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The knowledge, generosity and miracles of Imam al-Mahdi
By: Ayatullah al-Uzma Lutfullah as-Safi al-Gulpaygani
Comprised of six traditions
722. `Iqd al-durar1: From al-Ḥārith b. al-Mughaira al-Naḍrī [al-Naṣrī] who said: I asked (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, peace be on him, “(What are the attributes) of Imam al-Mahdī that he can be recognized with?” He replied, “Serenity and dignity.” I asked, “What else?” He said, “[He will] gave [complete] knowledge about the permissible #7717;alāl) and the prohibited #7717;arām) and the people will need him but he will not need anyone.”
723. Kamāl al-dīn2: `Alī b. Aḥmad b. Mūsā, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Abī `Abd-Allah al-Kūfī, from Muḥammad b. Ismā`īl al-Barmakī, from Ismā`īl b. Mālik, from Muḥammad b. Sinān, from `Amr b. Shimr, from Jābir, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, who said: The knowledge of the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, and the sunna of His Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, will grow in the heart of our Mahdī like the finest things that a crop can grow. Whoever amongst you survives to see him must say when he sees him, “Peace be on you, O People of the House of Mercy and prophethood and the source of knowledge and the position of Messenger-ship.”
724. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī3: `Alī b. Aḥmad, from `Ubaid-Allah b. Mūsā al-`Alawī, from Abū Muḥammad Mūsā b. Hārūn b. `Īsā al-Ma`badī, from `Abd-Allah b. Muslimat b. Qa`nab, from Sulaimān b. Bilāl, from (Imam) Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, from his father, from his grandfather, from (Imam) al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, peace be on them all, who said: A man came to Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, and said, “O Amīr al-Mu’minīn! Inform us about your Mahdī?” He replied, “When the things that must pass away, pass away; the believers become rare, and the troublemakers perish, it is then, it is then.” The man asked, “Which [tribe] does this man belong to?”
He replied, “He is a Hashemite, the most exalted of the Arabs, a sea to which all waters pour into, a sanctuary for those who seek refuge, and the pure source when others become murky. He doesn’t cower when death attacks, doesn’t weaken when death shows its face, and doesn’t recede in the clashes in which the heroes fall. He is a skilled winner, a defeater, a lion, reaper [of the enemies], and fearless. He is a sword from the swords of Allah. He is a chief who possesses all goodness, is from a great glorious family, and whose glory originates from the best of roots. Let none of those who hasten towards mischief, speak the evilest of words, and hide their corruptions inside them when keeping silent, prevent you from pledging allegiance to him.”
He then returned to describing the attributes of the Mahdī, peace be on him, and said, “He is the most generous in giving refuge, the most knowledgeable, and the kindest of you to his kin. O Allah! Make his advent an end to sorrows and unite the umma by him. If Allah chooses goodness for you, be determined and do not deviate from [the Mahdī] if you have success in reaching him and don not turn away from him if you are guided to him.” Then, [Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him] sighed and pointed at his chest with his hand and expressed his eagerness to see him.
725. Sunan al-Dānī4: Ibn Shaudhab said: “He is called the Mahdī (the guided one) because he will guide to a mountain from the mountains of Syria and will bring out of it the Scrolls of the Torah (asfār al-turāt) and argue by them against the Jews; consequently, a group of Jews will accept Islam at his hands.”
The following traditions endorse the above concept: 726 and 1182.
Notes:
1. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 41.
I say: Abū `Abd-Allah—the person from whom the tradition has been narrated—is Imam Abū `Abd-Allah Ja`far b. Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq, peace be on him, and not our master Imam Abū `Abd-Allah al-Ḥusayn, the grandson of the Prophet and the chief of the youth of Paradise. This error has been repeated in numerous places in the book `Iqd al-durar. I do not know whether this error has been introduced by the author, already existed in the source from which he had recorded the narrations from, or made by the copyists.
(The narrator,) al-Ḥārith b. al-Mughaira al-Naṣrī, is related to [the tribe of] Banī-Naṣr, as has been recorded in Mu`jam rijāl al-ḥadīth by al-Kashī. He has narrated from Imam Abū Ja`far Muḥammad al-Bāqir, his son Imam Ja`far b. Muḥammad, his son Imam Mūsā b. Ja`far, and Zaid the martyr, peace be on them all. It is written in Lisān al-mīzān, vol. 2, p. 160: “Al-Ḥārith b. al-Mughaira al-Naḍrī or al-Baṣrī. He has narrated from al-Bāqir, his brother Zaid b. `Alī, and Ja`far b. Muḥammad, may Allah be satisfied with him. Al-Ṭūsī and ibn al-Najāshī have mentioned him as one of the reliable Shia narrators. `Alī b. al-Ḥakam has said, ‘He was the most pious (aura`) of men.’ Tha`labat b. Maimūn, Hishām b. Sālim, Ja`far b. Bashīr, and others have narrated from him.’”
2. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 57, p. 653, no. 18; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 15, p. 557, and chap. 42, p. 639; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, pp. 317–318, no. 16.
3. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 3, pp. 212214, no. 1.
4. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, pp. 40–41; al-Burhān, chap. 8, p. 157, no. 7; Is`āf al-rāghibīn, chap. 2, p. 139, which says: “It has been mentioned in some traditions, ‘. . . surely the Mahdī, peace be on him, will bring out the Ark of the Covenant (tābūt al-sakīna) from the cave of Antioch (Anṭākiya) and the Scrolls of the Torah (asfār al-turāt) from a mountain in Syria—by which he will argue with the Jews. Consequently, many of them will accept Islam.’”
I say: The biography of ibn Shaudhab has been mentioned in Tahdhīb al-tahdhīb and his full name is `Abd-Allah b. Shaudhab al-Khurāsānī. We have mentioned what he has said amongst these hadiths on the basis that people like him do not express their own views about these events which are not known to anybody except those who has been given knowledge by Allah, the Exalted; except something that reached them from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. Nevertheless, when similar things are narrated by him from Ka`b al-Aḥbār—whose condition is well-known—it is probable that he was the source of what ibn Shaudhab and his ilk have narrated, without relying on the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, and hence, one cannot rely on those traditions.
The traditions that indicate his generosity and that he will distribute wealth without counting it
Comprised of twenty-nine traditions
726. `Ilal al-sharā’i`1: Narrated to me my father, may Allah have mercy on him, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-Kūfī, from `Abd-Allah b. al-Mughaira, from Sufyān b. `Abd al-Mu’min al-Anṣārī, from `Amr b. Shimr, from Jābir who said: A man came to (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, while I was with him and said, “May Allah have mercy on you! Take these five-hundred dirhams and donate them wherever [you deem] appropriate. It is the zakāt of my wealth.” (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said to him, “No! Take it yourself and give it to your neighbors, the orphans, the poor, and your [needy] brothers from amongst the Muslims. [During the occultation you can donate the zakāt yourselves] but when the Qā’im rises [it is compulsory to pay the zakāt to him].2
He will distribute equally and deal justly with the creatures of the Beneficent, regardless of them being good-doers or sinners. Whoever obeys him has indeed obeyed Allah and whoever disobeys him has indeed disobeyed Allah. He has been named Mahdī (the guided one) because he will guide to a concealed affair. He will bring out the Torah and all the other Books of Allah from a cave in Antioch3.
Then, he will judge amongst the followers of the Torah using the Torah, amongst the followers of the Bible using the Bible, amongst the followers of the Psalms using the Psalms, and amongst the followers of the Quran with the Quran. All the wealth of the world will be gathered for him—whether it be inside the earth or on it.
He will say to the people, ‘Come and take this [wealth], for which, you broke off with your relatives, shed blood, and committed what Allah had prohibited.’ He will give things that no one before him had ever given. The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘He is a man from me; his name is like my name. Allah will protect my [religion] by him and he will act according to my sunna. He will fill the earth with fairness, justice, and light after it will be filled with unfairness, injustice, and evil.’”
727. Al-Muṣannaf4: Informed us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Sa`īd al-Jarīrī, from Abū Naḍra, from Jābir b. `Abd-Allah who said: “An Imam will rule over the people who will not count the dirhams but will just give them away.”
728. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim5: Narrated to me Zuhair b. Ḥarb and `Alī b. Ḥajar, from Ismā`īl b. Ibrāhīm, from al-Jarīrī, from Abū Naḍra who said: We were with Jābir b. `Abd-Allah when he said, “Soon, no money will reach the people of Iraq— even a small amount.” I asked, “Why will [they be in such a state?]” He replied, “The non-Arabs will deprive them of this.” Again, he said, “Soon, no money will reach the people of Syria—even a small amount.” I asked, “Why will [they be in such a state?]” He replied, “The Romans.” He was a silent for a while and then said, “The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘In the end of my nation #257;khir ummatī), there will be a caliph who will give away wealth abundantly but will not even count it.’”
