The Promised Mahdi (part Two)

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Those who falsely claim meeting the Imam (a.s.) during Major occultation and that the Imam comes visits the people but no one recognizes him

خَرَجَ التَّوْقِيعُ إِلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ السَّمُرِيِّ يَا عَلِيَّ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ السَّمُرِيَّ اسْمَعْ أَعْظَمَ اللَّهُ أَجْرَ إِخْوَانِكَ فِيكَ فَإِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ مَا بَيْنَكَ وَ بَيْنَ سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ فَاجْمَعْ أَمْرَكَ وَ لَا تُوصِ إِلَى أَحَدٍ يَقُومُ مَقَامَكَ بَعْدَ وَفَاتِكَ فَقَدْ وَقَعَتِ الْغَيْبَةُ التَّامَّةُ فَلَا ظُهُورَ إِلَّا بَعْدَ إِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى ذِكْرُهُ وَ ذَلِكَ بَعْدَ طُولِ الْأَمَدِ وَ قَسْوَةِ الْقُلُوبِ وَ امْتِلَاءِ الْأَرْضِ جَوْراً وَ سَيَأْتِي مِنْ شِيعَتِي مَنْ يَدَّعِي الْمُشَاهَدَةَ أَلَا فَمَنِ ادَّعَى الْمُشَاهَدَةَ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ السُّفْيَانِيِّ وَ الصَّيْحَةِ فَهُوَ كَذَّابٌ مُفْتَرٍ وَ لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ

1- Ihtijaaj: It is mentioned in aTawqee addressed to Abul Hasan Saymoori:

“O Ali Ibne Muhammad Saymoori, may Allah give good rewards to your brethren concerning you (i.e. on your death), for indeed you shall die after six days. So prepare your affairs, and do not appoint anyone to take your place after your death. For the second occultation has now occurred, and there can be no appearance until after a long time when Allah gives His permission, hearts become hardened and the world is full of injustice. And someone shall come to my partisans (Shia) claiming that he has seen me; but beware of anyone claiming to have seen me before the rise of Sufyani and the outcry from the sky, for he shall be a slanderous liar. And there is no strength and might except for Allah, the High and the Mighty.”

2- Ikmaaluddin: Shaykh Saduq has narrated: Narrated to us my father and Muhammad bin Hasan and Muhammad bin Musa bin Mutawakkil and Muhammad bin Ali Majiluwayh and Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Yahya Attar - May Allah be pleased with them - they said: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Yahya Attar: Narrated to us Ja’far bin Muhammad bin Malik Fazari Kufi from Ishaq bin Muhammad Sairafi from Yahya bin Muthanna Attar from Abdullah bin Bukair from Ubaid bin Zurarah that he said: I heard Abi Abdullah (a.s.) say:

“The Imam will be unseen by the people. Then he will witness those who come for the Hajj pilgrimage, he will see them but they will not see him.”

In that book this report is narrated through two chains and inGhaibat Nomani it is narrated through three chains and inGhaibat Shaykh it is narrated through other chains.

3- Ikmaaluddin: Shaykh Saduq has narrated: Narrated to us Muzaffar bin Ja’far bin Muzaffar Alawi Umari Samarqandi (r.a.): Narrated to us Ja’far bin Muhammad bin Masud from his father Muhammad bin Masud from Ja’far bin Ahmad from Hasan bin Ali bin Faddal that he said: I heard Abul Hasan Ali bin Musa Reza (a.s.) say:

“Khizr (a.s.) drank from the nectar of life. Thus he is alive and will not die till the bugle is blown. Indeed he comes to us and he greets us bySalaam . His voice is audible but he could not be seen. And he is present wherever his name is mentioned. Thus whomsoever of you mentions him, must saySalaam to him. Every year he is present in the ceremonies of Hajj. He performs all the rituals and he camps at Arafat; says Amen to the prayers of believers. And the Almighty Allah changes the loneliness of our Qaim (a.s.) during his occultation into his companionship and removes his loneliness through him (Khizr).”

4- Ikmaaluddin: Shaykh Saduq has narrated: Narrated to us Muhammad bin Musa bin Mutawakkil (r.a.): Narrated to us Abdullah bin Ja’far Himyari from Muhammad bin Uthman Amari (r.a.) that he said:

“The master of this affair shall perform the Hajj rituals every year. Thus he shall see the people and recognize them and they shall (also) see him, but will not recognize him.”

