In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful, and from Him we seek help,
I would like to thank Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi—may Allah protect him and care for him—and I pray to Allah to resurrect him and us with al-Zahraʾ and her father—upon him and upon her be the best of blessings and the purest of salutations—in the Highest Paradise...
I have some questions about the Reappearance..
1- What is our duty, we the Shiʿa, toward the Awaited Imam (aj) in this time?
2- How do we prepare to pave the way for reviving the state of Imam al-Mahdi?
3- At the Cry between the Maqam and the Rukn, will all human beings hear the cry! If so, how could some be hostile to the Imam? And if not, how will the proof be established against them?
May Allah grant you success and care for you in the service of the religion,
In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful
Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings
The first question:
What is our duty, we the Shiʿa, toward the Awaited Imam (aj) in this time?
Among the most important duties mentioned in the narrations for the era of the Occultation is awaiting the relief (intiẓār al-faraj), for it is the best of deeds, as has come in the hadith: (The most beloved of deeds to Allah Almighty is awaiting the relief), and (The best of the deeds of our Shiʿa is awaiting the relief).
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (Whoever dies awaiting this matter is like one who is standing with al-Qaʾim (aj) in his tent. Then he said: No, rather he is like one who strikes with the sword before the Messenger of Allah (s)).
Awaiting the relief means that a person remains steadfast in the wilāyah of the Ahl al-Bayt, believes in the Imamate of the Twelfth Imam, his existence and his absence, and does not deviate from this belief. We have examined this meaning closely in our book (Imam al-Mahdi: The Unseen Witness)..
Awaiting is not that a person withdraws into himself and keeps away from working in the way of Allah; nor does awaiting mean that a person carries out his general duties (because his general duties) have not been lifted from him—enjoining good and forbidding evil are duties upon the Muslim in the era before the Occultation and in its era..
Rather, awaiting the relief is a (doctrinal) matter connected with belief in the wilayah and in the Imamate of the Imam himself, at a time in which doubts will appear and some will deviate. So whoever remains steadfast in his wilayah and his belief is the winner. That is why awaiting the relief is the best of deeds: because it is the vessel for all the deeds that follow it, and because it is the condition for the acceptance of all deeds, for there is no deed except with the wilayah.
We find this narration from Imam al-Rida (a) indicating this matter—describing the Shiʿa: (Their religion is piety, chastity and diligence.. righteousness, and awaiting the relief with patience).
So the believer acts with piety, chastity and righteousness, and these are among his traits; and also among his traits is that he awaits the relief. That is, awaiting the relief is not the righteous deed itself; rather it is another matter, and this matter is steadfastness in the wilayah and belief in the Awaited Imam (aj). Imam al-Rida has made clear that (patience) is the instrument of that awaiting: that one be patient in affliction and patient in the wilayah..
That is why it has come in the hadith from Imam ʿAli ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-ʿAbidin that he said: (Whoever remains steadfast in loyalty to us during the occultation of our Qaʾim, Allah will give him the reward of a thousand martyrs like the martyrs of Badr and Uhud).
As for the Muslim's other duties toward the Imam in the era of the Occultation, they are numerous, and the scholars have mentioned them, among them:
1/ Praying for the Imam's protection and speedy relief..
2/ Giving charity on behalf of the Imam, and performing other acts of piety on behalf of the Imam, such as Hajj, prayer and others..
3/ Grieving over his occultation.
4/ Connecting with him and renewing allegiance through Duʿaʾ al-Nudba and others.
5/ His ziyārah (visitation).
6/ Showing respect when his blessed name is mentioned, and the recommendation of standing and placing the hand on the head, or gesturing..
The second question:
How do we prepare to pave the way for reviving the state of Imam al-Mahdi?
We have cited the narration that came from Imam al-Rida (a), in which he describes the Shiʿa: (Their religion is piety, chastity and diligence.. righteousness, and awaiting the relief with patience).
Therefore, the duties of the Muslim in the era of the Occultation are bearing responsibility in accordance with the method of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), and calling to Allah, to His Messenger and to the wilayah of the Ahl al-Bayt, and to virtues, and enjoining good, forbidding evil, and striving (jihad) in the way of Allah by the means that are possible.
For the responsibility of the Muslim has not gone absent in the era of the Occultation; he is legally charged (mukallaf), responsible, and addressed by the verses of the Holy Qurʾan and by the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
The scholars have expressed this as “paving the way” (tamhīd), because the Awaited Imam (a) wants from his followers righteousness, sincerity, and the bearing of responsibility, so that they become qualified to be among his helpers and the elect among his devotees.
The third question:
At the Cry between the Maqam and the Rukn, will all human beings hear the cry! If so, how could some be hostile to the Imam? And if not, how will the proof be established against them?
Several narrations have come informing that the Imam (aj) will come forth and there will be a heavenly cry, as Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (A caller will call out the name of al-Qaʾim and the name of his father (a)). And it has been transmitted from the Messenger (s): (Al-Mahdi will come forth with a cloud over his head, in which there is a caller calling out: This is al-Mahdi, the vicegerent of Allah, so follow him).. and others..
By this the proof will be completed against creation. As for the question of how some could be hostile to the Imam after this cry, this is not strange, for Allah gave all of His prophets conclusive proofs and dazzling signs, and all the people saw them, and after that they did not believe, and some of them believed and then apostatized after that.. Thus Moses and the incident of the staff and the incident of the cow, and the Prophet Jesus and the reviving of the dead and the dazzling signs.. in the words of the Exalted:
“and [he will be] an apostle to the Children of Israel, [and he will declare,] ‘I have certainly brought you a sign from your Lord: I will create for you the form of a bird out of clay, then I will breathe into it, and it will become a bird by Allah’s leave. I heal the blind and the leper and I revive the dead by Allah’s leave. I will tell you what you have eaten and what you have stored in your houses. There is indeed a sign in that for you, should you be faithful.’” (Qurʾan 3:49)
and other signs. Likewise with our Prophet Muhammad (s), and the signs that came to support the wilayah of the Commander of the Faithful ʿAli (a) are many, and yet they denied them and rejected them.. because the matter of faith requires firm certainty and submission to the command of Allah the Exalted within the souls, and not responding to temptations and the whisperings of Satan.. The events that are narrated about the era of the Reappearance of Imam al-Qaʾim (aj) make clear that Allah the Exalted will try some people with certain events in order to test their faith: many of the opponents will believe in the Imam, but most of them will apostatize, return to their way, and doubt the Imam.
We ask Allah the Exalted to make us among the helpers of Imam al-Hujjah, the Awaited (aj), to keep us steadfast in his wilayah, and to grant us his blessings.
And Allah knows best, and He is the Grantor of success