ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Faith and Reason Question 25: Signs for the re-emergence of Imam al-Mahdi Question: What are the signs for the re-emergence of the Master of the Age [i.e. the Twelfth Imam]? Brief Answer The topic of the signs of the re-emergence is a complicated one and calls for a thorough investigation of all the related narrations. However, in brief, the signs fall under two categories.

One group consists of those signs which will certainly occur, foreshadowing the re-emergence: the rebellion of Sufyani, the rebellion of Yamani, the burst of a heavenly cry, the murder of an innocent soul, the sinking of the army of Sufyani into the desert ground, the rebellion of Dajjal. The remaining signs are not certain and as such might not occur.

But from another perspective, the signs can be categorized into four groups: The social signs: that is, to put it in a nutshell, those social phenomena whose upshot would be the downfall of the then perverted human civilization. The religious and Ideological signs: which constitute the collapse and distortion of the Divine religion. The Natural Signs: changes such as alterations in the constellations.

The individual and miraculous signs: such as the burst of a heavenly cry, and the murder of the Innocent Soul.

Detailed Answer A discussion regarding the signs of the re-emergence is somewhat complicated, for there are numerous narrations in the corpus of Shi’a ahadith, and add to that the narrations found in the Sunni sources and even the heavenly books of previous religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Indian creeds, and all these call for a comprehensive investigation and analysis.

Furthermore, the related narrations must be weighed as to the authenticity of their lines of transmission and also the soundness of their content. Based on the Shi’a narrations, it can be inferred that the signs fall under two categories.

One group consists of those signs which will undoubtedly occur prior to the re-emergence, without any qualification or prerequisite; namely: the rebellion of Sufyani, the rebellion of Yamani, the burst of a heavenly cry, the murder of the Innocent Soul, the sinking of the army of Sufyani in the desert[^1], and the rebellion of Dajjal. The second group consists of signs whose occurrence is contingent on the materialization of certain conditions. There are many such signs.