MAHDISM IN QUR'ÓNIC EXEGESIS Imamate Order and Challenges of Globalization-2

In one source we found that the emergence of al-mahdÊ is related with the attitude of unjust ruler who exploited the rights of people. This is mentioned by al-TirmÊdhÊ on the report of Abu Hurayrah who heard from the Prophet (pbuh) said, At the end of the day, my ummah will be given the severe test from their rulers until it is felt as if the whole land is so small. In that situation, Allah will send a person from my family to overwhelm with justice replacing ruthlessness and injustice. All inhabitants of the heaven and earth feel satisfied and everything that stored inside the earth will be brought out and no single drop from the heaven except to be sent it down. He lives in the midst of people for seven, eight, or night years.

In one evident it is said that al-mahdÊ will come out whenever good people are killed which will cause the anger from the inhabitants of the heaven as narrated by MujÉhid who heard from one of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who said,
One of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) spoke to him that al-mahdÊ will not come out until good people (al-nafs al-zakiyyah) are killed. Whenever they are killed the inhabitants of the heavens get angered as well as those who live on earth. Then, people will come to al-mahdÊ and endear him like the new married person endears his wife. Al-mahdÊ will overwhelm the whole earth with justice and the earth will produce fruits from all plantations and the heaven (al-sama) will pour its rain and my ummah will enjoy the bounties which they never experienced it before.

Having looked at the different narration with regard to the arrival of al-mahdÊ, then, ImÉm al-ShawkÉnÊ came to the conclusion that all ÍadÊth related to al-mahdÊ al-muntaÐar, al-dajjÉl, and the coming down of the Prophet Isa, the son of Mary, from the heaven reach the level of authenticity known as al-mutawÉtir.

Mahdi and Imamate Order
We have seen in various sources that Mahdism is intermittent with the governance based on justice which will emerge in the midst of crisis. The sources do not give the details rather just mention in general that a selected person with positive characters would become the source of blessing and savior of the ummah. The imamate government in Islam is imperative in which without it there will not be any prevalence of justice. Since the death of the Prophet (pbuh) there were governments under caliphate system to unite the potentials of the ummah. ImÉm ÑAlÊ (may Allah be peace with him) for instance, gave strong warning that one day of the ummah will encounter the crisis which can only be handled through the structuring the values of the divine message into the good order (al-niÐÉm). Structuring the values must be done both in individuals and the collective level through the establishment the sound of governance. The absence of the viable governmental order based on the divine guidance will only create the chaos. In view of this, the warning as given by the fourth caliph says, \'The truth (al-haq) without good governance will be easily defeated with truth which is orderly structured,’ is always relevant.

Since the inception, the message of all Prophets was aimed at establishing peace and justice which ultimately to dedicate the whole of activities of human beings to the will of Allah. The actualization of such noble attempt cannot be done without struggle to eradicate evil forces. In the eve of the creation of Adam for instance, Allah informed the Angle Gabriel on the enmity and bloodshed among human beings. Those who are concerned to promote goodness to invite others to turn into the divine guidance to achieve happiness and peace in the community are categorized and khalÊfah (lit. vicegerent) as the initial purpose of creation as mentioned in this evident,

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." KhalÊfah is related with the emergence of selected people who were later appointed as Prophets and Messengers with the special task of conveying the message. It could also be in the form of ordinary human beings who are governed with the divine message and categorized as martyrs (al-shuhadÉ), faithful people (al-ÎÉdiqËn), pietistic people (al-ÎalihËn), saints (al-awliyÉ), men of goodness (al-abrÉr), as well as Muslim scholars who devote their lives for the cause of goodness (ÑulamÉ al-ÑÉmilËn).

