Biographies of 14 Infallibles

The imam, the just guide, Hazrat Mahdi (a.s) was born half way through the month of Sha’ban in the year 255 AH. In the town of Samarra, and in 260 AH., when his great father died, he reached the exalted position of the Imamate. His name (Muhammad) and his agnomen (Abu’l-Qasim) are the same as the prophet’s. His father, the 11^th Shi’a imam, was Hazrat imam Hasan al-Askari (a.s) and his mother, the great lady Narjis- may the peace of Allah be with her.

For various reasons, the twelfth imam, from the first day of his life, did not appear publicly, and for about seventy years people were in communication with him through the intermediary of his special representatives, in order of succession; “Uthamn ibn Sa’id, Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman, Husayn ibn Ruh, and ; ‘Ali ibn Muhammad as-Samuyri. This period of seventy years is known as the minor occultation (ghaybat-e-sughra), and at the end of that period the major occultation (ghaybat-e-kubra) began.

During the major occultation till the time of his re-appearance no-one has been his special representatives, and there will be no one in the future, and the people have the duty to refer to the fuqhah, those excelling in knowledge of the Shari’ah, and the narration of hadith who are specialised in the matters of the religion.

Belief in the Hazrat Mahdi, and Universal Reform

Belief in the re-appearance of the expected Mahdi (a.s) the universal reformer is not confined to the Shi’ite Muslims. Other Islamic groups and even non-Islamic groups like the Jews and the Christians and some of the great world intellectual figures believe in the appearance of a great spiritual reformer. In Psalm 37 is written:

“….. Trust in the lord and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.

….For the wicked shall be cut off: but those who wait for the lord shall possess the land.

….But the weak shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

…. The lord knows the days of the flawless, and their heritage will abide forever.

….For those blessed by the lord, shall possess the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

….The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell upon it for ever..”

The Qur’an and belief in al-Mahdi (a.s)

In the Qur’an a time I promised when the worshippers of Truth, the worlds people of righteousness, will take over the power and government of the world, and the glorious din of Islam will reign all over the earth. Other ayahs have been revealed which exegetically point to Hazrat Mahdi (a.s)

“For we have written in the Psalms, after the Remembrance, ‘The earth shall be the inheritance of My righteous servants.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 21:105).

“Allah has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make you successors in the land, even as he made those who were before them successors, and that He will surely establish their religion for them, and will give them in exchange, after their fear, security: “They shall serve Me, not associating with Me anything.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 24:55).

“it is He who has sent His messenger with the religion of truth, that he May lift it above every religion, though the unbelievers be averse.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 11:9).

“Yet We desired to be gracious to those that were abased in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 28:5).

The above ayahs clearly show that in the end the world will fall to the hands of Allah’s worthy and righteous servants and that they will become the leaders of the people of the world. Then Islam will be victorious over all religions.

“….. Trust in the lord and do good; so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.

….For the wicked shall be cut off: but those who wait for the lord shall possess the land.

….But the weak shall possess the land, and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

…. The lord knows the days of the flawless, and their heritage will abide forever.

….For those blessed by the lord, shall possess the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

….The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell upon it for ever..”

The Qur’an and belief in al-Mahdi (a.s)

“For we have written in the Psalms, after the Remembrance, ‘The earth shall be the inheritance of My righteous servants.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 21:105).

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 24:55).

“it is He who has sent His messenger with the religion of truth, that he May lift it above every religion, though the unbelievers be averse.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 11:9).

“Yet We desired to be gracious to those that were abased in the land, and to make them leaders, and to make them the inheritors.”

(Ref: Holy Qur’an, 28:5).

Belief in the Hazrat Mahdi and the Sunni authorities.

In the subject, the scholars in the Sunni school have related many hadiths from the prophet of Islam, through narrators whom they themselves trust. From among them are such hadiths as tell that the imams are twelve persons and that they are all form the Quraysh.

Hazrat Mahdi, the promised one, is from the family of the prophet and is a descendent of Hazrat ‘Ali and hazard Fatimah zahra (a.s), and in many of these hadiths it is mentioned that he is from the line of Imam Husain (a.s). They have mentioned and recorded hundreds of hadiths about the Hazrat Mahdi in more than seventy books by their own valued and dependable authorities of which we shall mention a few examples.

