Savior in Islamic Denominations – Al-Shia The al-Shia Scientific, Cultural, and Doctrinal Website Tue, 12 Nov 2024 06:53:15 +0000 en-US Savior in Islamic Denominations – Al-Shia Mahdi in the Verse 3 of Qur’an 2 In this article, we shall examine the interpretations of verse 3 of Chapter 2 ( Surah al-Baqarah) in relation to Imam Mahdi. It is said: Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them (1) A- Tafsir Majma’al-Bayan by Shaykh Tabarsi Shaykh Tabarsi (2) explains that the verse concerns the attributes of the virtuous ones guided by the light of the Qur’an. Their first attribute is their belief in the unseen (Ghayb). He then gives several views concerning the meaning of ghayb here: 1- it means jurisprudence 2- the Day of Judgement, the Heaven, the Hell (according to Hasan) 3- anything from God (according to ibn ‘Abbas) 4- the Qur’an (according to Zirr ibn Hubaysh) 5- anything that is outside the knowledge of ordinary people (according to ibn Mas’ud). Here, Shaykh Tabarsi makes a connection between this verse and the Mahdi and says that this view includes what the Imams said concerning the Occultation (ghayba) of the Mahdi and the time of his Appearance since no one but God knows the date of his appearance. B- Tafsir al-Mizan by Allama Tabataba’i Tabatabai, (3) in his explanation of the term “al-Ghayb” (the unseen), says that it is the opposite of “the perceived”, and that we cannot perceive through our usual senses. He adds that the term is used to denote Allah, and His great signs, including the revelation, which is referred to in the Qur’an; And who believe in the Revelation sent to thee, and sent before thy time, and (in their hearts) have the assurance of the Hereafter. (4) He affirms that it also includes the hereafter, but in this verse, the belief in the revelation and in the hereafter have been mentioned separately. Therefore, “the unseen” must have been used only to mean Allah. In this way the belief in the three fundamentals of religion becomes complete. Tabatabai then reports from the Ma’ani a1-Akhbar a tradition from Imam al-Sadiq (sixth Imam), who said that: “Who believe in the Unseen” means those who believe in the rising of al- Qa’im (the Mahdi) and consider it as the Truth.” The author comments that this explanation is given in other traditions also. But Tabataba’i adds that in order to interpret the verse as concerning the Mahdi in this case implies transforming the general meaning of the verse to a specific one, the verse having a general meaning. C- Tafsir Makhzan al-‘Irfan by Banu Nusrat Amin Banu Amin (5) describes the word Ghayb in this verse as something that is not perceptible through our senses like the sense of hearing or the sense of sight. She gives as examples, the existence of God, the Hereafter that we cannot perceive through our usual senses, or the Imam of the Time who is not visible and hidden from our sight; however, at the same time, she says that he is attentive to the situation of his Shi’ites. She then explains the superiority of those who have faith and are living in the time of the great Occultation of the Mahdi, which is the most difficult period in which to preserve one’s faith: the Prophet in his greatness declared, concerning believers of this time, that he was impatient to meet them and considered them as his brothers. There are also traditions, Banu Amin argues, concerning the importance of those who believe during the period of the Occultation. She adds that if we can find believers in this time (of the greater Occultation) who believe intelligently, i.e. after having carried out some research and not only by imitating their parents, we can say that they are even superior to believers at the very beginning of Islam who had an opportunity to be with the Prophet and to learn directly from him, and also there were fewer temptations for them of being lead astray from the truth compared to the temptations of our time. NOTES: ______________________________________________________ 1. The Quran 2:3 2. Majma’ al-Bayan,Vol.1 p.60 3. Al-Mizan: Vol.1, p.68 4. The Quran 2:4 5. Tafsir Makhzan al-‘Irfan: Vol. 1, P. 91 ]]> 0 Imam Mahdi in the Verse (24:55) 1 Imam Mahdi (a.s) is the Shia twelfth Imam, which is prophesized to come at the end time. Therefore, this article aims to establish the correlation between verse 55 of Surat al-Nur (Chapter 24) where it says: “Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion-the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: ‘They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me. ‘If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.” (1) A) Majma al-Bayan of Shaykh Tabarsi Shaykh Tabarsi explains the verse as: “God promised to those who sincerely have faith and are obedient that he will make them heirs of the ancients and that He will grant them all the Arab and non-Arab unbelievers’ lands, and will make them inhabitants and governor of these lands, in the same way as he made the Bani Isra’il the heirs of the ancients and destroyed the tyrant of Egypt, and granted all his goods and lands to them.”(2) He then reports several views concerning this verse: 1- Some commentators believe that it concerns the Prophet. 2- Some say it concerns the Umma. 3- From the sayings of the Imams of the, it is reported that it concerns the Mahdi from the Prophet’s descendants. The fourth Imam once recited this verse and said: “By God, these people are our Shi’ites about whom God will accomplish all the promises he made in this verse by the hands of a man from among us, who is the Mahdi of this Community.” The Prophet said about him: “Even if there remains only one day on Earth, God will prolong it until He will bring forth a pious man from my progeny and who is named as I am so that he will fill the earth with justice and equity as it was filled with oppression and tyranny.”(3) The same tradition was reported by Imam Baqir and Imam Sadeq. Shaykh Tabarsi adds that the expression “al-ladhina amanu minkum wa ‘amilu as-salehat” (“those among you who believe and work righteous deeds”) refers to the Prophet and the and that this verse gives them the good news that they will be the Caliphs (governors) and will seize power in every land and that during the revolution of the Mahdi, they will be made safe. Moreover, he affirms that the meaning of “kama istakhlafa al-ladhina min qablihim” (“as He granted it to those before them”) is that, before them also, God granted the governorship (khilafa) and power to those who deserved it, such as Adam, Dawud and Sulayman, as we can see in the following verses: Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” (4) Or: O David! We did indeed make thee a vicegerent on eart