l

In the name of All°h, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Topic of Discussion: If Æ°¶ib al-Zam°n (may All°h hasten his return)

were to come (right now)… [ Discussion #6
#6 ]
Lectures on Akhl°q given by His Eminence
Ayatull°h al-`U®m° al-Ø°jj ash-Shaykh N°•ir Mak°rim ash-Sh¢r°z¢ (may All°h protect him)
Translated by Saleem Bhimji – www.al-mubin.org – al-mubin@al-mubin.org

Topic: If Sahib al-Zaman (May Allah Hasten His

Return) Were to Come (Right Now)…

Introduction:

Keeping in mind that we are approaching the birth date of our Living Im°m (may All°h hasten his return),
we felt it necessary to speak about this great personality – a discussion that is both enlightening and one
which will train and educate all of us.

The late `All°mah Majlis¢ (may All°h raise his rank) has narrated a Øad¢th in relation to Im°m al-Mahd¢ (may
All°h hasten his return) that states:

/0 -., *' + ) !&'( #$% !"

.? ->: ='8 ;<: '.7 3/8 9 0 #6 2$ 4 56 3, /2 1#*
Translation: "When al-Q°im rises up, he will judge with justice and during the time of his advent, all forms of
tyranny will be removed and the paths (towards him) will be made safe and the Earth will bring forth Her
blessings and the rights of each and every person will be given to them and no person who follows (any
other) d¢n (complete code of life) will remain except that they will accept al-Isl°m and all people will come
towards true faith.”1

Explanation of Øad¢th:

In this Øad¢th, there are seven tasks that the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) will accomplish which have
been mentioned:

1 and 2: The government of justice and the removal of all forms of tyranny.

1 Bi¶°r al-Anw°r, Volume 52, Page 338

1
The opposite of justice ( ) is oppression ( ) not tyranny ( ) - whereas equality ( ) is the opposite of
tyranny
ty ranny ( ). The difference between justice ( ) and equality ( ) is that where as justice refers to not
taking the rights of another person away, equality means that there is no differentiation between people.
Therefore, oppression means that you take something from another for your own self where as tyranny
means that you take something from a person and give it to somebody else.

For example, one time I forcefully take Zaid’s house away from him for my own personal use, this act is
oppression Another time, I take Zaid’s house and give it to another person, this is tyranny.
oppression. tyranny The exact
opposite of this is that I do not take Zaid’s house for my own personal use, and this is justice and if I do not
take it for the use of another person, then this is equality
equality.
quality Therefore, equality means that differentiation does
not exist where as justice means that oppression does not exist.

3. The path
paths
aths will be made safe.

#$% !"
The paths towards the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) will be made safe and secure.

4. Natural Blessings

A *' + ) !&'(
The Earth will bring forth her blessings – whether these are the blessings that come about through farming or
the blessing of the minerals from the Earth or other types of powers and energies that are presently hidden
from us.

5. Responsibilities will be returned to their Rightful Holder

56 3, /2 #* /0
The rights and responsibilities will be given back to those who have lost them which is completely opposite
to our present day and age in which a great number of jobs and occupations are in the hands of those who
have no knowledge of them since the issue of who they know has taken precedence over what they know.

6. The Ruling of Al-

Al-Isl°m

;<: '.7 3/8 9 0 #6 2$ 4

No other religion will remain on the Earth except for Isl°m and thus all religions will amalgamate into One
Religion and that will be Al-Isl°m.

7. Sincere attraction to Isl°

Isl°m

.? ->: ='8
This part of the Øad¢th has two meanings. It is possible that it refers to the point that all people will become
followers of the teachings of the Ahl al-Ba¢t (prayers be upon all of them) or it could mean that in addition to

2
people showing an outward form of true faith, they will also have the inner belief to make them true
believers.

There is a difference that has been mentioned in the a¶°d¢th in relation to the terms Isl°m and Im°n. Some of
the a¶°d¢th state that Isl°m is that thing which a person verbally declares such that his life is protected and
the meat that he slaughters is made permissible to eat whereas Im°n is that thing that is the true essence that
will act as a salvation for a person on Qiy°mat (Day of Judgment).

In other a¶°d¢th, it is mentioned that Isl°m is equivalent to the Masjid al-Øar°m whereas Im°n is (like) the
Ka`bah. There is a possibility that this explanation could be in reference to the verse of the Qur˜°n which
states:

... "I J GH -'DE)F C!B

“The desert `Arabs say to you (O’ Mu¶ammad) that we have Im°n (belief)…”2

At the head of all the things that the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) will perform, we see in the Øad¢th
that there are four major things which he will do which we summarize as being:

1. Correcting the Theological Beliefs:

Beliefs:

;<: PQ5* G N5 5(0 NO 'L !M + ) '.K 35E -

“There will not remain a single stone house nor a mud house nor a tent upon the entire earth except the
word (teachings) of Isl°m would be in that place (and thus, there would exist no more polytheism).”3

2. Completion of the Intelligenc

Intelligence

The advancement of knowledge and intelligence will also take place (at this time) just as the late `All°mah
Majlis¢ (may All°h raise his rank), by quoting a Øad¢th from the Ma`•£min (prayers be upon all of them) in
relation to this point makes clear:

0 -$ T 35E R S -"Q
“When our Q°im rises up, he will place his hand over the heads of the servants.”

