Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

A Study of the Socio-cultural ConditionsLeading To the Realization of the Appearance of theMahdi (as)

"It is He who has sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over every other religion.However much the disbelievers may dislike it."

(Surah al-Tawbah : 9:33 andSurah As-Saff : 61:9)

Introduction

This paper willInshaAllah begin by looking at the historical movement of human beings and the progression of society over time. We will also show how this progression will reach its climax with the appearance of the Imam of our time (may Allah hasten his appearance). This is based on the promise of Allah (SWT ) that Islam will be implemented globally by the last and final successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAW ).

This movement of humankind will be studied in the context of the socio-cultural conditions prevailing before the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS ) . The socio-cultural conditions that will prevail before the appearance will be studied from two different angles.

The first will be the conditions prevailing in the general society, the society of individuals ignorant of the existence of the 12th Imam (AS) and those who are aware but have not paid any heed to it. The second angle will look at the conditions of the society of individuals who are aware of the existence of the 12th Imam (AS) and who are anxiously awaiting his appearance.

This paper will end withAhadith from theAimmah (AS) on what believers should do in the absence of the Imam (AS) while awaiting his (AS) appearance.

Historical progression of mankind and the belief of Islam

The way we have progressed as human beings from time immemorial may point to future direction of humanity. Based on history, human beings have been pursuing a path of pure materialism along with its selfish moral and social values. And as long as we, as human beings, are not brought back to our spiritual origins, it is impossible to imagine how a God-centered human society can materialize.

With materialistic consumerism at its height, and individualism and secularism functioning as its two wings, God and God's ethical and spiritual directives have been practically trivialized and systematically removed from our public life. At the same time, there is this natural urge in human beings to seek out their Creator, to worship the Merciful, Compassionate God. Until and unless that is satisfied human beings will not find peace and harmony.

Islam has emphasized this natural urge of humanity as it is founded upon an innate disposition to worship One God. The divine leaders of Islam also sought to implement the Will of God on earth by creating an ethical and spiritually-oriented society.

It is only when humanity acknowledges a God-centered universe that it will be able to further the ideal global community. Such a community will naturally respond to the call of Islam and the Prophet of Islam (SAW) whose invitation to the peoples of the Book was to abandon differences and concentrate on One Lord, the Almighty God, as is enshrined in the Holy Quran.

"O People of the Book! Come now to a word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take other as Lords, apart from God."Surah Al 'Imran , verse 64

The Quran presents this revolutionary program of creating an ethical order that will reflect the divine Will on earth through God's righteous servants who have submitted themselves to His will. The Prophet has also informed us that the uniquely qualified person to lead humanity to become united under Allah (SWT) by abandoning all forms of idolatry and concentrating on the divine purposes for humanity will be the promisedMahdi (AS), a descendant of his.

A God-centered human will therefore materialize, based on our certain belief in the appearance of theMahdi (AS). The Holy Quran says:

"Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them, and that He will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and that He will most certainly, after their fear, give them security in exchange; they shall serve Me, not associating aught with Me; and whoever is ungrateful after this, these it is who are the transgressors."Surah An-Nur , verse 55

General socio-cultural conditions before the appearance of the Imam (AS)

One of the socio-cultural conditions thathas to prevail universally before the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS) is that all believers will have been born. It has been mentioned in aHadith from ImamSadiq (AS) that:

"In the loins of disbelievers and hypocrites God has deposited a seed for believing persons. It was for this reason that Imam 'Ali b.Abi Talib (AS) refrained from killing the fathers of disbelievers so that believing children could be born of them. After that whenever he met them he wouldendeavour to kill them. Similarly, ourQa'im (AS) will not rise until God's trust from the loins of the disbelievers has been delivered. After that he will appear and will eliminate disbelievers."

When the 12th Imam (AS) appears, he will offer the religion of Islam to the non-believers. Anyone who accepts that call will be saved from being killed. All those who refuse to accept Islam will be killed. Now, we know that history is replete with cases of believing children born of non-believing and hypocritical parents. This was the case of the early Muslims who were born of non-believing parents in the pre-Islamic age.

