Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

References

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.

Section Forty-Eight: 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.

References

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.

Section Forty-Nine: The traditions that indicate he will lead (the prayers) for Jesus, son of Mary, and Jesus will follow him in prayers

Comprised of thirty-six traditions

756. Al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān1 : Al-Ḥāfiẓ Yūsuf informed us at Aleppo2 , from al-Qāḍī Abū l-Makārim, from [Abū l-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad] Abū `Alī al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad, from al-Ḥāfiẓ [Abū l-Faraj] Abū Nu`aim, from Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī, from Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. Shu`ba, from his father, from Ḥaṣīn b. Mukhāriq, from al-Khalīl b. Laṭīf, from Abū Hārūn al-`Abdī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“From us is the one behind whom, Jesus, son of Mary, will pray.”

[The author of al-Bayān says] al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has recorded it in his book Manāqib al-Mahdī `alayhi al-salām.

757. Ghāyat al-ma’mūl3 :

The Mahdī will turn his face [towards] Jesus, son of Mary- who will have descended. It will be is as if water is dripping from [Jesus’] hair. The Mahdī will say to him,“Come forward and lead the prayers for the people.” He will reply,“The prayers have been established for you.” So, [Jesus] will pray behind a person from my descendants and he is the Mahdī.

758. Al-Fitan4 : From more than one person, from Ḥammād b. Salma, from `Alī b. Zaid, from a person, from `Abd-Allah b. `Amr:“The Mahdī is the one that Jesus, son of Mary, will descend in his presence and will pray behind him-peace be on them.”

759. Al-Fitan5 : Narrated to us Abū Usāma, from Hishām, from Muḥammad who said:“The Mahdī is from this nation. He is the one who will lead the prayers for Jesus, son of Mary-peace be on them.”

760. Al-Muṣannaf6 : Narrated to us Abū Usāma, from Hishām, from ibn Sīrīn that“The Mahdī is from this nation. He is the one who will lead the prayers for Jesus son of Mary.”

761. Al-Fitan by Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Salīlī7 : Narrated to us al-Ḥasan b. `Alī, from Sufyān b. Sa`īd al-Thaurī, from Manṣūr b. al-Mu`tamir, from Raba`ī b. Khirāsh, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who mentioned a long tradition about the unrests(fitan) that will occur and said:“Triumphant is that nation from whom I am the first and Jesus is at its end. [Jesus] will pray behind a person from my descendants... (to the end of the narration).”

762. Al-Durr al-manthūr8 : Ibn Abī Shaiba, Aḥmad, al-Ṭabarānī, and al-Ḥākim have recorded the (following) tradition and have regarded it as authentic(Ṣaḥīḥ) : From `Uthmān b. Abī l-`Āṣ, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

. . Jesus will descend at the time of the morning prayers(ṣalāt al-fajr) . The commander of the people will say to him,“Come forward, O Spirit of Allah, and lead the prayers for us.” He will reply,“Surely, you from the people of this nation, some of you are commanders of others. You come forward and lead the prayers for us.”

Thus, [the Mahdī] will go forward and will lead the prayers. When he finishes, Jesus will take his spear towards the Antichrist(al-Dajjāl) . When he sees him, he will melt like the melting of lead. Then, he will pierce between his breasts with his spear and will kill him and then he will defeat his followers. On that day, nothing will give cover to [the Antichrist’s followers]-to such an extent that the stone will call out,“O believer! Here is a disbeliever, kill him.” And the tree will call out,“O believer! Here is a disbeliever, kill him.”

763. Sunan ibn Māja9 : Narrated to us `Ali ibn Muḥammad, from `Abd al-Raḥmān al-Muḥāribī, from Ismā’īl b. Rāfi` Abī Rāfi`, from Abī Zur`a al-Shaibānī Yaḥyā b. Abī `Amr, from Abū Umāma al-Bāhilī who said:

The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], gave a sermon to us and most of his sermon was about the Antichrist(al-Dajjāl) and he cautioned us about him... He continued the narration until he said,“And their Imam will be a righteous man. When their Imam goes forward to lead the morning prayers, Jesus, son of Mary, will descend in the morning. Then, the Imam will withdraw a bit-walking backwards-so that Jesus would come forward to lead the prayers for the people. On [seeing] this, Jesus will place his hand [on the Imam’s back] between his shoulders and say to him, ‘Go ahead and pray! The prayers have been established for you.’ So, their Imam will lead the prayers for them...”