It is possible that this means that people will be under the direction and guidance of the Im°m (may All°h
hasten his return).

.; -U !5Q* V E -U QL=
“So then (through this act), he will gather together their intelligence and complete their knowledge.”4

3. Justice and Equality

In the various a¶°d¢th, it has been mentioned that:

2 S£rah al-Øujur°t, Verse 14
3 Tafsir al-Qurßub¢, Volume 12, Page 300
4 Bi¶°r al-Anw°r, Volume 52, Page 338

3
 X & XQ5K !Z5 -Q* XY% XO E + ) W>
"He (the Im°m) will fill the Earth with justice and equality just as it would have been filled with oppression
and tyranny.”5

4. Correction of the Moral Ethical Traits

From the a¶°d¢th that speak of the signs of the end of the times, we can deduce that removing all of the
corrupt ethical traits and bringing back to life the moral values of Isl°m will be the duty of the Im°m (prayers
be upon him).

There are a¶°d¢th that state that before the advent of al-Q°im (may All°h hasten his return), many corrupt
ethical traits such as: adultery, theft, bribery, selling less that what one paid for, the drinking of alcohol,
murdering of countless innocent people and other such sins will be common place.

Thus, the meaning of this Øad¢th is that when al-Mahd¢ (may All°h hasten his return) rises up to remove and
eradicate all of these things, the entire valued and cherished system of moral ethics would have been
completely destroyed and it is Im°m al-Mahd¢ (may All°h hasten his return) that will restore it.

Im°m al-Mahd¢ (may All°h hasten his return) will possess an army, military and many helpers and
supporters just as we recite in the Ziy°rat of ™ale Y°s¢n:

CRC -_D^B I C CE -$DB I C C8I DMC] D9C \C"[5I D& I

“So then place me (O’ All°h) amongst his followers and supports and helpers.”

Or as it can be seen in some a¶°d¢th that:

C DI I I9DMI I9 C C6 -LGQ[ I
“(And place us) as those who struggle and fight in his way.”

That person who wishes to be a helper of the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) must work tirelessly in
these four points mentioned and the one who does not possess any of these four points within himself,
however prays to All°h (Glory and Greatness be to Him) to make him of the helpers of the Im°m (may All°h
hasten his return) will see that his prayers would be far from being answered.

If the scholars would take it upon themselves to introduce this sort of ethical program (in the community)
then we would see one large class of preparation and upbringing take form.

Tawassul (to the Im°m) is a good thing and it has its own place – however:

CRC -_D^B I C CE -$DB I C C8I DMC] D9C \C"[5I D& I

“So then place me (O’ All°h) amongst his followers and supports and helpers.”

5 Bi¶°r al-Anw°r, Volume 14, Page 33

4
This request will never be achieved simply through tawassul and prayer – rather, our belief and acceptance
of the Taw¶¢d of All°h (Glory and Greatness be to Him) must be one of sincerity and thus, we must remove
all forms and effects of polytheism from our hearts, lives and from the society.

We must practically implement justice and equality in relation to the people and our family and those who
are around us - we must make the valuable ethical traits apparent in us.

If it was made completely clear for what reasons the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) would make his
advent, then this would definitely change the face of the society.

If we do not possess any of these traits in our selves, we can most definitely not expect to stand in the ranks
with the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return). Therefore, it is very good that during the days while we are
commemorating the birth of this noble personality, we actively do something to call the attention of the
people towards the goals and objectives of the Im°m (may All°h hasten his return) so that they can mould
themselves in that pattern.

We must know that there hidden hands at work that are striving to pollute the gatherings (maj°lis) that we
hold for Im°m al-Mahd¢ (may All°h hasten his return) by introducing despicable forms of singing and
playing of music and other limits which are being breaking. Sometimes, the enemy will use such religious
gatherings and programs (maj°lis) to reach their evil goals just as the story of Masjid Dhir°r through which
the enemies wanted to build a Masjid to actually destroy the roots and symbol of what a Masjid truly is and
stands for!

Thus, the goals and values must be manifested in the correct manner lest the enemies who are trying to
remove the value and worth of such programs become successful in their goals.

It is our hope that All°h (Glory and Greatness be to Him) accepts this supplication in relation to us:

.C I I I9DMI I9 C C6 -LGQ[ I C C8I DMC] I C CE -$DB I CRC -_D^B I C C^ - DEB D9C \C"[5I D& ` G.N5 B

…and all praise belongs to All°h, Lord of the Worlds, only the mistakes are mine. (Tr.)