Imam al-Mahdi is the twelfth and last Imam (A.S.) Part1

Written by Ayatullah al-Uzma Lutfullah as-Safi al-Gulpaygani

580. Al-Ghayba by Faḍl b. Shādhān1: Narrated to us Ṣafwān b. Yaḥyā, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Ibrāhīm b. Abī Ziyād, from Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, from Abū Khalid al-Kabulī who said:
I went to see my master (Imam) `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, and asked, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Inform me about those—whose obedience and love Allah has made compulsory and has made following them obligatory for His servants—after the Messenger of Allah, Allah\'s blessings be on him and his family.” He replied, “O Kabulī! Surely, those who possess authority (aulī l-amr) whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, has appointed as leaders for the people and made their obedience obligatory are: Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, then my uncle al-Ḥasan, my father al-Ḥusayn, and then the affair reached us.” 
Saying this, he became silent. I said, “O my master! It has been narrated to us from Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, that the earth will not become empty of a proof from Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, upon His servants. So, who is the proof and Imam after you?” He said, “My son Muḥammad and his name in the earlier [Holy] Books is Bāqir. He will split knowledge, a thorough splitting. He is the Proof and the Imam after me. After Muḥammad, it will be his son Ja`far and he is known to the inhabitants of the sky as al-Ṣādiq.” 
I asked, “O my master! Why is he only called as al-Ṣādiq (the Truthful) whilst all of you are truthful?” He answered, “Narrated to me my father, from his father, peace be on them, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said, ‘When my son, Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib is born, name him al-Ṣādiq because his fifth descendant—who will also have the name Ja`far—will falsely claim to be an Imam and will dare [to disobey] Allah and lie against Him. To Allah, he will be known as Ja`far the liar (al-Kadhdhāb), the one who forges lies against Allah and claims the position for which he was not eligible. He will oppose his father and will be jealous of his brother. He is the one who will desire to disclose Allah’s secret, Majestic be His Majesty, during the occultation of the Guardian [appointed] by Allah.’” 
Saying this, (Imam) `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, cried intensely and continued, “As if I am with Ja`far al-Kadhdhāb who will be assisting the tyrants of his time to find out about the Guardian [appointed] by Allah; the one who will be concealed in the protection of Allah and be in charge of his father’s dependents while [Ja`far] will be ignorant about his birth and seeks to kill him if he can get his hands on him, and will have greed for the inheritance of his brother which he will wish to seize unjustly.” 
I asked, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Will these really happen?” He answered, “Yes, by my Lord! All this is written in the manuscript we possess which mentions the afflictions that will be inflicted on us after the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family.” I said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Then what will happen?” He replied, “Then, the occultation of the twelfth Guardian [appointed] by Allah will be prolonged. He will be from the heirs of the Messenger of Allah after him. O Abū Khālid! The people who believe in his Imamate and await his reappearance during his occultation, are the best people of all times. 
Because Allah, Blessed and High be He, has granted them such intellect (`aql), understanding (fahm), and recognition (ma`rifa) that occultation for them is the same as observation. He (Allah) has made them in that time like the holy warriors who fought with their swords before the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family. They are truly the sincere ones, our real Shias, and the callers towards the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, secretly and openly.” He then said, “Awaiting the Relief is one of the best reliefs (intiẓār al-faraj min afḍal al-faraj).”
581. Kifāyat al-athar2: Narrated to us `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad, from Hārūn b. Mūsā at Baghdad in the month of Safar, 381 AH, from Aḥmad [Muḥammad] [b. Makhzūm] b. Muḥammad al-Muqrī—the slave of Banī-Hāshim—in 324 AH, from Abū Muḥammad from both: (a) Abū Ḥafṣ `Umar [`Amr] b. al-Faḍl al-Ṭabarī, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Farghānī, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad b. `Amr al-Balwī, and (b) `Abd-Allah [`Ubaid Allah] b. al-Faḍl b. Hilāl al-Ṭā’ī in Egypt, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad b. `Umar [`Amr] b. Maḥfūẓ al-Balwī; from Ibrāhīm b. `Abd-Allah b. al-`Alā, from Muḥammad b. Bukair who recounts:
I went to see Zaid b. `Alī, peace be on him, while Ṣāliḥ b. Bishr was with him. I said hello to him and he intended to go Iraq. I said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Narrate to me something which you have heard from your father.” He said, “Yes. My father narrated to me from his grandfather [or my father from his father from his grandfather] that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘On whoever Allah has bestowed a favor, he should praise Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He. One whose sustenance is delayed should seek forgiveness [from Allah. One who is grieved by an affair] should say, “There is no power and strength except by Allah.”’” 