If the Prophet had killed all the non-believers during the conquest ofMakkah , the Muslims then born of their generation would never have come into existence. God's grace and benevolence necessitates that human beings should be left alone to their beliefs so that in time those believers among their children will be born.

As long as a human being procreates and brings forth a believer and worshipper of God, he or she should remain on earth. When the Imam of the Age (AS) appears, those who persist in their disbelief, and who will be killed, will be the people from whom there will be no believing offspring.

In another tradition Imam MuhammadBaqir (AS) said in response to a question asked by a companion on when theQa'im (AS) will emerge, "At the time when men will imitate the women and women will imitate the men; when women will ride on saddles; when people will cause their prayers to die and will follow their carnal desires;

when people will turn usurers; when shedding of blood will become something insignificant; when trade and business of the people will be based on usury; when people will openly commit adultery; when they will make towering constructions; when they will consider lie to be lawful; when they will accept bribes; when they will follow their lusts and desire; when they will sell their religion for this world;

when they will sever their relation (with others); when they will hold under obligation the one whom they feed; when they will consider forbearance to be the sign of weakness and feebleness and injustice to be anhonour ; when their rulers will be evil and their ministers liars; when the trustworthy amongst them will be traitors;

when the helpers amongst them will be unjust; when thereciters of Quran will be transgressors; when cruelty and oppression will become manifest; when divorce will increase; when people will engage in debauchery and libertinism; when forced witness and lie will be accepted; when they will engage in drinking and gambling; when men will be mounted on; when women shall engage with women (indecent acts); when people will considerZakat to be a booty and charity to be a loss;

when they will fear from the tongues of the wicked people; whenSufyani shall revolt from Syria and Yemen; whenBaidah which is between Mecca and Medina will sink; when a child from the progeny of Muhammad (SAW) will be killed betweenRukn andMaqaam and when a live voice will be heard from the heavens crying out that the truth is withMahdi (AS) and his followers. It will be then that ourQa'im will emerge. When he re-appears, he will stand with his back against the wall ofKa'aba and 313 of his followers would gather around him…"

ThisHadith summarizes the socio-cultural conditions preceding the advent of the Imam (AS). It talks about a time when men will imitate women and women will imitate men. This imitation could be in the form of dress, appearance, role in society and so on. The Imam (AS) also mentions the rise of carnal desires.

This perhaps means that people will pursue their lusts for wealth, power and physical desires without caring whether what they receive in return isHalaal or not. Usury has also been noted as one of the conditions in the society - a condition which will be the norm and businesses will be based on it.

The Imam (AS) also points to the openness and lack of guilt in committing sins such as adultery, lying, drinking, gambling,taking bribes, committing indecent acts and so on. The prevalence of such vice and corruption in society will throw humanity into disarray and it is amidst all this that the Imam (AS) will appear.

TheHadith touches on the rise of oppression in the society. This will be in the form of severing relations with others, holding under obligation onewho is fed and rise of unjust rulers, among others. There will be widespread injustice and oppression and total absence of peace and security in such a way that fear, terror, calamities, problems, corruption, mischief and ignorance will dominate human society.

The people shall do anything for the sake of the world and they shall compete with each other on the way of sin and evil and in their view sin would be considered good and the Islamic Law, like in the beginning, would be unknown to the people. This oppression will be obliterated and replaced with justice and freedom under the rule of the 12th Imam (AS) when he appears.

The Imam (AS) concludes by talking about some of the physical conditions that will take place just before the rising of the 12th Imam (AS). This will be the rising of theSufyani , the sinking ofBaidah and the killing of the child from the progeny of the Holy Prophet (SAW), among others.

The final point is crucial. Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (AS) says that in these conditions, which can be summarized as political, economic and socio-cultural conditions, the 12th Imam (AS) will emerge. ThisHadith gives the followers of theAhlul Bayt (AS) and insight into what sort of environment shall prevail before the appearance of theHujjah (AS).