764. `Uyūn al-mu`jizāt10 : From the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family... who informed about the emergence of the Mahdī who is the seal of the Imams, who will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice. That Jesus will descend upon him at the time of his emergence and reappearance and will pray behind him. [The author of `Uyūn al-mu`jizāt says,]“This is a report on which the Shias, scholars, non-scholars, the Sunnis, the elite, the masses, the old, and the children are all unanimous and agree to due to its fame.”

765. `Uyūn al-mu`jizāt11 : From Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said:“I swear by the One in Whose Hands is my life! The Mahdī of this umma-behind whom Jesus will pray-is from us; then, he patted the shoulder of Imam al-Ḥusayn with his hand and exclaimed, ‘From him, from him.’”

766. Al-Tafḍīl12 : Some of the Shias and also some of the Sunni traditionists(muḥaddithīn) have recorded that

When the Mahdī appears, Allah, the Exalted, will send down Jesus upon him and they will come together. When the time of the compulsory prayers comes, the Mahdī will say to Jesus,“Come forward, O Spirit of Allah” suggesting that he should lead the prayers. The Christ will reply,“No one is allowed to precede you Ahl al-Bait.” So the Mahdī will go forward and the Christ will pray behind him, peace be on them both.

767. Ḥāshiyatu fatḥ al-mubīn13 : One narration mentions that he will descend after the Mahdī has commenced the prayers. He will go back a bit so that Jesus may lead the prayers. Jesus will place his hand between his shoulders and say to him,“You go ahead.” Before narrating this tradition [the author of the book] says,“His descent will occur at the time of the morning prayers.”

768. Anwār al-tanzīl14 : It has been narrated that

Jesus will descend at a mountain pass in the Holy Land called Afīq. In his hand will be a lance by which he will kill the Antichrist(al-Dajjāl) . Then, he will come to Bait al-Maqdas while the people are busy with the morning prayers. The Imam will withdraw but Jesus will stand back and will pray behind him in accordance with the sharia of Muḥammad, blessings and peace be on him.

`Alī b. Burhān al-Dīn al-Ḥalabī al-Shāfi`ī writes in al-Sīrat al-Ḥalabiyya,“[Jesus’] descent will be at the time of the morning prayers. He will pray behind the Mahdī after the Mahdī says to him, ‘Come forward, O Spirit of Allah!’ and he will answer, ‘You go ahead, for indeed, the prayers have been established for you.’”

Similar to the above has been recorded in Rūḥ al-bayān under the saying of Allah, the Exalted,“And surely, it is a knowledge of the Hour” (Quran 43:61) . Similar to it has also been mentioned in Tafsīr al-kashshāf.

It has been recorded in Tafsīr rūḥ al-ma`ānī that“It is famous that his descent will take place at Damascus while the people are busy with the morning prayers. On his arrival, the Imam-and he is the Mahdī-will withdraw a bit but Jesus will want him to lead the prayers and will pray behind him saying, ‘It has been established for you.’”

Al-Suyūṭī-while refuting the claim of those who deny that Jesus will pray behind the Mahdī, peace be on him, because a Prophet’s position is so great that he cannot pray behind a non-Prophet-writes in al-I`lām bi ḥukmi `Īsā `alayhi al-salām,“This is extremely amazing! The praying of Jesus behind the Mahdī is proved beyond doubt in a number of authentic traditions based on the news of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who is the truthful and the verified whose prophecies no one can refute... ” He then proceeds to mention some of these traditions and then says,“I am not surprised by their denial [because they are claiming something] they do not know, rather, I am amazed at them for writing these claims in pieces of paper which will remain forever after they have passed away.”

