The Manner of the Martrdom of Imam al-Mahdi (‘atfs)...

The Manner of the Martrdom of Imam al-Mahdi (‘atfs) Regarding the manner of the martyrdom of Imam al-Mahdi ( ‘atfs ), it has been stated in Ilzam an-Nasib , thus: “When his seventieth year comes to an end and his death is about to take place, a woman named Sa‘idah from the tribe of Bani Tamim will martyr him. The salient feature of that woman is that she would have a beard like a man. “When the Imam is passing by, she will throw a stone from a rooftop upon him and he will attain martyrdom.

After he passes away, Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a ) will perform the rites of his ghusl , kafn and burial.”[^7] Of course, with the exception of this book, I have not found this subject written anywhere else, i.e. the manner of martyrdom of the Imam. Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) said: “Husayn ( ‘a ), along with his companions who were martyred with him, will come[^8] and seventy prophets will accompany them just as Hadrat Musa was accompanied by seventy dispatched persons.

Then, Hadrat al-Qa’im ( ‘atfs ) will turn over his ring to him. Imam al-Husayn will perform Hadrat al-Qa’im’s ghusl , kafn , hunut , and burial.” May peace be upon him on the day he was born, the day he will appear, the day he will die, and the day he will be raised up to life again! [^1]: Surah al-Isra’ (or Bani Isra’il) 17:6. [^2]: Al-Kafi, vol. 8, p. 206; Ta’wil al-Ayat az-Zahirah, vol. 1, p. 278; vol. 2, p. 762; Mukhtasar al-Basa’ir, p. 48; Tafsir Burhan, vol. 2, p. 401; Bihar al-Anwar, vol.

53, p. 13; vol. 51, p. 56. [^3]: Ibn Hammad, Fitan, p. 104; Al-Bada’ wa’t-Tarikh, vol. 2, p. 184; Muttaqi Hindi, Burhan, p. 163. [^4]: Ibn Hammad, Fitan, p. 99; ‘Aqd ad-Durar, p. 147; Muttaqi Hindi, Burhan, p. 157. [^5]: It is to be noted that according to the scholars of ‘ilm ar-rijal (science concerned with the study of hadith chain of transmitters), Ka‘b al-Ahbar is a known liar. The Imams from the Progeny of the Prophet (‘a) did not accept his hadiths.

See, for example, Muhammad Jawad Chirri, The Shi‘ites Under Attack (Detroit: The Islamic Center of America, 1986), “Did Muslims other than Shi‘ites Borrow Religious Teachings from Jews?”, pp. 62-75, available online at: http://www.al-islam.org/the-shiites-under-attack-muhammad-jawad-chirri . (Trans.) [^6]: Iqd ad-Durar, p. 149. [^7]: Ilzam an-Nasib, p. 190; Tarikh-e Ma Ba‘da’z-Zuhur, p. 881.

[^8]: For information on the return (raj‘ah) of Imam al-Husayn (‘a), see the book, Setareh-ye Derakhshan (Bright Star), by my father, the late Ayatullah Tabasi. Previous…