But when the Qā’im rises...

But when the Qā’im rises, he will adopt the approach of sword and captivity; because he will know that his followers will never be dominated [by anyone] after him.” Tafsīr al-Qurtubī[^6]: Concerning the saying of Allah, the Exalted: “And most certainly We will make them taste the lower chastisement before the greater chastisement,”[^7] he has narrated from Ja`far b. Muḥammad, [peace be on him], that “it [i.e.

the greater chastisement] refers to the emergence of the Mahdī with the sword and the lower chastisement refers to high prices.” In Tafsīr al-Ālūsī these words have been used: “From Ja`far b. Muḥammad, may Allah be satisfied with him: ‘It refers to the emergence of the Mahdī with the sword.’” Al-Kāfī[^8]: Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. `Īsā, from ibn Maḥbūb, from Hishām b.

Sālim, from Abū Khālid al-Kabulī, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far, peace be on him, who mentions that they saw in the Book of `Alī: “The land belongs to Allah; He will [give it as] inheritance to whoever He wishes from His servants, and the end belongs the pious (al-muttaqīn)” (Quran 7:128), I and my Ahl al-Bait are those whom Allah will give them the earth as inheritance and we are the pious (al-muttaqūn). All the earth belongs to us.

Whoever from the Muslims enlivens a piece of land and inhabits it, should pay its tax to the Imam from my Ahl al-Bait and what he eats from it [remains] for him. If he abandons it or spoils it and another person from the Muslims takes it, inhabits it, and gives life to it, then the latter has more right over it than the former who has abandoned it. The latter should pay its tax to the Imam from my Ahl al-Bait and whatever he eats from it [remains] for him.

[This will apply] until the Qā’im from my Ahl al-Bait appears with the sword. He will take over all the [lands], deprive [their inhabitants] of them, and [force the inhabitants] out of [the lands] just as the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, took over [the lands] and deprived [their inhabitants] of them. [The only exception] will be the possessions of our Shias (shī`atunā). He will leave them with what they possess and will leave the earth in their hands.

The following traditions also prove the above concept: 423, 426, 572, 713, and 715. [^1]: Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 8, and vol. 2, p. 336; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 5, p. 51, no. 25; Yanābī` al-mawadda, chap. 71, p. 422. [^2]: Quran 6:158. [^3]: Ghaybat al-Nu`mānī, chap. 13, p. 231, no.