Muhammad (as), then Hasan b.

Muhammad (as), then Hasan b. ‘Ali (as) and then al-Hujjah b. al-Hasan (ajtf) – these are your leaders.”[^5] As was previously mentioned, in order to recognize the Imam, we must know his name, titles of appellation, the name of his father and other incidental facts. However, we must also know his qualities of excellence and special merits. The Imam of our time (ajtf) shares the same first name as the (S).

His title is also the same as that of the Prophet of Allah (S) (Abul Qasim) and his title of appellation is al-Mahdi. He has a beautiful black mark on his right shoulder blade, a very handsome face with a nose that is slightly protruded and is of average height. In addition, we also need to understand the specialties related to the time and place of the Imam and the events surrounding him including his actions and speech.

For example, we need to know that in order for the Imam to make his advent, five signs must be fulfilled. We know that when he makes his appearance, the Earth would be full of oppression and corruption. However, before his advent, a sound will be heard from the sky an image of a hand will be seen on the moon the staff of Musa will be seen with him and many other signs.

It should be noted that all of these signs are mentioned in the books of traditions[^6] and the appearance of these will herald his return. In addition, there are also other special signs related to him which we must know and understand. Therefore knowing these signs constitutes one of the ways in which we can recognize our living Imam. [^1]: Biharul Anwar, vol. 53, pg. 175, sec. 31, no. 7; al-Ihtijaj, pg. 498 [^2]: Wasa`il ash-Shi’a, vol. 11, pg. 491, sec. 33, no.

23 [^3]: Books such as: al-Ghaybah, written by Shaykh Muhammad b. Ibrahim Nu’mani better known as Ibne Abi Zainab; al-Ghaybah of Shaykh Tusi; Najm al-Thaqib of Shaykh Tabrisi Nuri; Kamal ad-Din wa Tamam an-Ni’mah of Shaykh Saduq; A’yan ash-Shi’a (section on Imam al-Mahdi); Biharul Anwar (section on Imamah and the book of Imam al-Mahdi); Usul al-Kafi, vol. 1 and 2. [^4]: al-Ghaybah of Nu’mani, pg. 85; Biharul Anwar, vol. 36, pg. 399, sec. 46, no. 9 [^5]: al-Burhan, vol. 2, pg. 35, no.

3 [^6]: Books such as al-Ghaybah of Shaykh Muhammad b. Ibrahim Nu’mani better known as Ibne Abi Zainab; al-Ghaybah of Shaykh Tusi; Najm al-Thaqib of Shaykh Tabrisi Nuri; Kamal ad-Din wa Tamam an-Ni’mah of Shaykh Saduq. Previous…