 |
To hope for the appearance and revolution of
the Mahdi is an inspiring Islamic social idea. Besides being a repose of trust
in the future, it is an appropriate mirror in which the nature of the Islamic
aspirations of mankind can be seen. This prophecy comprise many elements, some of
them philosophical, others cultural, political, economic or social and still
others human or physio-human. It is not possible in this short article to
discuss the subject in detail nor to quote extensively from the holy Qur'an and
the Sunnah, but, in order to make the nature of "The Big Expectation"
clear, we propose briefly to throw some light on its salient features. They are
as below: Optimism about the future of humanity There are divergent views about the future.
There are some who believe that adversity, distress, disorder and mischief are
the lot of humanity and on that account life has no value. In the eyes of such
people the most judicious action would be to put an end to life. Some others think that human life has already
been thrown into disarray. They believe that, following the marvellous
technological progress and the accumulation of huge stockpiles of the means of
mass destruction, mankind has reached a stage where its final annihilation is
Imminent. The English philosopher, Bertrand Russell, says
in his book, 'New Hopes' that there are people, including Einstein, who see the
possibility of man having completed his span of life and think that with his
wonderful scientific skill he may, in a few years, succeed in completely
exterminating himself. According to this theory there is a great
possibility of the total extinction of the human race just when it is on the
threshold of attaining maturity. If we rely on perceptible evidence only, such
a possibility cannot be ruled out. à According to a third theory distress and disorder are not a part of human nature. Nor will the tragedy of collective suicide ever take place. In fact, a very happy and bright future awaits humanity. A great man will appear who will uproot all corruption and mischief. This is a religiously inspired theory and it is in this context that Islam gives the glad tidings of Mahdi's revolution. Its salient features will be: à
Final victory of righteousness, virtue, peace, justice, freedom and
truth over the forces of egoism, subjugation, tyranny, deceit and fraud. à
Establishment of a world government (one government in the whole world).
à
Reclamation and rehabilitation of the whole earth so that no area
remains waste. à
Attainment of full sagacity by mankind, adherence to ideology and
emancipation from animal impulses and undue social restrictions. à
Maximum utilization of the gifts of the earth. à
Equal distribution of wealth and property among all human beings. à
Complete eradication of all vices like adultery, fornication, usury, use
of intoxicants, treachery, theft and homicide and total disappearance of
abnormal complexes, malice and ill-will. à
Eradication of war and restoration of peace, friendship, co operation
and benevolence. à
Complete coherence between man and nature. All these points require detailed discussion
and analysis but here the idea is just to acquaint the readers with the nature
of the Islamic tidings and aspirations. Big expectations It simply means hoping and aspiring for the
materialization of the order (referred to above) which the Divine Will has destined
for the world. Now let us turn back to the point that the expectation is of two
kinds. One kind is constructive and dynamic which is an act of virtue and the
other is destructive and paralysing which is a sort of licentiousness. We have already mentioned that these two kinds
of expectations are the outcome of two divergent notions of the great
appearance of the promised Mahdi. These two notions have sprung from the two
approaches to the nature of historical development. Now let us explain further the
two kinds of expectations. Destructive expectation The concept which some people have of the
rising of the Mahdi and the revolution which he will bring about is only of an
explosive nature. These people believe that the appearance of the Mahdi depends
solely upon the spread of injustice, discrimination, frustration and disasters.
