COMPARATIVE VIEWS ON MAHDISM The Divine vs The Human
Throughout the centuries mankind, by its own standards, has sought someone to bring justice as a means to peace and fulfilment. Leaders have come and gone, but impenitent man in his ignorance and futility still keeps seeking one who will bring victory over oppression. Sadly in many instances the justice sought has been driven by fallible conceptions and convictions; even, at times, worsened by cleverly-concealed ambitious desires.
This paper attempts to demonstrate firstly, that without the recognition of, and aid from the Lord of the Worlds, mankind will never have cognisance of true justice, true values, and thus no matter how much it struggles, will never attain understanding of that which it innately seeks.
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.
1.1 The Nature of Man
Created by Allah, man\'s existence was for a noble purpose as seen Qur\'anically in Surah Al Hijr (15:26,28,29). Fashioned out of clay but breathed into by Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Adam (a.s.) the first man and recipient of the Divine life force was created in such a way that it was possible for him to attain the greatest heights of spirituality and intellect, receiving the capability of being the representative of Allah upon the Earth. This was acknowledged in aya 29 when it was said to the angels: "When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall down in obeisance unto him". As if to reinforce this spiritual element of man’s being, the same words are given in verse 72 of Surah 38. Added to this spiritual element was the time spent with Allah in which He taught Adam, and even the angels acknowledged man\'s superiority over them in the attainment of this knowledge.
Nevertheless, in forgetting his origin and his Creator, man could revert to the lesser material, the clay which was ever part of him, and Iblis, the enemy of mankind, refused to bow to man basing his argument entirely on the reasoning of man’s material constituent being inferior. Even the angels had questioned when told that man was to be created as Allah\'s Vicegerent on earth: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?" Surah Al Baqarah (2:30). This may be further emphasised by the fact that Allah has, to a large extent, given man free will. It is man who must choose to fulfil his destiny with honour, and this may be seen in Surah Yunus (10:99) where Allah has stated the following: "If it had been thy Lord\'s Will, they would all have believed - all who are on the Earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind against their will to believe?" . Had Allah wanted blind obedience there were myriads of angels ever there to fulfil all that He commanded. Indeed, man was different, unique, and Allah answered the angels’ question by stating, “I know that which ye know not!”
Therefore, to focus upon the baser material of man’s origins would be to negate that most wonderful phenomenon - the spirit which Allah breathed into man, which has carried down through the generations over the thousands of years of man’s presence upon the earth. This has been addressed by Ayatullah Murtaza Mutahheri in the following: "In Islam the spiritual element breathed into man during the Creation of Adam means that man must pass from the innately good to that which is evil. Therefore, all of mankind has the propensity to turn to Allah."[1] He elaborates on this, indicating the example of Firawn. He, and those like him, still had the opportunity to turn to Allah, as in Surah Naml (27:14), “They denied Our signs, though their souls acknowledged them.” Of this aspect, Ayatullah Mutahheri likens their denial to a sort of revolution against their own consciences, with disbelief being the rejection of what their hearts believed.
Thus man may have travelled far down a pathway alien to that which is worthy and blessed, yet his soul acknowledges his spiritual need, even as his reason and actions deny such. We see indications of this recognition of the soul in the many legends which have been relayed through the ages, cultures and generations. The scenario is duplicated many times of the struggle between the Oppressor and the Righteous man who leads to victory and a bright future.
For those who have understanding, it is obvious that even in far-off lands, over many centuries, the need for Allah’s leading, although perhaps heavily overladen with cultural romanticism and digressions, remains as a small ember awaiting the divine spark which will light the fires of understanding to bring forth those who will choose to follow Allah’s ways and Allah’s Vicegerent. For those who do not have, or reject, spiritual understanding the unrequited longing of their souls hastens them down pathways away from Allah, to false deities and false Mahdi’s of their choosing, for by nature man’s very being requires him to worship. “Then set your face upright for religion in the right state - the nature made by Allah in which He has made men; there is no altering of Allah’s creation…” Surah Al Rum (30:30).