Allah SWT did not want to leave human beings without guidance. The Prophet Adam as the first human being was reminded on emerging mischievous deeds (fasÉd) on earth and after the expulsion from the paradise Allah advised him to observe the revelation to save their life. This, among other things, can be seen in these following verses, We said: “Get ye down from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Both Shiite and Sunni share the belief on Islamic order based on the divine message. The first, from the inception, is very much concerned with the imamate system although there are differences of opinion with regard to the interpretation of the textual evidences pertaining to the appointment of an imam to govern people based on the dictum of the revelation in which, according to them, only Allah has the right to appoint him. While the later could be in any form which includes the caliphate government with the application of the SharÊÑah. As far the issue is concerned, al-mahdÊ also is related with the caliphate system known as khalÊfah al-mahdÊ as mentioned, among other things, in the ÍadÊth narrated by Ibn Majah in which he said, fi iÐÉ raytumËhu fatabiÑËhu walaw habaw ÑalÉ al-thalj fainnahu khalÊfatullah al-mahdÊ (whenever you have seen, just follow him even you face difficulties as he is the caliph of God who have been granted with guidance).
The khalÊfah al-mahdÊ who will be the savior of humanity at the end period of the world will be remaining with the ummah within seven or eight years to demonstrate peace, justice, and prosperity of the ummah with the wise leadership based on the divine guidance. The ummah will retain the lost dignity and there will not be any other forces either religious or ideological used to dominate the Muslim ummah. The Rome will be conquered, Jewish and Christian hegemony will be tarnished, and no other forces will be in position to challenge the leadership of al-mahdÊ.

Religious Reformers
The arrival of imÉm al-mahdÊ indicates the end of worldly live which will be proceeded with internal crisis of the Muslim ummah due to the diversity of doctrinal affiliation, challenges of other religious adherents i.e. Judaism and Christianity as well as subservient to unbeliever forces who subscribe to man-made ideological system i.e socio-economic and political which lead into the bankruptcies and exploitation. It is as a matter of fact, most evidences on al-mahdÊ are related with internal and external challenges. The first is due to the deviation of Muslims from the mainstream of the belief, selfishness, moral degeneration, and demise of socio-economic solidarity, diversity of school of thought, irreconcilable conflict, ruthlessness and injustices of Muslim rulers. In addition, it is also partly related to incompetence in the field of science, technology, and management. The second is due the influence of Western ideological belief such as pseudo democratic system, Western economic domination, political interference and the military onslaught against Muslims. We have to be aware that before the arrival of al-mahdÊ which becomes the expectation of Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) whose leadership style will be manifested in the hand of al-mahdÊ also ensures the arrival of revivalists and reformers who will emerge at the turn over of every century as reflected in the tradition,

At the first part of each century, Allah will send a person who will make reform of His religion.
The role of those who are known as religious reformers is, among other things, to revive religious practice which has been ignored by people, giving spiritual guidance, exposing the religious tenets which ensures peace, justice, and balance of lives, and to remind the ummah with viable religious doctrine throughout the time and to make sure that Islam covers the whole gamut of human activities i.e. spiritual, socio-economic, political and governmental affairs.

From the Shiite circle the world witnessed the emergence of charismatic leader, Ayatollah Ruhullah Khomeini, the greatest and the most influential Shiite reformer who, at the end, brought about an Islamic republic of Iran based on the divine system. As other religious reformers, Imam Khomeini emerged with bold resistance on the recalcitrant and injustices in the hands of Emperor Shah Pahlevi. The echo of reviving Islam in the hands of Imam Khomeini was obstructed by the then ruler and expelled him from his homeland. Due to his sincere works for the cause of justice, some scholars regard that he possesses the value characters of Mahdism.
Until then, the fame and examples of leadership, and depth of his knowledge he came out with the theory of sultah wilÉyah al-faqÊh which is very distinctive. According to him, since the arrival of al-mahdÊ is a part of the invisible matter in which both Sunni and Shiite share the belief on the arrival, then, we should not be over obsessed about the time of emergence. Muslim should never think to stop doing the collective work simply because the absence of imam rather to actualize the values of justice which would be brought about by al-mahdÊ in handling the problems of the Muslim ummah. To shed more light we quote the statement of the late ayatollah Khomeini in which he said,
It already passed more than a thousand year on the absence of imÉm al-mahdÊ and even it may take more thousands years to handle the ummah in the hands of awaited imam. During the waiting the process, the status of Islamic law should not be in stalemate which causes people to do as they wish? Do you think such condition could only create havoc? Do we want to make Islam lose simply because the absence of imÉm al-mahdÊ? For me, to support this idea is worse than to believe that Islam is abrogated.