In anotherHadith , it is narrated from Imam MuhammadBaqir (AS) that he said, "Mahdi (AS) will reappear at the time when fear, mischief, calamities, epidemics, violence, divisions in religion and transformation of the peoples' condition shall be dominant on the world and society. Day and night people would yearn for death and shall be at each other's throat.

In other words despair and hopelessness would have conquered them. At that time His Eminence would reappear; and congratulations to the one who reaches ImamMahdi (AS) and becomes his supporter and woe to the one who opposes him."

This aboveHadith further expounds the socio-cultural condition of the society in general before the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS). Specifically, it talks about the despair in the people with the state of affairs and that it is these conditions that will lead to the appearance of theQa'im (AS).

Conditions of those awaiting his appearance andThose awaiting the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS) will beShia who will have acknowledged and believed in his existence and Wilayah (unconditional authority). The condition of such people will be in resonance with theAhadith from theAimmah (AS), which speak to the characteristics of those waiting for theQa'im (AS). Some of theAhadith will be studied in this section to identify the conditions of those who are consciously awaiting the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS).

ImamZainul Abideen (AS) said, "Truly those people who in the occultation (of ImamMahdi (AS)) acknowledge his Imamate, await his reappearance, are betterthen the people of all times because Allah has given them such an understanding that occultation for them is as good as meeting him. At the time of occultation these people are like those who did Jihad under the command of the Holy Prophet (SAW). In the sense they are sincere and they are our trueShias , they invite to the way of Allah (SWT) secretly and openly."

The first thing that the 4th Imam (AS) says is that those who have acknowledged the Imamate of 12th Imam (AS) are better than the peoples of all times. The Imam (AS) ends by identifying a quality or a trait of the people who have acknowledged the Imam and are awaiting his appearance - and this is that these people will invite to the way of Allah (SWT) secretly and openly. And we can add that they will continue to do this, if given the opportunity, until the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS). They will carry out such activities in anticipation of deliverance from the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS).

AbuSaeed Khudri narrated that the Holy Prophet (SAW) said, "In the Last Age, severe tribulations would afflict my community from their rulers and kings such that they have not heard of more severe atrocities and the earth shall become constricted for them and become filled with injustice and oppression and the faithful believer would have no place of refuge from those oppressions.

At that time, Almighty Allah would send a man from my progeny who would fill the earth with justice and equity and all inhabitants of the earth and heavens would be satisfied and happy and the earth would spew out its treasures and the sky would shower its blessings..."

The point we want to identify in thisHadith is that the Holy Prophet (SAW) says that the faithful believer will have no place of refuge from the oppressions of the rulers. This is another condition that will prevail for those who are consciously awaiting the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS). They (believers) will suffer oppression and will be victims of tyranny before the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS).

PreparationFor the Coming of the 12th Imam (as) in Light of the Conditions That Will Prevail Before His (as) Appearance

Our scholars have identified and written in their books certain things Muslims ought to do during the occultation: to pray for the twelfth Imam; to do charitable works for him; to perform hajj and to appoint someone to do that on his behalf; to seek his help and assistance in times of difficulty, and so on. There is no doubt that all these suggestions are praiseworthy, however the most important obligation mentioned in the sources and that which needs further elaboration is awaiting deliverance through him (intizar al-faraj ).

There are many traditions from the Imams, both recommending the awaiting and enumerating its merits and excellences, during the occultation. Some of theseAhadith are presented below.

ImamSadiq (AS) says, "Any one who dies with the love (Wilayat ) of theAhl al-Bayt while awaiting deliverance (through the appearance of theQa'im (AS)), resembles the one who will be in theQa'im's tent."

Imam 'AliRida (AS) reporting from his forefathers and from the Prophet (SAW) relates theHadith from the latter, who said: "The best deed of my community is toawait for the deliverance."

Imam 'Ali b.Abi Talib (AS) says, "Any one who awaits our government, resembles the one who, in the way of God, has rolled in his own blood.

