Allah the Most High has blessed the Imam of the time, Imam Mahdi (as), with innumerable noble traits and distinctive characteristics. This shows the special position held by the Imam (as) near Allah, the Almighty. It is not even possible to list all of these attributes. Some of these are mentioned below. (more…)
Traditions are available from every infallible about the presence and the existence of Imam Mahdi (as). These context of traditions extend beyond just his birth and include aspects regarding his reappearance, his occultation and even cover the events after his reappearance. Here are some traditions. (more…)
In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, the period of the occultation of Prophet Yusuf (as) was that of twenty years. During this time he never applied oil to his hair, did not use Kohl and perfume and didn’t touch a woman till the time the Almighty Allah once more gathered the scattered family of Yaqoob and brought together Yusuf, his brothers, his father and maternal aunt. (more…)
In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, Imam Jafar Sadiq (as) said: “Saleh disappeared from his nation from a long time and the day he disappeared from them, he was an aged man of open stomach, beautiful body, dense beard, delicate abdomen, small cheeks, and when he returned to his people, they did not recognize him with the appearance he had. (more…)
In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, Imam Sadiq (as) said, “At the time of his death Yusuf bin Yaqoob (as) assembled the descendants of Yaqoob (as) who were eighty men. Then he said: These Copts will dominate you and put you to great trouble. One who will save you from them will be a descendant of Laavi bin Yaqoob, whose name will be Musa bin Imran. He shall be a tall young man and will have curly hair. He would be wheat complexioned. Thus every man of Bani Israel began to name his child Imran. And all those who were named Imran began to name their sons Musa.” (more…)
In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, Among the first occultations is the well known occultation of Prophet Idrees (as). His occultation was so prolonged that his followers fell into dire circumstances and the tyrant ruler of that time killed some of them; while some he subjected to poverty and terror. After that Prophet Idrees (as) reappeared and promised the removal of the travails of his Shiahs through the uprising and Jihad of one of his descendants, that is Prophet Nuh (as). Then Allah, the Mighty and Sublime raised up Idrees (as) towards Himself. And century after century his followers continued to wait for the advent of Nuh (as), one generation after another. And during that time they continued to bear with patience the humiliating oppression of the tyrant rulers till the prophethood of Nuh (as) became apparent. (more…)
In the book Kamaluddin, Shaykh Sudooq (ar) writes, as for the occultation of Ibrahim, the friend of the Beneficent (as), it exactly resembles the occultation of our Qaem (as), rather it is more astonishing because Allah, the Mighty and Sublime kept Ibrahim (as) concealed when he was in the womb, so much so that Allah through His power transferred him from her womb to her back. Then He concealed the matter of his birth till an appointed time. (more…)
There are some special characteristics which are associated with the holy personality of Imam Mahdi (as) which were not present in the other Aimmah (as). These include his Ghaybat, his hidden birth and his long life.
Having knowledge and understanding of these special characteristics is important for they are unique to the true Imam Mahdi (as). False claimants to this post do not enjoy these characteristics. Therefore they always reject these qualities even though there are several hundred traditions which explain these characteristics from various aspects. (more…)
Criticizing the scholars has always been a pastime among the masses. Whenever there is a discussion related to them, everybody has something to say against them. Each one has a few ‘interesting’ anecdotes to narrate. In fact, some people feel that it is their inherent right to criticize them and consider this as a scholarly act. Perhaps they ignore the fact that in this world (with the exception of the infallible Prophets (as) and the Imams (as)) there are several groups of people – good as well as bad. There are traders, workers, laborers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, etc, and each of these has categories of good and bad individuals. In a market we find the original as well as the imitation. (more…)
It is important for us to understand why Allah decreed Ghaybat for Imam Mahdi (as) in the light of His entire Message. (more…)