769. Tafsīr al-Qummī15 : My father narrated to me, from al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad, from Sulaimān b. Dāwūd al-Minqarī, from Abū Ḥamza, from Shahr b. Ḥaushab who said:

Al-Ḥajjāj said to me,“A verse from the Book of Allah has exhausted me.” I asked,“O Emir! Which verse is it?” He replied, “‘And there is no one from the people of the Book (ahl al-kitāb) but that he will most certainly believes in him before his death’ (Quran 4:159) . By Allah, I summon the Jews and the Christians and [order] their heads to be chopped off. Then, I carefully observe them with my own eyes but I do not see them moving their lips until they die.”

I said,“May Allah redeem the Emir! The verse is not as you have interpreted it.” He said,“Then how is it?” I answered,“Jesus will descend to the world before the Day of Judgment. Then, no one will remain from the nation of the Jews and Christians except that he will believe in him before his death and [Jesus] will pray behind the Mahdī.” He said,“Woe to you! Where have you got this from? What is your source?” I answered,“Muḥammad b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, informed me.” He exclaimed,“By Allah, You have brought this narration from a pure source.”

770. `Uyūn akhbār al-Riḍā16 : Tamīm b. `Abd-Allah b. Tamīm al-Qurashī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from his father, from Aḥmad b. `Alī al-Anṣārī, from al-Ḥasan b. al-Jahm who said:

One day, I went to al-Ma’mūn’s court and (Imam) `Alī b. Mūsā al-Riḍā, peace be on him, was with him. The jurists and dialecticians from various sects had gathered there and one of them asked [the Imam],“O Son of Allah’s Messenger! How can a person’s claim of Imamate be verified?” He replied,“By divine text (al-naṣṣ) and reasons... (and the narration continues until he said,) Whoever claims divinity for the Prophets, or claims prophethood for the Imams, or claims Imamate for others other than the Imams, then we dissociate ourselves from such a people in this world and the hereafter.”

At that point, al-Ma’mūn said,“O Abū l-Ḥasan! What is your opinion about the Return (al-raj`a)?” (Imam) al-Riḍā, peace be on him, answered,“Verily, it is the truth. It occurred in the previous nations and the Quran has talked about it. The Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, has said, ‘Whatever has occurred in the previous nations will occur in this nation in the exact same manner.’” Then, he continued,“When the Mahdī from my descendants emerges, Jesus, son Mary, peace be on him, will descend and will pray behind him.”

771. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Quran17 : From ibn Bābawayh, through his chain of narrators from Mu`ammar, from Imam Abū `Abd-Allah (al-Ṣādiq), peace be on him, in a long tradition from the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, who said:“From my progeny is the Mahdī. When he emerges, Jesus, son of Mary, will descend to help him and will ask him to lead [the prayers] and will pray behind him.”

The traditions which encompass this concept are too many to be listed here and the chapter will become too long if they are all mentioned. The following traditions also prove the above concept: 118, 153, 219, 284, 327, 361, 399, 429, 530, 539, 553, 582, 668, 669, 910, 1066, 1071, 1081, 1083, and 1105.

References

1. Al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 7, p. 116; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, chap. 266, no. 38673. He has recorded it from Abū Nu`aim in the Book al-Mahdī from Abū Sa`īd; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, p. 30; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 706, no. 73; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 9, p. 158, no. 1.

2. A city in Syria with the Arabic name of Ḥalab-Trans.

3. Al-Ṭabarānī, Ghāyat al-ma’mūl (Sharḥ al-tāj al-jāmi` lil-uṣūl), vol. 5, p. 365; Is`āf al-rāghibīn, p. 147, and he says, “Similar to this [has been recorded] in ibn Ḥibbān’s Ṣaḥīḥ, in Imāmat al-Mahdī”; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 158: “From Abū `Amr al-Dānī in his Sunan, from Ḥudhayfa, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “The Mahdī will turn... (to the end of the tradition)”; al-Ṣawā`iq al-muḥriqa, under the twelfth verse from the verses which are about [the Ahl al-Bait, peace be on them], p. 164, citing al-Ṭabarānī and Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibbān; Yanābī` al-mawadda, chaps. 73 and 85, pp. 433 & 469; Jawāhir al-`iqdain, sect. 2, under no. 8, from Ḥudhayfa. He says: “al-Ṭabarānī has recorded it, and in ibn Ḥibbān’s Ṣaḥīḥ similar to it has been recorded from the tradition of `Aqabat b. `Āmir about the Imamate of the Mahdī; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 9, p. 160, no. 9, citing Abū `Amr al-Dānī’s Sunan; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 719, no. 121 (short version) from Mu`jam al-Ṭabarānī and Abū Nu`aim’s Manāqib al-Mahdī.

4. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 200.

5. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, chap. “Nisbat al-Mahdī,” p. 200; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 719, no. 123; Yanābī` al-mawadda, chap. 78, p. 449.

6. Ibn Abī Shaiba, al-Muṣannaf, vol. 5, “Kitāb al-Fitan,” p. 198, no. 19495; al-I`lām bi ḥukm `Īsā `alayhi al-salām (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 299; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 135.

7. Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 83, p. 153, from what he has recorded from Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Salīlī’s al-Fitan.

8. Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 2, p 243; al-I`lām bi ḥukmi `Īsā `alayhi al-salām (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 298; Majma` al-zawā’id, vol. 7, chap. “Mā jā’a fī l-Dajjāl”, p. 342; Musnad Aḥmad, vol. 4, pp. 216-217, similar to it; al-Taṣrīḥ bi mā tawātara fī nuzūl al-Masīḥ, pp. 162-164, no. 12; al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 478.

9. Sunan ibn Māja, vol. 2, pp. 1359-1362, no. 4407; Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 4, p. 117; Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Khuzayma (Manuscript); al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 536, and al-Dhahabī has endorsed it Talkhīṣ al-mustadrak; Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 6, pp. 358 and 450, and vol. 13, pp. 83-84, 87-88, and 93; Tafsīr ibn Kathīr, vol. 1, p. 581; al-Taṣrīḥ bi mā tawātara fī nuzūl al-Masīḥ, pp. 142-156, no. 13; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 10, p. 231; Ḥilyat al-auliyā’, vol. 2, p. 712, no. 94 (short version), and vol. 6, p. 108; al-I`lām bi ḥukm `Īsā alayhi al-salām (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 3, p. 298; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 9, p. 160, no. 6; Nūr al-abṣār, p. 188.

I say: This tradition does not clearly state that Jesus will pray behind the Mahdī-peace be on them-but this meaning is apparent from the context of similar traditions and also the current tradition; because Jesus’s turning away from the congregational prayers, not praying behind him, and praying along with the Muslims is highly improbable. It seems as if the narration has been summarized and only the details have been mentioned.

10. `Uyūn al-mu`jizāt, p. 141.

11. `Uyūn al-mu`jizāt, p. 64.

12. Al-Tafḍīl, p. 24.

13. Ḥāshiyatu fatḥ al-mubīn (Egypt: 1307 AH), p. 76; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 712, no. 94, citing al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū `Abd-Allah.

14. Anwār al-tanzīl (under the saying of Allah, the Exalted, ‘And surely, it is a knowledge of the Hour’ [Quran, 43:61]), vol. 2, p. 370; al-Sīrat al-Ḥalabiyya (Egypt: Maṭba`atu Mustafa Muḥammad), vol. 1, p. 226; Rūḥ al-bayān and al-Kashshāf under the mentioned verse; Rūḥ al-ma`ānī, vol. 25, p. 95; al-I`lām bi ḥukm `Īsā `alayhi al-salām (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, pp. 297-299.

I say: It has been mentioned in some Sunni traditions that Jesus-peace be on our Prophet, his family, and him-will kill the Antichrist (al-Dajjāl), whilst reliable traditions narrated from the Ahl al-Bait, peace be on them, clearly establish that it is the Mahdī, peace be on him, who will kill the Antichrist (see vol. 3, section 7, chap. 7). It is possible to

reconcile between these two traditions by considering the verb killing as passive or by supposing that he will assist the Mahdī in killing him or he will undertake the task of killing him by the order of the Mahdī.

15. Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 158, under verse 4:159; Al-Majlisī, al-`Arba`īn, p. 411, no. 28, similar to it from `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him; Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī, vol. 1, p. 411; Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalain, vol. 1, p. 473; Tafsīr al-burhān, vol. 1, p. 426; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 34, p. 619; al-Maḥajja, p. 62; Majma` al-Bayān, vol. 2, p. 137. Regarding this verse, he says: “There are numerous views about this verse. Some say both the pronouns refer to Jesus. In other words, no one from the People of the Book-the Jews and the Christians-will remain but that they will believe in Jesus before Jesus’ death, when Allah sends him to the earth at the time of Mahdī’s reappearance in the end of times to kill the Antichrist (al-Dajjāl). Consequently, all the nations will be united [under one religion] and that will be the true religion of Islam, the religion of Ibrāhīm; ibn Abbās, Abū Mālik, al-Ḥasan, Qatāda, and ibn Zaid [have said] that is when becoming faithful will not benefit them; al-Ṭabarī also has this view and he has said, ‘This verse is specifically for those who will live in that era.’ `Alī b. Ibrāhīm has mentioned in his Tafsīr that his father has narrated from Sulaimān b. Dāwūd al-Minqarī... (he then mentions the tradition).”

16. `Uyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 2, chap. 46, pp. 200-202, no. 1.

I say: In this noble tradition the Return (raj`a) has been mentioned. Authentic and mutawātir traditions from the Ahl al-Bait prove it conceptually and synoptically. The Holy Quran also establishes it. For example, “And on the day that We will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected Our signs, then they will be formed into groups” (Quran 27:83). There is no doubt that the day is not the day of the great rising (qiyamat al-kubrā) because in that day all the nations will be raised as Allah, the Exalted, says, “And We will gather them and will leave none of them behind” (Quran 18: 47). A group of the early scholars have written exclusive books to prove it. Therefore, it is compulsory to believe in it in general without the details mentioned in the singular (āḥād) traditions except what has been proved through mutawātir narrations or by other means which one can become certain.

What he means by “the Quran has spoken about them” are the verses of the Quran that have spoken about it. For instance, the saying of Allah, the Exalted, “Or like the one who passed by a town and it had fallen down upon its roofs. He said, ‘When will Allah give it life after its death?’ So Allah took his life for a hundred years, then raised him [to life again]” (Quran 2:259), and His saying, “Have you not considered those who abandoned their homes for fear of death-and they were thousands-then Allah said to them, ‘Die’ then He gave them life [again]” (Quran 2:243), and His saying to Jesus, peace be on him, “and you give life to the dead by My permission” (Quran 5:110), and His saying, Mighty and Majestic be He, about the chosen ones from the people of Moses for the meeting of his Lord, “Then We raised you up after your death so that you might be thankful” (Quran 2:56), and His saying in response to the supplications of Job (Ayyūb), “Therefore We answered [his prayers] and took off what harm he had, and We gave him his family and the like of them along with them” (Quran 21:84). All such discussions concerning raj`a, views about it, questions about it and their answers, and its occurrence in the end of times are dealt with in exclusive books written on the subject like Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 53, chap. 29, pp. 39-144 and al-Majlisī, al-Arba`īn, pp. 400-448, no. 28.

17. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Quran, vol. 1, p. 89, no. 14.

Section Fifty: The traditions that describe his standard/flag, its bearer, and what is written on it

Comprised of nine traditions

772. Al-Fitan1 : Rushdain narrated to us, from ibn Lahī`a, from Abū Zur`a, from ibn Zarīr, from `Ammār b. Yāsir who said:“The standard-bearer of the Mahdī will be Shu`ayb b. Ṣāliḥ.”

It also mentions: Al-Walīd and Rushdain narrated to us, from ibn Lahī`a al-Kūfī, from Abū Zur`a, from ibn Zarīr, from `Ammār b. Yāsir who said:“When al-Sufyānī reaches Kūfa and kills the helpers of the family Muḥammad, the Mahdī will emerge and his flag-bearer will be Shu`ayb b. Ṣāliḥ.”