He says I asked Abū Naḍra and Abū l-`Alā: “Do you think (the caliph) is `Umar b. `Abd al-`Azīz?” Both of them replied in the negative.
And ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us, from `Abd al-Wahhāb, from Sa`īd—meaning al-Jarīrī—similar to the above narration through the same chain of narrators.
729. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim6: Narrated to us Naṣr b. `Alī al-Jahḍamī, from Bishr b. al-Mufaḍḍal and `Alī b. Ḥujr al-Sa`dī, from Ismā’īl b. `Ulayya, both of them from Sa`īd b. Yazīd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “Amongst your caliphs is a caliph who will distribute wealth munificently without even counting it.”
730. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim7: Narrated to me Zuhair b. Ḥarb, from `Abd al-Ṣamad b. `Abd al-Wārith, from his father, from Dāwūd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd and Jābir b. `Abd-Allah, both from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “In the end of times there will be a caliph who will distribute wealth but will not count it.”
And narrated to us Abū Bakr b. Abī Shaiba, from Abū Mu`āwiya, from Dāwūd b. Abī Hind, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], likewise.
731. Sunan al-Tirmidhī8: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Bashshār, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from Shu`ba, from Zaid al-`Ammī, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī who said: We feared a tragedy [would occur] after our Prophet. So we asked the Prophet of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], about it. He said, “In my nation is the Mahdī. He will emerge and live for five, seven, or nine (the uncertainty [in the numbers] is from Zaid, one of the narrators).” We asked, “What are these [numbers]?” He answered, “Years.” He then continued, “A person will come to him and say, ‘O Mahdī! Give me, give me!’ He will put so much [wealth] in his dress that he will not be able to carry it.”
Abū `Īsā says: “This is a good #7717;asan) tradition. It has also been narrated through other chains of narrators from Abū Sa`īd, from the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family]. The name of Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī is Bakr b. `Amr. Some have also said it is Bakr b. Qays.”
732. Al-Fitan9: Narrated to us Fuḍail b. `Ayyāḍ and ibn `Uyayna, both from Laith, from Ṭāwūs who said: “The sign of the Mahdī is that he will be strict with the government agents, generous regarding wealth, and merciful to the poor.”
733. Al-Fitan10: Narrated to us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Qatāda that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “He—meaning the Mahdī—will bring out the treasures, distribute wealth, and will correctly establish Islam.”
734. Al-Fitan11: Narrated to us ibn `Uyayna, from Ibrāhīm b. Maisara, from Ṭāwūs who said: “I wish I don’t die until I reach the time of the Mahdī. He will increase the good-doers’ goodness and will forgive the sinners.”
(It has also been mentioned in it,) narrated to us Ḥumaid al-Rawāsī, from Muḥammad b. Muslim, from Ibrāhīm b. Maisara, from Ṭāwūs who said: “When the Mahdī comes, he will increase the good-doers’ goodness and will forgive the sinners’ wrongdoings. He will give away wealth, be strict with the government agents, and be merciful towards the poor.”
735. Al-Fitan12: Narrated to us Yaḥyā, from Saif b. Wāṣil, from Abū Yūnus, from Abū Ru’ba who said: “As if [I am seeing] the Mahdī feeding the needy with his own hands.”
The following traditions also establish the above concept: 160, 358, 379, 380, 383–389, 436, 437, 453, 503, 583, 699, 700, and 701.
Notes:
1. `Ilal al-sharā’i`, vol. 1, chap. 129, p. 161, no. 3; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, p. 29, no. 2; Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 13, p. 237, no. 26, similar to it, through his chain of narrators from Jābir; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, pp. 350–351, no. 103, with some differences; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 14, p. 556.
2. The expressions in the brackets are al-Majlisī’s explanations under this tradition—Ed.
3. An ancient city in Syria which is modern-day Antakya in South Turkey—Trans.
4. Al-Muṣannaf, vol. 11, no. 20774.
5. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 98 (short version); Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 482, with minor variations; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 10, p. 121.
6. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185.
I say: It has been mentioned in the notes of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (the published edition from which we have recorded the hadith) that “Al-Ābī notes that Al-Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd have mentioned this Caliph and referred to him as the Mahdī.” There is no doubt that this Caliph is the Mahdī, peace be on him, specially by considering the traditions that have been mentioned concerning him like: “in the end of my nation” and “in the end of times.” It will not be unknown to any specialist in the science of traditions that what has been mentioned about an Imam who will rise in the end of times or a Caliph or the one who will fill the earth with fairness and justice, all refer to one individual possessing all these attributes and he is the Mahdī, peace be on him.
