The belief in an ideal future (in\nwhich justice and equity would reign in place of the present injustice and\noppression, and which would be ushered in through divine power) is not just an\nIslamic dogma; it is a natural instinct ingrained in human soul and mind by the\nCreator. That is why this belief is shared by all religions; it is a common\nheritage of all who believe in a Creator. The Hindus are awaiting their 10th\nAvatar (Kalki) to begin the Satya Yuga (era of truth)(1); the Zoroastrians hope\nfor the coming of Saoshyant and the rule of Ahura Mazda(2); the Jews are still\nwaiting for the Messiah, and the Christians look forward to his second coming.\nNot only the followers of religion, even the pagan Greeks longed for a Utopia,\nand the confirmed atheists, i.e. the communists, piously teach that a time\nwould come when complete equality and equity would reign on the earth, and the\nsociety would be cleansed of oppression and tyranny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The universal acceptance of this idea\nand ideal shows that it is a divinely-inspired goal which the humanity is\nirresistibly proceeding to. What the Islam and the Prophet (PBUH&HP) did\nwas to give us the good news that that era was near at hand, that the awaited\ndivine rule was to be established not in some unknown generation, but\nspecifically by his 12th successor. According to Shiites, that successor was\nborn in the year 256 A.H. in Samarra, Iraq. By this birth, hope culminated into\nfulfillment, the future became present, the unseen materialized into the seen,\nand the universal aspiration of a golden age was personified in al-Mahdi,\nturning the prophecies into a fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, Shiites believe that he is\nalive now, yet hidden from the eyes of people, and would reappear whenever\nAllah wills. It is not that he will be born later, or that he was born and died\nin the past. The savior in the Hindu, the Jewish, or the Christians religions\nare not necessarily a present fact; they are generally just an idea. But for\nShiites, \u201cal-Mahdi\u201d is not an idea; he is a fact, a reality, a living\nauthority, always in readiness to come out to judge between the oppressor and\nthe oppressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on Shia teachings, the best deed\nis to \u201cwait\u201d for the release from adversity (i.e. reappearance of Imam\nal-Mahdi). Shiites are therefore constantly hoping for the joy and happiness,\npersonified in al-Mahdi, the Imam whom they believe is alive at this very time,\nand who himself is awaiting the command of Allah to reappear, so that he may\nstrengthen the weak, and judge the oppressors. However, he is hidden from the\neyes of people and has not submitted to any unjust ruler, and therefore, he\nwill reappear without having paid allegiance to any oppressor. In fact, besides\nother characteristics that he possesses, his existence and his whole life is a\npersonification of this “rejection of injustice”. Those who believe\nin him know that they too have to remain steadfast in face of oppression and\ntyranny; they too have to remain unbending before injustice and inequity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, according to the\nShiites, the responsibility of \u201cal-Mahdi\u201d is not just spreading justice and\nequity in the world at the end of time, rather he is the successor and\nremainder of Allah on the earth, and the medium for the bounty of Allah on his\ncreation; he is responsible for guiding mankind, and everyone benefits from his\nguidance(3). This feeling which may be experienced but not described, creates a\nspiritual relationship between al-Mahdi and his followers, a psychological\nrapport between the leader and the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It creates hope in place of despair;\nit replaces weakness, defeatism and grief with strength, confidence and joy. It\ngives one the courage to stand up before the tyrants instead of bowing one’s\nhead before them in submission. A community which eagerly looks forward to a\ngreat future, and whose members are advised to always keep their swords ready\nand within reach – in order that they could rush to their Imam, at whatever\ntime the call came \u2013 can never despair of the calamities, because they believe\nthat the future is for the righteous people(4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from\u201dProphecies about occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (AS), by\nAllamah Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi (with some changes and addition))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nthose in expectation of the kingdom of justice on earth, especially you dear\nfriend, upon 15th of Sha\u2019ban, the birthday anniversary of the one promised to\nspread justice and equity on earth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam al-Mahdi (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1- In Hinduism,\nAvatar is a deliberate descent of the Supreme Being to earth. In fact, every\nmanifestation of the God is referred to as Avatar. Hindus believe that Vishnu\n(the Supreme God of Mercy) has appeared nine times so far, and the tenth\nappearance is yet to happen. They believe that Kalki Purana or simply Kalki is\nthe tenth manifestation of Vishnu who will appear at a time when the world will\nbe filled with oppression and injustice. He will appear on a big white horse\nwith a sword in his hand to eradicate oppression and injustice, spread justice\nand equity, and begin the era of truth (Satya Yuga)(for further information,\nrefer to \u201cIntroduction to Hinduism\u201d by Simon Weightman or \u201cEncyclopedia of\nHinduism\u201d by C. A. Jones and J. D. Ryan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2- Saoshyant is\na figure of Zoroastrianism who brings about the final renovation of the world;\nhe will appear at the end of time and save the world from the devils. He is\nexpected to appear at the end of the last (12th) Millennium, and to bring about\nthe Frashegird (the making wonderful or perfect ending). It will begin with the\nresurrection of the dead, and reuniting of the soul with body. At that time,\nthe devils will be rendered powerless and destroyed by their enemies. With the\npermission of Ahura Mazda, Saoshyant will judge between the people (for further\ninformation, refer to Zoroastrianism: An Introduction, by Jenny Rose).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3- As mentioned\nearlier, the sole responsibility of \u201cal-Mahdi\u201d is not to spread justice and\nequity at the end of time, rather he is the successor and remainder of Allah on\nthe earth; he is the perfect human who is the medium between Allah and not only\nmankind, but also all forms of creatures. In fact, he has various aspects of\nexistence, one of which being his worldly existence through which the golden\nage of justice and equity shall be established. Therefore, this promised one is\nnot only alive and existing, but also the existence of all creatures is\ndependent on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4- \u201cAnd verily\nwe have written in the Pslams, after the Reminder, that My righteous slaves\nwill inherit the earth\u201d, The Holy Quran (21:105)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The belief in an ideal future (in which justice and equity would reign in place of the present injustice and oppression, and which would be ushered in through divine power) is not just an Islamic dogma; it is a natural instinct ingrained in human soul and mind by the Creator. That is why this belief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[23892,18056,22250,20443,21011,20170,18070,23893,18418,18793,17965,23891,23894],"class_list":["post-4733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2012-07-05","tag-belief","tag-creator","tag-future","tag-idea","tag-imam-mahdi","tag-islamic","tag-natural","tag-occasion-letters","tag-rule","tag-success","tag-the-existing-promised-one","tag-waiting"],"yoast_head":"\n