Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) said...

Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) said: “Martyrdom on the side of the Imam of the Time ( ‘atfs ) has the reward of two martyrs.”[^2] It is thus stated in Al-Kafi : “If a soldier of the Imam kills one of our enemies, he shall have the reward of twenty martyrs and anyone who attains martyrdom on the side of our Qa’im, the reward of twenty five martyrs shall be his.”[^3] Regarding the way the Imam of the Time ( ‘atfs ) would behave with the martyrs and their families, the Commander of the Faithful ( ‘a ) said: “(After the operations, Hadrat al-Qa’im ( ‘a )) will proceed to Kufah and stay there… And there will be no martyr whose debts will not be paid by the Imam, and he will give stipends and remuneration to his family.”[^4] This hadith bespeaks of the Imam’s attention to be paid to the families of martyrs.

War Armaments The type of weapons that Hadrat al-Qa’im ( ‘a ) will use in the conflicts would be fundamentally different from that of other weapons at that time. The word “ sayf ” (sword) mentioned in the hadith s might allude to a particular weapon and not refer to a particular sword. This is because the weapon of the Imam is one which when used will make the walls of cities crumble to pieces and make a pulverized city turn into mere smoke.

By only a single blow, the enemy will melt like salt or heated lead. Based on a hadith , the weapons of the Imam’s soldiers are made of iron but they are such that if they fell on a mountain, the latter will be divided into two. Perhaps, the enemy will also use incendiary weapons because the Imam ( ‘a ) will wear an anti-heat garment.

It is the same garment from heaven that Jibra’il (Archangel Gabriel) ( ‘a ) brought to Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham) ( ‘a ) for him not to die in the fire of Namrud (Nimrod) and thus be saved. That garment will be at the disposal of Hadrat Baqiyyatullah ( ‘atfs ), and if it were not the case—that is, if advanced weapons and industry were not at the disposal of the enemy—maybe there would be no need for the Imam to wear such a garment.

It is also possible that it hints that there is a miraculous aspect to it. Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) said: “When our Qa’im stages the uprising, the swords of combat will descend—on each of which the name and father’s name of each of the combatants will be written.”[^5] Regarding a group of supporters of al-Mahdi ( ‘atfs ), Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) said: “The supporters of al-Mahdi ( ‘a ) have swords made of iron, but this is different from common iron.