Engineer Madani: Could you give some indications about the conditions that would prevail under the rule of the Mahdi?
Mr. Hoshyar: It is possible to reconstruct the following picture of the future from the traditions related by the ahl al-bayt:
When the promised Mahdi, the twelfth Imam (peace be upon him), appears, following his victory over the evil forces of the world, he will administer the entire world under one Islamic government. He will appoint well-qualified individuals as the governors of different regions of the world with clear instructions and programs for the peaceful and just administration of the region under their governance.1 The entire earth will flourish under their administration. The Mahdi will distantly oversee the whole earth himself, with its widespread regions and extensive affairs accessible to him like the palm of his hand. His disciples and helpers also will observe and talk to him from remote distances. The entire earth will be filled with justice and equity.
People will have become kind and will treat each other with honesty and sincerity. There will be security everywhere as no one will wish to cause harm to another. The economic condition of the people will improve enormously. There will be plenty of rain to cause the earth to become lush with greenery and there will be all kinds of grains and fruits in abundance. Necessary improvements will be introduced in agricultural methods. People will pay more attention to God's presence than to sins. Islam will become the official religion of the world, with the call of the Unity of God arising from all corners of the earth.
In the matter of building the roads, interesting programs will be introduced. Main roads will be sixty yards wide. In building the roads there will be so much diligence that the mosques standing in the middle will be demolished. Footpaths will adorn the streets. Pedestrians will be asked to cross the roads at the proper pedestrian's crossing; whereas the drivers will be asked to move into the middle. All the windows of the homes that open to the street will be closed. There will be prohibitions against constructing open drains and sewage on the streets. Imposing structures will be demolished. The highly decorative and elevated mosques as well as minarets and the grills separating the leader of the congregational prayers from the worshippers will be destroyed.
During the age of the Mahdi human reason will have reached perfection. General information among people will have advanced to such a degree that women will be able to formulate judicial decisions while at home. Imam Sadiq says:
Knowledge is divided into twenty-seven parts. No more than two parts has been acquired by human beings so far. When our Qa'im arises he will expose the rest of the twenty five parts and distribute it among the people.2
People's faith will have attained excellence and their hearts free of malevolence and resentment. Finally, let me remind you that all this elaboration has been extracted from pertinent hadith-reports, and most of these traditions are rare and reported by a single narrator. Anyone desiring more details can refer to volumes 51 and 52 of Bihar al-anwar, volumes 6 and 7 of Ithbat al-hudat, and Nu'mani's Kitab al-ghayba.
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1 Tabari, Dala'il al-imama (Najaf edition, 1369), p. 249.
2 Bihar al-anwar, Vol 52, p. 336.