Al-Shaykh `Alī Nāṣif writes in Ghāyat al-ma’mūl, vol. 5, p. 311: “This is the Mahdī, may Allah be satisfied with him, because of the hadith that will follow [in which the Mahdī is clearly mentioned] and this attitude is the result of abundant war booties and victories accompanied with his generosity and munificence towards all the people.”
Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 99; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 483; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 10, p. 122, and other references.
7. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 100; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, pp. 122–123; Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, vol. 3, p. 333 & p. 38; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 483.
8. Sunan al-Tirmidhī, vol. 4, p. 506; Kitāb al-fitan, chap. 53, no. 2232; Maṣābīḥ al-sunna, vol. 2, p. 194; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 262, no. 38654; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, p. 29; Yanābī` al-mawadda, pp. 431 & 435; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 478.
9. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 8, p. 167.
10. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 193.
11. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 193; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 143.
12. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 9, sect. 3, p. 227.
The traditions that indicate Allah, the Exalted, will make him perform the miracles of the Prophets to complete His Proof (itmām al-ḥujja) on the enemies. With him are the inheritances of the Prophets and the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family
Comprised of fifteen traditions
736. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī1: Informed us Abū Sulaimān Aḥmad b. Haudha, from Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq al-Nahāwandī, from `Abd-Allah b. Ḥammād al-Anṣārī, from Abū l-Jārūd Ziyād b. al-Mundhir, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, who said: When the Qā’im reappears, he will have with him the banner of Allah’s Messenger, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, the ring of Solomon, and the stone of Moses and his staff. Then, he will order his announcer to declare, “Know that none of you should carry any food, drink, or fodder.” His companions will say, “He wants to kill us and our animals with hunger and thirst.” He will travel and they will travel with him. The first place at which they stop, he will strike the stone [of Moses] and from it will come out food, drink, and fodder. They will eat and drink and so will their animals, until they reach Najaf—at the back of Kūfa.
737. Al-Amālī by Shaykh al-Mufīd2: Informed me Abū l-Qāsim Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Qūlawayh, may Allah have mercy on him, from his father, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. `Īsā, from ibn Abī `Umair, from `Abd-Allah b. Muskān, from Bashīr al-Kunāsī, from Abū Khālid al-Kabulī, from (Imam) `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, who said: O Abū Khālid! Soon, a fitna will arrive which is like the darkness of night. No one will be saved except those from whom Allah has taken his covenant. They are the lamps of guidance and the sources of knowledge. Allah will save them from every dark fitna. As if I am standing with your master on top of your [city], Najaf, behind Kūfa along with about three hundred and ten men; Jabra’īl (Gabriel) is on his right and Mīkā’īl (Michael) is on his left and Isrāfīl is in front of him. He has with him the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, which he has spread. He will not approach any group with this banner but that Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, will destroy them.
738. Al-Ghayba by Faḍl b. Shādhān3: Narrated to us Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Abī Naṣr, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Ḥammād b. `Īsā, from `Abd-Allah b. Abī Ya`fūr, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, who said: “There won’t remain a miracle from the miracles of the Prophets and their heirs but that Allah, Blessed and High be He, will manifest its like at the hands of our Qā’im to complete the proof against the enemies [of Allah].”
739. Al-Kāfī4: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Salmat b. al-Khaṭṭāb, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad, from Manī` b. al-Ḥajjāj al-Baṣrī, from Mujāshi`, from Mu`allā, from Muḥammad b. al-Faiḍ, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, who said: The staff of Moses belonged to Adam, peace be on him, then it was transferred to [the Prophet] Shu`ayb who gave it to Moses son of Amram (`Imrān). Now, it is with us and I recently looked at it. Its [color] is green like its form when it was plucked from the tree and it speaks when spoken to. It has been prepared for our Qā’im, peace be on him.
He will do with it what Moses did. It will frighten [the enemies], will devour their deceptions, and will do what it is ordered. Whenever it comes forward to devour their deceptions, it will open its jaws: One jaw will be on the ground and the other overhead. The distance between [these two] will be [the length] of forty arms (dhirā`). It will eat their deceptions with its tongue.”
