The Return of Al-Mahdi

8/14/2019 The Return of Al-Mahdi

1/24

1 TheReturnofalMahdi

Preface

Thisis

the

translation

of

Mukhtasaru

Ithbati

'r

Raj'ah

(Abridged

Ithbatu

'r

Raj'ah).

The

original

book

of

which

this

is

an

abridgement

was

by

Abu

Muhammad

alFadlibnShadhanibnalKhalilalAzdianNishapuri.(A)TheAuthor:

AlFadl ibnShadhanwasahighlyrespectedjurisprudent(faqih)andtheologian(mutakallim)ofthethirdcenturyofhijrah.He lived inNishapur(Khurasan).

AshShaykhatTusi(d.460*)writesabouthim:"Afaqihandmutakallimofsublimehonour;hehaswrittenmanybooksandworks."Whilelistingthirtytwoofhis

works,ShaykhatTusihasalsomentionedIthbatu'rRaj'ah.1

AshShaykh

an

Najashi

(d,

450)

writes

under

his

name:

"His

father

was

of

the

companions

of

Yunus

[ibn

'Abdu

'r

Rahman],

and

[al

Fadl

ibn

Shadhan]

narrated

a hadith fromAbu Ja'far athThani [i.e. ImamMuhammad atTaqi], and it is said thathe alsonarrated from arRida (peace be upon them).2Hewas thiqah(trustworthy);oneofourcompanionswhowere[countedas]faqihandmutakallim;heenjoysagreatrespectinthissect[i.e.intheShi'ahs];he,inhishonourand

distinction, istoowellknowntoneedanydescription.AlKanji3hassaidthathehadwrittenonehundredandeightybooks.Then listingfortyeightofhisbooks

whichhehad inhispossession,hementions threebooksabout the twelfth Imam (A.S.): Ithbatu 'rRaj'ah,arRaj'ahhadithandKitabalQa'im (peacebeupon

him)."4

*

Unless

otherwise

specified,

all

dates

in

this

preface

refer

to

the

hijrah

lunar

calendar.

1 AtTusi,alFihrist(Qumed.)p.124,entryno.552.2 ItisundoubtedlytruethatIbnShadhannarratedfromImamarRidaasmaybeseeninasSaduq'sbooks,'UyunuAkhbari'rRidaand'Ilalu'shShara'i'andinseveralchaptersofhisManla

Yahduruhu'lFaqih.3 Abu'1QasimYahyaibnZakariyaalKanjihadmetImamHasanal'Askari(a.s.);atTaPakbaritookahadithfromhimin318A.H.;althattimehisagehadexceeded120years.SeeRijalan

Najashi,vol.,2(Beirut,1988)p.168,fnno.4 RijalanNajashi,vol.2,p.168,no.838.


2/24


3/24


4/24


5/24


6/24


7/24


Malikah:Granddaughter

of

the

Byzantine

Emperor:

In

the

ninth

hadith,

the

Eleventh

Imam

(peace

be

on

him)

says

that

the

mother

of

the

twelfth

Imam

is

the

granddaughterofCeaser,theByzantineEmperor;andinthellthhadith,hernameisgivenasMalikah.Iwillwrite,inshaAllah,onthesetwoaMdithlateron,giving

thebiographicaldetailsoftheImam'smother(peacebeuponher).

(F)TheReturn(arRaj'ah):

Thebook'snamemeans"ProofoftheReturn".ItmayrefertothereappearanceofImamalMahdi(peacebeuponhim)afterhisOccultation;andmajorityof

theahadithinitpointtothismeaning.Also,Raj'ahintheShi'aterminologyreferstothepartialresurrection,whensomeselectedpersonswillberesurrectedafter

there

appearance

of

Imam

al

Mahdi;

and

two

aMdith

(no.

7&

17)

briefly

mention

that

resurrection.15

25thMuharram,1417 SayyidSaeedAkhtarRizvi12thJune,1996 Toronto

15 TofurtherunderstandthisphenomenonofRaj'ah inthesenseofpartialresurrection,seemyarticle,TheBeliefinRaj'at,whichwaspublishedinTheLight(DaresSalaam)in1991,and

reprintedwithsomeamendmentsinTheRightPath(Toronto)in1994.


8/24

MukhtasaruIthbatirRajah 8

Noteonthesymbol()

Forthesakeofclarity,wehaveusedthesymbol()

insteadofwriting"...whosaidthattransmittedtous..."

betweenthenamesoftwonarratorsintheisnad.

So,forexample,insteadofwriting

"MuhammadbinIsma'il

whosaid

that

transmitted

to

us

Hammad

bin

'Isa,"

wehavewritten:

"MuhammadbinIsma'il()Hammadbin'Isa."


9/24


Thisisashortselectionfromthebook,Ithbatu'rRaj'ah,oftheShaykhofthesectandreliableauthorityofthegroup,AbuMuhammadalFadlibnShadhan

ibnalKhalilanNishapuri,mayAllahcoverhimwithHisforgivenessandgivehimspacious(place)inHisgardens;andmayAllahgiveustheopportunitytocollectall

thatisinthis(book)andgetenlightenmentfromitsbrilliantjewelsandpricelesspearls;surelyHeisNigh,Answeringtheprayers.

