In the Name of Allah the Compassionate the Merciful

Part 2: How Can We Become a Person Expecting al-Qa’im (PBUH)?

2-2- Learning and acting upon the words of the Imam (PBUH)

Those living in expectation should learn and submit to the instructions of Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) and act upon their commands, which are available to us in the form of Hadith. This can only be achieved if we study the traditions of Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) on a regular basis and submit to their words. Abu Hamza al-Thumali narrated:

عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ (ع): إِنَّ دِينَ اللَّهِ لَا يُصَابُ بِالْعُقُولِ النَّاقِصَةِ وَ الْآرَاءِ الْبَاطِلَةِ وَ الْمَقَايِيسِ الْفَاسِدَةِ. وَ لَا يُصَابُ إِلَّا بِالتَّسْلِيمِ. فَمَنْ سَلَّمَ لَنَا سَلِمَ وَ مَنِ اهْتَدَى بِنَا هُدِيَ. مَنْ دَانَ بِالْقِيَاسِ وَ الرَّأْيِ هَلَكَ وَ مَنْ وَجَدَ فِي نَفْسِهِ شَيْئاً مِمَّا نَقُولُهُ أَوْ نَقْضِي بِهِ حَرَجاً، كَفَرَ بِالَّذِي أَنْزَلَ السَّبْعَ الْمَثَانِي وَ الْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ، وَ هُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ.

Imam al-Sajjad (PBUH) said, “Surely, the religion of Allah shall not be intercepted by the deficient intellects, false opinions, and corrupt criteria. It shall not be grasped except by submission. He who submits to us shall be safe. He who accepts our guidance shall be guided. He who acts upon analogy (Qiyas) and opinion (Ra’y) shall perish. And he who feels difficulty in his heart in accepting our sayings or our verdicts, has disbelieved in the One who sent Quran, the Great, while he does not know.”[[1]]

Imam Ali (PBUH) said the following in one of his sermons preserved in Nahj al-Balagha:

انْظُرُوا أَهْلَ بَيْتِ نَبِيِّكُمْ، فَالْزَمُوا سَمْتَهُمْ وَ اتَّبِعُوا أَثَرَهُمْ، فَلَنْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ هُدىً وَ لَنْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِي رَدىً. فَإِنْ لَبَدُوا فَالْبُدُوا وَ إِنْ نَهَضُوا فَانْهَضُوا. وَ لا تَسْبِقُوهُمْ فَتَضِلُّوا وَ لا تَتَأَخَّرُوا عَنْهُمْ فَتَهْلِكُوا.

“Look at the people of the Prophet’s family. Adhere to their direction. Follow their footsteps because they shall never let you out of guidance and shall never throw you into destruction. If they sit down, you sit down, and if they rise up you rise up. Do not go ahead of them for you will go astray, and do not fall behind them for you will perish.”^[[2]^]

Yazid Ibn Abd al-Malik narrated:

عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) قَالَ: تَزَاوَرُوا، فَإِنَّ فِي زِيَارَتِكُمْ إِحْيَاءً لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَ ذِكْراً لأَِحَادِيثِنا. وَ أَحَادِيثُنا تُعَطِّفُ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ. فَإِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهَا رَشَدْتُمْ وَ نَجَوْتُمْ. وَ إِنْ تَرَكْتُمُوهَا ضَلَلْتُمْ وَ هَلَكْتُمْ. فَخُذُوا بِهَا وَ أَنَا بِنَجَاتِكُمْ زَعِيمٌ.

Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) said, “Visit each other since this would revive your hearts and would cause reminding of our traditions. Our traditions cause affection among you. If you follow them, you will be guided and saved, and if you abandon them, you will be misguided and perished. Thus act upon them and I guarantee your salvation.”[[3]]

The Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) have emphasized that the only way to successfully pass the trial of occultation with firm belief in the Imam (PBUH) is to hold fast to religious instructions and guard against the Satanic views and the intruders in the domain of religion. Abu Salt al-Hirawi narrated:

عَنِ الهروي عَنِ الرضا عَنْ آبائه عليهم السلام قالَ: قالَ النّبي (ص): وَ الَّذي بَعَثني بِالحقِّ بَشيراً لَيغيبنَّ القائِمُ مِن وُلدي بِعَهدٍ مَعهودٍ إِليهِ مِنّي حَتّى يَقولَ أَكثرُ النّاسِ ما لِلّهِ في آل مُحمدٍ حاجَةً وَ يَشكَّ آخِرونَ في وِلادتهِ. فَمَن أَدركَ زَمانَه، فَليَتَمَسَّكْ بِدينهِ وَ لا يَجعلْ لِلشَّيطانِ إِليهِ سَبيلاً بِشَكِّهِ فَيُزيلُه عَن مِلَّتي وَ يُخرِجُه مِن ديني، فَقَد أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُمْ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ مِن قَبلُ. وَ إِنَّ الله َ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ جَعلَ الشَّياطِينَ أَوْلِياءَ لِلَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ.