In another tradition ImamRida (AS) praises the one who awaits the deliverance, and says, "How praiseworthy are patience andawaiting for deliverance! Have you not heard that God says in the Quran: 'Youawait , and We too are awaiting?' So be patient because deliverance will come after despair. Those who were before you were even more patient than you."

ImamJa'far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (AS) said: "A person who would like to be among the companions of al-Qa'im (AS) should be in a state of (active) waiting (Intizar ), and perform all of his deeds withWara ' [a level higher thanTaqwa ] and with the most beautiful etiquette and then one will be counted as being in a state of (true) waiting (Intizar ). Then if such a person was to die and al-Qa'im (AS) was to make his advent after this, then that person would receive the reward as the one who witnessed his (al-Mahdi's ) advent."

There are numerous traditions on a similar theme. The Imams always used to advise their followers to await deliverance. They reminded them that the mere act ofawaiting for deliverance is a kind of emancipation. The one whoawaits is like the one who fights against the disbelievers on the battlefield and has rolled in his own blood. As such, there is no doubt that the weightiest obligation for Muslims during the occultation is to anticipate deliverance.

In the next few paragraphs we would like to expound on the meaning of this awaiting or anticipating deliverance. How can a person who anticipates deliverance acquire the greatest reward that accrues to the one who doesgood ? It is not sufficient for the one awaiting the deliverance to materialize to just say with their tongue that they are awaiting the appearance of the Imam of the Age.

An individual cannot escape every kind of social responsibility, and stay away, from the moral responsibility of commanding the good and forbidding the evil; from taking a stance against corrupt and sinfulbehaviour ; from not stopping injustice, and simply say: "O God, let the deliverance through the Imam of the Age be imminent so that he can prevent this corruptbehaviour !" This is not awaiting the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS).

This person's status cannot be the comparable to the status of the one who is killed defending his religion. His status cannot be equal to the one who has sacrificed all his wealth, his family, and his comfort and security in the way of God and attained the status of a martyr.

There is a deeper meaning and significance to the act of awaiting the appearance of the Imam.

ImamJa'far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (AS) has said: "Surely the possessor of this command (Imam al-Mahdi ) will go into an occultation. So the servant should have consciousness (Taqwa ) of Allah during the period of the occultation and should hold firm to his religion."

Therefore firstly, as Muslims, we need to work diligently at reforming ourselves from within and with all the necessary seriousness. We should adorn ourselves with Islamic virtues, perform all the duties that are obligatory on us, and apply the directives provided by the Quran in our daily lives. We shouldendeavour to attainTaqwa and hold firm to the teachings of Islam.

Second, we should extract the social teachings of Islam from the Holy Quran, the Prophet (SAW) and theAhl al-Bayt (AS), in order to execute those perfectly in our societies. By implementing the Islamic economic programs we should resolve our economic problems and fight against poverty, unemployment, and concentration of illicit wealth. By adopting the divinely ordained laws we should rid ourselves of injustices and corruption.

In short, we should commit ourselves to set in motion the realization of an Islamic political, social, economic, and legal system, and present this to the world as a viable alternative, to the best of our ability.

We realize that the perfect system of governance in all aspects can only be implemented by the 12th Imam (AS). In addition, by combining a complete legal code with the spiritual and moral concerns of the Islamic system, Muslims can become the source of emulation for a humane political, social and economic system.

Those who are engaged in theseendeavours to make the revolution of theMahdi (AS) possible and successful are the ones who are truly awaiting for deliverance through the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS) . It is in way that we can also affect our social and cultural surroundings and thus be in the state of readiness for the realization of the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS).

Conclusion

Over time, man has been evolving into a materialistic being. The true purpose of life is not at the forefront of man's life, as is evidenced by the increasing war, instability and oppression in the world today. However, Allah (SWT) has promised in the Holy Quran that, "It is He who has sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over every other religion.However much the disbelievers may dislike it."

From this verse, we deduce that the religion of Islam will prevail over all other religions and fromAhadith we are told that this will occur under therulership of the 12th Imam (AS).

