Shi‘ism and the Belief of Mahdavīsm
The principle of Mahdavīsm is the consensus of all Muslims. Other religions in their own beliefs have also a messiah concept for a redeemer at the end of the world; they have understood a part of this matter; indeed, they have no acknowledgement of the main part of this issue which is recognizing the savior. Despite this fact, the Shi‘ite knows the savior by the name, the signs, the characteristics and the date of birth.
One outstanding characteristic of our Shi‘a beliefs is that this denomination has transformed this aspiration and this abstract concept into a concrete reality. In fact, when the Shi‘a are waiting for the arrival of the promised savior-Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.) and are not lost in their fantasies, they are searching for a reality. He is alive and lives among the people. He sees people. He can feel their sufferings. Those who are lucky enough and have the capacity sometimes meet him without recognizing him. He is alive. He lives among us with his parents. He has a name. This is what characterizes our Shi‘a beliefs.
And the followers of other faiths who do not believe in this reality have never been able to provide any logical reasons to reject this belief. There are several obvious and strong reasons, also accepted by Sunni Muslims, which are a testimony to the existence of this exalted servant of Allah. All these reasons provide evidence that Imam Mahdī (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) is living among us–and we are all aware of his characteristics. This is what has been cited in many non-Shi‘a sources as well.
The birth date of the pure-hearted son of Imam Ḥasan al-‘Askarī (P.B.U.H.) is known to everyone. His miracles and those who are connected with him are also known to us. Allah the Almighty has granted a long life to him. These are the characteristics of the Imam of the Age (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) whom all the nations of the world, all ethnic groups, and people from all faiths and races are impatiently waiting for at all times. These are the beliefs of Shi‘a Muslims about this important issue.
There are some points on the concept of Mahdavīsm which I will outline briefly here. One point is the existence of the Imam of Time (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) which is the continuation of the prophetic missions and Divine invitations from the beginning of history until today; that means there is a connected and related sequence in the human history–as we recite in the Nudba supplication–from the “One dwelled in your Paradise”–i.e. Adam–until “ended the matter with”–the Seal of the Prophets (P.B.U.T.)–and then from the matter of His Holiness’ succession and the holy household (P.B.U.T.) up to the Imam of Time (P.B.U.H.). This means those great prophetic missions and the Divine invitation by the prophets have never been stopped at any point. Indeed, human beings have always needed a prophet, Divine invitation and Divine callers and this need has continued until today and with the passage of time, the human beings have got closer to the teachings of the prophets (P.B.U.T.).
Today with the advancement of thought, civilization and knowledge, the human society has understood many of the teachings of prophets (P.B.U.T.)–which tens of centuries ago, humans were not being able to understand. This matter of justice, freedom and human dignity–which are common in the world today–is the words of the prophets (P.B.U.T.). That day, the general public and public opinion could not understand these concepts. However, a succession of the prophets (P.B.U.T.) and propagation of the prophets’ (P.B.U.T.) invitation institutionalized these thoughts generation after generation within the minds, the nature as well as the hearts of the people. That sequence of those Divine callers has never been stopped and the existence of the Imam of Time (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) is certainly the continuation of this sequence, as we recite in the Zīyāra of Āl-i Yāsīn, “Peace be upon you, O’ the caller of and place of manifestation of His signs.” This means that you can find the embodiment of the same invitation of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, all the prophets (P.B.U.T.) and the Divine reformers as well as the invitation of the Seal of the Prophets (P.B.U.T.) in the Imam of Time (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake). This honorable Imam (P.B.U.H.) is the heir to all of them, holds their invitation and flag, and calls the world to the same teachings which the prophets (P.B.U.T.) have presented to the humanity over the time. This is an important point.
The Real Concept of Waiting for the Reapprarance of Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.)