Imam al-Ridha (PBUH) said that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) said, “By Him Who sent me in truth as a bearer of glad tidings! Most certainly, al-Qa’im from my offspring shall disappear according to the covenant that has been taken from me until such time that most people will say, ‘Allah does not have any wish for (implementing a government for) the family of Muhammad,’ and some others become doubtful about his birth (i.e., his existence). Thus, whoever meets such time should hold fast to his religion and should not leave out a way for Satan towards himself, or Satan will remove him from my nation and will drive him out of my religion… Certainly, Allah, the mighty and the majestic, has made ‘Satans guardians for those who do not to believe.’ (7:27)”^[[4]^]

The period of occultation is the most sensitive and the most difficult period of the trial for people, and those who succeed to maintain their faith during this period have the greatest faith in comparison with the people of other era. In a very interesting Hadith, Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) narrated from his fathers from the Leader of the Faithful (PBUH) who said:

عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ آبَائِهِ عليهم السلام فِي وَصِيَّةِ النَّبِيِّ (ص) لِعَلِيٍّ (ع) قَالَ: يَا عَلِيُّ! أَعْجَبُ النَّاسِ إِيمَاناً وَ أَعْظَمُهُمْ يَقِيناً قَوْمٌ يَكُونُونَ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ، لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا النَّبِيَّ (ص) وَ حُجِبَ عَنْهُمُ الْحُجَّةُ، فَآمَنُوا بِسَوَادٍ عَلَى بَيَاضٍ.

The Apostle of Allah (PBUH&HF) said, “O Ali! The most astonishing people in faith and the greatest among them in certainty (Yaqin) are the people who shall be in the end of time who shall not meet the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and the Proof (of Allah) shall be concealed from them, but they shall believe by means of black (letters) over white (sheets) [i.e., by the written traditions that have reached them].”[[5]]

In a Tawqi’, Imam al-Mahdi (PBUH) mentioned:

إِنا غَيرُ مُهمِلينَ لِمراعاتِكُم وَ لا ناسينَ لِذِكركُم و لو لا ذلكَ لَنَزَلَ بِكُمُ اللَّأواءُ وَ اصْطَلَمكُم الأَعداءُ. فَاتقوا الله َ جلّ جلاله، وَ ظاهِرونا عَلَى انتيِاشِكم مِن فِتنةٍ قِد أَنافَت عَليكُم … فَلْيَعْمَلْ كُلُّ امرِئٍ مِنكُم بِما يَقرُبُ بِهِ مِن مَحَبَّتِنا وَ يَتَجَنَّبْ ما يُدنيهِ مِن كَراهَتِنا وَ سَخَطِنا، فَإِنَّ أَمرَنا بَغْتَةً فُجأَةٌ، حينَ لا تنفعهُ تَوبةٌ وَ لا يُنجيهِ مِن عِقابِنا نَدَمٌ عَلى حَوبَةٍ. وَ اللهُُُ يُلهِمُكُم الرُّشدَ وَ يَلطُفُ لَكُم فِي التَّوفيقِ بِرَحمتهِ.

“We are not negligent of caring you and are not forgetful of your remembrance. Had it been so, then terrible calamities would have befallen you and your enemies would have destroyed you. Be Mindful of Allah and assist us (by obedience) to rescue you from the tribulations that have afflicted you… Thus, each one of you should act upon what draws him nearer to our love and refrain from whatever brings him to our dislike and our anger. Certainly, our advent shall come very suddenly and unexpectedly at the time that no repentance would benefit and no regret from sin would save one from the punishment by us. May Allah inspire in you consciousness and be kind to you in making you successful by His mercy.”^[[6]^]

The above tradition implies that our strict adherence to the commands of Ahl al-Bait (PBUT) and trying to please them by our deeds, may contribute to our early relief by leave of Allah.