I said, “Please tell me more, O Son of Allah’s Messenger!” He said, “Yes. My father narrated to me from his grandfather [or my father from his father from his grandfather] that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘I will intercede for four people on the Day of Judgment: He who respects my seed (dhurriyyatī), fulfills their needs, strives for them in their affairs when they need it, and loves them with his heart and his tongue.’” I said, “Please tell me more from the merits that Allah has bestowed upon you O Son of Allah’s Messenger.” 
He said, “My father has narrated from his [father, from his] grandfather that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said, ‘Whoever loves us Ahl al-Bait for the sake of Allah will be gathered with us (ḥushira ma`anā) and we will take him to Paradise with us. O son of Bukair! He who fastens on to us will be with us in the highest of ranks.’ O son of Bukair! Verily, Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, chose Muḥammad, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, and selected us as his seed (dhurriyya). If it was not for us, Allah, the Exalted, would not have created the world and the hereafter. O son of Bukair! Through us Allah is recognized and through us Allah is worshipped. We are the path to Allah; from us is al-Muṣṭafā, [from us] is al-Murtaḍā, from us will be the Mahdī, the Qā’im of this nation.” 
I enquired, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Did the Messenger of Allah inform you when your Qā’im will rise?” He answered, “O son of Bukair! You will not meet him and surely this affair will continue on for another six heirs (waṣīs). Then, [Allah] will make our Qā’im appear and he will fill [the earth] with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness.” I asked, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Aren’t you the master of this affair?” He replied, “I am from the progeny. I asked again and he answered the same. I asked, “Were the things that you said from yourself or from the Messenger of Allah?” He answered, “Had I known the unknown, I would have massed much good. These are a covenant that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, has taken from us.” Then, he recited the following poem
We are the chiefs of the Quraish
The foundation of truth is within us
We are the lights that
Existed before the existence of all creatures
From us is the chosen Muṣṭafā
And the Mahdī too is from us
Indeed, through us Allah is recognized
And we have stood with the Truth
Soon he will be thrown in the fire
He who turns away from us today
`Alī b. al-Ḥusayn says: “Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Bazaufarī narrated this tradition to us in the shrine of our master, (Imam) al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, peace be on him, from Muḥammad b. Ya`qūb al-Kulainī, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from Salmat b. al-Khaṭṭāb, from Muḥammad b. Khālid al-Ṭayālisī, from Saif b. `Umaira and Ṣāliḥ b. Uqba, all of them from `Alqamat b. Muḥammad al-Ḥaḍramī, from Ṣāliḥ [Ṣulḥ] who recounts: “I was with Zaid b. `Alī, peace be on him, when Muḥammad b. Bukair came to see him . . . (he then mentioned the previous narration).”
582. Kamāl al-dīn3: Al-Muẓaffar b. Ja`far b. al-Muẓaffar al-`Alawī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Mas`ūd, from his father, from Abū l-Qāsim—who recorded it from the book of Aḥmad al-Dahhān—from al-Qāsim b. Ḥamza, from ibn Abī `Umair, from Abū Ismā’īl al-Sarrāj, from Khaithamat al-Ju`fī, from Abū Ayyūb al-Makhzūmī [Abū Labīd al-Makhzūmī] who said: “(Imam) Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī al-Bāqir, peace be on him, mentioned the biography of the twelve rightly guided successors, Allah’s blessings be on them. When he reached the last one he said, ‘The twelfth is the one behind whom Jesus, son of Mary, peace be on him, will pray. [Follow] his customs and the Noble Quran.’” The traditions with the following numbers also show the above concept: 81, 113, 118, 153–165, 181, 196, 205–309, 553–541, 543–545, 547, 549–556, 574, 668, 1168, and 1230.