740. Al-Kāfī5: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn, from Mūsā b. Sa`dān, from `Abd-Allah b. al-Qāsim, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khurāsānī, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, who said: When the Qā’im rises at Mecca and intends to go towards Kūfa, his announcer will call out, “No one should carry with him food or drink.” He will carry with him the stone of Moses, son of Amram (`Imrān) which can hardly be carried by a camel. They will not stop at any place except that a spring will flow from [the stone]. Whoever is hungry will be satiated and whoever is thirsty will be quenched. It will be their provision until they stop at Najaf [located] at the back of Kūfa.
741. Kamāl al-dīn6: Through this chain of narrators (meaning ibn al-Walīd from al-Ṣaffār, from Ya`qūb, from ibn Abī Umair, from Abān b. `Uthmān), from Abān b. Taghlib, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: It is as if I am seeing the Qā’im, peace be on him, in the outskirts of Najaf. When he reaches Kūfa, he will mount a dark piebald horse which has a white stripe between his eyes. The horse will shake him [or he will move the horse] and there will not remain a city but that its inhabitants will think that he is with them in their city. When he spreads the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, thirteen thousand and thirteen angels will descend upon him who were all awaiting the Qā’im, peace be on him.
They are the same [angels] who were with Noah, peace be on him, in the Ark, with Abraham, the friend (khalīl) of Allah, peace be on him, when he was thrown in the fire, and with Jesus, peace be on him, when he was taken up [to the sky]. [These angels will be joined by] four thousand marked angels—who will follow one-another in rows—and the three hundred and thirteen angels from the Battle of Badr and the four thousand angels who had descended to fight alongside al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, peace be on him, but were not given permission and they ascended to seek permission [from Allah] but when they descended, al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, had already been martyred. They are in a disheveled state and dusty and will cry beside al-Ḥusayn’s grave, peace be on him, until the Day of Judgment. Between the grave of Imam al-Ḥusayn and the sky is the pathway of the angels.
742. Kamāl al-dīn7: Through the same chain of narrators from Abān b. Taghlib, from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī who said: (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said, “It is as if I am looking at the Qā’im, peace be on him, who has appeared at Najaf. When he appears at Najaf, he will spread the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, whose pole is [made] from the pillar of the Throne of Allah, the Exalted. The rest of it [is made from] the Assistance of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He. He will not desire to approach with it anyone except that Allah, the Exalted, will destroy him.” I asked, “Is it already with him or will it be brought for him?” He replied, “It will be brought for him and Gabriel (Jabra’īl), peace be on him, is the one who will bring it for him.”
743. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī8: Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Sa`īd b. `Uqda, from Muḥammad b. al-Mufaḍḍal b. Ibrāhīm, Sa`dān b. Isḥāq b. Sa`īd, Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Abd al-Malik, and Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan al-Qaṭawānī, all of them from al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb, from `Abd-Allah b. Sinān, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: The staff of Moses is a stick from a myrtle (al-ās) [tree] grown in Paradise. Gabriel (Jabra’īl), peace be on him, brought it for him when he wanted to go to [the city of] Midian (Madyan). This [staff] and the casket of Adam are in the lake of Tiberias #7788;abariyya)9 and will never decay nor change until the Qā’im, peace be on him, brings them both out when he rises.
744. Kāmil al-ziyārāt10: Narrated to me al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. `Āmir, from Aḥmad b. Isḥāq b. Sa`d, from Sa`dān b. Muslim, from `Umar b. Abān, from Abān b. Taghlib, who said: (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, said: “It is as if I am with the Qā’im at Najaf [near] Kūfa while he is wearing the armor of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family. He will shake [the armor] and it will fit [on his body]. Then, he will cover it with a howdah made of brocade and will mount a dark-colored horse between whose eyes there will be a white stripe. The horse will shake in such a way that there will not remain the inhabitants of a city but that they will think that he is with them in their city. He will spread the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, whose pole is from the pillars of the Throne (al-`Arsh), and the rest of it is [made from] Allah’s Assistance.
He will not desire to approach with it against anyone except that Allah, the Exalted, will destroy him. When he waves it, there will not remain a believer but that his heart will become like a slab of iron. Each believer will be given the strength of forty men. There will not remain a [deceased] believer but that this [event] will make him joyful in his grave. They will visit each other in their graves and will give glad-tidings to each other about the rise of the Qā’im. Then, thirteen thousand three hundred and thirteen angels will descend upon him.”
