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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books An Overview of The Mahdi’s (‘atfs) Government Hidden Help In numerous hadith s the wars after the advent of Hadrat al-Mahdi ( ‘atfs ) will be waged by combat forces that will hasten from around the globe to assist the Imam in prevailing over the entire world.

When we consider the advance in military science and technology prior to the advent of the Imam, this would indeed be a difficult task unless the leadership is shouldered by a person who will receive divine aid. The Divine Help would sometimes be manifested in the power that God has bestowed on the Imam, and by performing miracles, the Imam could remove hurdles in his path.

This help can also be manifested through the fear and dread that God will create in the hearts of the enemy, or in God sending angels to assist the Imam. Some hadith s indicate that forces having angelic characteristics are waiting for the Imam’s advent in order to assist him. Coffins and their contents have been equally mentioned. In this chapter, we shall point to some of these hadith s.

Dread and Fear as Weapons of the Imam Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) said: “The Qa’im from among us, the , will be assisted by dread and fear (struck by God in the hearts of the enemy).”[^1] The same Imam ( ‘a ) also said: “God will assist Hadrat al-Qa’im with three armies: angels, believers, and dread (struck on the enemy’s heart).”[^2] In this regard, Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) said: “Dread and terror—as parts of al-Mahdi’s ( ‘atfs ) power—will move in advance of his soldiers a distance of one month’s journey as well as at their rear with an equal distance of one month’s journey.”[^3] The same Imam ( ‘a ) also said: “Fear and dread will be moving in advance of the banner of Hadrat al-Mahdi ( ‘atfs ) a distance of one month’s journey, at the rear with the same distance of one month’s journey, on the right flank with the equal distance of one month’s journey, and on the left flank with the identical distance of one month’s journey.”[^4] It can be deduced from these hadith s that when Hadrat al-Mahdi ( ‘a ) intends to go to a certain place, the enemy (there) will experience dread and fear in advance and will lose the power and agility to confront and stand against the Imam’s soldiers.

Similarly, when his armies move from a certain place, no one there will have the courage to stage an insurrection because the enemy will experience dread of the Imam’s armies.