Notes:
1. Kifāyat al-muhtadī (al-Arba`īn), pp. 92–93, no. 20, which has some apparent mistakes. We have corrected it in accordance with the other references; Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, chap. 21, pp. 319–320, no. 2, through two chains from al-Sayyid `Abd al-`Aẓīm al-Ḥasanī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Ṣafwān b. Yaḥyā; al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, pp. 317–318, both of them have recorded “and from the greatest of reliefs (min a`ẓam al-faraj)”; Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā, sect. 15, pp. 365–366, up to his saying, “secretly and openly”; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 36, chap. 44, pp. 386–387, no. 1, which says: “and from the greatest of reliefs (wa min a`ẓam al-faraj)” and vol. 50, chap. 6, pp. 227–228, no. 2; I`lām al-warā, sect. 2, p. 224, up to his saying: “secretly and openly”; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 1, chap. 9, pp. 514–515, no. 247, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān in Ithbāt al-ghayba, al-Ṣadūq in Kamāl al-dīn, al-Ṭabarsī in al-Iḥtijāj, and al-Rāwandī in Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā, which say, “from the greatest (min a`ẓam)” ; al-Inṣāf, pp. 55–57, no. 47, which says, “from the greatest of deeds.” 
2. Kifāyat al-athar, chap. 40, pp. 298–30, no. 1; Irshād al-qulūb, p. 414 (short version); Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 46, chap. 11, pp. 201–203, no. 77. 
3. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, chap. 32, pp. 331–332, no. 17; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 1, chap. 9, p. 516, no. 251, which says: “follow his customs and the Wise Quran”; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 5, p. 137, no. 5. In the edition published by al-Maktabat al-Islāmiyya, vol. 1, p. 448, Abū Lubaid has been recorded instead of Abū Ayyūb. Also, “the one who will pray behind him will be Jesus, son of Mary, peace be on him, in the year of ‘Yāsīn, and by the Wise Quran’ (Quran 36:1–2).” This wording is in harmony with what is found in al-Inṣāf (chap. ‘al-Hamza,’ p. 9, no. 12). Apparently, this is due to the copyist’s error or his misjudgment, because the wording of the tradition—according to the copy that we have copied from which is the version corrected using the hand-written manuscript—are like this: “follow his customs and the Wise Quran.” Its editor has mentioned that its wording in the precious copy does not have the words “follow his,” thus, it will mean: Jesus, peace be on him, will act according to the Islamic sharia and pray behind him in accordance with his customs and the Noble Quran. What we mean by ‘his customs,’ are the customs of the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, or the customs of the Imam, peace be on him, which are none but the traditions of the Prophet, Allah\'s blessings be on him and his family. The versions in which the words “follow his” have been recorded are in accordance with Biḥār al-anwār and Ithbāt al-hudāt except that in its end ‘Wise’ is used instead of ‘Noble’. 
The traditions that indicate he will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness

Comprised of 148 traditions

583. Al-Fitan1: Al-Walīd narrated to us from Sa`īd, from Qatāda, from Abī Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “[The Mahdī] will give away wealth munificently and will not count [what he is giving away]. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness.”
584. Al-Fitan2: Al-Walīd narrated to us from Abū Rāfi` Ismā’īl b. Rāfi`, from someone who narrated to him, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said: “His nation will take refuge in him like the bees that take refuge in their leader. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice; until the people return to their original state [and will become so peaceful] that no one will wake up someone who is asleep and no blood will be shed.”
585. Al-Fitan3: Narrated to us ibn Wahb, from al-Ḥarth, from Minhāl b. `Amr b. Ziyād, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family, who said: “He will fill the earth with justice as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice before him. He will rule for seven years.”
586. Al-Musnad4: Narrated to us `Abd-Allah, from his father, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from `Auf, from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The Hour will not be established until the earth is filled with unfairness and oppression. Then, a person from my progeny—or from my Ahl al-Bait—will emerge who will fill it with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and oppression.”
