Selected Narrations about the Twelfth Imam volume 2

Section Forty-Six

The traditions that indicate his generosity and that he will distribute wealth without counting it

Comprised of twenty-nine traditions

726. `Ilal al-sharā’i`[^1]: Narrated to me my father, may Allah have mercy on him, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-Kūfī, from `Abd-Allah b. al-Mughaira, from Sufyān b. `Abd al-Mu’min al-Anṣārī, from `Amr b. Shimr, from Jābir who said:

A man came to (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, while I was with him and said, “May Allah have mercy on you! Take these five-hundred dirhams and donate them wherever [you deem] appropriate. It is the zakāt of my wealth.” (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, said to him, “No! Take it yourself and give it to your neighbors, the orphans, the poor, and your [needy] brothers from amongst the Muslims. [During the occultation you can donate the zakāt yourselves] but when the Qā’im rises [it is compulsory to pay the zakāt to him].[^2]

He will distribute equally and deal justly with the creatures of the Beneficent, regardless of them being good-doers or sinners. Whoever obeys him has indeed obeyed Allah and whoever disobeys him has indeed disobeyed Allah. He has been named Mahdī (the guided one) because he will guide to a concealed affair. He will bring out the Torah and all the other Books of Allah from a cave in Antioch[^3].

Then, he will judge amongst the followers of the Torah using the Torah, amongst the followers of the Bible using the Bible, amongst the followers of the Psalms using the Psalms, and amongst the followers of the Quran with the Quran. All the wealth of the world will be gathered for him—whether it be inside the earth or on it.

He will say to the people, ‘Come and take this [wealth], for which, you broke off with your relatives, shed blood, and committed what Allah had prohibited.’ He will give things that no one before him had ever given. The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘He is a man from me; his name is like my name. Allah will protect my [religion] by him and he will act according to my sunna. He will fill the earth with fairness, justice, and light after it will be filled with unfairness, injustice, and evil.’”

727. Al-Muṣannaf[^4]: Informed us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Sa`īd al-Jarīrī, from Abū Naḍra, from Jābir b. `Abd-Allah who said: “An Imam will rule over the people who will not count the dirhams but will just give them away.”

728. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim[^5]: Narrated to me Zuhair b. Ḥarb and `Alī b. Ḥajar, from Ismā`īl b. Ibrāhīm, from al-Jarīrī, from Abū Naḍra who said:

We were with Jābir b. `Abd-Allah when he said, “Soon, no money will reach the people of Iraq— even a small amount.” I asked, “Why will [they be in such a state?]” He replied, “The non-Arabs will deprive them of this.” Again, he said, “Soon, no money will reach the people of Syria—even a small amount.” I asked, “Why will [they be in such a state?]” He replied, “The Romans.” He was a silent for a while and then said, “The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘In the end of my nation (ākhir ummatī), there will be a caliph who will give away wealth abundantly but will not even count it.’”

He says I asked Abū Naḍra and Abū l-`Alā: “Do you think (the caliph) is `Umar b. `Abd al-`Azīz?” Both of them replied in the negative.

And ibn al-Muthannā narrated to us, from `Abd al-Wahhāb, from Sa`īd—meaning al-Jarīrī—similar to the above narration through the same chain of narrators.

729. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim[^6]: Narrated to us Naṣr b. `Alī al-Jahḍamī, from Bishr b. al-Mufaḍḍal and `Alī b. Ḥujr al-Sa`dī, from Ismā’īl b. `Ulayya, both of them from Sa`īd b. Yazīd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “Amongst your caliphs is a caliph who will distribute wealth munificently without even counting it.”

730. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim[^7]: Narrated to me Zuhair b. Ḥarb, from `Abd al-Ṣamad b. `Abd al-Wārith, from his father, from Dāwūd, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd and Jābir b. `Abd-Allah, both from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said: “In the end of times there will be a caliph who will distribute wealth but will not count it.”

And narrated to us Abū Bakr b. Abī Shaiba, from Abū Mu`āwiya, from Dāwūd b. Abī Hind, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], likewise.

731. Sunan al-Tirmidhī[^8]: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Bashshār, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from Shu`ba, from Zaid al-`Ammī, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī who said:

We feared a tragedy [would occur] after our Prophet. So we asked the Prophet of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], about it. He said, “In my nation is the Mahdī. He will emerge and live for five, seven, or nine (the uncertainty [in the numbers] is from Zaid, one of the narrators).” We asked, “What are these [numbers]?” He answered, “Years.” He then continued, “A person will come to him and say, ‘O Mahdī! Give me, give me!’ He will put so much [wealth] in his dress that he will not be able to carry it.”