They are of the opinion that, immediately prior to the appearance of the Mahdi,
the forces of evil will gain a complete hold and not a single good man will be
left in the world. They look forward to an explosion, following which the
divine forces will redeem the truth but not the supporters of truth, for they
would not be existing. On this basis they would condemn every reform
and regard every sin, every excess and every injustice as valid and proper,
because, according to their idea, corruption and tyranny bring the explosion
nearer and pave the way for the eventual betterment of a permanent nature. They
believe in the maxim that ends justify the means and as such unlawful means
become lawful if the objective is desirable. That is how deadly sins besides
giving pleasures are supposed to help in bringing about the final
sacred-revolution. The following lines most appropriately apply to their case: "Win the heart of your beloved
even by deceit and treachery. Commit a sin if you are unable to perform a good
deed." Such people naturally dislike the reformers and
all those who enjoin good and forbid evil, because they think that their action
is delaying the appearance of the promised Mahdi. They, even if they do not
commit the sins themselves, at least appreciate the reprehensible activities of
the sinners who, according to them, are preparing the ground for the appearance
of the Mahdi. This sort of notion may be called
semi-dialectic, because it regards corruption and distress as a prelude to the
sacred explosion. The dialectic thinking also opposes partial reforms and
allows the creation of unrest, but it has some merit, because it does so with a
view to making the split wider and the fight hotter, whereas the supporters of
this outrageous notion simply allow corruption and disorder and then do nothing
except to sit back and hope for the desired result to follow automatically. It
need not be added that this sort of notion of the appearance of the promised
Mahdi is against the tenets of Islam and must be regarded as a sort of
licentiousness. Constructive expectation All the verses of the holy Qur'an, which form the
basis of the concept of the Mahdi and all the traditions cited in support
thereof go against the above notion. What is inferred from the holy Qur'an is
that the appearance of the Mahdi is a link in the series of fights between the
righteous and the wicked and the Mahdi is the symbol of the final and complete
victory of the righteous and the faithful. The holy Qur'an says: Allah has promised the righteously striving
believers to appoint them as His deputies on earth, as He had appointed those
who lived before. He will make the religion that He has chosen for them to
stand supreme. He will replace their fear with peace and security. They will
worship their Lord without fear and will not submit to anyone other than Him
and will associate nothing with His worship and obedience. (Surah al-Nur, 24:55) The appearance of the Mahdi is Allah's favour
for the oppressed and the weak and is a means of their coming to power and
gaining the promised Divine succession in the whole world. The holy Qur'an
says. We have decided to grant favour to the
suppressed ones by appointing them leaders and heirs of the earth. (Surah al-Qasas, 28:5) The appearance of the Mahdi means the
realization of the promise Allah made to the righteous in His sacred Book. Verily We have written in the Psalms after the
Torah had been revealed: My righteous servants shall inherit the earth. (Surah al Anbia, 21:105) The well-known saying of the holy Prophet that
Allah will fill the earth with justice after its having been filled with injustice
and tyranny testifies to the fact that at the time of the appearance of the
Mahdi there will exist two classes. One will consist of the oppressors and the
other, howsoever small, of the oppressed who are subjected to injustice and
tyranny. Shaykh Saduq narrates on the authority of Imam
Ja'far ibn Muhammad al Sadiq that the Mahdi would appear only when the virtuous
would become the most virtuous and the wicked the most wicked. From this also
it is evident that both the virtuous and the wicked will be in existence. Islamic traditions make mention of a group of
people who will come forward and join Imam Mahdi immediately on his appearance.
From this again it is evident that the virtuous will not be completely wiped
out and though their number may be insignificant, yet they will be best in the
quality of faith and comparable to the companions of Imam Husayn ibn Ali. According to Islamic traditions the rising of
the Mahdi will be preceded by other risings of the virtuous. What has been
mentioned as the Yamani's rising is an instance. In some Islamic traditions a mention has been
made of a government of the righteous people which will continue to exist till
the rising of the Mahdi (May Allah hasten his solace) and, as we know, some
Shi'ah ulama, who held good opinions about some of their contemporary
Shi'ah governments, considered it probable that it would be those very
governments which would last till the rising of the Mahdi. It is gathered from the various Qur'anic verses
and traditions taken together that rising of the promised Mahdi will be the
last one of the chain of the battles which have taken place between truth and
falsehood since the creation of the world. The promised Mahdi will realize the ideal of
all the prophets, saints and fighters in the path of truth.
|