Al-Mussed of Ahmad bin Hanbal (d. 241 AH)

Sahih of al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH)

Sahih of al-Muslim ibn Hajjaj Nishapouri (d. 261 AH)

Sunan of Abi Dawid Sajistani (d. 275 AH)

Sahih of Muhammad ibn ‘Isa at-Tirmidhi (d.279 AH)

The authors of the above books- each one of them among the most authoritative books of the Sunnis, died before the birth of the imam of the Age (255 AH) or shortly after his birth.

Let us also mention:-

Musabih as-Sunnah of al-baghawi (d. 516 AH)

Jami’al-Usul of ibn Athir (d. 606 AH)

Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah of Muhyi’d-din ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 638 AH)

Tadhkira al-Khawas of Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (d. 654 AH)

Fara’id as-Simtayn of al-Hamawi (d. 716 AH)

As-Sawa’iq al-Muhariqah of ibn Hajar al-Haythami (d. 973 AH)

Yanabi’al-Mawaddah of Shaykh Sulayman al-Qunduzi (d. 1293)

Some of the Sunni scholars have written books especially about the imam of the age: -

Al-Bayan fi Akhbar Sahib az-Zaman of Al-Ganji Ash-Shafi’i
Iqdad-Durar fi Akhbar al-Imam al-Muntazar of Shaykh Jamalu’d-din Yusuf al-Damishki
Mahdi Al ar-Rasul of ‘Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Harawi al-Hanati
Kitab al-Mahdi of Abu Dawid
‘Alamat al-Mahdi of Jalalu’d-din as-Suyuti
manaqib al-Mahdi of Hafiz Abu Nu’aim al-Isfahani
Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fir ‘Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazir of ibn Hajar
Al-Burhan fi ‘Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman of Mulla ‘Ali al-Muttaqi
Arba’un Hadith fi al-Mahdi of Abu’l- ‘Ala’al-Hamadani.

The Hidden Reformer.

We have at hand these three hundred hadiths from the prophet (s.a) and from the five imams about the imam of the Age. From then it is clear that the imam of the Age is the ninth son of Husain ibn ‘Ali. His father imam ‘Hazrat Askari (a.s), his mother Narjis khatun. His name is the same as that of the prophet of the end of time; his first name is Hazrat Mahdi. It was to happen that he would be born during his father’s lifetime; in Samarra, that his father would die when he was young, that he would live even to this day, and as long as God wished it. Then he will re-appear and the world will be filled with justice at a time when there I injustice everywhere and that is why he is now hidden from the sight of men.

And when he comes-may his appearance be honoured-with his back towards the Ka’bah edifice, he will lean against the wall and cry out and call for his followers, who will number 313 persons. ‘Hazrat Isa (a.s) will come from the heaven down to the earth, and will pray in a prayer led by Hazrat Mahdi. The imam of the age will cause the commands of Islam to reach all over the world, and the earth will be like heavens.

There are very many hadiths related by the Shi’a and Sunni scholars on many connected with this great imam, and these are mentioned in books like Bihar al-Anwar and Munakhab al-Athar.

First we shall indicate here some of these hadiths which the authors of Muntakhab al-Athar wrote down in this book and then we shall give the text of some of them.

When looking at the above mentioned and other hadiths, it should be kept in mind that the hadith mentioning Hazrat Mahdi (a.s) have been narrated most frequently, and that there are few subjects in Islam, which have been mentioned in hadiths so often. Thus, in this light, anyone who believes in Islam and its Prophet (s.a) must necessarily declare hi belief in the existence of the promised Mahdi who is now in occultation. Now we shall relate some of these hadiths.

1. The author of Yanabi’al-Muwaddah relates that the prophet (s.a) said: “Al-Mahdi is a descendant of mine. He will be in concealment, and when he manifests himself, the earth will become filled with justice, just as it was previously filled with injustice.”

