Secondly, unless man returns to the pristine Pathway of Allah, he will find himself rudderless in a sea of disaster, in grave danger of not recognising the Chosen One, Imam Mahdi (a.s.), Imam of the Age, who is to lead mankind and establish justice and peace upon the Earth.

Moreover, Insha Allah in the next article, I will give a list of Sunni scholars who believe that Imam al-Mahdi (AS) is son of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS), and is alive and went into occultation. In that article will also discuss the special specifications of Imam al-Mahdi which are the points of disagreement between the Shia and the Sunni.

Imam is a Link Between the Material and the Spiritual World In accord with all that we have said previously and the proofs that were derived from the writings of Muslim scholars, including the hadith-reports that spoke about the necessity of the Imamate, the existence of the Imam as a perfect and unique embodiment of humanity serves as a link between the material and the spiritual world.

Secondly, unless man returns to the pristine Pathway of Allah, he will find himself rudderless in a sea of disaster, in grave danger of not recognising the Chosen One, Imam Mahdi (a.s.), Imam of the Age, who is to lead mankind and establish justice and peace upon the Earth.

The eschatology of each of these traditions presents esoteric signs foreseeing a world no longer ruled by Godly virtues but rather oppressed by evil, ultimately redeemed and delivered through the dynamic leadership of a messiah whose weapon for destroying wickedness is Divine Law. Judaism and Christianity sustain a rich heritage of apocalyptic literature (both canonical and apocryphal) concomitant with messianic anticipation, Islam shares this tendency with its distinct yet familiar apocalyptic vision as well, preserved predominately via Hadith

After the martyrdom of al-Husayn, the Imamite Imams from `Ali b. al-Husayn to al-Hasan al-`Askari followed a quiescent policy towards the Umayyads and the `Abbasids. But they expected that all their suffering would be terminated by al-Qa’im, whose rising in arms they were awaiting. The Imamites based their expectations on their interpretation of certain Quranic verses and on numbers of traditions attributed to the Prophet concerning the political and religious role of al-Qa’im. So it is essential to discuss some of these Qur'anic verses and traditions in order to see their effect upon the attitude of the `Abbasids towards the Imamites, and consequently their reactions to the question of the occultation (al-Ghayba) of the Twelfth Imam.

There are a dozen of traditions that emphasize the necessity of having the Marefat of one’s Imam (a.s.), because of one is unaware of his lineage and descent etc, there isa great risk of misunderstanding. Also if the actual characteristics and qualities of the Imam are notknown how can one understand the scope of his Imamat? Therefore, knowledge of hislineage and personal qualities is very important. 

In the period of occultation (Gaibat) of Imam e Zamana (a.s.), we all Shiah’s have certain responsibilities and duties to fulfill. Many books have been written on this aspect. A book ‘Mikyalul Makarim’ enumerates 80 such responsibilities of Shiah’s during Occultation.

The term “messianism” in the Islamic context is often used to translate the significant concept of an eschatological figure, the Mahdi, who as the foreordained leader “will rise” to launch a great social transformation in order to end the sufferings of the faithful and the rule of enemies of God and establish His kingdom on earth (Sachedina, 1981). The Islamic doctrine of salvation does not conceive of a man as a sinner who must be saved through spiritual regeneration. The basic emphasis of Islamic salvation lies instead in the historical responsibility of its followers, namely, the establishment of the ideal religio-political community, the ummah, with a worldwide membership of all those who believe in God and His revelation through Muhammad.

As a Political Scientist I get asked to speak about ‘controversial’ topics. Few are as ‘controversial’ — and as important to the ’Ummah — as the presents topic. I propose to begin by sketching the political context in which this debate occurs. This will lead to a comparison of the two great opposing systems: man’s law versus the law of Allah (swt). It will then be possible to look at some of the central ideas of ‘moderate’ Islam. Finally, the ramifications of these ideas will be looked at and an alternative suggested.

Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (AS) has said: “Surely the possessor of this command (Imam al-Mahdi) will go into an occultation. So the servant should have consciousness (Taqwa) of Allah during the period of the occultation and should hold firm to his religion.”

Innumerable narrations contain the signs and symbols of the reappearance of Hazrat Wali-e-Asr Imam Mahdi (a.s.) Janab Sheikh Sadooq and Allamah Majlisi (May Allah Shower His blessing on them) the highly acclaimed Shia scholars have described these narrations among the signs and symbols of the re-appearance of Imam (a.s.) Here we will discuss them wholly

A key feature of M/M doctrines is that they present a model of reality where ultimate truths and acts of divine consummation are exclusive of human intention and action. M/M doctrines conceive of perfected human conditions, conceptualize their religious hope of a perfected future in terms of unilateral divine agency and posit epochal schematization of history. If followed consistently, M/M doctrine foreclose the possibility of conflating divine and human action and truth realization.

As a Political Scientist I get asked to speak about ‘controversial’ topics. Few are as