I asked, “Are they all angels?” He answered, “Yes. They are the angels who were with Noah in the Ark, those who were with Abraham when he was thrown in the fire, those who were with Moses when he split the sea for the Israelites, and those who were with Jesus when Allah took him up towards Himself. [These will be joined by] four thousand marked angels who were with the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, with another one thousand—who follow one another row after row—and the three hundred and thirteen angels of [the Battle of] Badr. [These will be accompanied by] the four thousand angels who had come down to fight alongside (Imam) al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, but were not granted permission to fight.
They are at his grave in a disheveled state and dusty, crying for him until the Day of Judgment. The chief of these angels is an angel called Manṣūr. No pilgrim (zā’ir) will visit his grave except that they will welcome him, no one [from the pilgrims] departs but that they will bid him farewell; or becomes ill but that they will visit him; or dies but that they will pray on his body and seek forgiveness for him after his death. All of them are on earth, awaiting the rise of the Qā’im until the time of his appearance, Allah’s blessings be on him.”
745. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī11: `Abd al-Wāḥid b. `Abd-Allah b. Yūnus, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far al-Qurashī, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Abī l-Khaṭṭāb, from Muḥammad b. Sinān, from Ḥammād b. Abī Ṭalḥa, from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī who said: (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said to me, “O Thābit12! It is as if I am with the Qā’im from my Ahl al-Bait while he is looking at Najaf—and he pointed with his hand towards Kūfa. When he looks at Najaf, he will spread the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family. When he spreads it, the angels from [the Battle of] Badr will descend on him.”
I asked, “What is the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family?” He replied, “Its pole is from the pillar of the Throne of Allah and His Mercy. The rest of it is [made from] the Assistance of Allah. He will not desire to approach anyone with it but that Allah will make him perish.” I asked, “Is this flag concealed with you until the Qā’im, peace be on him, rises or will it be brought for him?” He replied, “It will be brought for him.” I asked, “Who will bring it for him?” He answered, “Gabriel, peace be on him.”
746. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī13: Muḥammad b. Hammām, from Aḥmad b. Mābundādh, from Aḥmad b. Hilāl, from Muḥammad b. Abī `Umair, from Abū l-Maghrā’, from Abū Baṣīr, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: When Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, faced the people of Baṣra [during the Battle of Jamal], he spread the banner—the banner of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family—due to which their feet started trembling. The sun had hardly become yellow [i.e. was beginning to set] when they said, “We surrender, O son of Abū Ṭālib!”
At this juncture, he declared, “Don’t kill the captives, don’t finish off the wounded, and don’t pursue the fleeing ones. Whoever puts down his weapon is safe and whoever shuts the door [of his house] is safe.” When the day of [the Battle of] Ṣiffīn came, [his soldiers] asked him to spread the banner but he refused. They tried to persuade him [to do this] through (Imams) al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, peace be on them, and `Ammār b. Yāsir, may Allah be satisfied with him. So he said to al-Ḥasan, “O my son! For this group is a time which they will reach (muddatan yablughūnahā); no one after me will spread this banner except the Qā’im, Allah’s blessings be on him.”
747. Al-Fitan14: Narrated to us Yaḥyā b. al-Yamān, from Qays, from `Abd-Allah b. Sharīk who said: “With the Mahdī is the banner of the messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, which is the victory-bringer (al-mighlaba).”
I say: There were narrations from Ka`b al-Aḥbār which were suitable for this section, but we didn’t mention them because we didn’t need them. The following traditions also establish the above concept: 373, 555, and 1213.
Notes:
1. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 13, p. 238, no. 28; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 19, p. 579.
2. Al-Amālī, session 5, p. 45.
3. Kifāyat al-muhtadī (al-Arba`īn), p. 141, no. 37; Kashf al-Ḥaqq (al-Arba`īn), p. 67, no. 13; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 33, sect. 7, p. 700, no. 137, citing Faḍl b. Shādhān’s book.
4. Al-Kāfī, vol. 1, chap. “The things from the signs of the prophets that are with the Imams,” p. 231, no. 1; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 439, no. 2; Baṣā’ir al-darajāt, part 4, chap. “What is with the Imams from the weapons of the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family . . .,” p. 183, no. 36; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, pp. 27, 318, and 319, no. 90; Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 58, p. 674, no. 27; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 19, p. 578.