Ahadith tell us the general state of the society before the appearance of the 12th Imam (AS). The condition of the rulers has been painted as being oppressive and tyrannical whereas the ruled will be oppressed and victimized. In this environment, the condition of the believers will be that of awaiting the reappearance of the Imam. Their condition amidst all the oppression and tyranny will be that ofTaqwa - and this is what we as the followers of the Imam (AS) must aim for.

Government Which Paves the WayFor the Reappearance of ImamMahdi (af )

In the name of Allah, the unblemished One Who bestows safety to the believers. The One with majesty and greatness, May Allah bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, the most pure and chaste of the creatures and exalt them with the most exalted of the blessings.

"One who dies while expecting the government of Al-Qaim is like one who is in the presence of al-Qaim ." (ImamJaafer as-Sadiq (a))

The Holy Quran clearly predicts the final victory of the forces of righteous, peace and justice over those of evil, oppression and tyranny, of the world-wide spread of Islam, the complete and all-round establishment of high human values, the formation of a utopian and an ideal society at the hands of the representative of God. Surely, the land is Allah's; He gives it for an inheritance towhom He wills, from His servants and the future shall be for the pious and devote servants. (Holy Quran,Sura Aaraaf , verse 128).

This paper presents a study on the concept how we could achieve the preferred political, social and cultural conditions to establish a fair and just global government in preparation for the reappearance of ImamMahdi (af ).

History has shown that man is incapable of electing the right people to leadership. Islam itself makes it necessary for its believers to live within the framework of an Islamic order. Some of their religious obligations can only be fully realized within a political state where the leadership and structure of government are divinely ordained. The Islamic government is an extension of the authority of the Prophet (s) and holy Imams (as) because it works for social justice and welfare of the people which is the main purpose of divine laws and decree.

The invaluable guidance from Imam Ali (a) as collected in theNahj ul Balaghah is a reliable source for a jurist at helm of any government to explore politicalfiqh and draw strategies so as to overcome the problems concerning human rights, internal policy, international relationships, and economics, military and political sociology.

The famous epistle in theNahj ul Balaghah , letter 53 from Imam Ali (a) toMalik al-Ashtar al-Nakh'i his just Governor of Egypt is still the greatest set of administrative commands on human freedom and rights. Dated from 662AD/37Hijri this 7th century historical charter written by Imam Ali deserves to be called the constitution of Islamic policy.

It is based on the Holy Quran and the principles of Islam and is a basic guide to administration covering almost all its essential aspects - the advisory, the services, judiciary, revenues, and clerical establishment.

Every article of this constitution serves as a custodian of common interests and protector of collective society. Its enforcement has no touch of selfishness or any degree of self-interest. It contains such basic principles of the fulfillment of our obligations to Allah, the protection of human rights without distinction of religion or community, the care of the destitute and the poor and the provision of support to the down-trodden and helpless.

It provides full guidance for the propagation of rights and justice, establishment of peace and security and the prosperity and well-being of the people. It presents discreet ways of dealing with the different classes of society, the poor, business, industrial, farmers and sectors engaged in agriculture. This provides direction not only for men of position but it is also a desirable code of conduct for anyone engaged in people management and is a handy guide in dealing with various administrative situations.

The nature and structure of the first Islamic state to exist in modern history, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is based on the political doctrine of Imam Khomeini (ra ) and those who advocate the idea ofwilayat al-faqih (guardianship of thejurisconsult ). This is the formation of a government on the basis of the guardianship of thefaqih (jurisconsult ) during the occultation of the awaited Imam alMahdi (af ).

The guardianship (wilayah ) is absolutely indivisible and should be vested in thewali-amr . The notion of jurists consulting and working with the people responsible for selecting experts in various scientific and technical fields to governorship is expected to be more successful in achieving Islamic unity at political, intellectual and emotional levels.

However the authorization of the extent of theWali eFaqih and its dimensions has not so far been fully explored in any government because the conditions have not been conducive as yet.

My study examines how effectively this concept can be further enhanced and replicated to encourage similar robust systems globally to bring about the renaissance to establish the Will of Allah, the last of Allah's representatives to mankind, ImamMahdi (af ) on earth. "It is He who has sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over every other religion.However much the disbelievers may dislike it." (Holy QuranSura al-Tawbah 9:33 andSura As- Saff 61:9).