Abū `Īsā says: “This is a good (ḥasan) tradition. It has also been narrated through other chains of narrators from Abū Sa`īd, from the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family]. The name of Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī is Bakr b. `Amr. Some have also said it is Bakr b. Qays.”

732. Al-Fitan[^9]: Narrated to us Fuḍail b. `Ayyāḍ and ibn `Uyayna, both from Laith, from Ṭāwūs who said: “The sign of the Mahdī is that he will be strict with the government agents, generous regarding wealth, and merciful to the poor.”

733. Al-Fitan[^10]: Narrated to us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Qatāda that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said: “He—meaning the Mahdī—will bring out the treasures, distribute wealth, and will correctly establish Islam.”

734. Al-Fitan[^11]: Narrated to us ibn `Uyayna, from Ibrāhīm b. Maisara, from Ṭāwūs who said: “I wish I don’t die until I reach the time of the Mahdī. He will increase the good-doers’ goodness and will forgive the sinners.”

(It has also been mentioned in it,) narrated to us Ḥumaid al-Rawāsī, from Muḥammad b. Muslim, from Ibrāhīm b. Maisara, from Ṭāwūs who said: “When the Mahdī comes, he will increase the good-doers’ goodness and will forgive the sinners’ wrongdoings. He will give away wealth, be strict with the government agents, and be merciful towards the poor.”

735. Al-Fitan[^12]: Narrated to us Yaḥyā, from Saif b. Wāṣil, from Abū Yūnus, from Abū Ru’ba who said: “As if [I am seeing] the Mahdī feeding the needy with his own hands.”

The following traditions also establish the above concept: 160, 358, 379, 380, 383–389, 436, 437, 453, 503, 583, 699, 700, and 701.

[^1]: `Ilal al-sharā’i`, vol. 1, chap. 129, p. 161, no. 3; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, p. 29, no. 2; Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 13, p. 237, no. 26, similar to it, through his chain of narrators from Jābir; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 27, pp. 350–351, no. 103, with some differences; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 14, p. 556.

[^2]: The expressions in the brackets are al-Majlisī’s explanations under this tradition—Ed.

[^3]: An ancient city in Syria which is modern-day Antakya in South Turkey—Trans.

[^4]: Al-Muṣannaf, vol. 11, no. 20774.

[^5]: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 98 (short version); Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 482, with minor variations; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 10, p. 121.

[^6]: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185. I say: It has been mentioned in the notes of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (the published edition from which we have recorded the hadith) that “Al-Ābī notes that Al-Tirmidhī and Abū Dāwūd have mentioned this Caliph and referred to him as the Mahdī.” There is no doubt that this Caliph is the Mahdī, peace be on him, specially by considering the traditions that have been mentioned concerning him like: “in the end of my nation” and “in the end of times.” It will not be unknown to any specialist in the science of traditions that what has been mentioned about an Imam who will rise in the end of times or a Caliph or the one who will fill the earth with fairness and justice, all refer to one individual possessing all these attributes and he is the Mahdī, peace be on him. Al-Shaykh `Alī Nāṣif writes in Ghāyat al-ma’mūl, vol. 5, p. 311: “This is the Mahdī, may Allah be satisfied with him, because of the hadith that will follow [in which the Mahdī is clearly mentioned] and this attitude is the result of abundant war booties and victories accompanied with his generosity and munificence towards all the people.” Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 99; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 483; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, chap. 10, p. 122, and other references.

[^7]: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 8, p. 185; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, chap. 54, p. 713, no. 100; al-Bayān fī akhbār Ṣāḥib al-Zamān, pp. 122–123; Musnad Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, vol. 3, p. 333 & p. 38; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 483.

[^8]: Sunan al-Tirmidhī, vol. 4, p. 506; Kitāb al-fitan, chap. 53, no. 2232; Maṣābīḥ al-sunna, vol. 2, p. 194; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 262, no. 38654; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, p. 29; Yanābī` al-mawadda, pp. 431 & 435; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 478.

[^9]: Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 8, p. 167.

[^10]: Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 193.

[^11]: Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 193; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 143.

[^12]: Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 191; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 9, sect. 3, p. 227.