The next point on the concept of Mahdavīsm is the waiting for the reappearance of Imam Mahdī (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake). The concept of waiting for His Holiness’ return has a very broad and wide meaning. A waiting which is an ultimate relief; this means that if the human beings see the juggernauts and tyrants of the world have plundered, looted and abused human rights, they should not assume that this will be the fate of the world; they should not imagine that eventually there is no choice and one has to accept them as they are. Nay, they should know that this is a temporary situation–“Falsehood has a [fixed] circuit”,–and it is what that belongs to the universe and the nature of the universe which is the establishment of the rule of justice, and he will surely come. The waiting for a relief and deliverance–at the end of the era which we are currently in and the human beings are suffering from oppression and persecution–is an example of waiting for the reappearance of Imam Mahdī (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) but this has other instances too. When we are said to wait for a relief, this does not only mean an ultimate relief rather this means that any Gordian knots can be untied. Faraj means this; Faraj means a relief. By waiting, a Muslim person learns of Faraj and finds that there is no huge road block in human life that one cannot drive through it; that he should not sit around and do nothing for; nay, in the ends of human life, the sun of Faraj will rise to face with all these cruel and oppressive movements. Thus far, this type of Faraj is desired and expected in all the existing road blocks of the human life. There is a lesson of hope for all humans; this is giving the factual lesson of waiting to all human beings. That is why waiting for Faraj is considered the best of actions; it seems that waiting is an action and not inaction. We should not assume wrongly that waiting simply means that one should sit around and wait for something to happen. Waiting is an action–it is a preparation. It is indeed strengthening of the motives in the hearts and within. It is having the sense of vitality and dynamism in all fields. This is, in fact, the interpretation of this Qur’anic verse, “And We desired to show favor to those who were abased in the land, and to make them imams, and to make them the heirs,”, or “The earth indeed belongs to, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wishes of His servants, and the outcome will be in favor of the God-wary.”, This means the nations and peoples should never lose hope of relief.
The day when the Iranian nation rose up, they had a hope so as to rise up. Today that hope is fulfilled; they have taken great result from that uprising and still they are hopeful for the future and are looking forward with hope and joy. This is the ray of hope that leads the young people to motivation, momentum and vitality; and keeps them away from dejection and depression; and promotes a dynamic spirit in the community. This is the result of waiting for Faraj.
So, we should not just wait for the final Faraj rather we should wait for Faraj in all aspects of the individual and social life. Do not let despair rule your heart, wait for Faraj and know that it will be achieved, providing your waiting is real and leads to action, effort, motive and momentum.
Today we are waiting for a savior. This means that we are waiting for a strong and powerful savior to bring justice to the world and put an end to all the oppression and tyranny which are currently prevalent in the life of humans. We are waiting for that savior to put an end to these states of oppression and tyranny and bring justice to the life of humans. This is a permanent need for a living and conscious person. It is a need for those who have not limited themselves to their personal lives only. All humans with a broad perspective on the general life of humans would naturally be waiting for that day. This is the true meaning of waiting [for the savior]. Waiting for Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.) means that we should not accept or be satisfied with the current situation in our lives, and we should make efforts toward living an ideal life. And it is evident that such an ideal situation can only be created by Imam Mahdī (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake). We should prepare ourselves to fight like a soldier for such a situation.
Waiting for the arrival of Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.) does not mean that we should remain idle and not make any efforts to improve. Simply waiting for the arrival of the Imam of the Age (May our souls be sacrificed for his sake) is not what we should do. What does waiting for the savior mean? It means waiting for the strong, powerful and Divine hand of Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.) to put an end to the domination of the oppressive powers with the help of humans, to bring justice to the world, to raise the flag of monotheism, and to lead humans to worshipping Allah. We should get prepared for this. The formation of the Islamic Republic prepared the ground for this great and historic movement. Everything that is done to achieve justice in the world takes us one step forward toward reaching this lofty goal. This is the meaning of waiting for Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.). Waiting means that we should move and not remain idle. Waiting does not mean that we should leave things to others and wait for something to happen. Waiting means that we should move and get prepared for the arrival of Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.). We should be individually and socially prepared. Taking this great step and being able to prepare the right atmosphere for the arrival of Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.) were the blessings from Allah the Almighty granted to our nation. This is the meaning of waiting for Imam Mahdī (P.B.U.H.).