Belief in One God and human freedom

The root and essence of Islamic belief is monotheism. We believe that the creator of the world and of all beings in the universe including mankind is the one and only Exalted God who knows all and is capable of all things and to Himbelongs all things and objects.

This principle teaches us to be submissive only before the power of God and to obey no man unless obeying him is equal to obeying God. On this basis no individual has a right to force any other man to bow to him.

"Say: O followers of the Book! Come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and we shall not associate anything with Him, and that some of us shall not take others for lords besidesAllah; …"(Holy QuranSura Ale-Imran:64).

This code of faith teaches us the principle of human freedom. That is no man has the right to deprive an individual or community of liberty, to legislate for them, to regulate their conduct according to his own understanding of it which is generally defective, or regulate the conduct of others according to his wishes or desires.

The most important pillar of Islam is the belief that man has been created by God and is subservient to none but Him ( Holy QuranSura Ar-Ra'd:36) and that one of the primary objectives of the Prophet's(s) mission is to release mankind from all burdens and chains enslaving it (Holy QuranSura Al-A'raf:157).

This provides not only the essence of the Islamic Charter for individual freedom from all bondage but also subjects man to the sovereignty of God in all aspects of life which essentially implies subordination of man to the moral law as specified in the Holy Quran and by the examples and traditions of theAhlul Bayt (a).

It is for this reason that the social rules and regulations begin with opposition to tyrannical and colonialist powers. From the principle of faith and belief in one God who has created everyone and belief that we are all His Creatures and born to obey and attest to His Glory and thus worship Him is what leads to the principle of equality of men.

Man's only distinction and preference to one another rest in his desirable quality and keeping detached from perversion and sin. Therefore anything that upsets this equality and create self-important and ridiculous distinctions must be fought in every community.

The Islamic state should ensure that it does not discriminate between religious minorities and other segments of society. The only difference between people is their degree of piety and fear of God Most Exalted, according to the Qur'an "The most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is the best in practicingtaqwa " (Holy QuranSura Hujurat : 13).

Man is inclined intuitively to achieving perfection. However it is a domain which exclusively belongs to God Most Exalted for it is He who is the source of all perfections and power. In order to elevate man from his base nature to lofty heights of achieving awareness and closeness to his Creator, man should be shown how to actively seeking perfection. Thus he will be disposed to achieving the ideal environment for himself.

The legislation for man's progress lies with God alone, just as the laws of creation and being are willed by Him. Man's success and movement towards perfection is linked to the obedience to divine laws which have been brought to humanity by the Messengers of God (peace be upon them all) - the great reformers of mankind.

In fact the philosophy of the prophetic missions was a means for leading men from darkness towards the light that the Almighty God - to activate man's perfection seeking power, in reformation of society and in the establishment of equity and justice. This is the first step towards creating the foundations of the perfect Islamic society to pave the way for the reappearance of Imam alMahdi (af ).

Purpose

To achieve political, social and cultural conditions of performance in preparation for the reappearance of Imam AlMahdi (af ), it is necessary to raise spiritual awareness and readiness to recognize the Imam of the Age. The people and leadership together must work together to create and establish a conducive environment in their personal lives and in society that lays the foundation of the establishment of a just government by His Eminence, ImamMahdi (af ).

It seems evident that, in order bring about a religious revival in modern world, more than striving for a theoretical, theological, jurisprudential, ethical, scholarly or revolutionary revival of religion, religious reformers and well-wishers must strive for an elemental and spiritual revival of religion.

There should be no exaggerated nationalism which leads to the concept of the superiority of race,colour , language and geographic and historic positions. These are the results as shown by history of efforts to divide and rule, to sow dispute and to impose the domination of arrogant political factions.

The creation of afavourable environment for the growth of moral virtues based on faith and piety and the struggle against all forms of immorality and corruption. The government must raise the level of public awareness in all areas through the use of media and public relations organizations.