Examination of subatomic particular reactions leads to the measurement of: Alpha particles; Beta particles; and, Gamma Rays – which are invisible electromagnetic waves. Mass-energy balance leads to other emissions. Co-60 has been used for sterilization by

Examination of subatomic particular reactions leads to the measurement of: Alpha particles; Beta particles; and, Gamma Rays – which are invisible electromagnetic waves. Mass-energy balance leads to other emissions. Co-60 has been used for sterilization by Gamma radiation. Dentists normally use X-Ray machines for diagnoses.. Hospitals utilize Ultrasound detectors to discover the foetus’s gender. Lately, with the heightened security concerns, new detectors were developed for detecting explosives from 25m distance.

Why then the majority of the human beings do not believe in the Creator Who describes Himself in such a lower, worldly vocabulary:

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.”
Quran (24:35)

In the physical world, darkness occurs when layers of material prevent the penetration of rays of light. A good example is what marine biologists experience in deep seas. When Yonus (Joanna) angrily left his town, he suddenly found himself in three layers of darkness: the night; the deep sea; and, the whale’s belly.

The Quran presents another interesting case, which is indicative towards Allah as the Creator:

He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate; and He hath provided for you of cattle eight kinds. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Sovereignty. There is no Allah save Him. How then are ye turned away?
Quran (39:6)

In the spiritual world, it is man’s heart which receives the rays of guidance from Allah. Upon sinning, this heart will be covered with layers of what looks like “rusts” – which are impermeable to any spiritual enlightenment. The Quran calls the hearts of those who insistently indulge in sins, without considering repentance, as being “sealed.” According to the Prophet, only constant, sincere repentance can remove such rusts.

In the first chapter of the Quran, there is an interesting analogy between the physical darkness and the spiritual one.

As discussed somewhere else6, the (written) Quran is the lower word of Allah – it is only a silent book. Recitation of Allah’s words brings humility to the believers’ hearts and makes them ready to receive the guidance. The rightful Imam is the light of Allah who guides the pious towards the straight path. For knowing the intended meanings of Allah’s final revelation, the Imam’s light pierces through every darkness to dispel it.

The Quran encourages every Muslim to become a Mo’min – a true believer. Then by responding to the call “Oh you who believe,” the believers are perhaps moved to become pious – Mutaqeen. Only the latter group can find guidance from the Quran. Believing in the Unseen constitutes an integral part of the belief of the latter group, as the Quran declares in its very first chapter. Imam Mahdi is part of the Unseen. His path is therefore the Straight Path.
The interconnection between the Quran and the Imam is inseparable. One leads to the other. Without being an infallible, already-guided, the Mahdi can not provide any guidance to others. His occultation is just part of the Unseen world. His presence in the hearts of the pious looks like the shinning Sun which is being obscured by little clouds.


V. The Mahdi in Muslim Traditions:

With the exception of a small Salafi group, both the Caliphate and Imamte schools of thought believe in the coming of the Mahdi before End times. The Hadiths from the Prophet in this respect are too numerous and authenticated enough to defy. A slight difference however exits regarding whether the Mahdi was born or he will be born in the future.

Without being able to justify/identify the twelve rightful Caliphs, the Caliphate school followers sometimes raise feeble objections concerning the Imam’s long life, the purpose of his occultation, and the like. Such objections cannot withstand any critiquing in the light of the Quran and the authentic Sunnah. A number of scholars thoroughly debated this matter7,8,9. I trust some speakers in this conference will address it, too.


VI. The Messiah in the Judo-Christian Texts:

When Jesus started his mission, some Jews believed in him as being the Messiah. The original Old Testament must have spoken about this important prophecy. It is well known that Jesus did not come to change the Laws of Torah. Jesus’ native language was Aramaic. Neither he nor any of his disciples wrote a book in this language. The New Testament was later written in Creek.

The Jews, who rejected Jesus, accused him of blasphemy. That was a sufficient accusation to justify the spilling of his blood. God in the Heaven raised him to protect him. Of course the Christians contend that he was crucified for the atonement of children of Adam’s sins. Similar to the contemporary afore-mentioned stance towards the Mahdi, the Children of Israel were divided into two main groups. The Jews have long been waiting for the Messiah for their redemption. The Christians expect the (second) coming of Jesus.

In mid February 2008, I spoke at a Conference held in Qum on the contributions of (the late) Allamah Muhammad Jawad Al-Balaghi and highlighted the fact that he mastered the Hebrew and English languages to delineate a number of Islamic perspectives in the (present) Old and New Testaments – prophecies about Imam Mahdi was one of them. Similar to the late Al-Balaghi who composed poetry on the Mahdi, millions send their daily salutation to him10,11. Here, I refer the researcher to a number of short clips12 on this subject, developed by the Turkish Muslim scholar – Harun Yahya. As a herald for a humanity that is preparing to greet its Saviour, my only hope is that this research paper will spin further interests.


VII. Concluding Remarks:

1. The Book of Allah in its written form makes the universal message of Islam fairly known to the Muslims/non-Muslims who can read Arabic with understanding. Exhorting the believers to reach a higher understanding, Allah expects them to ponder at the deeper meaning of His last message to mankind. At this higher level, Muslim scholars have put excellent efforts to elucidate the deeper meanings of the Quran’s verses. Voluminous books were written for what is called Tafseer, i.e. interpretation. When it comes to the meanings intended by Allah, they are inaccessible except to the chosen Imams. Both the Quran and the practice of previous messengers naturally lead to the belief in Imamate. None but the purified can comprehend the Quran that is in the sight of Allah. Therefore, at this highest level of understanding Ta’weel becomes necessary.

