The Mahdi and Abrogation of the Ordinances

Dr. Fahimi: If I recall, you had said earlier that the Mahdi is not the lawgiver, and neither is he the abrogator of the law. This statement of yours does not agree with the substance of the following tradition:

Imam Sadiq said:

Two cases of bloodshed are permissible in Islam. But no one executes the divine ordinance in those two cases until God sends the Qa'im from the ahl al-bayt who can execute God's injunction in those cases without requiring any witnesses: one is the case of a married man committing adultery who will be stoned by him; and the other is the case of a person refusing to pay the zakat.[38]

In another tradition the Imam said: "When the Qa'im from the family of Muhammad appears he will judge among people without requiring witnesses in the manner of David and Solomon."[39]

These and other such traditions imply that Islamic ordinances will be abrogated by the Imam who will substitute for them new ordinances. By holding such beliefs you are actually proving the prophethood of the Mahdi, even though you do not call him a prophet!

Mr. Hoshyar: First of all, allow me to point out that the source of such beliefs consists of rare traditions reported by a single narrator. Second, I do not see any problem with the proposition that God may reveal a law to the Prophet and inform him that the law will be applicable to him and his followers until the time when the Qa'im appears. When the twelfth among his descendants appears he should follow a second injunction. The Prophet also informs about this arrangement to his successor until the information reaches the last Imam. In such a case the ordinance is not abrogated, and the Imam does not introduce a new ruling that was revealed to him. Rather, the first injunction was already limited in time, and the Prophet was already informed about the second one.

Thus, for instance, social expediency required that the judge should confine his judgement to an objective proof, seeking witnesses, and an oath. The Prophet and the Imams were also required to follow the same procedure in their administration of justice. However, when the Mahdi appears and establishes the Islamic government, he is required to decide the case on the basis of his knowledge. Thus, this latter ordinance was already part of Islamic judisprudence, awaiting execution after the appearance of the Mahdi.

Is It Not Possible that the Mahdi Has Already Appeared?

Dr. Jalali: We recognize with you the fundamental belief about the Mahdi. Yet, how do we know that he has not appeared already? From the early days of Islamic history up until now there have been many individuals from different parts of the world, both belonging to the Quraysh and non-Quraysh, who have arisen with the claim to Mahdiism. Interestingly, they found supporters among the people and have even left their legacy in the sects that were named after them. In fact, some of them came to power and established dynasties that lasted for some time. Here we are awaiting the appearance of the Mahdi, and in all likelihood one of the pretenders to Mahdiism might have been a true Mahdi about which we have no information!

Mr. Hoshyar: As we have detailed in our previous discussions, we do not believe in an unidentifiable Mahdi whose characteristics are unknown to us so that we might make an error in recognizing him. On the contrary, the Prophet and the Imams (peace be upon them), who informed people about this fundamental expectation and the existence of the Mahdi, provided all the detailed characteristics and qualifications of the Mahdi to remove all doubts and ambiguities about his identity. The following hadith is the summary of such a description of the future Mahdi:

The Mahdi's name is Muhammad and his patronymic is Abu al-Qasim. His mother was a slave-girl by the name of Narjis, Sayqal and Sawsan. He will be a Hashimite, from the descendants of Imam Husayn, and a direct offspring of Imam Hasan 'Askari. He was born in the year 256/868 or 255/867 in the city of Samarra in Iraq. He has two forms of occultation: one short, the other long. The second occultation will be prolonged to such an extent that many people will doubt his very existence. His age will be very long. The mission will begin in Mecca. He will launch his revolution with a sword and will annihilate all the oppressors and disbelievers. All the Peoples of the Book and Muslims will submit to his authority. He will establish a universal Islamic government on earth, will thoroughly uproot the forces of injustice and tyranny, and will replace these with justice and equity. Islam will become the universal faith and the Mahdi will expend his energy to spread it peacefully amongst all. Such are the traits and functions of the Mahdi for whom the Muslims are awaiting.

Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi, "the Bab"

Mr. Hoshyar: Now, Dr. Jalali, let me ask you a question. Among all those who have claimed to be the Mahdi so far, have you come across anyone in whom all these characteristics that we have detailed above finds expression so that his claim could be ascertained as a possibility?

For example, a person who arose in one of the cities of Iran claiming Mahdiism was neither the son of Imam Hasan 'Askari nor had he gone into occultation for a long time or fought any battle against the unjust rulers or established a universal Islamic government to fill the earth with justice and equity. It is remarkable that he did not raise his hand even a little to stop people from doing wrong. Moreover, not only did he not spread Islam all over the world, he actually abrogated all its laws and established a new creed in its place. He did not possess any profound knowledge nor did he perform any astounding task. And, towards the end of his career, in spite of the fact that he repented and displayed remorse, he was executed.[40] Can any rational person endowed with intelligence assume that such an individual could be the promised Mahdi of the Muslims?

The story of this pseudo-Mahdi from the city of Shiraz is no different from one related in the Mathnavi of Jalaluddin Rumi about a man from Qazvin, who claimed to be strong but could not stand the pain that was caused by someone poking a needle on his arm to tattoo a lion that he had desired. The choice of a lion, as Rumi indicates, was intended to show off his toughness. However, at each stage of tattooing this pseudo-strong man from Qazvin was willing to omit drawing parts of the lion's image that would require the tattooer to poke his needle more frequently and deeper. These requests to omit major parts of the lion's body led the tattooer to poke fun at his client:

Who has seen a lion without a tail, a head, or a stomach?

When did God ever create such a lion?

If you don't have the strength to bear the poking of the needle

Don't desire such a brave lion [as a symbol of your strength].

One of the interesting episodes connected with Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi is that before the claim to being the Mahdi and Qa'im had got into his head he, had written a book entitled: Tafsir-i sura-yi kawthar (Commentary on the Sura Kawthar). In this book he reported traditions about the promised Mahdi which were not congruent with his own later claim of Mahdiism. Later on, this issue became a source of aggravation and nuisance for him and his followers.

In this book he writes:

Musa b. Ja'far Baghdadi related that he heard from Imam Hasan 'Askari who said: 'I see you [in the future] disputing with each other in the matter of my successor. Nonetheless, be aware that whoever acknowledges all the Imams after the Prophet, and rejects my son, will resemble someone who will acknowledge all the Prophets but will deny the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny). And anyone who denies the Prophet of God will resemble someone who has denied all of the Prophets. The reason is that obedience to the last one among us is like obedience to the first one among us; and denial of the last one among us is like the denial of the first. Know that my son will have an occultation and all the people, except a few who will be protected by God, will fall into doubt.'[41]

Then he quotes another tradition as follows:

Imam Rida told Di'bil: "Imam following me is my son Muhammad; after Muhammad it will be his son 'Ali; after 'Ali it will be his son Hasan, and, following Hasan it will be his son Hujjat and Qa'im, who should be awaited during his occultation and obeyed when he appears. If there remains but a day in the age of the world, God will prolong it until the Qa'im arises and fills the earth with justice and equity just as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. As to when he will appear this would be to inform about the time of his rise, whereas our forefathers have reported from 'Ali, who related it from the Prophet, who was asked: 'O Messenger of God, when will the Qa'im from your descendants arise?' He replied: 'His situation resembles that of the Day of Resurrection [about whose timing no one but God can reveal]. However, the matter is of grave importance both in the heaven and on earth and accordingly will happen all of a sudden.'" [42]

It is evident that a number of things are resolved in these two traditions: first, Qa'im and Mahdi are the direct offspring of Imam Hasan 'Askari; second, he will have a lengthy period of occultation; third, when he appears he will fill the earth with justice and equity; and, fourth, no one can fix the time for his rise.

Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad's Acknowledgement of the Hidden Imam's Existence

In his book on the commentary of Sura Kawthar, Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali acknowledged the existence of the Hidden Imam and wrote about the signs and indications of that existence. Thus, for instance, he writes:

There is no doubt about the existence of the Hidden Imam. The reason is that if he did not exist no one else would have existed. As such, this matter is as clear as the sun in the sky. The problem is that the necessary corollary of doubt in his existence is doubt in God's power. Anyone who doubts the existence of God is a disbeliever. . . . As for the Muslims and the believers among the followers of the Twelve Imams, the Imamiyya, the period of his birth is proven (may my spirit and the spirit of all those in the realm of the spiritual beings -- malakut -- be a sacrifice for his excellency!). Moreover, his short occultation and the miracles that took place in those days, as well as the signs that were given to his deputies, are also proven beyond any doubt. . . . He (the twelfth Imam) is a righteous offspring. His patronymic is Abu al-Qasim. He is the one invested with God's command (al-qa'im bi-amr allah), the proof of God's existence for God's creatures, the remaining one (baqiyyat allah) among the servants of God, the Mahdi who will guide people to the mysterious matters. But I do not like to mention his name, except the way the Imam ['Askari] has mentioned it, that is, mim, ha, mim, da. There are texts in this regard, directly received from the [twelfth] Imam (peace be upon him). The Imam himself has written the note in which he says: "God's curse be upon the one who mentions me by my name in public.". . . The Master of the Age (wali 'asr) will have two [forms of] occultation. During the lesser occultation, he had trustworthy and intimate deputies and agents. The period of the lesser occultation lasted for seventy four years and some days. The deputies of the respected master (may our spirits be a sacrifice for him!) include: 'Uthman b. Sa'id 'Amri and his son, Muhammad b. 'Uthman, Husayn b. Ruh, and 'Ali b. Muhammad Samarri.

In another place in the same book he writes about his own experience of having seen the twelfth Imam in Mecca:
One day I was busy praying in the holy mosque of Mecca, on the side of the Yamani pillar [of the Ka'ba]. I noticed a well built and good looking young man who was deeply involved in performing the circumambulation (tawaf). He had a white turban on his head and a woolen cloak on his shoulder. He was with the merchants' group from Fars. There was no more than a few steps of distance between us. All of a sudden a thought came to my mind that he could be the Master of the Command (sahib al-amr). But I was embarrassed to go closer to him. When I finished my prayers I did not find him. Nevertheless, I am not so sure that he was the Master of the Command.

Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad and the Traditions about Fixing of the Time

The following hadith also appears in the commentary on Sura Kawthar:

Abu Basir reported that he asked Imam Sadiq: "May my life be a sacrifice for you! When will the Qa'im arise?" He replied: "O Abu Muhammad, we, the ahl al-bayt cannot fix the time of his appearance. Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: 'Those who fix the time for the rising [of the Qa'im] are liars.'"[43]

This and other traditions of its kind make amply clear that the Imams themselves never fixed the time of the appearance and they falsified anyone else who tried to do that. However, the followers of the afore-mentioned Sayyid from Shiraz have ignored these clear indications and, contrary to the textual proof to that effect provided by their leader, have searched and found a weak tradition attributed to Abu Labid Makhzumi and through a far-fetched and mysterious interpretation, extracted from it the year of the Sayyid's appearance in 1256 AH/1840 CE.

The books that have been written in refutation of the claims made by this particular faction based on the tradition reported by Abu Labid, are far too numerous to be mentioned here. Moreover, any further discussion about the subject would be a digression from our topic of discussion at this time. Suffice it to say that according to the hadith of Abu Basir, also relied upon by Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad in his commentary, any tradition that fixes the exact time for the appearance of the Qa'im must be rejected as false. As such, its inclusion as evidence is not permissible, whether it is the hadith related by Abu Labid or by someone else. The following hadith also appears in the commentary on Sura Kawthar:

Imam Sadiq has related in a lengthy tradition, saying: "The occultation of our Qa'im will be denied by the umma. Some will say, without any knowledge: The Imam was never born; others will say: he was born, but he died. Still others will become disbelievers and will say: The eleventh Imam had no offspring at all. Some will spread factionalism in the community by what they say, and will go beyond the twelve Imams and will count thirteen or more Imams. There will be those who will cause God's anger to engulf them by saying: The spirit of the Qa'im is speaking through another person." [44]

What Do the Sayyid's Followers Say?

