Written by:
Yasin T. al-Jibouri
[email protected]
Below is a text excerpted from my upcoming Glossary of Islamic Terms. You are at liberty to quote it, publish it, circulate it, print it or post it on the Internet or use it in any other way you deem appropriate. Allah is the One Who enables us to sow the seeds of goodness, and it is He Who helps them grow:
Dhuhoor’s ظهور simple meaning is “the appearing”, or the coming out. If you give it the definite article “the” and make it الظهور, you will be referring to the time when the Awaited One, the Mahdi, the Living 12th Imam (عج) comes out of his occultation, concealment, and starts working on filling the earth with justice and ease after being filled with injustice, oppression and depression, and there will be so much prosperity that nobody will be needy.
Any research about this reappearance of al-Mahdi (عج) cannot be covered fully and fairly except by a voluminous book. But let me give you few thoughts to consider about this momentous event: Just as there is One God, call Him Allah, Khuda, Diu, Jehovah, or whatever, for the Almighty is One and the same, there is also one single family that descended from Adam and Eve, our extended human family. And there is only one truth: It is revealed to nations each according to its history, culture, traditions, ways of life and levels of sophistication.
Likewise, there is one and only one Awaited Savior: The Christians believe he will be Christ re-incarnated, the Jews believe he will be one of the descendants of Prophet David, peace be with him, while other religions refer to a savior of some sort. Just as the Creator has many names, so does this savior. In Islam, he is al-Mahdi (عج), the guided one (by Allah), the guide (to humanity).
Let us tell you a little about this great personality: Imam al-Mahdi (عج) was born to the 11th Imam, Muhammed son of Hasan al-Askari, who is buried in Samurra, Iraq, in what is now known world-wide as the “Askari Shrine” which was bombed by Wahhabi Takfiri terrorists on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, an event which almost hurled the Iraqis into the inferno of civil war.
As it used to be
After the terrorist destruction 2006
Rebuilding, circa 2009
This shrine, which is now being rebuilt, has always been visited by the faithful from various parts of the world, so much so that plans are now underway to build an international airport in Samurra to cater to the influx of these pilgrims.
Al-Mahdi’s mother is Lady Narjis Khatoon, granddaughter of Byzantine king who was a descendant of disciple Sham`un or Simon, trustee of Jesus Christ, (and was contemporary to Imam al-Askari, father of Al-Mahdi).
Imam al-Mahdi (عج) was born on the 15th of Shaban of 255 A.H./July 29, 869 A.D. and became the Imam following the martyrdom of his revered father in 260 A.H./874 A.D. when he was only five. Do not be surprised and ask: How can a boy who is only five years old be an Imam?! Let me remind you that Prophet Yahya (John the Baptist) was a prophet even when he was a child with neither a beard nor a moustache. The Almighty can do anything He wishes at His will.
Al-Mahdi’s period of Imamate began in the year 260 A.H./874 A.D after his father had died. He went into the “minor occultation”, during the period which extended from 260 to 329 A.H. (874 – 941 A.D.). Occultation means, not appearing in public so he would not be a target of the enemies of the Prophet’s family from among those who ruled the Muslims in the name of “Islam”. There are some of such people living even in our time, During the minor occultation, Al-Mahdi had deputies or representatives who acted as liaisons between him and the public. Their names and biographies are available for review in books which discuss the Imam (عج). After 329 A.H./874 A.D., Al-Mahdi went into the period of the “major occultation” which extended from 329 A.H./941 A.D. to our time and will continue till his re-appearance. Many Islamic scholars now stress that his reappearance will be very soon, especially since the signs marking his re-appearance, (as recorded in Sunnah books), have already materialized, and there is no room to detail them here.
Where will the Imam (عج) reappear? It is claimed that his reappearance will be in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and it will be seen (on television screens or the internet) all over the world. He will lead a campaign to purge the Islamic world of all those who do not deserve to live on our planet then establish alliances with non-Muslim countries based on mutual respect and brotherhood, and these non-Muslims will for the first time feel fully secure. We believe that he will reappear accompanied by prophet Jesus Christ so the whole world will see how close these two religions are to each other, and Christ will dissociate himself from all those who throughout the centuries played havoc with the pristine divine message which he had brought the world.
We must add that there have been many imposters each one of whom claimed to be Imam al-Mahdi (عج) in both Shiite and Sunni societies, but their falsehood was bared before the world, and most likely there will be many more in the future as well till the real Imam al-Mahdi (عج) appears to start his global revolution in defense of the poor, righteousness, justice, equality and toleration.
