But the Qa’im who will purify the earth of disbelief and...

But the Qa’im who will purify the earth of disbelief and oppression is other than me.” When people used to complain about the social and political turmoil and the tyranny of the unjust government and the mistreatment and hardship suffered by the followers of the Imams, the consolation was offered by saying: “The rise of Mahdi is certain.

At that time the situation in the world will improve and the revenge against the tyrannical people will be exacted.” At other times people would talk about the large number of their enemies and their power compared to their own small number and powerlessness. The Imams used to comfort their followers and assure them: “The government of the Prophet’s rightful successor is a certainty. The final victory belongs to the followers of truth.

Be steadfast and pray and expect deliverance through the descendant of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny).” The believers and the followers of the Imams were waiting for this deliverance to come and willingly accepted adverse and painful situations created by their opponents.

Now let me ask you, in all fairness, with all these expectations of deliverance through the promised Mahdi that the believers had, do you think that he would have negotiated a treaty of non-interference with the unjust rulers of his time? If he had done that, would he not have shattered all the hopes of his followers and caused them to blame him for selling out to the enemies? In my opinion, such a compromise on the part of the Imam is impossible.

Actually, the adverse impact of such a compromise would have led these followers of the Imam to abandon their faith and even pursue injustices to combat persecution. Moreover, if the Imam had signed a non-intervention and friendship treaty with the unjust authorities, he would have been inevitably bound to the terms of such a document. As a result, at no time would he have undertaken to fight, because Islam regards a treaty binding on those who have agreed to its terms(1).

It is for this reason that many hadith-reports make it explicitly clear that one of the purposes of the occultation and the secrecy surrounding the birth of the last Imam is that he should not become obliged to pay allegiance to the rulers so that whenever he wishes to rise there should be no such obligation on him. In the following tradition Imam Sadiq said: The birth of the Master of the Command will remain a secret so that when he rises he will have no obligation to abide by any agreement.