***

AlFadlibnShadhan,mayAllahprovideresttohisnoblespiritandbestowonhimHisexaltedbenevolence,said:

1. NarratedtousMuhammadibnIsma'ilibnBazi'(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)()Hammadibn'Isa()Ibrahimibn'UmaralYamani()AbanibnAbi

'Ayyash()SulaymibnQaysalHilaliwhosaid:

IsaidtoAmiru '1Mu'minin(peacebeonhim):"IhaveheardfromSalmanandalMiqdadandAbuDharrthingsconcerningtheexegesisoftheQur'anand

ahadithoftheProphet(blessingsandpeacefromAllahbeonhimandhisprogeny),differentfromwhatthepeoplehave;thenIheardfromyouverificationofwhat

Ihadheardfromthem(i.e.fromSalman,a!MiqdadandAbuDharr).IhavealsoseenwiththepeoplemanythingsrelatedtotheexegesisoftheQur'anandahadith

ofthe

Prophet

(blessings

and

peace

from

Allah

be

on

him

and

his

progeny)

which

you

oppose

and

say

that

all

that

is

untrue.

So,

do

you

think

that

the

people

intentionallytellliesagainstAllahandHisMessenger,andinterprettheQur'anaccordingtotheirownviews?"

Sulaymsaid:Then'Ali(peacebeonhim)said:

"Youhaveasked,sounderstandthereply.Certainly,whatthepeoplehaveis(acollectionof)rightandwrong,trueandfalse,repealingandrepealed,general

andparticular, firm and ambiguous, exact and surmised.Evenduring thedaysof theMessengerofAllah (blessings andpeace fromAllahbeonhim andhis


10/24


11/24


12/24


13/24


14/24


revenge fromenemiesofAllah,whowilldisappear ina longoccultationand thenwillappearand fill theearthwithequityandjusticeas itwillbe filledwith

injusticeand

oppression."

***

5 NarratedtousFadalah ibnAyyub(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)()Abanibn'Uthman()MuhammadibnMuslim()AbuJa'far[MuhammadalBaqir]

(peacebeonhim)whosaid'

TheMessengerofAllah(blessingsofAllahbeonhimandhisprogeny)saidto'AliibnAbiTalib(peacebeonhim):"Ihavemoreauthorityonthebelieversthan

theirown

selves;

then

you,

O

'Ali!

have

more

authority

on

the

believers

than

their

own

selves;

then

al

Hasan

has

more

authority

on

the

believers

than

their

own

selves;thenalHusaynhasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheirownselves;thenMuhammad ibn 'Alihasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheirown

selves;thenJa'faribnMuhammadhasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheirownselves;thenMusaibnJa'farhasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheir

ownselves;then'AliibnMusahasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheirownselves;thenMuhammadibn'Alihasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheir

ownselves;then 'Ali ibnMuhammadhasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthantheirownselves;thenalHasan ibn 'Alihasmoreauthorityonthebelieversthan

theirownselves;then[is]alHujjatibnalHasanwithwhomthecaliphateandsuccessorshipwillcometoend;andhewillremainhiddenforalongperiodoftime,

thenwillreappearandfilltheearthwithjusticeandequityasitwouldbefullofoppressionandinjustice."

***

6 NarratedtousMuhammadibnAbi'Umayr(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)()GhiyathibnIbrahim()Abu'Abdillah[Ja'farasSadiq](peacebeonhim)who

said:

Amiru '1Mu'minin(peacebeonhim)wasaskedaboutthemeaningofthesayingoftheMessengerofAllah(mayAllahblesshimandhisprogeny),"Ileave

amongyoutwoweighty(precious)things,theBookofAllahandmyprogeny,"astowhoaretheprogeny.Hesaid:

"I,al

Hasan,

al

Husayn

and

nine

Imams

from

the

children

of

al

Husayn;

ninth

of

them

is

their

al

Mahdi;

they

will

not

separate

from

the

Book

of

Allah,

the

Mighty,theGreat,norwill itseparatefromthem,untiltheycometotheMessengerofAllah(blessingsandpeacefromAllahbeonhimandhisprogeny)athis

Hawd(Kawthar)."

***


15/24


16/24


17/24


18/24


19/24


20/24


21/24


22/24


20A

similar

hadith

has

been

narrated

(to

us)

by

Muhammad

ibn

Isma'il

ibn

Bazi'

()

Muhammad

ibn

Muslim

ath

Thaqafi

()

Abu

Ja'far

[Muhammad

al

Baqir]

(peacebe

onhim).

