It is reported that Rousseau, in spite of being a great champion of political revolution from an intellectual and a philosophical point of view, shuddered at the very thought of there being a France without a king, the reason being that he was born and brought up and had always lived under the shadow of monarchy. But the man having a long historical background and being fully aware of the historical factors knows perfectly well how and when the prevailing culture and the prevailing system came into being and developed. He knows that the historical age of the cultures and systems, howsoever long, is very limited.

Have you read the Surah al-Kahf (Chapter 18 of the holy Qur'an) and have you gone through the story of the youths who believed in Allah and were virtuous, but had to face an idolatrous system which was dominant at that time and which ruthlessly crushed every idea of Monotheism? They felt greatly distressed and lost all hope. In utter despair they took refuge in a cave, for they were at their wits' end and did not know what to do. They prayed to Allah to resolve their difficulty. They thought that the then existing unjust system would continue to prevail for ever and would liquidate all those whose hearts throbbed for the truth. Do you know what Allah did? He sent them to sleep in the cave for 309 years. Then He awakened them and sent them back to the scene of life. By then the unjust regime, the power and tyranny which had dazzled them, had completely collapsed and become a part of past history. This arrangement was made to enable those young men to see themselves the downfall of falsehood, the power and grandeur which had overawed them. The people of the cave achieved moral uplift and sublimation through this unique experience which extended their lives for three hundred years. The same privilege will be enjoyed by the Awaited Saviour through his long life which will enable him to see the giant dwindling into a dwarf, a lofty tree shrinking to become a mere seed leaf and a tornado turning into a mere whiff of the wind.

Furthermore, the experience gained through the direct and close study of so many successive cultures will widen the mental horizon of the person designated to lead the revolution and will prepare him better for the accomplishment of his mission. He will have benefited by the experience of others, knowing their strong and weak points, and will be in a better position to assess social developments correctly in their true historical context.

As the revolution to be brought about by the Awaited Saviour is to be ideological and based on the message of Islam, the very nature of his mission requires him to be close to the early Islamic sources and to have a personality built independently of and detached from the influences of the culture he is destined to fight. A person born and brought up under the shadow of a particular culture cannot in all probability, escape its effects totally, even if he leads a campaign against it. To ensure that the leader-designate is not himself influenced by the culture he is expected to change, his personality must be built fully at a cultural stage closer in its general spirit to the system he wants to establish.

(c) His training for the mission

Now we come to the third question as to how the preparation of the Awaited Saviour for his mission was completed, as he was only about five years old when his father, Imam Hasan al-Askari died. This age is the time of early childhood and the child is not old enough for the development of the personality of a leader. Then how did his personality develop?

The answer is that several of his forefathers also assumed the Imamate at an early age. Imam Muhammad ibn Ah al-Jawad assumed it when he was only eight years old and Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi when he was only nine.

It should be observed that the phenomenon of the early Imamate reached its zenith in the case of the Imam Mahdi. We call it a phenomenon, because it assumed a tangible and practical form as in the case of Imam Mahdi's forefathers. It was felt and experienced by the Muslims coming into contact with the Imam concerned. Experience of the people being the best proof of a phenomenon, we cannot be asked to give a more tangible or a more convincing proof of it. The following points will elucidate what we mean:

(i) The Imamate of an Imam belonging to the Holy House was not a centre of hereditary power and influence, nor did it have the backing of any ruling regime, as was the case with the Imamate of the Fatimid caliphs and the caliphate of the Abbasid caliphs. The extensive popular support and allegiance which the Imams enjoyed was due only to their spiritual influence and the conviction of their followers that they alone deserved the leadership of Islam on spiritual and intellectual grounds.

(ii) The popular bases supporting the Imamate had existed since the early days of the Islamic era. They expanded further during the time of the Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq. The school set up by them assumed the form of an extensive intellectual movement which included among its ranks hundreds of legists, scholastic theologians, exegetes and others learned in various fields of Islamic scholarship and the humanities known at that time. Hasan ibn Ali Washsha, when visiting the Masjid of Kufah, found there 900 scholars all repeating the traditions narrated to them by Imam Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq.(1)

(iii) The qualifications which an Imam possessed, as believed in by this school and the popular bases represented by it, were very high. The Imam was judged by the standard of these qualifications to find out whether he was really fit to be an Imam. They believed that the Imam must be the most learned and wise man of his time.