2. In this book it is also related that Salman al-Farsi said: “I went to the prophet, when Husain ibn ‘Ali was sitting in his lap and the prophet was kissing his eyes and mouth, and he said: “You are a noble one, the son of a noble one, and the brother of a noble one; you are the imam, the son of the imam, and the brother of the imam. You are the Proof, son of the proof and the brother of the proof; you will be the father of the nine proofs of whom the ninth will be the Qa’im.”

3. Ibn ‘Abi Dalaf says: “I heard from Hazrat ‘Ali ibn Muhammad (the 10th imam) that he said: ‘The imam after me will be Hasan my son, and after him his descendant the Qa’im, who will fill the earth with justice, when it was previously filled with injustice.’ 4. Hudhayfah said that the prophet (s.a) said: ‘If no more than one day is left of the world, that will make that day so long that a man descendant of mine, whose name is my name, will appear.’ Salman asked: “O Prophet of Allah, which descendant will he be?” The Prophet put his hand on Husain and said that it would be one of his descendants.

5. Mas’adah relates from imam Sadiq (a.s) that he said: “The Qa’im will be born of Hasan (the eleventh imam, Hazrat imam Hasan al-‘Askari), and Hasan will son of ‘Ali (the tenth imam, Hazrat imam ‘Ali al-Naqi), and ‘Ali will son of Muhammad (the ninth imam, Hazrat imam Muhammad Taqi), and Muhammad will be born of ‘Ali (the eight imam, Hazrat Ali ibn Thisa ar-Rida) and ‘Ali will be son of his child (he pointed to Hazrat Musa ibn Ja’far, the seventh imam). We are twelve imams, all pure and noble birth. I swear by Allah, if there remains of the world no more than one day, Allah will make that day so long that the Qa’im of us, the Household of the Prophet (s.a), will appear.”

The opinion of Sociologists.

The world’s foremost intellectuals are of the opinion that the wars, massacres, murders, prostitution’s, and all the evils of this age, which are daily in the increase, are because there is no equilibrium between man’s material and spiritual requirements. The man of today has turned his back on moral virtues and spiritual riches, although he has conquered the sea, the desert and space, and has taken himself to the moon.

It is obvious that by relying in force and power he cannot establish order and justices in the world, and that only with technology and the material sciences the happiness of humanity will not be secured. Man has no other resort than to strengthen his social relation on the basis of faith and virtue, and to save himself from the vortex of dangers with the guidance of a great world reformer, to establish a rule based on justice together with peace, security and sincerity. In this state of affairs, human society is moving quickly towards preparations for the rising up of the imam of the Age (a.s).

The length of Hazrat Mahdi’s life.

We believe that the lengthening of man’s life is not an impossibility, because it is explicitly said in the Qur’an that: “We sent Nuh to his people, as he tarried among them a thousand years, all but fifty,” (XXIX: 14)

What is more, research undertaken in the biological sciences has corroborated the possibility of lengthening the human life span. Even great scientists are of the opinion that food and drugs may be prepared which can prolong man’s life. The late Ayatollah Sadr* in his book “al-Mahdi”, quoted from a scientific article written in 1959 which stands as a witness to what we have said above. Here we shall give a summary of it.

• A learned scholars of Qum (1882-1953), father of the well-known imam Musa Sadr of the Lebanon. “Authoritative scientists say that all the basic tissues of the animal body can live forever, and it is possible for man to live for a thousand years, provided that it doesn’t happen that the thread of his life is not severed. These scientists do not speak on the basis of guesswork or surmise, for they have arrived at their conclusion through scientific experiment.

“A professor at Johns Hopkins University has said that it has been proved that the basic members of the human body have the potentially for eternal life. Apparently the first person to carry out these experiments on parts of an animal body was Dr. Jack Lubb, and after him Dr. Warren Lewis, who together with his wife, proved that parts of bird foetuses could be kept alive in buffer solutions. These experiments were systematically continued until Dr. Alexis Karel, as a result of further experimental work, established that parts of animals subjected to experiments did not degenerate, and even that they lived longer than the animal from which they had been taken. In January 1912, he started his experiments and by dint of self-sacrifice and removing the numerous difficulties, he discovered the following facts: -

1. Unless complications such as lack of nutrition’s or attack by microbes intervened, living cells would continuos living forever.

