The Promised Mahdi (part One)

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Chapter Four: Attributes, traits and lineage of Imam Zamana (a.s.)

1- Uyun Akhbar Reza: Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Husain Baghdadi has narrated from Ahmad bin Fadhl from Bakr bin Ahmad Qasri from Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) from his forefathers, from Musa Ibne Ja’far (a.s.) that he said:

“No one can be the Qaim but an Imam the son of an Imam and a Successor the son of a Successor.”

2- Ikmaaluddin: It is narrated from Ahmad bin Harun, Ibne Shazuyah, Ibne Masrur and Ja’far bin Husain together from Himyari from his father from Ayyub bin Nuh from Abbas bin Aamir and narrated to us Ja’far bin Ali bin Hasan bin Abdullah bin Mughira from his grandfather Hasan from Abbas bin Aamir from Musa bin Hilal Zabi from Abdullah Ibne Ata that he said:

I asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.), “Your Shia in Iraq are many and by Allah, there is no one in the Ahle Bayt like you. So why don’t you stage an uprising?” He said: “O Abdullah Ibne Ata, base people have filled your ears. By Allah, I am not your Awaited Patron.” I asked, “So who is our Awaited Patron?” He said: “Watch for the one whose birth will be hidden from the people. He will be your Patron.”

The author says: That is, you listen to the words of ignorant members of the Shia community and accept their assertion that we have extensive numbers of supporters and that we must rise and that I am the promised Qaim.

3- Ghaibat Tusi: A group has narrated from Talakbari from Ahmad bin Ali Razi from Muhammad bin Ishaq Muqri from Ali bin Abbas from Bakaar bin Ahmad from Hasan bin Husain from Sufyan Jurairi that he said:

I heard Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman Ibne Abi Laila say, “By Allah, the Mahdi will not be but from the progeny of Husain (a.s.).”

4- Ghaibat Tusi: Also it is mentioned through the same chain of narration on the authority of Jurairi from Fudhail Ibne Zubair that he said:

I heard Zaid bin Ali bin Husain (a.s.) say, “The Awaited Savior isfrom the progeny of Husain Ibne Ali, from the children of Husain and from the heirs of Husain. Husain is the victim about whom Allah said:

“…and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir…” (Surah Isra 17:33)

His heir is a man from his progeny, from his children. Then he recited:

“And he made it a word to continue in his posterity…” (Surah Zukhruf 42:28)

*** “…authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying…” (Surah Isra 17:33)***

Zaid (a.s.) said: “His authority is in his proof over all God’s creation, so much so that his proof will prevail over all people and no one will have a reason against him.”

5- Ghaibat Tusi: Ibne Musa has narrated from Asadi from Barmaki from Ismail bin Malik from Muhammad bin Sinan from Abul Jarud from Abu Ja’far, from his father, from his grandfather that he said:

Said Amirul Momineen (a.s.) on the pulpit, “A man shall come from my progeny in the latter days; he will be white with a touch of red, of a broad abdomen, with legs of ample width, and of high shoulders. On his back are two signs, one sign of the color of his skin and another like the sign of the Messenger (a.s.). He has two names. One name will be hidden and the other, proclaimed. The one that will be hidden is Ahmad and the one that will be announced is Muhammad. When his standards will wave, the east and the west will be illuminated for him. He will put his hand on the heads of people, so there will remain no believer but his heart will be stronger than a block of iron.

And Allah will grant him the might of forty men. There will remain no dead, but that gaiety will reach him in his heart and in his grave. The dead will be visiting each other and felicitating each other for the news of the rise of Qaim (a.s.).

6- Ikmaaluddin: From the same chains, it is narrated from Muhammad bin Sinan from Amr bin Shimr from Jabir from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“The knowledge of the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and the conduct of His Messenger (a.s.) will grow in the heart of our Mahdi like the best growth of a plant. So whoever of you remains there until he meets him, he has to say when he sees him, “Peace be unto you, O Household of Mercy and Prophethood, the Source of Knowledge and the Abode of Apostleship.” It has also been narrated that the proper greeting for the Qaim will be as follows: “Peace be unto you, O Divine Redeemer on His earth.

7- Ghaibat Tusi: It is narrated from Saad from Yaqtini from Ismail bin Aban from Amr bin Shimr from Jabir Jofi that he said:

I heard Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) say, “Umar Ibne Khattab walked besides Amirul Momineen (a.s.) and asked, ‘Please tell me about the Mahdi. What is his name?’” “Said Amirul Momineen (a.s.), ‘As for his name, my

beloved (the Prophet) has adjured me not to talk of his name until Allah brings him forth.”, “Umar asked, ‘Then tell me about his qualities.’” “Said Amirul Momineen (a.s.), ‘He is a youth with broad shoulders, beautiful face, elegant hair, with his hair flowing over his shoulders. The light of his visage surpasses the blackness of his beard and hair. My father be the ransom of the son of the best of the maids.”