We should be very concerned in the absence of the imÉm al-mahdÊ in undertaking the task of establishing justice. The absence of an imÉm al-mahdÊ should not be discerned in the sense that we could not run an Islamic government due to the absence of the Prophet (pbuh) or the absence of the person who was given the will (al-wasiyyah). Again, we quote imam Khomeini statement in which he vividly mentions the role of wilayah al-faqih, The government represents the crystal operation of futuristic oriented fiqh in dealing with all aspects of socio-political, military, and culture. The existence of fiqh can be regarded as comprehensive theoretical reality in running the human society from the cradle to the grave.

Moreover, as the founder of Iranian revolution, his aloofness from political interest is obvious. He devoted the whole of his activities for the cause of peace, justice, and prosperity of the nation. To my humble knowledge about political situation in Iran, at present, none of the relatives of the late ayatollah Khomeini involves in pragmatic political interests.
While from Sunni we found Imam ×assÉn al-BannÉ who became martyr in the hands of Western agent. His thought and ideas brought tremendous influence throughout the Muslim world. From inception he showed antagonism toward hegemony of Western ideological system and civilization which started from colonial period. As other Muslim reformers he faced a lot resistance especially from the despotic ruler which caused, at the end, to his assassination. The death of such person did not mean the extinction of ideas which were laid down during his lives as continual process of conveying the message which ultimately leads into the application of the divine law to achieve peace and balance of human lives.
The emphasis of da\'wah of Muslim Brethren is cooperation with other organizations until the establishment of an Islamic government. Then, it is worth noting the view of its founder, ×assan al-BannÉ\' in which he reiterated the policy of his organization toward others in which he said, Our standpoints toward other all Muslim organizations which have different forms and orientations is based on the view of love, brotherhood, cooperation, and maximum effort to come closer in terms of thought (wijhÉt al-naÐr) and bridge the differences to assist establishment of the truth in the spirit of cooperation (al-taÑÉwun) and love (al-Íub). We should not be separated because of different school of thought (mazhab) as the religious of God brings the characters of moderation (yusr) and it will no look strange unless a person is defeated when a person does not posses true vision. God has made us to adopt an ideal strategy with the use of moderate approach (uslËb al-layyin). I am sure that the day will come in which the differences of names of organization will diminish to replace the psychological gap and there will not be any groups except all of them are brother not necessarily to be members of Muslim Brethren.

It is worth noting the view of ×assan al-BannÉ’ to awaken the mind of the Muslim Ummah that says,Allah has sent you a leader who prescribed an order, made the detail of laws, gave the book which made lawful and unlawful, gave guidance in attaining goodness and happiness, guided you to the straight path. Have you followed your leader, implemented its laws, appreciated its order, making holistic of its book, and made what is lawful and abandoned what is unlawful? Be plain in your response in which you will see the truth in front of you. All orders, which govern your social affairs, have no relation with Islam. All laws in national level up to the international relation, system of court, system of defense and military, economic system in the individual and state level, culture and education, system of family life, even personal behavior and general spirit which are followed by rulers and people at large, are far away from teaching of Islam. In view of these, we call you in which the Qur\'Én is in our hand and the Sunnah is in our left, the practice of previous pious predecessors (aslÉf) is our model, we call them into Islam and its teaching, its laws, and guidance. If it is seen as a part of system of policy, then, it is our policy and whenever you want to call that it is political activities you may say it whatever you want."