2. These cells which continued to live, also grew and multiplied.

3. The growth and division of these cells could be controlled by the nutrition given to them.

4. The passing of time did not affect them and did not make them age or lose strength. Not even the smallest effect of ageing was seen. Each year they grew and multiplied exactly as in previous years. So why does man die? Why is his span of life rarely more than a hundred years? The part of the human or animal body are numerous and various, and there is also a perfect relationship and unity between them; so that the life of some of them depends on the life of others, and the failure or death of parts of human or animal bodies is the consequence of the death of the other parts. Sudden deaths, which are the results of infection, are for this reason, and it also provides the reason for the average limit of man’s life being around seventy to eighty years. Of course, what experiments have shown is that the cause of death is not arrival at seventy of eighty years of age, but that the fundamental causes are diseases and accidents which may attack one of the body’s organ and put it out other parts and the death of all the organ ensues.

“Thus if science could eliminate these accidents or obstruct their harmful effects, there would be no impediment to the prolongation of life.” So, if know that a greatly extended life is not an impossibility, there is no hindrance to prevent God, the All-powerful, from keeping a man safe and sound for thousands of years, because the regulations of man’s life is in the hands of God. He can bring a New Harmony into existence which has precedence over the usual order of things, just as He did in the case of all the Miracles. The miracle of the prophet’s, the cooling of the fire for Ibrahim al-Khalil, the turning into a serpent of Hazrat Musa’s staff, the bringing to life of the dead through Hazrat ‘Isa, and so forth, are all against the usual flow of things, but God brought another order into existence by His own power and a miracle occurred; all Muslims, and Jews and Christians, believe in these miracles.

Similarly for the length of the Imam of the age-may Allah bless him- there remains no place for any kind of objection, because if someone says that such a length of life is impossible, his claim cannot be at all accepted after the stipulation of the Qur’an concerning the length of Hazrat Nuh’s life, and also after the latest revelations of biology. If it is said that it is possible, but against the normal natural order of things, it can be retorted that the length of life of the imam of the Age is against the natural order just as the miracles of the prophet’s, and is carried out according to the will of God. Someone who believes in the power of God and the occurrence of the miracles of the prophets cannot have the slightest objection to the length of the imam’s life.

The Occultation of the imam of the Age.

The Prophet of Islam (s.a) sometimes hinted to people concerning the occultation of the twelfth imam, and the five imam’s (a.s) also reminded people of this matter. The news of the occultation of the Imam of the Age was so well known even before his birth, that everyone who believed in the birth of the imam also believed in his prolonged occultation. Let us look at some of the indications that have come down to us from many hadiths on this subject.

1. The prophet said: “The Qa’im of my descendants will become hidden, as the result of a covenant between me and him, and then people will say that Allah has no need of the family of Muhammad, and some will doubt his birth. So everyone who is aware of his time must act according to his religion, and must not let shaitan enter him by faltering lest he be thrown out from my people and my religion.”

2. Amir al-Mu’minin said: “Our Qa’im has an occultation which will be of great devotion.. Beware! everyone who is firm in his religion, and does not become hard-hearted from the lengthening of the occultation of this man (and turn away from his religion( will find himself in the same mule as me on the Day of Resurrection.”

Then he said: “Our Qa’im, when he rises, has no responsibility for anyone’s allegiance to him, and for this reason his birth will be secret and he will be hidden.

3. Muhammad ibn Muslim said that he heard from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s) that he said: “If you hear of the occultation of your imam, do not deny it.”

4. At-Tabarsi wrote: “the hadiths of the occultation were recorded by the Shi’ite narrators in books which were composed in the time of imam Baqir and imam Sadiq (a.s) Of these reliable narrators one was Hasan ibn Mahbub. About a hundred years before the time of the occultation, he wrote a book call ‘al-Mashaykhah.. and mentioned the hadiths about the occultation in it. The following is one of them.

“Abu Basir said: ‘I said in the presence Imam Sadiq (a.s) that Hazrat Abu Ja’far had said: The Qa’im of the family of Muhammad will have two occultation’s; one prolonged, one short.’ He said: “Yes, O Abu Basir, one of those occultation’s will be longer than the other.”

