.

(8) HOW WILL THE CHANGE ONTHE APPOINTED DAY OCCUR?

Now we have reached the last question,which is about the manner through which we canform an image about what will be accomplishedat the hands of this individual in terms of a decisivevictory for justice and an end to the existence oftrangression that he is faced with?

The limited answer for this question is relatedto the knowledge of the time and the phase inwhich al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) is supposedto emerge to the world, as well as the possible

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assumption regarding what peculiarities and closerelations, might characterize that phase so as tobe able to draw, in that light, the shape that theoperation of change would take and the path thatit would follow.

But as long as we do not know anythingconcerning that phase, its environment nor itscircumstances, we cannot scientifically predictwhat would take place on the appointed day,although we can imagine or give certain assump-tions in this respect, which are founded on theor-etical bases and not on realistic grounds.

There is one basic assumption which we canadopt in the light of the previous narratives wementioned earlier, as well as in the light of thegreat operations of change in the course of history,namely the appearance of al-Mahdi (peace be up-on him) after a great gap which will result in ashocking decadence and a crisis is civilization.This gap will give the opportunity for the message

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to expand and the decadence of civilization willprepare the psychological atmosphere for its ac-ceptance.

However, this decadence in civilization is nota mere incident that will occur suddenly in thehistory of human civilization, but a natural resultof a contradiction in a history that is cut off fromAlldh the Exalted, that cannot reach a decisive sol-ution of the end of its course, so that its fire willburn leaving nothing in its path and the light willthen appear to establish Divine justice on earth.

THE END