In Ghaibat, Nomani narrates the same from Amr Ibne Shamir.

8- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ali bin Ahmad from Ubaidullah bin Musa Alawi from Muhammad bin Ahmad Qalanasi from Ali bin Husain from Abbas bin Aamir from Musa bin Hilal from Abdullah Ibne Ata that he said:

I went to Hajj from Wasit and came to Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.). He asked me about the people and prices. I said: “I left the people behind while their necks were stretched towards you. Should you rise, the masses will follow you.” “O son of Ata,” said the Imam, “you have started lending your ears to the fools. By Allah, I am not your Awaited Patron. Every man of us pointed by fingers or signaled by eyebrows will be murdered or will die in the bed.” I said: “And what is dying in the bed?” “He dies by rage in his bed until Allah sends the one whose birth is unbeknownst.” “And who is the one whose birth will be unbeknownst?” The Imam replied, “Look who is the one whom people do not know whether he is born or not, he is your Awaited Patron.”

9- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Kulaini from a group of his associates from Saad bin Abdullah from Ayyub Ibne Nuh that he said:

I said to Imam Reza (a.s.), “We hope that you are the Awaited Master of this Affair and that may Allah lead this to you without any violence. You have been pledged allegiance to. Coins have been minted on your name.” He said: “Anyone of us to whom letters go and come, is pointed at with fingers, is asked questions, and religious dues are taken to, is either assassinated or he dies on his bed until Allah sends a boy from us for this Order. His birth and place of growth will be kept hidden, but he will not be hidden for himself.”

10- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Fazari from Ahmad bin Mitham from Abdullah bin Musa from Abdul Aala bin Hasin Thalabi from his father that he said:

I met Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) in Hajj or Umrah. I said to him, “My age has grown much and my bones have become fragile, and I do not know whether destiny will allow me another time to see you or not. So confide in me a promise and let me know when is the relief?” He said: “The fugitive, the abandoned, the loner, the forlorn, the only one from his house, the son of an un-­avenged father, carrying the patronymic of his uncle, he is the patron of the banners. His name is the name of the Prophet.”

I asked him to repeat it for me. He called for a sheet of skin or paper and wrote it for me.

Explanation*:* “The son of an un-avenged father,” can be an allusion to Imam Askari (a.s.) or Husain (a.s.) or simply the category of father in which case it would include all Imams.

11- Ghaibat Nomani : Ibne Uqdah has narrated from Yahya bin Zakariya from Yunus bin Kalib from Muawiyah bin Hisham from Sabah from Saalim Ashal from Hasin Taghlabi that he said:

“I met Abu Ja’far (a.s.)…” and then he mentions a similar tradition, except that he said: Then Abu Ja’far (a.s.) looked at me when he had finished his words and said: “Did you memorize this or should I write them for you.” I said: “If you would like so, please.” Then he called for a sheet of skin or a paper and wrote it and gave it to me.

Salim Ashal says: Hasin took the writing out to us and read it for us, saying, “This is the writing of Abu Ja’far (a.s.).”

12- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Fazari from Ibad bin Yaqub from Hasan bin Hammad from Abul Jarud from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“The Master of this Affair is the abandoned, the loner, the son of an un-avenged father, carrying the patronymic of his uncle, the only one from his house. His name is the name of a prophet.”

13- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ibne Uqdah from Hamid bin Ziyad from Hasan bin Muhammad Hadhrami from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:

“The one whom you seek and have hopes for will rise from Mecca. But he will not rise from Mecca until he sees what is necessary, even if it happens that organs eat parts of trees.”

14- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Ahmad bin Mabandad from Ahmad bin Hilal from Ahmad bin Ali Qaisi from Abi Haitham from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:

“When three names, Muhammad, Ali, and Hasan come in consecution, their fourth one is the Qaim (a.s.).”

15- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Fazari from Muhammad bin Ahmad Madini from Ibne Asbat from Muhammad bin Sinan from Dawood Raqqi that he said:

I said to Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.), “May I be your ransom, this matter has prolonged much, so much that our hearts have run out of patience and the grief is killing us.” He said: “When it reaches the highest level of despair and the severest point of grief, a caller will call from the heavens the name of the Qaim and the name of his father.” I said: “May I be your ransom, what is his name?” He said: “His name is the name of a messenger and his father’s name is the name of a successor.”

16- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Fazari from Ibad bin Yaqub from Yahya bin Saalim from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“The Master of this Affair is the youngest of us by age and the most concealed of us in person.” I asked, “When will he be?” He said: “When riders march to pledge allegiance to the boy, then every man of power and authority will raise a standard.”

The author says: “When the riders march” means when the news spreads everywhere. “To pledge allegiance to the boy,” that is, the Qaim (a.s.).

17- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ali bin Husain from Muhammad bin Yahya from Muhammad bin Hasan Raazi from Muhammad bin Ali Kufi from Ibrahim bin Hashim from Hammad bin Isa from Ibrahim Ibne Umar Yamani from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:

“The Qaim will rise while he is not bound by commitment to anyone’s allegiance.”

18- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Kulaini from Muhammad bin Yahya from Ahmad bin Muhammad from Husain bin Saeed from Ibne Abi Umair from Hisham bin Salim from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:

“The Qaim will rise while he does not owe anyone any commitment or allegiance.”

19- Ghaibat Nomani: Kulaini has narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya from Ahmad bin Idris from Muhammad bin Ahmad from Ja’far bin Qasim from Muhammad bin Walid from Walid bin Uqbah from Harith bin Ziyad from Shuaib Ibne Abi Hamzah that he said:

I came to Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and said to him, “Are you the Awaited Patron of this matter?” He said: “No.” “Then your son?” I asked. “No,” he said. “Then the son of your son?” “No.” “Then the son of your son’s son?” “No.” “Then who is he?” “The one who will fill the earth with equity, just as it will become full of oppression. He may perchance come after a period of absence of Imams, as the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) was sent after a period of absence of apostles.”

20- Ghaibat Nomani: Ali bin Ahmad has narrated from Ubaidullah bin Musa from some persons from Ibrahim bin Husain bin Zahir from Ismail bin Ayyash from Amash from Abu Wabil that he said:

Amirul Momineen (a.s.) looked at Imam Husain (a.s.) and said: “This son of mine is a liege, just as the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) named him a liege. Allah will bring from his progeny a man by the name of your Apostle, who will be similar to him in his creation and in his character. He will rise in a time of oblivion of the people, when the Truth will have died and perversion will be manifest. By Allah, if he does not rise, his neck will be severed.

The dwellers of the heavens and its inhabitants will rejoice his rise. He is a man of broad forehead, high nose, thick abdomen, and large legs - his right leg bearing a dark mole - and his teeth are distanced from one another.

He will fill the earth with equity and justice, just as it will be replete with oppression and inequity.”

21- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Hauza has narrated from Nahawandi from Abdullah bin Hammad Ibne Bukair from Humran that he said: I asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.):

“May I be your ransom, I entered Medina with a sack on my waist having a thousand dinars; I pledged to Allah that I will distribute them at your door one by one or you answer me what I want to ask you about.”

“Humran,” he said: “Ask and you will get your answers. Do not hate your dinars.” “I beseech you by your relation to the Messenger of Allah,” I implored, “are you the Awaited Patron of this affair and the establisher*(Qaim)* thereof?” “No,” he said. I asked, “Then who is he? My father and mother be your ransom.” He said: “He is the one whose complexion has a shade of red, has deep eyes and high eyebrows, is broad between shoulders. There is a scurf on his hair and a mark on his face. May Allah have mercy on Musa.”

The author says: “May Allah have mercy on Musa” perhaps suggests that some people will think that Musa is the Qaim, while he is not. Or he might have said: “so and so,” as in a tradition that is to come, and the Waqifiyya have interpreted that to mean Musa.

22- Ghaibat Nomani: Wahid bin Abdullah has narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah from Ahmad bin Ali Himyari from Husain bin Ayyub from Abdul Karim bin Amr Khathami from Ishaq bin Hariz from Muhammad bin Zurarah from Humran Ibne Ayyan that he said:

I asked Abu Ja’far (a.s.), “Are you the Qaim?” He said: “The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) has sired me and I am since seeking to avenge the blood and Allah does what He desires.” I repeated the same question to him. He said: “You will realize when you will go. Your Awaited Patron is the one with broad abdomen, and there is scurf on his head, and he is the son of fears.”

23- Ghaibat Nomani: From the same chain of narrators, it is narrated from Ibne Isaam Husain bin Ayyub from Abdullah Khathami from Muhammad bin Abdullah from Wuhaib bin Hafas from Abu Basir that Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) or Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) said: (the doubt being of Ibne Isaam):

“O Abu Muhammad, the Qaim has two marks. There is a nevus on his head and another between his shoulders on his left side. Below his shoulders is a birthmark*.* He is the boy of six years and the son of the best of the slave girls.”

24- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ibne Uqdah from Muhammad bin Fadhl bin Qays and Saadan bin Ishaq bin Saeed and Ahmad bin Hasan bin Abdul Malik and Muhammad bin Hasan Qitwani together have narrated from Ibne Mahbub from Hisham bin Salim from Zaid Kannasi that he said:

I heard Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) say, “The Master of this Affair bears a similarity to Yusuf from a dark slave girl. Allah will arrange his affair in one night” By similarity with Yusuf (a.s.) he meant his disappearance.

25- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah from Ahmad bin Ali Himyari from Hakam Ibne Abdur Rahim Qasir that he said:

I asked Abu Ja’far (a.s.), “The saying of Amirul Momineen (a.s.), ‘My father be the ransom of the best of the slave girls’, is she Fatima?” He said: “Fatima is the best of the Houries.” He said: “His abdomen is big. His complexion is reddish. May Allah bless so-and-so.”

26- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ibne Uqdah from Qasim bin Muhammad bin Husain from Abees bin Hisham from Ibne Jabla from Ali bin Mughira from Abul Sabbah that he said:

When I came to Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.), he asked, “What is the news in the locality behind you?” I said: “Happiness in your uncle Zaid. He believes he is the ‘boy of six years’ and that he is the Qaim of this Ummah and that he is ‘the son of the best of the slave girls.” He said: “It is not as he says. If he rises, he will be killed.”

27- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ibne Uqdah from Ali bin Husain from Muhammad and Ahmad sons of Hasan from their father from Thalaba bin Mahran from Yazid bin Hazim that he said:

I left Kufa and when I arrived at Medina, I went to Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and greeted him. He asked me, “Was there anyone with you?” I said: “Yes, a man from the Mutazalites came with me.” He asked, “Which type of things was he saying?” I said: “He assumed and hoped that Muhammad Ibne Abdullah Ibne Hasan is the Qaim. His reason for that was that his name was the name of the Messenger, and his father’s name was the name of the Messenger’s father. I said to him, If you believe on the basis of names, here, it is also in the progeny of Husain: Muhammad Ibne Abdullah Ibne Ali. He said to me, This is a son of a slave girl, meaning Muhammad Ibne Abdullah Ibne Ali, and this is the son of a wife, meaning Muhammad Ibne Abdullah Ibne Hasan Ibne Hasan.” Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) said to me, “Did you not answer him?” I said: “I did not have anything to respond to him.” He said: “Only if you knew he is a boy of six,” meaning the Qaim (a.s.).

28- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Ali bin Ahmad from Abdullah bin Musa from Ibne Abil Khattab from Muhammad bin Sinan from Abul Jarud from Imam Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“Imamate is in the youngest of us by age and the most concealed one of us by name.”

InGhaibat Nomani the same tradition is mentioned through another chain of narrators from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.).

29- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Muhammad bin Hamam from Ahmad bin Mabandad from Ahmad bin Halil from Abi Malik Hadhrami from Abil Safatij from Abu Basir that he said:

I said to one of them - Imam Muhammad Baqir or Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) - “Is it possible that this Imamate may reach a person who has not reached puberty?” He said: “That will happen.” “What will he do?” I asked. “Allah will bequeath him knowledge and epistles, and will not abandon him to himself,” he said.

30- Ghaibat Nomani: It is narrated from Abdul Wahid from Muslim bin Ja’far Qarshi from Ibne Abil Khattab from Muhammad bin Sinan from Abul Jarud that he said: Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) said to me:

“Imamate will not be but in the most concealed of us by name and youngest of us in age.”

31- Ghaibat Nomani: Muhammad bin Hamam has narrated from Ahmad bin Mabandad from Ahmad bin Halil from Ishaq bin Sabah from Imam Ali Reza (a.s.) that he said:

“This Imamate will soon reach one who needs to be carried due to his young age.”

32- Kashful Ghummah: Ibne Khashshab has narrated from Sadaqah bin Musa from his father from Imam Reza (a.s.) that he said:

“The Virtuous successor is from the progeny of Abu Muhammad Hasan Ibne Ali Askari. He is the Master of the Age and he is the Mahdi.”

33- Ghaibat Tusi: It is narrated from Ahmad bin Idris from Ibne Qutaibah from Fadhl from Muhammad bin Sinan from Ammar bin Marwan from Munakhal from Jabir from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“The Mahdi is a man from the progeny of Fatima. He is tanned.”

34- Fusulul Muhimma: It is mentioned that hi s noble attributes are: He is a young man of broad shoulders, handsome face, beautiful hair which flows over his shoulders, fine­ looking high nose, and broad forehead. It is said that he disappeared in the cellar*(sardab)* as the guards were following him. This was in the year two hundred and seventy-six.