5. Al-Kāfī, vol. 1, chap. “What is with the Imams from the signs of the prophets, peace be on them,” p. 231, no. 1; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 19, p. 579; Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 58, pp. 670–671, no. 17, with some differences; Kashf al-ḥaqq, p. 207, no. 37, which is a short version and has variations in the chain of narrators; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 324, no. 37, with minor differences in the wording and the chain of narrators; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 6, chap. 32, p. 351, no. 3.
6. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 58, pp. 671–672, no. 22; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 325, no. 40; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 44, p. 642 (short version); Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 493, no. 244–245 (short version).
7. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 58, p. 672, no. 23; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 326, no. 41; Al-Nawādir, chap. 66, p. 182; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 493, no. 245 (short version).
8. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 13, p. 238, no. 27; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 351, no. 104; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, sect. 27, pp. 540–541, no. 508; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 19, pp. 579–580.
9. A city in Palestine on the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee—Trans.
10. Kāmil al-ziyārāt, chap. 41, pp. 119–120, no. 5; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, p. 328, no. 48, and chap. 27, p. 391, no. 214, citing the aforementioned book and mentioning a similar tradition; Dalā’il al-imāma, p. 243, with differences in some of the words; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 493, no. 244 (short version); al-`Udad al-qawiyya, p. 74.
11. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 19, pp. 308–309, no. 3; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, pp. 361–362, no. 130; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, pp. 545–546, no. 534.
12. Thābit is Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī’s name—Ed.
13. Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 19, p. 307, no. 1; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 367, no. 151; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, pp. 544–545, no. 532.
14. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191.
The traditions that indicate he will not reappear except after intense examinations (imtiḥān), the falling of believers into intense difficulties, and the occurrence of great calamities
Comprised of forty-two traditions
748. Al-Muṣannaf1: `Abd al-Razzāq informed us, from Mu`ammar, from Abī Isḥāq, from `Aṣim b. Ḍamra, from `Alī who said: “The earth will certainly be filled with injustice and unfairness to the extent that no one will say ‘Allah, Allah’ . . . Then, it will certainly be filled with fairness and justice just as it was filled with unfairness and injustice.”
749. Ghaybat al-Shaykh2: Al-Ḥusayn b. `Ubaid-Allah informed us, from Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. Sufyān al-Bazaufarī, from Aḥmad b. Idrīs, from `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Qutayba, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān al-Nīsābūrī, from ibn Abī Najrān, from Muḥammad b. Manṣūr, from his father who said: We—a group of people—were talking in the presence of (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah (al-Ṣādiq), peace be on him. He turned towards us and said, “What are you discussing? Alas! Alas! By Allah, whatever you are longing for will not occur until you are screened out. By Allah, whatever you are longing for will not happen until you are separated. By Allah, Whatever you are longing for will not take place until you are sifted. [By Allah,] whatever you are longing for will not happen except after despair. By Allah, whatever you are longing for will not happen until [those destined to become] wretched, become wretched, and [those destined to become] felicitous, become felicitous.”
750. Dalā’il al-imāma3: Abū `Alī al-Nahāwandī, from al-Qāshānī, from Muḥammad b. Sulaimān, from `Alī b. Saif, from his father, from al-Mufaḍḍal b. `Umar, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: A person came to Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, and complained to him about the length of the government of injustice (dawlat al-jur). Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, said to him, “By Allah, what you wish for [will not occur] until the people of falsehood perish, the ignorant disappear, and the pious (muttaqūn) become safe. Once this happens, you [will be deprived] to an extent that you will not be able to set foot on the ground and you will be regarded as worthless as a dead body . . . You will be in this condition when the help and victory of Allah will come. This is the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, in His Book, ‘Until when the apostles despaired and they thought that they were indeed told a lie, Our help came to them’ (Quran 12:110).”
751. Nahj al-balāgha4: Regarding the vicissitudes of time (the mischiefs that are to occur and the absence of lawful ways of livehood): May my father and my mother be sacrificed for those whose names are well-known in the sky and not known on the earth. Beware! You should expect such things as adversity in your affairs, the breaking of relations, and the rising up of inferior people to befall you. This will happen when the blow of a sword will be easier for a believer than to secure one dirham lawfully.
This will happen when the reward of the beggar is more than that of the giver. This will be when you are intoxicated, not by drinking, but with wealth and plenty, when you are swearing [oaths] without compulsion and are speaking lies without compulsion. This will be when troubles hurt you as the saddle hurts the hump of the camel. How long will these tribulations be and how distant the hope [for deliverance from them]?