In spite of all these clear affirmations in Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad's commentary on Sura Kawthar, of which we cited some examples, we do not know what his followers believe. If they regard him the promised Mahdi and the Qa'im, this belief not only does not conform with the teachings of the ahl al-bayt, it also goes against the Sayyid's own affirmations. The reason is that he himself regards the direct descendant of Imam Hasan 'Askari, whom he calls mim, ha, mim, da, as the Qa'im and the Mahdi. He also introduces his patronymic as Abu al-Qasim, regards his short and long forms of occultation necessary, and provides the names of his special deputies. Finally, he relates his encounter with the young man in the sacred mosque of Mecca whom he thought to be the Hidden Imam.

If the followers of the Sayyid believe that the spirit of the twelfth Imam has transmigrated into the Sayyid's body and that he is the manifestation of the Qa'im, then even this belief has no validity. First of all, it must be pointed out that such a tenet leads to the belief in the incarnation and transmigration of souls. Both these are proven to be false in Islam. Moreover, this belief is in direct contradiction with the hadith from Imam Sadiq which the Sayyid himself has cited. The Imam in this hadith says: "There will be those who will cause God's anger to engulf them by saying: The spirit of the Qa'im is speaking through another person."

The Sayyid Repudiated Any Attribution of Prophethood and Babism

However, if his followers believe that he was a prophet or a bab ("gate," meaning mediator between the Hidden Imam and his community), then even this attribution has been declined by him. In the commentary on Sura Kawthar he writes:
Those who say that "Remember the name of Thy Lord" means that he himself (i.e., Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad) has actually claimed to have received revelation and the Qur'an, have indeed become disbelievers. Moreover those who say that the verse means that he has claimed to be the bab of the Remnant of God (the twelfth Imam), have also become disbelievers. O God, you are my witness that [I declare] any one who claims to be divine or to possess the wilayat or who has received the Qur'an and the revelation, or who has omitted or altered anything in Your religion, has become an unbeliever. I certainly seek to disassociate from such people. You are my witness that I have not claimed to be the bab.[45]

To be sure, when the Sayyid composed his commentary he had no intention of putting forward any messianic claims. He simply considered himself a learned person and sensed pain when he saw himself confined to the house and found other learned authorities occupied with many tasks in the public life. In this connection he writes:

God has favored me by enlightening my heart. I would like to publicize the religion of God the way it was revealed in the Qur'an and demonstrated in the teachings of the ahl al-bayt.

He was troubled by the false messianic claims ascribed to him and took pains to decline them. Later on he realized that the absurdity of the people was beyond imagination. Not only did they accept whatever he said, they also added to it something more. It was at that point in his career that his proclivity towards the messianic role of the twelfth Imam became firm in his mind and he proclaimed himself to be the Qa'im.

The Bayan and Messianic Claim

In chapter seven, the second unit of his Bayan, the Sayyid writes:

Since the appearance of the Qa'im of the family of Muhammad is precisely the same as the emergence of the Messenger of God, he will not appear until and unless he manifests the fruits of Islam as deduced from the Qur'anic verses that have been implanted in the hearts of the people. There is no way to deduce the fruits of Islam except by faith in him and confirmation of his status. Now that it has borne fruits, to the contrary he has been made manifest in the midst of Islam and everyone proclaims Islam in relation to him while they situate him groundlessly in Maku.

We have no intention of investigating this new creed in any detail so as to refute it and demonstrate its absurdities. Much has been written on this subject and our readers can refer to these works. Nor do we intend to examine each and every claim to Mahdiism that has been made throughout the history of Islam or to investigate their claims and analyze critically the proofs produced to support them. These discussions, interesting as they may be, go beyond the specific scope of these sessions.