(iv) The school and the popular bases had to make great sacrifices for the sake of their belief in the Imamate which the contemporary governments regarded as a hostile line, at least from the ideological angle. This attitude led the then authorities to the persecution of the followers of the Imams. Many people were killed. Many others were thrown into dungeons. Hundreds died while in detention. Their belief in the Imamate of the Prophet's House used to cost them dear. The only attraction was their conviction of gaining the favour of Allah.

(v) The Imams, whose Imamate these popular bases acknowledged, were not living like the kings in high towers isolated from their followers. They never segregated themselves, except when imprisoned, exiled or forcibly kept aloof by the ruling juntas. This we know for certain on the authority of a large number of reporters who have narrated the sayings 'and deeds of each of the first eleven Imams. Similarly, we have a record of the correspondence exchanged between the Imams and their contemporaries. The Imams used to make journeys to various places and

appointed their deputies in different parts of the Muslim world. Their supporters also, while visiting the holy places during Hajj, made it a point to call on them at Madina. All this meant a continuous contact between the Imams and their followers scattered all over the Muslim world.

(vi) The contemporary caliphs always regarded the Imams and their spiritual leadership as a threat to themselves and their dynasty. For this reason, they did all they could to disrupt this leadership and in pursuance of their nefarious ends, they resorted to many mean and arbitrary actions. Occasionally their behaviour was too harsh and despotic. The Imams themselves were continuously chased and kept in detention. Such actions were painful and disgusting to all the Muslims, especially to the supporters of the Imams.

These six points comprise historical facts. If we take them into consideration, we can easily come to the conclusion that the early Imamate was a real fact and not a fiction. It is certain that an Imam who appeared on the scene at a very early age, who proclaimed himself to be the spiritual and intellectual leader of the Muslims and who was acknowledged to be so by a vast cross-section of the people must have had great knowledge, competence and mastery over all branches of theology. Otherwise, the popular bases could not be convinced of his Imamate.

We have already said that these bases had continuous contact with the Imams and were in a position to judge their personalities. It is not conceivable that so many people should have accepted a boy to be their Imam and should have made sacrifices for his sake without ascertaining his real worth and assessing his competence. Even if it is presumed that the people made no immediate efforts to ascertain the position, still the truth could not remain unknown for years in spite of the continuous contact between the child Imam and the people. Had he been childish in his knowledge and thinking, he would certainly have been exposed.

Even if it is supposed that the popular bases of the Imamate could not discover the truth, it was easy for the government of the day to expose the child, if he had been really childish in his thinking and cultural attainments like all other children. It certainly would have been in the interest of the government of the day to bring him before his supporters and others to prove that he was not fit to be an Imam and a spiritual and intellectual leader. It might have been difficult to prove the incompetence of a man of 40 to 50, but it would have been quite easy to prove the incompetence of an ordinary child, howsoever intelligent he might have been. Evidently this would have been much simpler and easier than the complex and risky policy of suppression adopted by those in power at that time. The only explanation for why the government kept quiet and did not play this card is that it had realized that the early Imamate was a real phenomenon and not a concoction.

The fact is that the government did attempt to play that card but did not succeed. History tells us of such attempts and their failures, but it does not report any occasion on which the child Imam vacillated or showed signs of such embarrassment as could shake the confidence of the people believing in his early Imamate.

That is what we meant when we said that the early Imamate was really a phenomenon and not a mere presumption. This phenomenon has deep roots, for there exist parallel cases throughout the history of the heavenly mission and Divine leadership. We cite just one instance.

We commanded John; Zachariah's son, to follow the guidance of the Lord with due steadfastness. To John We gave knowledge and wisdom during his childhood', (Surah Maryam, 19.12)

After it has been proved that the early Imamate had been a real phenomenon already existing in the life of the people of the Prophet's House, no exception can be taken to the Imamate of the Mahdi and his succession to his father while he was still a child.

(d) Reasons for his continued existence

Now we come to the fourth question. Even if it is presumed that theoretically the existence of the Mahdi, with all its implication including the long life, the early Imamate and the complete occultation is possible, how can we believe that he actually exists, for a mere possibility is not enough to prove that. As the concept of the Mahdi is unusual and extraordinary, the existence of a few sayings of the holy Prophet, which are enshrined in the books, is not enough to prove that the existence of the Mahdi is a historical fact and not a mere presumption which has seized the imagination of a large number of people for certain psychological reasons.