Conclusion: Global Challenges
At present, the Muslim world faces the great challenges which focus on dissemination of ideas, transnational borderless trade in economy, industry, agriculture, technology, military warfare, and many other things in global scale. It is presumed that opening borders will yield global economy that will replace country economies; a \'global\' government will replace territorial states; a homogeneous \'global\' culture will replace diverse local cultures; and allegiances to a \'global\' community will replace national loyalties. The current trend of globalization is mainly related with Western domination in international economy. Many people of different fields are using the word to signify that something profound is happening that the world is changing, that new world economic, political and cultural order is emerging. (Dougless Keller: 2002).
Despite worrisome on disastrous effect, globalization it may bring benefits based on the response of people toward it. We do not negate the existence of various effects in the community. The rapid change of technological progress resulted from human civilization it also brings about good result with utmost care. Many scholars believe that today\'s world is organized by increasing globalization, which is strengthening the dominance of a world capitalist economic system eroding local traditions through a global culture. The operation of transnational corporations with the sole aim of multiplying profits caused the widening economic gap between the rich and poor countries. Globalization promotes consumerism mentality leading people to earn worldly gain regardless of ethical and moral values.
Moreover, it set aside indigenous cultures of third world to follow the pattern of the West. In the aspect of education for instance, the curriculum is mainly focused on technical and managerial skills undermining the traditional subjects. It gears to acquire specific skills and techniques ignoring moral aspects. In fact, the issue of globalization is no more than transforming American and Western culture which detrimental to the spirituality. IT which characterizes the current trend of globalization promotes moral crisis of the youths through pornographic advertisement. In addition, it is being misused by certain group to deceive electronic cash transaction that may cause heavy loses. Moreover, globalization has caused increasing crime and people get confused on the conflicting news from different sources. The booming of information technology is also being benefited to spread the news for political agenda of the big power victimizing the third world (Chandra Muzaffar, 2002).
It is quite interesting to note the view of scholars who regard globalization as new imperialism that displaces the focus of domination of developing countries by the overdeveloped ones, or of national and local economies by transnational corporation. It is also considered to serve as cover to neutralize the horrors of colonialism and even could be a part of a discourse of neo-imperialism to continue exploitation of much the world by a few superpowers and giant transnational corporations. The opposition against globalization is centered mainly on destruction of local traditions, subordination of poorer regions by richer ones, environmental pollution, as well as homogenization of culture and everyday life. This includes multiculturalists who stress the threat to national sovereignty, local traditions, environmentalists who fear the destructive ecological effects and conservatives or religious leaders who see globalization as a threat to national and local cultures and the sanctity of tradition (Kellner, 1989).
The person like Roland Axtmann hints that the worst thing is that the globalization could give the effect of emerging the new forms of imperialist domination under the disguise of universality and globality. The globalization serves as new form of Westernization or even Americanization of the world. In view of this, we should not be surprised to see resistance from religious believers to reject homogenization and Westernization associated with some forms of globalization.
As far as the globalization is concerned, the absence of imam al-mahdi who will emerge in a certain time to save the ummah from local and global challenges, Muslim leaders should take priority to inherit the values of peace and justice which becomes the main character given to the Prophet (pbuh). They should be in position to demonstrate the divine values in running the government. Due to the complexity of challenges which threaten the ummah, then, Muslim leaders both from Sunni and Shiite are expected to galvanize cooperation and mutual understanding to overcome internal and external challenges. They should make continuous endeavor to demonstrate the service to the nation as a whole by giving exemplary deeds that they are not aimed at victimizing others for trivial gain. Their presence in the highest governmental should be attempted to make peace and justice in the community. Apart from that, they should make sure that they are not subservient to unbeliever forces as it is reflected in the character of imÉm al-mahdÊ at the time of his arrival to this world