587. Kanz al-`ummāl5: From `Alī, peace be on him, who said:
The earth will be filled with unfairness and injustice to such an extent that fear and grief will enter every house. They will ask for two dirhams . . . but it will not be given to them. Wars will follow wars and wealth will follow wealth until Allah surrounds them in His land; then, he will fill the earth with justice and fairness.
588. Kamāl al-dīn6: Narrated to us `Alī b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Qazwīnī, from Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah al-Ḥaḍramī, from Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-Aḥwal, from Khallād al-Muqri’, from Qays b. Abī Ḥaṣīn, from Yaḥyā b. Waththāb, from `Abd-Allah b. `Umar, from al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī, peace be on him, who said:
If there remains but one day from the [end of the] world, Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, will prolong it until a man from my progeny emerges. He will fill it with justice and fairness just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. This is what I heard from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family.
589. Kamāl al-dīn7: Narrated to us my father and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Ḥimyarī, Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, and Aḥmad b. Idrīs, all of them, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Abī al-Khaṭṭāb, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. `Īsā, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Khālid al-Barqī, and Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim, all of them, from al-Ḥasan b. `Alī b. Faḍḍāl, from Tha`labat b. Maimūn, from Mālik al-Juhanī; [and through another chain] narrated to us Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad b. al-Walīd, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṣaffār, and Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad al-Ṭayālisī, from Mundhir b. Muḥammad b. Qābūs, from al-Naṣr b. Abī al-Sarī, from Abū Dāwūd Sulaimān b. Sufyān al-Mustariq, from Tha`labat b. Maimūn, from Mālik al-Juhanī, from Ḥārith b. al-Mughaira al-Naṣrī, from al-Aṣbagh b. Nubāta who said:
I went to Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, and found him pondering over something and scratching the ground. I asked, “O Amīr al-Mu’minīn! Why am I seeing you pondering and scratching the ground; do you have any desire for it?” He answered, ‘No, by Allah! I never had any desire for it or for the world, even for a single day. But I was thinking about a child who will be from my loin (ẓahrī) and my eleventh descendant. He is the Mahdī who will fill [the earth] with justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. He will have a bewilderment and an occultation in which, some will be deviated and others will be guided.” 
I asked, “O Amīr al Mu’minīn! Will this really happen?” He replied, “Yes, just as he will be created. O Aṣbagh! Your knowledge about this affair will be very limited. They are the best of this nation along with the righteous ones of this progeny.” I said, “What will happen after that?” He replied, “Then, Allah will do what He pleases, for surely, He has intentions, aims, and endings.”
590. Kifāyat al-athar8: Abū l-Mufaḍḍal informed us from Abū `Abd-Allah Ja`far b. Muḥammad al-`Alawī, from `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn [al-Ḥasan] b. `Alī b. `Umar, from his father (Imam) `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, that he used to say: “Call for me my son al-Bāqir [i.e. Muḥammad]!” I asked him, “O father! Why have you named him al-Bāqir?” On hearing this, he smiled—and I hadn’t seen him smiling before this. 
Then, he performed a long prostration for Allah, the Exalted. I heard him say in his prostration, “O Allah! All Praise is for you O my Master, for all the blessings that You have endowed upon us Ahl al-Bait.” He repeated this sentence a number of times then said, “O my son! The Imamate is in his descendants until our Qā’im, peace be on him, rises. Then, he will fill it with fairness and justice. 
He is an Imam and the father of the Imams [following him]. [He is] a mine of forbearance and the place of knowledge—which he will split as it should be split. By Allah, he is certainly the most similar of the people to the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family.” I asked, “How many Imams will follow him?” He replied, “Seven; and from them is the Mahdī who will emerge with the religion in the end of times.”
591. Dalā’il al-imāma9: Through his chain of narrators (meaning Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Hārūn b. Mūsā from his father) from Abū `Alī al-Nahāwandī from Abū l-Qāsim b. Abī Ḥayya from Isḥāq b. Abī Isrā’īl from Abū `Ubaida al-Ḥaddād from `Abd al-Wāḥid b. Wāṣil al-Sadūsī from `Auf from Abū l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said: “The Hour will not be established until the earth is filled with unfairness and oppression. Then, a person from my progeny—or he said from my Ahl al-Bait—will emerge. He will fill it with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and oppression.’”

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