Therefore, the prophet of Islam (a.s) and the pure imams (a.s) reminded people that the occultation of the imam of the Age (a.s) went together with the announcement of the existence of the prophet himself, and that belief in the imam’s occultation went together with belief in the prophet’s existence. Shaikh Saduq narrated from al-Sayyid al-Himyari: I had some exaggerated idea about Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, and believe that he was hidden, till Allah enlightened me through imam Sadiq (a.s) and saved me from Fire. I was guided to the true way, whereby after the Imamate of Ja’far ibn Muhammad had been proved to be me by evidence and demonstration, I said one day to him: ‘O son of the prophet of Allah, tell me some hadiths from your forefathers about occultation and the truth of it. If you please, I would that you tell me for whom the occultation is. ‘He replied: ‘The occultation will occur for my descendant in the sixth generation, and he will be the twelfth imam after the prophet of Allah, the first one being ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the last the Qa’im of the truth, the continuance of Allah on earth, and the lord of the age..’

Why is the Imam of the Age in concealment?

In previous lessons we have said that the existence of the imam (a.s) and the successor of the Prophet (s.a) was necessary for a number of reasons, such as settling differences, explaining the laws of Allah, and giving spiritual, inward guidance, and that Allah, the merciful, appointed Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s) and after him eleven descendants, one after, the other as imams after the prophet of Islam.

It is obvious that the duties of the imam of the Age, in all the aspects of the Imamate, are the same as that of his predecessors. If there were no hindrance, it would be necessary that he be clearly manifested, so that people might prosper from all the benefits of his existence, so why was hidden from the very first?

Basically, there is no need to look for the philosophy or reasons behind his occultation so as to believe in the rule of Allah, for there is no obligation on us to know the basic reason for it, just as we remain ignorant of the metaphysics behind many other things. It is sufficient that we know on the basis of the many hadiths and true proofs that God, the Almighty, sent his own proof, but that, for various reasons, He kept him hidden behind the curtain of occultation.

It can also be found from some hadiths that the basic and fundamental reason for the occultation will become known after the appearance of al-Mahdi. ‘Abdullah al-Fadl al-Hashimi says: “I heard from imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s) that he said: “The occultation will be indispensable for the lord of power, so that the people of vanity will fall into doubt about him.” I asked: ‘Why?’ He said: ‘For a reason which I am not at liberty to declare.’ I asked: ‘What will his rule be? He replied: ‘The same rule as existed in the occultations of previous proofs. It will not be disclosed until after his appearance, just as the rule of the works of Khizr was not known (meaning the drilling of a hole in the boat, the killing of the youth, the repairing of the wall in the story of Khizr in the Qur’an) until Musa and Khizr decided to part company. O fadl, the subject of the occultation is a command of Allah and as secret of His secrets, and since we acknowledge Allah to be wise, we must accept that all his acts are done with knowledge and Wisdom. Even if the reason for them is not known to us.”

Of course the benefits of Hazrat Mahdi’s occultation can be covered and these have been indicated in some of the hadiths. For example:- 1. A test for people is one of the benefits of the occultation of the imam of the Age: on one side, a group without faith, whose inner feelings become evident; on the other side, those in the depths of whose hearts faith have taken root, their hope of deliverance, their patience in adversity, their faith in the unseen becoming more perfect, their worthiness becoming known, and degrees of spiritual reward falling to them. Musa ibn Ja’far (a.s) said: “When my fifth descendant becomes hidden, persevere in your religion, so that no one may turn you away from it. There will be an occultation for the lord of that Age, when a group of believers in him, will relinquish their belief. This occultation is a test by Allah will test his slaves.

2. A protection for the imam against being killed: from a study of the leaders of Islam, and their situations vis-a-viz the Umayyid and Abbasid Caliphs, We can clearly see that if the twelfth imam manifested himself they would surely kill him like his forefather or poison him. Because when they heard and knew that there would a rise from the family of the prophet, from the descendants of ‘Ali and Fatimah may Allah bless them both0 someone who would be a child of Hazrat imam Hasan al-‘Askari (a.s), the Abbasids planned to kill him. But Allah protected him and his enemies lost hope. Zurarah relates from imam Sadiq (a.s) that he said: “There will be an occultation prior to the appearance of the Qa’im.” Zurarah asked: “why?” He said: “So that he may escape being killed, and that occultation will continue till the ground for his appearance and triumph over the rule of the oppressors is ready.”