***

21 Narratedtous'Abdu'rRahmanibnAbiNajran(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)()'AbdullahibnSanan()Abu'Abdillah[Ja'farasSadiq](peacebeonhim)

whosaid:

"ThosewhowilldisappearfromtheirbedsarethreehundredandthirteenmenthenumberofthepeopleofBadrtheywillbeatMeccainthemorning;

andthisis(theinterpretationof)thewordsofAllah,theMighty,theGreat:'Whereveryouwillbe,Allahwillbringyoualltogether.'(alBaqarah2:148)andtheyare

thecompanionsofalQa'im(peacebeonhim)."

***

22 NarratedtousAhmad ibnMuhammad ibnAbiNasr(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim) () 'Asim ibnHumayd()Muhammad ibnMuslimwhosaid:Aman

askedAbu'Abdillah[Ja'farasSadiq](peacebeonhim):"WhenwillyourQa'imappear?"

Hesaid:"Whenmisguidancewillincrease,andguidancewilldecrease;oppressionandmischiefwillincrease, andrighteousnessandgoodnesswilldecrease;

menwillsatisfytheir lustwithmenandwomenwithwomen;the 'ulama'will inclinetowardstheworld,andmajorityofthepeopletopoems and poets; a

group ofheretic people will betransformedturningintomonkeysandpigs;theSufyaniwillbekilledandtheDajjalwillappear,doinghisutmostinmisleading

andmisguiding;atthattimethenameoftheQa'im(peacebeonhim)willbeannouncedontheeveoftwentythirdofthemonthofRamadan.Hewillriseonthe

dayof 'Ashura'. It isasthough Iam lookingathimstandingbetweentheRuknand theMaqam,and Jibra'il (peacebeonhim)willbeannouncingbeforehim:

'(Make)bay'ahforAllah;'andhisShi'aswillproceedtohim(todoso)."

*

*

*

NotebyashShaykhMuhammadibnalHasanalHurral'Amili:

ThisiswhatwefoundcopiedfromthebookIthbdtu'rRaj'ahofalFadlibnShadhaninthehandwritingofsomelearnedtraditionists;anditwascheckedwith

itsorignal.WrittenbyMuhammadalHurr.


23/24


Noteby

Muhammad

Husayn

ibn

Zaynu

'l'Abidin

al

'Urmawi:

Thisistheendofwhatwasinthemanuscriptfromwhichthiscopyhasbeenmade;anditbelongedto[ShaykhHurral'Amili]theauthorofalWasa'il(may

Allah'smercybeonhim);andtheabovewordings,"This iswhatwefound....",was inhisownnobleandblessedhandwriting;andonthebackofthecopywas

writteninhisownhand:"ItsownerbygraceofAllahisthepovertystrickenMuhammadalHurr."

Icompleted(thiscopying)ontwentysecondDhu'1Qa'dah,intheonethousandthreehundredandfiftiethyearofthehijrahoftheProphet,inthemausoleum

of'Ali;andIamthehumbleMuhammadHusaynal'UrmawiibnZaynu'1'Abidin,mayAllahforgivebothofthem.

Noteby

the

humble

servant

of

Allah,

Sayyid

Saeed

Akhtar

Rizvi:

IstartedtranslationofthisbookletonThursday29Dhu'1Qa'dah1416A.M.correspondingto18th

April1996,andcompleteditonSunday,2nDhu'1Hijjah

1416correspondingto21stApril1996at11.00p.m.atDaresSalaam.

Appendix

(HadithNo.23)

AshShaykhAbuMuhammadalFadlibnShadhanibnKhalilsaid.

NarratedtousalHasan ibn 'Ali ibnFaddaland ibnAbiNajran,fromHammad ibn 'Isa,from 'Abdullah ibnMuskan,fromAban ibnTaghlib,fromSulaym ibn

Qaysal Hilali,fromSalmanalFarsi,thathesaid.

TheMessenger ofAllah (BlessingsofAllahbe onhim andhisprogeny) said: "Shouldnot I give you,0People! the goodnewsof alMahdi?" They said:

"Certainly."

Hesaid:"ThenknowthatAllah,theHigh,willraiseinmyummahajustrulerandvirtuousImam(who)willfilltheearthwithjusticeandequityasitwouldbe

fullofoppressionandinjustice;andheistheninthfromthechildrenofmysonalHusayn;hisnameismynameandhiskunyaismykunya.

"Truelytherewillbenogoodinthelifeafterhim;andhisrulewillcontinueuntilfortydaysbeforetheQiyamat(Resurrection)."


24/24


Quotedfromlthbatu 'rRaj'ahofalFadlibnShadhan,byasSayyidMuhammadMirLawhiinhisKifayatu'lMuhtadifiMa'rifati'lMahdi(Tehran:Ministryof

IslamicGuidance,

1373

A.H.Solar

=1415

p.307)

18

***

18 Seehadithno.91, inKitabSulaym ibnQaysalHilali,published in threevolumeswithextensive introductionandappendixesbyashShaykhMuhammadBaqiralAnsariazZanjanial

Khu'i'ni,vol.2(Qum,1415A.H.)p.958;seealsovol.I,p.1173.

The Return of Al-Mahdi

Documents

Transcript of The Return of Al-Mahdi