ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Philosophic Conceptualities of the Self in Messianism / Mahdism The Return of the Redeemer and the Vengeance Narrative Throughout the ages, Christians and Muslim have speculated that the return of their Redeemer was imminent.

Although there is a prohibition in Islam about speculating about the time of the return of Imam Mahdi, and Christians are told that no one knows the hour or the day of Christ's reappearance, believers in both traditions have clung to the notion that their deliverance was close at hand. For Christians, concentration on the eschatological texts of the Bible has taken on increasing significance in recent years.

The creation of the state of Israel in 1948 fueled renewed interest in the fulfillment of end-times prophecies, particularly those that predicted the return of Jews to Israel and reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple that was destroyed in A.D. 70. Christians who believe in end-times prophecies tend to focus heavily on the apocalyptic verses of Daniel and Ezekiel in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New Testament.

For Shi'ia Muslims, an emphasis on the return of the twelfth Imam has been a central theme of their tradition for centuries and their prophecies are described in the Qur'an and various other hadith traditions including that of al-Mufaddal b. Umar. The texts of both faiths speak of a Redeemer who will come to restore justice and peace upon the earth after battles with the forces of evil and the oppressors of the believers.

These texts convey the visions of prophets and holy men who used vivid (and often violent) imagery and prophecy to describe the end of days. The concept of a Redeemer who is to come and establish the rule of justice and establish an everlasting peace on the earth is shared by all major religions of the world.

Christians envision a second coming of Christ in which all nations will recognize his dominion to establish the kingdom of God on earth while Muslims conceive of an Imam who will rise against existing intolerable secular authority and create just social order in which Islam will be the one true religion for all nations. Coupled with this concept, however, is also the belief in that revenge will be exacted upon the oppressor.

Perhaps for similar reasons, the revenge narrative is very much a part of both traditions.