The Light

Waiting For the Mahdi

When The Almighty blesses a person with a visit to the Holy Land of Samarah, the person turns to The Mahdi (atfs) and laments in these words: "O Master !

be a witness that I pledge myself to you even if your ghaibat is prolonged to such an extent that my life is on the verge of exhaustion!.. ! still, I will keep waiting for you…. my confidence, my love and my trust in you will increase every moment !

He then says…" I will keep waiting for you, and waiting for your call of Jehad. O my Master ! Through this passage from Mafaatihul Jinaan, we see that a true Muntazir / an Awaiter of The Mahdi never tires of waiting for his or her Imam.

By S. Abdulrasul

increases, duas will be recited; the parent will lament and appeal to Allah (SWT) to send her loved one to her soon, to give her some news of his safety…the same applies to a spouse, a parent or a friend - anyone you hold dear to your heart. That is 'waiting'.

Another example could be waiting for exam results, a job offer or even a guest, you can have the worrying kind of waiting or the anticipated waiting for good news. In both cases a person tends to be anxious and restless.

When we claim that we await The Mahdi (atfs), do we have the restlessness and anxiety of someone who is waiting within us ?

Are our eyes at the door waiting for Him, looking out for him, lamenting for him and praying to The Almighty for his safety ?

Or are we sitting back as silent spectators and going on with our daily lives, reserving His remembrance to the 15th of Sha'baan or a Friday morning or do we include him into our daily lives and give him the respect he deserves?

Why oh why do we not forget to eat, watch TV or even take our So what does a Muntazar do? Wait !! But ….what is waiting?

Imagine if you will the state of a mother whose child is late coming back home. There will be certain restlessness within her, a discomfort that will not allow her to sit still until she has some news of her child. Questions will arise - why is he late?

Why is she not back yet? As the delay medications, but we forget to remember Our Imam (atfs) even once a day ? If like me, you are thinking 'No,

I am not fulfilling my role as a Muntazir but I wish I was! 'and I am willing to change, then the love of The Mahdi (atfs) will help us succeed, Inshallah. But on the condition that we put in some effort ourselves, take a step towards Him and ask Him to guide us.

with others, we must build dimensions, bringing our (physical), mind (intellect), (emotion) and soul (spiritual) harmony with each other.

Though we emphasize spirituality which is central, so long as we reside in a physical body and need to interact The belief in the Mahdi cannot be a mere tradition. We cannot sit on the fence and wait to see what happens.

Each of us must believe and prepare with all our strength, heart, mind and soul or at the very least make sure we do not become the obstacles to his return. We must have Islamic Values when preparing for the return of the Mahdi (atfs) and that includes being well rounded in every aspect.

A person once built a house and showed it to Imam 'Ali (as). The Imam asked him why he had built a window in one room and he said it was to brighten the room. The Imam said, if he done it with the intention to know when it is time for salaat, he would have gotten reward in the hereafter as well. This kind of character comes only from being well-rounded in all aspects.

When our Youth choose their professions, let them give it a deeper meaning and do so with the intent and hope that their talent will be of service in the army of The Mahdi (atfs).

We need to awaken and we need to bond with our Imam (atfs) before it is too late.

"The best struggle for the man is to fight against his own self and his ill-desire." Prophet Muhammad (s)