The answer to this question is this that the concept of the Mahdi as the Awaited Saviour who is to change the world for the better has been mentioned in the traditions of the holy Prophet generally and in the sayings of the Imams particularly. It has been emphasized in so many passages that there is no reason to doubt it. The number of the reports on this subject found in the books of our Sunni brethren comes to 400,(2) and the total number of the reports found in both the Shi'ah and the Sunni sources comes to more than 6,000.(3) This is a colossal figure, unparalleled in the case of most of those Islamic issues which are not usually doubted by any Muslim.

As for the embodiment of this concept in the person of the twelfth Imam, there exists enough justification to believe that. This justification can be summarized in two arguments, one being Islamic and the other scientific.

By the Islamic argument we prove the existence of the Awaited Saviour and by the scientific argument we prove that the Mahdi is not a mere myth but his existence is a fact proved by historical experience.

As for the Islamic argument, it is represented by hundreds of traditions which have come down from the holy Prophet and the Imams of his House. They specify that the Mahdi will belong to the Prophet's House, will~be descended from his daughter Fatimah-tuz-Zehra and will be the descendant of Imam Husayn in the ninth generation. The traditions also say that the total number of the caliphs will be twelve. Thus, the traditions give a specific shape to the general idea of the Mahdi and determine that he is none other than the twelfth Imam of the Prophet's House. The number of these traditions is very large in spite of the fact that the Imams were very reserved on this subject, for fear of an attempt on the life of the Mahdi.

It is not only because of their number that we have to accept these traditions, but there are also other indications of their authenticity. According to the different versions of a tradition of the holy Prophet, he has to be succeeded by twelve caliphs, by twelve Imams, or by twelve commanders. The total number of reports about this saying as counted by some writers exceeds 270 and they are found in the most celebrated Shi'ah and Sunni books, such as Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Tirmizy, Sunan Abu Dawud, Ahmad's Musnad and Hakim's Mustadrak. It may be noted that Bukhari, who has quoted this tradition, was a contemporary of Imam Muhammad bin Ali al-Jawad, Imam Ali bin Muhammad al-Hadi and Imam Hasan al-Askari. This fact has great significance, for it proves that the tradition was recorded before its contents could materialize. Hence, it cannot be suspected that it is a possible reflection on the actual number of the Imam, as believed by the Twelver Shi 'ah to reinforce their belief in the twelve Imams. This is because the spurious sayings attributed to the holy Prophet refer to the events which take place earlier and the saying comes afterwards. Such sayings do not precede the events nor are they recorded in the books of tradition earlier.

So long as we possess material evidence of the fact that the tradition was recorded before the number of the Imams was actually completed we can safely say that it is not a reflection on an accomplished fact. It is only an expression of a divine truth, expressed by him who never spoke whimsically, and a prophecy which was subsequently fulfilled by the actual number of the Imams beginning with Imam Ali and ending with Imam Mahdi.

As for the scientific argument, we have to state that it consists of the experience of a large number of people for a period covering about seventy years. This period is known as that of minor occultation. To elucidate the point we propose to explain minor occultation briefly.

The minor occultation represents the first stage of the Imamate of the Awaited Saviour who was destined to keep himself physically absent from the public scene, from the very inception of his Imamate, though he still continues to take an intelligent interest in what happens around him. Had this occultation come suddenly it would have been a great shock to his supporters, for they had been accustomed to be always in contact with the Imam and to consult him on their divergent problems. His sudden disappearance would have caused a big vacuum which might have absorbed and even destroyed the whole organisation, for his supporters would have felt that they had been cut off from their spiritual and intellectual leadership. In order to familiarize them with the idea of occultation and to. enable them to adapt themselves to the new situation it was felt necessary that a preparatory stage should precede the final occultation.

 

 

 

 

 


(1) The number of Imam Sadiq's pupils has been reported upto four thousand, some of the well-known among them are: Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man b. Thabit, Abu Basir Yahya b. al-Qasim, Aban b. Taghlab, Ali b. Yaqteen, Abu Ja'far alias Mu'min al-Taq, Hisham b. Hakam, Harith b. Mughira, Hatim b. Isma'il, Jabir b. Hayyan, Malik b. Anas, Mufazzal b. Umar al-Kufi, (For details see: Al-Imam al-Sadiq wa'l mazahibul arba'ah, Asad Haydar, (Darul Kitab al-Arabia Beirut).

(2) Al-Mahdi by Ayatullah Sayyid Sadruddin Sadr.

(3) Muntakhab al-Athr fi Imam al-Thani 'Ashr by Lutfullah Safi.