WHAT DOES SHIA DOCTRINE SAY ABOUT THE AWAITED MAHDI?

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Since the question above is too vague and general and has not specified a certain aspect of Imam Mahdi’s (AJ) life, we have decided to take a brief glimpse at the life of the twelfth Imam, mention a few prophecies of the Quran and traditions regarding Imam Mahdi and finally conclude with listing a number of signs of his reappearance. The twelfth Imam is named the same as the Prophet (S.A.); meaning “Muhammad” (I’lam al-Wara, pg. 417.), but according to the traditions from the Imams (A.S.) it has been made forbidden to say his name. He has many titles some of which are Mahdi, Muntadhar,Read More →

IS IT POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH IMAM MAHDI (AJ)?

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In order to reach an appropriate answer to your question, the following points must be considered: 1- When we say relationship a two way link is meant. In order to have a relationship, two individuals are needed who are willing to have a link between them, therefore, only having one individual isn’t enough for a relationship to take place. Also, two people who aren’t in any way acquainted can’t have a relationship either, but if a person knows another and likes him [while the other doesn’t know him], there are chances it will end with the two having a relationship in the future. As for establishing aRead More →

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The existence of the infallibles brings many benefits; some of them belonging to normal conditions when they are available. Yet, one mustn’t perceive that if an imam goes into occultation, his existence will be no longer of any benefit to the people. With help from hadiths and the sayings of great scholars on this issue, we will list some of the major benefits of an imam in occultation: 1- The upholding of clear signs and proof No matter in occultation or amongst the people, the imams are the “proof” [hujjah]of Allah (swt) in this world [meaning that Allah (swt) has sent them to be followed,Read More →

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Before answering this question, explaining some hadithic terms is necessary: A) Mutawatir Hadith: Mutawatir literally means for things to come one after another, without any interval between them and in hadithic terms, refers to a hadith that has been narrated by a group of narrators that one can be definite haven’t all agreed on forging and lying about altogether. Any hadith with such a trait will surely make its reader certain that it is true. In other words, Shia scholars consider a hadith mutawatir, when the number of narrators in every level of its chain of narrators reach a degree in which causes complete satisfaction and certaintyRead More →

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This question can be studied in two parts:1. Did Muhammad bin Uthman Umari meet with the Imam of Time (‘atf) during Hajj season?2.  Muhammad bin Uthman Umari has been reported to have said that the Imam of Time (‘atf) attends the Hajj ceremony every year and that one can meet with the Imam during Hajj season. How far is this report true? We shall deal with both questions here:A) Meeting with the Imam of Time (‘atf) during the period of occultation:It is possible to meet with the Imam of Time (‘atf) during the period of occultation. Many scholars who is believed to be honest andRead More →

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE IMAM OF TIME (ATF)?

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Anything that has a role to play in the reappearance of the Imam of Time (atf) and is considered to be among the factors of his reappearance are the causes of reappearance. Although the main cause of the reappearance of the Imam of Time (atf) is “God’s will”, what, in fact, humans can do to prepare the ground for the reappearance of the Imam (atf) is to create preparation in themselves. Because every revolution or movement which comes into being for a particular purpose will triumph only when there are no hurdles and when the ground is paved, otherwise it is doomed to failure. TheRead More →

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One of the signs of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (as) (Of course this sign has been counted as one of the signs of the Day of Judgement (Sunan Tirmidi, vol.4, pp.507-519; Sunan Abi-Dawud, vol.4, pg.115; Sahih Muslim, vol.18, pp.46 and 81), yet in Shia hadith sources it has been counted as one of the signs of the nearness of the Day of Judgment (Biharul-Anwar, vol.6, pg.296, chapter 1 (The signs of the hour (Day of Judgment) and the story of Ya’juj) and also the signs of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (as). There is no problem in this sign being both the sign of the Day of Judgment andRead More →

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS FOR THE REEMERGENCE OF THE MASTER OF THE AGE [I.E. THE TWELFTH IMAM]?

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A discussion regarding the signs of the re-emergence is somewhat complicated, for there are numerous narrations in the corpus of Shi’a ahadith, and add to that the narrations found in the Sunni sources and even the heavenly books of previous religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Indian creeds, and all these call for a comprehensive investigation and analysis. Furthermore, the related narrations must be weighed as to the authenticity of their lines of transmission and also the soundness of their content. Based on the Shi’a narrations, it can be inferred that the signs fall under two categories. One group consists of those signs whichRead More →

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“Raj’ah” literally means ‘to return’, and in Islamic terms, refers to the return of certain people from the dead. These people may consist of dedicated believers and pure mushriks (polytheists) alike. It has been narrated that after the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam (aj) and his establishment of a global Islamic government and prior to the Day of Judgment, certain individuals will be raised from their graves and brought back to this world. Belief in the raj’ah, is a principle founded in the Ahlul Bayt’s school of thought and is founded upon numerous narrations and verses of the Quran. Some of those narrations and verses will be mentionedRead More →

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The ahadith have not mentioned all of the signs of the “end of time”, the time of Imam Mahdi’s Dhuhur, instead they have only made mention of some of them which we will explain: 1- The Appearance of the Sofyani: One of the signs of Imam Mahdi’s Dhuhur is the appearance of the one named Sofyani. (Al-Kafi, vol. 8, pg. 310, hadith 483.) The ahadith mention that the Sofyani is among the descendants of Utbah Ibn Abi Sofyan and that he is an evil person. ([الغیبة للشیخ الطوسی‏] رَوَى حَذْلَمُ بْنُ بَشِیرٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعَلِیِّ بْنِ الْحُسَیْنِ صِفْ لِی خُرُوجَ الْمَهْدِیِّ وَ عَرِّفْنِی دَلَائِلَهُ وَ عَلَامَاتِهِRead More →