5- Ghaibat Tusi: It is narrated from Ahmad bin Idris from Ali bin Muhammad from Fadhl bin Shazan from Abdullah bin Jabla from Abdullah bin Mustanir from Mufaddal bin Umar from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that he said:

“The man of this matter disappears twice. The first one lasts long until some people say that he has died, some say that he has been killed and others say that he has gone. None of his companions will still believe in him except a very few people. No one knows his place except the guardian, who manages his affairs.”

6- Ghaibat Tusi: Through the same chains, it is narrated from Fadhl from Ibne Abi Najran from Ali bin Abi Hamza from Abu Basir from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) that he said:

“The man of this matter must disappear and he is to be in isolation during his disappearance There in no loneliness among the thirty and how good abode Tayba is!”

7- Ghaibat Tusi: It is narrated from Ibne Abi Jayyid from Ibne Walid from Saffar from Ibne Maruf from Abdullah bin Hamduya bin Baraa from Thabit from Ismail from Abdul Alaa, slave of Saam family that he said:

I once traveled with Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) and when we reached Rauha, Imam (a.s.) sighted a golden mountain and remarked:

“Can you see this mountain? It is called Mt. Rizvi and it a mountain of Fars. When it expressed love for us, the Almighty Allah transferred it here. See, every tree growing upon is fruitful and it will be a refuge to one who is in fear. It is so because the master of affair will have two occultations: one is a shorter occultation (Ghaibat Sughra ) and the other is longer occultation (Ghaibat Kubra ).”

8- Ghaibat Tusi: It is narrated from Fadhl bin Shazan from Abdullah bin Jabla from Salma bin Junah Jofi from Hazim bin Habib from Abu Abdullah Sadiq (a.s.) that he told Hazim bin Habib:

“O Hazim, for the master of this affair there will be two occultations and he would reappear in the second of the two. And if someone comes to you and says that he has touched his grave, do not testify for him (accept him).”

9- Ghaibat Nomani: Ali bin Ahmad narrated from Ubaidullah bin Musa Alawi from Ahmad bin Husain from Ahmad bin Hilal from Abdur Rahman bin Abu Najran from Fudhala bin Ayyub that Sudair Sairafi had said: I heard Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) say:

“In the master of this affair, there is a similarity to Prophet Yusuf.” I asked: “It seems as if you are informing us about occultation and bewilderment?” He replied: “These accursed people resembling pigs, why do they deny this statement? Brothers of Yusuf were wise and intelligent persons, they came to Yusuf, talked with him, had a deal with him, and he was their brother, inspite of that until he introduced himself they did not recognize him. And when he said I am Yusuf, they recognized him. On the basis of this why does the confused Ummah deny that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime from time to time conceals His proof from them. Yusuf had the rulership of Egypt and the distance between him and his father was not more than of 18 days’ travel, if the Almighty Allah wanted, He could have made his location known to his father. Then how could this Ummah deny that the Almighty Allah can do with His proof what He did with Yusuf? While your oppressed master whose rights have been usurped, he comes and goes among them and he walks in their Bazaars and treads on their carpets and they cannot recognize him? Till the time that the Almighty Allah permits him to introduce himself as He allowed Yusuf. And when his brothers asked: Are you Yusuf? He replied: Yes, I am that same Yusuf.”

10- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed bin Ogda narrated from Ali bin Hasan Taymali from Umar bin Uthman from Hasan bin Mahbub from Ishaq bin Ammar Sairafi that Abu Abdullah Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) had said:

“The Qaim disappears twice; one is a short disappearance and the other is long. In the first disappearance some of his close Shia know his place and in the other one no one knows his place except the guardians of his religion.”

11- Ghaibat Nomani: Muhammad bin Yaqub narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya from Muhammad bin Husain from Hasan bin Mahbub from Ishaq bin Ammar that Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) had said:

“The Qaim disappears twice; one is a short disappearance and the other is long. In the first disappearance, some of his close Shia knows his place and in the other one no one knows his place, except his close confidants.”

12- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed narrated from Ali bin Hasan from Abdur Rahman bin Abu Najran from Ali bin Mahziyar from Hammad bin Isa from Ibrahim bin Umar Yamani that Abu Ja’far, Baqir (a.s.) had said:

“The master of this affair has two occultations,” and I also heard that he said: “The master of this affair will not rise up having anyone’s allegiance.”

13- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed narrated from Qasim bin Muhammad bin Hasan bin Hazim from Obayss bin Hisham from Abdullah bin Jibilla from Salama bin Janah that Hazim bin Habib said: I came to Imam Sadiq (a.s.) and said:

“My parents died without performing Hajj. Allah has granted to me good livelihood. May I perform Hajj on behalf of them?”

He said: “Yes, you may, because that will benefit them.”