773. Al-Fitan2 : Narrated to us al-Walīd and Rushdain, from ibn Lahī`a, from Ka`b b. `Alqama, from Sufyān al-Kalbī who said:“The standard-bearer of Mahdī will be a male-very young in age-with a scarcely grown yellow beard (al-Walīd did not mention yellow). If he fights against the mountains, he will shake them (al-Walīd said ‘he will break them down’) until ‘Īliyā descends.”

774. Al-Fitan3 : Narrated to us Yaḥyā b. al-Yamān, from Sufyān al-Thaurī, from Abī Isḥāq, from Nauf al-Bikālī who said:“It is written on Mahdī’s flag: Allegiance is only for Allah (al-bay`atu li-llāh).”

775. Al-Bayān fī akhbāri Ṣāḥib al-Zamān4 : Al-Ṭabarānī has recorded in al-Ausaṭ from ibn `Umar who said:

The Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], held `Alī’s hand, [peace be on him], and said, “From his descendants will emerge a youth who will fill the earth with fairness and justice. When you see this, then it is necessary for you to look out for the Tamīmī youth. Surely, he will come from the East and he is the standard-bearer of the Mahdī.

776. Kamāl al-dīn5 : It has been narrated that on the standard of the Mahdī is written:“Highness is only for Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He (al-raf`atu li-llāh `azza wa jal).”

777. Biḥār al-anwār6 : From al-Sayyid `Alī b. `Abd al-Ḥamīd, through his chain of narrators to the Book of al-Faḍl b. Shādhān who said:“It has been narrated that on the standard of the Mahdī is written, ‘Listen and obey.’”

778. Al-`Arf al-wardī7 : He (meaning al-Nu`aim) has also recorded from ibn Sīrīn that,“On the flag of the Mahdī is written, ‘Allegiance (al-bay`a) is only for Allah.’”

779. Al-Fitan8 : Rushdain narrated to us, from ibn Lahī`a, from `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Sālim, from his father, from Abū Rūmān and Abū Thābit, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], said:“A person from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge with nine flags- meaning from Mecca.”

780. Al-Fitan9 : Yaḥyā al-Yamān narrated to us, from Qays, from `Abd-Allah b. Sharīk who said:“With the Mahdī is the victorious flag of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. I wish I could meet him even if my ears, nose, and lips were chopped off.”

References

1. Al-Fitan, vol. 4, pp. 166 & 168; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, p. 151, no. 19, and chap. 7, p. 152, no. 23, with the addition of “and he will defeat his followers” at its end; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 96, p. 53, and chap. 103, p. 55.

2. Al-Fitan, vol. 4, chap. “al-Rayāt al-sūd lil-Mahdī ba`d rāyāt Banī l-`Abbās,” p. 167, and, vol. 5, chap. “Ṣifat al-Mahdī...,” p. 196; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 98, pp. 53-54; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, pp. 151-152, no. 21.

3. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; Yanābī` al-mawadda, p. 435; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 141, sect. 1, p. 68.

4. Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, pp. 150-151, no. 16; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 130, citing al-Ṭabarānī’s al-Mu`jam al-ausaṭ; Majma` al-zawā’id, vol. 7, p. 318, with an addition in the beginning.

It is worth mentioning that youth does not indicate that he is young in age. This can be inferred using other mutawātir narrations. It either means that he will look like a youth in appearance-as it has been mentioned in some traditions that he will be young in appearance and will not become old with the passing of time and when he reappears, he will look young while the people will have thought that he would be old in age and appearance-or it refers to his chivalry, nobility, and generosity. The word youth (fitya) in some places of the Quran (e.g. 18:10 & 13) probably has also been interpreted like this.

The author of Lisān al-`Arab writes, “Al-Qutaybī says, ‘Youth does not mean young in age or an adolescent. Rather, it means a complete/perfect man...’ Al-Aswad b. Ya`far writes under the verse, ‘and two youths entered the prison with him’ (Quran 12:36), ‘It is likely that both of them were either young or old because they used to call the slaves as young.’ Al-Jauharī opines, ‘Youth means generosity and nobility. It is said, “He is a youth amongst the youths”’” (Lisān al-`Arab, vol. 15, p. 146, under the root of Fa-Ta-Ya)

5. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 57, p. 654, under no. 22; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, p. 324, no. 35.

6. Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 26, p. 305, no. 77.

7. Al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 150; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, p. 152, no. 25; Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, p. 654, no. 22.

I say: There is no contradiction between these traditions-which seem to disagree agreement on what will be written on his standard/flag-because he has multiple standards/flags. This fact has been mentioned in the eighth narration of this chapter.

8. Al-Fitan, vol. 4, chap. “Al-Rayāt al-sūd lil-Mahdī ba`d rāyāt Banī l-`Abbās,” p. 166

9. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; al-Burhān, chap. 7, p. 152, no. 24, with the difference that he said: “The velvet” instead of “the victorious”; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 150.

Section Fifty-One: The traditions that indicate the second black flags that are different from the first black flags

Comprised of five traditions

781. Al-Fitan1 : Informed us Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. Aḥmad b. Rabadha, from Abū l-Qāsim Sulaimān b. Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, from Abū Zaid `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ḥātim al-Murādī in Egypt in the year 280 AH, from Nu`aim b. Ḥammād, from al-Walīd and Rushdain, from ibn Lahī`a, from Abū Qubail, from Abū Rūmān from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, who said:

The Sufyānī and the black flags will meet. Amongst them will be a youth from the Banī-Hāshim and on his left palm will be a mole. His commander will be a person from Banī Tamīm called Shu`ayb b. Ṣāliḥ, at the gateway if Iṣṭakhr. There will be a terrible bloodshed between these two armies. The black flags will be victorious while the cavalry of Sufyānī will take to their heels. It is then that the people will desire for the Mahdī and will seek him.

782. Al-Fitan2 : Narrated to us Sa`īd b. `Uthmān, from Jābir, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far who said:

The black flags from Khurāsān [in Iran] will reach Kūfa. When the Mahdī appears at Mecca, they will be sent to pledge allegiance to the Mahdī.

783. Al-Fitan3 : Narrated to us al-Walīd b. Muslim, from Abū `Abd-Allah, from `Abd al-Karīm (meaning Umayya), from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya who said:

Black flags will emerge [in support of] the Abbasids. Then, from Khurāsān, other black flags will appear; their hoods will be black and their dresses will be white. A person called Shu`ayb b. Ṣāliḥ or Ṣāliḥ b. Shu`ayb, from [Banī] Tamīm, will be their commander. They will destroy al-Sufyānī’s Army until they reach Bait al-Maqdas. They will prepare for the Mahdī his government and Three hundred people from Syria will come to his aid. The time between his emergence and the handing over of the affairs to the Mahdī will be seventy-two months.

784. Al-Fitan4 : `Abd-Allah b. Marwān narrated to us, from al-`Alā b. `Utba, from al-Ḥasan that“the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], mentioned a calamity that his Ahl al-Bait would encounter [which would continue] until Allah will send a black flag from the East. Whoever helps it, Allah will help him and whoever deserts it, Allah will desert him; until a man comes whose name is my name and He will rule them. Allah will support and assist him.”

785. Al-Fitan5 : Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. `Abd-Allah al-Taihartī narrated to us, from `Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ziyād b. An`um, from Muslim b. Yasār, from Sa`īd b. al-Musayyib, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“Black flags [in support] of the Abbasids will emerge from the East. They will halt until Allah wishes. Then, smaller black flags will emerge from the east who will fight a person from the progeny of Abū Sufyān and his followers. They will call out [to the people] to obey the Mahdī.”

References

1. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 172; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, p. 151, no. 20 (short version).

2. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 173; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 7, p. 150, no. 12; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, p. 217, no. 77.

3. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, chap. “al-Rayāt al-sūd lil-Mahdī ba`d rāyāt Banī l-`Abbās,” p. 165.

4. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, chap. “al-Rayāt al-sūd lil-Mahdī ba`d rāyāt Banī l-`Abbās,” p. 167.

5. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, chap. “al-Rayāt al-sūd lil-Mahdī ba`d rāyāt Banī l-`Abbās,” p. 168.

Chapter Four: His birth, Its circumstances, Its history, His mother and her names, his miracles during the lifetime of his father, and those who saw him before occultaion

Comprised of Three Sections