Let me reiterate that the promised Mahdi has been sufficiently introduced and described in the authenticated traditions, and possesses an intelligible and unique personality, understood in the minds of the Shi'a. If they come, across such a person who fits into all the characterizations found in the reliable hadith-reports, then they should submit to his authority. If, on the contrary, they discover that the person is a pseudo-Mahdi, then they must absolutely reject him. Those who have so far claimed this messianic position have fallen far short of sustaining such a title. In order to prove their messianic claim, it is obvious that they cannot resort to rare and doubtful traditions transmitted by single narrators and interpret them to their advantage. This method of establishing a messianic claim is insufficient simply because of the critical role of the Qa'im in restoring God's religion to its pure, unadulterated meaning. No single tradition can compete in reliability and authenticity with already accredited traditions.

False Claims and the Existence of a Followership

Engineer Madani: If the claims of these pseudo-Mahdis were meaningless and false, why would they attract such a staunch followership?

Mr. Hoshyar: To become a believer in and an adherent of a person does not prove that person's truthfulness, because in the world there have always existed false beliefs and religions and staunch believers in those religions. The perseverance and sacrifice demonstrated by ill-informed and simple people cannot be taken as a proof of the religion's and the leader's truthfulness. Even a cursory glance at the history of religions will reveal this general observation.

For instance, at this time in history when human beings have made great strides in rational and scientific development, there are millions of people in India who worship cows and believe that this animal has an elevated status in the heavens. They regard killing a cow and consuming its meat a prohibition, and consider disrespect to it as sinful. The Hindus in India are willing to defend the cow at a great price. One of the causes of conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India is the slaughtering of the cow for food, which is permitted in Islam.

Such examples are plentiful in the history of world religions. Hence, it should come as little surprise to see human beings following all kinds of creeds and religions, false or true.

I believe we have covered the majority of the fundamental aspects related to the belief in the Mahdi in Islam in general and among the Shi'a in particular. Since there are no more issues to discuss we might consider bringing our sessions on this subject to a close.

Dr. Jalali: I agree that we do not have any other related questions about the subject.

Dr. Emami: I must say that these sessions were extremely beneficial for my understanding of the Shi'i beliefs. I wish we could continue to learn some more. However, it is appropriate to bring the sessions connected with our subject on the Mahdi, the Universal Just Ruler of the World, to an end.

Let me take this opportunity to thank you all. May God hasten deliverance through the appearance of the Supreme Remnant of God, the twelfth Imam, and may He make us all the servants of Islam and the helpers of the Imam.

Wassalamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!

And peace be upon you, and God's mercy and His blessing!

Notes:

ition, 1329), Vol. 1, p. 87. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 328. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 49. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 335. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 401. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 244. Ibid., p. 358. Ibid., Vol.Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 370. Ibid., p. 327. The phrase kuffar-i ghayr-i kitabi refers to the disbelievers who are neither Christian nor Jewish nor Zoroastrian. These latter are regarded in the Shari'a as muwahhidun, i.e., monotheists. Tr. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 215, 247. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 345. Bihar al-anwar, Vol 52, p. 376, 381. Nu'mani, Kitab al-ghayba, p.237. Bihar al-anwar, Vol 52, p. 340. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 390. Ibid., p. 340. Ibid., Vol. 51, p. 47. Ibid., Vol. 52, p. 378. Safinat al-bihar, hadith related under 'Qumm.' Ibid. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 60, p. 216. Ibid., Vol. 52, p. 190. Ibn 'Asakir, Ta'rikh (Damascus ed 51, p. 218. Tabari, Dala'il al-imama (Najaf edition, 1369), p. 249. Bihar al-anwar, Vol 52, p. 336. Ibid., p. 352. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 110. Ibid., p. 83. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 51, p. 82. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 52. Muntakhab al-athar, p. 98. Yanabi' al-muwadda, Vol. 2, p. 179. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 347. Ithbat al-hudat, Vol. 7, p. 86. Kashf al-ghumma, Vol. 3, p. 264; Mufid, Irshad, p. 240, 343. Bihar al-anwar, Vol. 52, p. 326. Ibid., p. 325. Ibid., p. 320. Nabil Zarandi, Talkhis-i ta'rikh, pp.135-138. Tafsir-e sura-yi Kawthar. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.