Then he said to me: “O Hazim, the man of this matter disappears twice and he reappears after the second disappearance. Do not believe whoever comes to you saying that he (the Qaim) has died.”

14- Ghaibat Nomani: Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah Zuhri from Ahmad bin Ali Himyari from Hasan bin Ayyub from Abdul Karim bin Amr from Abu Hanifah Sayiq that Hazim bin Habib had said: “I said to Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.):

“My father, who was a foreigner man, died and I wanted to perform the Hajj and give charities on his behalf. What do you say about it?”

He said to me: “Do that because he will be rewarded by it.”

Then he said: “O Hazim, the man of this matter will disappear twice,” He mentioned the rest of the tradition as the one above.

15- Ghaibat Nomani: Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah from Ahmad bin Ali Himyari from Hasan bin Ayyub from Abdul Karim bin Amr from Alaa bin Razeen from Muhammad bin Muslim Thaqafi that Abu Ja’far, Baqir (a.s.) had said:

“The Qaim disappears twice. In one of them it will be said: He has perished or it is unknown which valley he has followed.”

16- Ghaibat Nomani: Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah from Ahmad bin Ali Himyari from Hasan from Abdul Karim bin Amr from Ibne Bukair and Yahya bin Muthanna that Zurarah heard Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) say:

“The Qaim (a.s.) disappears twice. He comes back after one of them, but in the second disappearance, no one knows where he is. He attends the seasons of Hajj. He sees the people but they do not see him.”

The author says: Perhaps the return of the Imam during the minor occultation implies meeting his special friends and representatives or receipt of his news by the people.

17- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed bin Uqda narrated from Muhammad bin Mufaddal bin Ibrahim bin Qays, Sadan bin Ishaq bin Saeed, Ahmad bin Husain bin Abdul Malik and Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Husain Qatawani all from Hasan bin Mahbub from Ibrahim bin Ziyad Khariqi that Abu Basir had said:

I said to Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) that Abu Ja’far, Baqir (a.s.) often said: “The Qaim of Muhammad’s progeny will disappear twice; one will be longer than the other.”

He said: “Yes, but that will not be until the army of the tribe of so and so disagrees, life becomes so difficult, Sufyani rises, distresses and calamities increase and death and killing spread among people until they resort to the sanctum of Allah (the Kaaba) and the sanctum of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) (the Prophet’s mosque).”

18- Ghaibat Nomani: Muhammad bin Yaqub Kulaini has narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya and Ahmad bin Idris from Hasan bin Ali Kufi from Ali bin Hassaan from Abdur Rahman bin Kathir that Mufaddal bin Umar had said: I heard Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) say:

“The man of this matter disappears twice. After one of his disappearances, he comes back to his family and in the other one it is said that he has perished or (it is unknown that) in which valley he has gone.”

I said: “If that takes place, then what will we do?”

He said: “If someone pretends that (he is the representative of the Qaim), you are to ask him about the great matters, which no one will answer except him (the Qaim).”

19- Ghaibat Nomani: Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Saeed narrated from Qasim bin Muhammad bin Hasan bin Hazim from Obayss bin Hisham from Abdullah bin Jibilla from Ahmad bin Harith from Mufaddal bin Umar that Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) had said:

“The man of this matter will recite in one of his (two) disappearances:

فَفَرَرْتُ مِنكُمْ لَمَّا خِفْتُكُمْ فَوَهَبَ لِي رَبِّي حُكْمًا وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

“So I fled from you when I feared you, then my Lord granted me wisdom and made me of the apostles…” (Surah Shoara 26:21)

20- Ghaibat Nomani: Muhammad bin Yaqub Kulaini has narrated from some of his companions from Ahmad bin Muhammad from Hasan bin Ali Washsha from Ali bin Abu Hamza from Abu Basir that Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) had said:

“Occultation is necessary for the master of this affair and seclusion is necessary in this occultation and the best place of residence is Tayyaba (Medina) and with the thirty he will not feel lonely.”

InKafi andGhaibat Nomani this report is also quoted through other chains.

The author says: Tayyaba implies holy Medina. Most likely Imam Zamana (a.s.) lives in Medina and its surroundings and it also shows that the Imam is having thirty special friends in his company. If one of them passes away, another one takes his place.

21- Ghaibat Nomani: Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah narrated from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Rabah from Muhammad bin Abbas bin Isa from Hasan bin Ali Bataini from his father from Mufaddal that Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s.) had said:

“The man of this matter will have a house called Baitul Hamd (house of praise). It will have a lamp lighted since the day of his birth until the day when he will rise with the sword.”

This tradition is also mentioned inGhaibat Tusi from Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.).