A lengthy tradition (Hadith حديث) quoted in the classic reference Thawab al-A`mal ثواب الأعما ل cites Imam Ja’far al-Saadiq (ع) quoting the Messenger of Allah (ص) saying,
| سيأتي على أمتي زمان تخبث فيه سرائرهم وتحسن فيه علانيتهم طمعا في الدنيا، لايريدون به ما عند الله عز وجل. يكون أمرهم رياء لايخالطه خوف يعمهم الله منه بعقاب، فيدعونه دعاء الغريق فلا يستجاب لهم. |
| “Time will come to my nation during which their inwardly intentions are bad while they display good attitudes only because they covet this life and they do not desire what Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, has. They will have pretension without fear, so much so that they will be blinded by Allah with penalty from Him, whereupon they will plead to him like one about to drown, but He will not respond to their plea.” |
(See Bihar al-Anwar, al-Majlisi, Vol. 13 p. 298)
Another tradition in the same source quotes the Messenger of Allah (ص) as having said,
| سيأتي زمان على أمتي لايبقى من القرآ ن إلا رسمه ولا من الإ سلام إلا إسمه يسمون به وهم أبعد الناس منه: مساجدهم عامرة وهي خراب من الهدى: فقهاء ذلك الزمان شر فقهاء تحت ظل السماء، منهم خرجت الفتنة واليهم تعود. |
| “Time will come upon my nation (Muslims) during which nothing remains of the Quran except its form, nor of Islam except its name. They are called Muslims while they are the furthermost of people from it: Their mosques are crowded, yet they lack guidance. The Faqeehs فقهاء (jurists) of that time will be the worst under the sky; from them did فتنه strife begin, and to them it shall return.” |
(See Bihar al-Anwar, al-Majlisi, Vol. 13 p. 298)
In the classic reference Ik’maal al-Deen إكمال الدين, we read the following tradition quoted from Imam Muhammed al-Baaqir (ع), father of Imam Ja’far al-Saadiq (ع), saying:
| القائم منصور بالرعب مؤيد بالنصر، تطوى له الأرض وتظهر له الكنوز ويبلغ سلطانه المشرق والمغرب، ويظهر الله عز وجل به دينه ولو كره المشركون . فلا يبقى في الارض خراب إلا عمر؛ وينزل روح الله عيسى إبن مريم عليه السلام فيصلي خلفه. فقلت له:
يا ابن رسول الله، متى يخرج قائمكم؟ قال: إذ تشبه الرجال بالنساء والنساء بالرجال واكتفى الرجال بالرجال والنساء بالنساء وركب ذوات الفروج السروج وقبلت شهادات الزور وردت شهادات العدل واستخف الناس بالدماء وارتكاب الزناء واكل الربا واتقي الاشرار مخافة ألسنتهم وخرج السفياني من الشام واليماني من اليمن وخسف بالبيداء وقتل غلام من آل محمد (ص) بين الركن والمقام اسمه محمد بن الحسن النفس الزكية وجاءت صيحة من السماء بأن الحق فيه وفي شعيته، فعند ذلك خروج قائمنا. |
| “Al-Qaa’im القائم (one of the titles of Imam al-Mahdi (عج) will be supported with (fright in the hearts of his opponents), backed by victory; distances in the earth will be shortened for him; treasures will appear for him, and his authority will reach the east and the west. Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, will let His creed (Islam) be the uppermost through him though the infidels abhor it. There will be no ruin on earth without being repaired. And Roohulla روح الله Jesus Christ will descend and pray behind him. This will happen when men will look like women and women will imitate men, when a man is satisfied [sexually] by a man and a woman by a woman, when females ride (act like men) and false witnesses are accepted by courts while those of just men will be rejected, when people take bloodletting lightly, when adultery is committed and usury is consumed, when evildoers are avoided for fear of what they would say (do), when the Sufyani comes out of Syria and the Yamani out of Yemen, when the desert gapes out and a young man from among the descendants of Muhammed (ص) is killed between the Rukn and the Maqam (in Holy Ka’ba) named Muhammed son of al-Hasan, a man of a pure soul, and when a cry comes out of the sky that he is a man of the truth and so are his followers; it is then when our Qaa’im القائم comes out (of his occultation). So, when he comes out, he will recline his back on the Ka`ba, and 313 men will join him. The first that he will articulate is this verse: “That which is left by Allah for you is good for you, if you are believers” (Quran, 11:86). He will then say, ‘I am what is left by Allah for you in His land.’ When the full number of his supporters is complete, which is 10,000 men, anything worshipped on earth other than Allah, (the Exalted, the Great), such as idols and other things, is set on fire and is burned. This will take place after a long period of occultation, all this so that Allah may ascertain who obeys Him in the unseen and who believes in Him.” |
(See Bihar al-Anwar, al-Majlisi, Vol. 13 p. 299)
There are numerous theories surrounding this reappearance of al-Mahdi (عج); some of them make some sense whereas others make some sense to some people and none to others, depending on people’s level of understanding. One of these theories says that there will be major sites where vital roles will be played, all related to this reappearance. These include: Yemen, Hijaz (Saudi Arabia), Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Europe. Apparently, very significant events will take place in all these countries. This theory goes on to state that allies in Yemen will stage a revolution only a couple of months before the reappearance, which is commonly referred to as the Dhuhoor ظهور. These Yemenites will fill up the political vacuum in Hijaz (Saudi Arabia) and will also assist the Imam (عج) in his sweeping revolution. The reason for this vacuum will be the death of King Abdullah who is currently the ruler of Saudi Arabia. This Abdullah is supposed to be the last monarch to rule Hijaz and Nejd (the two main parts of Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world named after its ruling clan). After him, there will be a huge fight for the inheritance of the throne. The fight for the throne will go on till the advent of our Imam (عج). The monarchist system that has been ruling Saudi Arabia since 1932 will be reduced to few months. There shall be constant clashes among the tribes in Hijaz after the death of King Abdullah, and one person amongst these rulers will ruthlessly murder 15 important leaders or famous u’lamaa, scholars, and their sons who belong to his opponent’s tribe.
We pray the Almighty to hasten the reappearance of our Hidden Imam, al-Hujja, al-Mahdi (عج), and to count us among his soldiers who defend his message and to bless the humble effort exerted in putting this book together, Amen.
And surely Allah knows best.
With best regards of Yasin T. al-Jibouri, Author, Writer, Editor, Translator and formerly Publisher. Visit my WebSite: http://www.esnips.com/web/yasinaljibourisStuff and see my extensive Profile. Have a great day.
