The Companions and the Helpers of Imam Mehdi

According to the religious teachings, one of the divine principles in the world is that each phenomenon comes to being based on rules and regulations, and only after everything is ready for it to be born. According to the sayings of Imams and religious thinkers, God does not create anything, except it is done by its right means. (Mazandarani, 1421, Vol. 8, P. 210)

Social changes and events too follow the same rule like every other phenomenon. According to this, the occurrence of every revolution and social movement is dependent on its bases. The same is true about the coming of Imam Mehdi, which is not going to happen if the needed conditions are not there.

Because the divine tradition means that everything in the world is done by its common means and ways. Therefore, it is necessary for the victory of Imam Mehdi’s battle that he has loyal supporters, as the presence of such supporters have played an important role in the reformist movements of the prophets too. The battle of Imam Mehdi is not going to defeat the enemy by the use of miracle and the causes for this victory are going to be common and ordinary factors. Thus, it will obviously not happen if strong and capable supporters are not there.

Therefore, one of the important subjects in regards to the battle of Imam Mehdi is the issue of his followers, their characteristics, functions, and their political and military actions. They will join Imam Mehdi after his appearance and they will take responsibilities based on his commands.

According to the sayings of Imams the people who accept the leadership of Imam Mehdi at the beginning, and those who join and support him in his battle, could be divided to the two groups of ‘Ashab’ (The Companions) and ‘Ansar’ (The Helpers).