3. The third benefit that can be gleaned from the hadiths is that by his means Hazrat Mahdi will be saved from having allegiance made to him by the oppressors, caliphs, and usurping rulers. When he appears no one will swear allegiance to him, so that he can freely expose the truth and establish a just and righteous rule.

The Purpose of the Hidden Imam.

We have said above that God appointed the Imam of the Age to be a guide amongst people; however it is the people who are the obstacle to his appearance, and whenever they are ready for a single, divine world rule, formed on true justice observing rights truths and realities. Putting into practice all the laws of Islam without any dissimulation or fear, the Mahdi will openly declare himself. So, with regard to Allah, the Merciful, there us not the slightest lack of favour or mercy, for the fault lies with the people that the imam is hidden and the appearance of his rule is delayed. Still, it must are not limited to outward guidance among people, for the pure existence of the imam has other benefited which are not necessarily evident among people.

The most important benefit of the imam’s existence is that he is the intermediary of Divine Favour. For, on the basis of the evidence scholars have produced and also according to numerous hadiths which speak about the Imamate, if there were no imam(a.s), the relation between the world and its creator would no longer exist, because all of the favours of Allah come through the imam to the rest o humanity. In many hadiths it is said very clearly that the earth will not remain without an imam.

The imam is the heart of the world of existence, the leader, the preceptor of mankind, and for this presence or his absence makes no difference. What is more, the spiritual guidance of the Imam towards worthy individual will always be there, although they may not see him, especially as it is mentioned in hadiths that the Mahdi comes and goes in among the people in the meetings of the believers without anyone understanding. Thus the guarding of Islam and the protection of the worthy is well undertaken by the imam, even during the time of his occultation. In reality the hidden imam is like the sun behind a cloud from whose light and heat existent things may profit, although the ignorant and the blind may not see it. Imam Sadiq (a.s) also said in answer to the question: “How can people benefit from a hidden imam?”:

“Just as they do from the sun when it is behind a cloud.”

“We would now like you to look at this excerpt from the writings of Henry Corbin, the famous French scholars: “I believe that the Shi’a sect is the only religion which maintains eternally the link of Divine guidance between God and his creation, and continually keeps alive the union of vilayat. The Jewish religion, finished prophethood, which is the relationship between God and the world of man, with Moses, and do not acknowledge the prophethood of Jesus or Muhammad. Thus they have served this link. The Christians, also, stopped with Jesus, and the Sunni Muslims stood still Muhammad. With the seal of prophethood among the latter, they admit of no further link being maintained between the Creator and creation. “Only the Shi’ah faith believes that the prophethood ended with Muhammad, but that vilayat, which is this link of guidance and progression, continues to live after him and forever.

“Indeed, only among the Shi’ahs does this reality between the world of man and the Divinity remain forever.”

A Necessary Reminder

Belief in the imam of the Age means that the link between people and the unseen world is inseparable, and someone who believes this must always remember the Mahdi and await the appearance of this hidden reformer.

Of course, waiting for the Imam of the Age does not mean that all Muslims and Shi’ahs should their arms and take no measures in the way of furthering the aims of Islam, only waiting for him to appear. For as the great Shi’ite scholars have been saying from the earliest times, all Muslims and Shi’ahs have the duty to make every effort in the path of establishing and straightening Islamic knowledge and laws in the face of injustice and evil, to struggle against this will all their possibilities; or in other words to strive till the preparations for a just rule has been made, till society has been so harmonised that all those with complaints have seen justice; and if there is any oppression or cruelty reigning among people, to protest against it, and continue in this way. Every Muslim has the duty to sacrifice himself in the way of imam and Islam, and to always be prepared to welcome the promised Mahdi (a.s), that is to so order his life that it may not be a contradiction of the project of the imam, so that he can take his place in the ranks behind him and fight against his enemies.