752. Ghaybat al-Shaykh5: Aḥmad b. Idrīs, from `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Qutayba, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Abī Naṣr, from (Imam) Abū l-Ḥasan, peace be on him, who said: “By Allah! What you desire will not happen until you are separated and sifted; until no one remains from you except few.” Then, he recited, ‘Or do you think that you will be left [as you are] while Allah has not yet made known those of you who have struggled hard and those who have patience.’6”
753. Ghaybat al-Shaykh: From Jābir al-Ju`fī who said: I asked (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, “When will your relief (faraj) occur?” He answered, “It is far! It is far! Our relief will not occur until you are screened out, then you are screened out [again], and then you are screened out [again]—and he repeated it three times—until Allah, the Exalted, removes the impure (al-kidir) and keeps the pure.”7
754. Ghaybat al-Shaykh8: From him (meaning Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Ḥimyarī), from his father, from Ayyūb b. Nūḥ, from al-`Abbās b. `Āmir, from al-Rabī` b. Muḥammad al-Muslī, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: By Allah, you will be broken like the breaking of glass; glass can be restored and it takes its original form. By Allah, you will be broken like the breaking of earthenware and earthenware cannot be restored to its original form. [By Allah, you will be separated]. By Allah, you will be sifted. By Allah, you will be screened out like darnel is screened out from wheat.
755. Al-Kāfī9: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā and al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad [al-Ḥasan b. `Alī], from Ja`far b. Muḥammad, from al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad al-Ṣairafī, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. al-Ṣaiqal, from his father, from Manṣūr, from (Imam) Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, who said: O Manṣūr! Surely, this affair will not come to you except after despair. By Allah, [it will not come to you] until you are sifted. By Allah, [it will not come to you] until you are separated. By Allah, [it will not come to you] until [those destined to become] wretched, become wretched, and [those destined to become] felicitous, become felicitous.
The traditions with the following numbers also prove the above concept: 113, 245, 254, 286, 327, 337, 342, 407, 411, 427, 433, 456, 511, 527, 534, 538, 617, 618, 619, 641, 669, 908, 911, 912, 971, 1015, 1017, 1018, 1019, 1022, 1023, 1024, 1130, and 1195.
Notes:
1. Al-Muṣannaf, vol. 11, chap. “al-Mahdī,” no. 20776.
2. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, pp. 335–336, no. 281; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 21, p. 112, no. 23; Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, pp. 208-209, chap. 12, no. 60, with differences in wording and that he has recorded it from Muḥammad b. Manṣūr b. al-Ṣaiqal, from his father who said: “I went to Abū Ja`far al-Bāqir, peace be on him . . . (to the end of the tradition).”
I say: Manṣūr b. al-Walīd al-Ṣaiqal was a resident of Kūfa and his epithet was Abū Muḥammad. He has narrated from both of them (Jāmi` al-ruwāt). In Ṭabaqāt rijāl al-Kāfī—by our great teacher al-Sayyid al-Burūjirdī, may his grave be sanctified—it is written that he is Manṣūr b. `Abd-Allah al-Ṣaiqal who has narrated from Imam Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him, and his son is Muḥammad b. Manṣūr.
3. Dalā’il al-imāma, chap. “Ma`rifat wujūb al-Qā’im,” pp. 251–252, no. 49; Ilzām al-nāṣib, vol. 1, p. 68, verse thirty-six, His saying, the Exalted, “Until when the apostles despaired and they thought that they were indeed told a lie, Our help came to them” (Quran 12:110); al-Maḥajja fī mā nazala fī l-Qā’im al-ḥujja, verse 37, p. 107.
4. Nahj al-balāgha, trans. Sayed Ali Reza (Iran: Sayed Mujtaba Musavi Lari Foundation), sermon 186.
5. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, pp. 336–337, no. 283; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 21, p. 113, no. 24.
6. This is a combination of verses 9:16 and 3:142 and is probably a mistake made by one of the narrators or scribes—Ed.
7. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, p. 339, no. 287; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 21, p. 113, no. 28.
8. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, p. 340, no. 289; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 21, pp. 101–102, no. 3; Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 12, p. 207, no. 13, with the addition: “From Rabī`, from Mihzam and others, from Abū `Abd-Allah, peace be on him.”
9. Al-Kāfī, vol. 1, chap. 141, p. 370, no. 3; Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 33, p. 346, no. 32, with minor differences in wording, from Muḥammad b. al-Fuḍail, from his father, from Manṣūr.; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 21, p. 111, no. 20.
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