2. True, neither the name of the first nor the last, nor any other Imam is being mentioned in the Quran. But, the Quran infers that Imam Ali is the one who possesses the knowledge of the Book. It also refers the Muslims to those who know the Ta’weel – i.e. the actual meanings of the revelation as intended by Allah. The Muslims contemporary to the Prophet Muhammad unanimously agreed that Ahlul Bait, i.e. the household of the Prophet as being introduced in the verses of Tatheer and Mubahalah, are the ones whom Allah entrusted with His knowledge – especially as it pertains to the implementation of justice in man’s life.

It has become Mutawatar in the science of Hadith that the Prophet, not only appointed Imam Ali as a Vicegerent, but also declared the Imamate of his grandsons Hassan and Hussain, and the 9 Imams from Hussain’s progeny. It was only the will of Allah on which the Prophet acted. This was very similar to giving his only daughter Fatimah in marriage to his cousin. Thus, the appointed 12th Imam (Muhammad bin Al-Hassan) was being introduced by the Prophet himself long before his birth in 255 AH.

3. Similar to the persecuted Israelite prophets, the Prophet of Islam’s household have
endured unimaginable suffering. The same way the mother of Moses had to put
her newborn in a box (see Ark of the Covenant below) and throw him in the Nile
River, Imam Mahdi’s father had to hide his son from the henchmen of the ruling
Caliph. But, the Imam was properly introduced to a close circle of 40 disciples.
After the poisoning of his father in 260 AH, the Imam executed his duties through
four special representatives for 69 years. Since 329 AH, the Imam has been in
occultation waiting for Allah’s permission to appear for the eventual
implementation of justice. His mission is undoubtedly universal.

As a minor resurrection, the Imam’s appearance represents Islam’s revival. For the divine knowledge he inherited, he is a true partner of the Quran. Only he knows the Ta’weel of the confuted (Mutashabahat) verses. The Muhkamat verses are self explanatory for the learned.

Quoting the Quran on the resurrection of a prophet 100 years after his death, and
bringing back to life the youths of the Cave after 300 years, are proofs that the
Middle resurrection is not a Shi’ah invention (as some ignorant call it). Raj’ah
simply means the coming of specific persons back to life – by the leave of Allah.
Some of these are pious (like the above examples) and others could be ordinary
witnesses (like the dead whom Moses smite by the tail of a slaughtered cow).

The ultimate judge is always Allah. The majority of the wrongdoers will
undoubtedly be sentenced on the day of reckoning. However, the Quran declares
that the ones who have persistently committed heinous crimes will have two
deaths and two resurrections. Imam Mahdi will bring such to the book, especially
if they were the ones who laid the foundation of persecution of Ahlul Bait and
subsequently caused the tragedy of Karbala.

Literature Cited:

1. Authentic, brief narration of Imam Mahdi’s biography :
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=RfXFJjV6f4E

دحض اكذوبة صوم عاشوراء , الشيخ باقر المقدسي
2. http://arabic.irib.ir/pages/Eslamiyat/Mohazerat-inc/Mohazerat.asp

عاشوراء , الشيخ عبدالحميد كشك
3. http://arabic.irib.ir/pages/Eslamiyat/Mohazerat-inc/Mohazerat.asp

4. Yazeed - The Criminal of Karbala & the Hero of Zakir Naik
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1mMQbR_48IU&feature=related

5. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=axSamUxQ9dY&feature=related

6. Ahmad Al-Hashimi, Glimpses at the Imamate and Khilafate in Islam, www.imamreza.net.

7. 3666 Hadiths about the Mahdi :
http://www.15mum.net/alMahdi/3babawel.htm

8. Signs of Reappearance:
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=9130&st=0

9. The End Times:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=axSamUxQ9dY&feature=related

10. A message from a believer – who is waiting for the Mahdi :
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=KXc0uTfHKwk&feature=related

11. On Fridays, it is recommended to send the following 4-minute salutation to the Mahdi: http://www.islamicdigest.net/v7core/category/mahdi/

12. The Ark (of the Covenant) found in the time of Mahdi will be removed from Lake Tiberius and brought before him in Bait Al-Maqdis:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=g5GcClyjDHc&feature=related (Part 1)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=c8oWrwymsJ8&feature=related (Part 2)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XMbnU1PtFjA&feature=related (Part 3)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=8tNjI44s1S0&feature=related (Part 4)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwEZC9Sc9Y&feature=related (Part 5)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JMUQgbVkEvA&feature=related (Part 6)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=czEiGUpVJ3A&feature=related (Part 7)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=SeXJ_qd-eQ4&feature=related (Part 8)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZORemkOFPGA&feature=related (Part 9)
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ICSCDfeN_L8&feature=related (Part 10 last)

The End Times and The Mahdi 1/5
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=JMHwaQLNWew&feature=related

The End Times and The Mahdi 2/5
http://ca.youtube..com/watch?v=SkhyNC7qXuQ&feature=related

The End Times and The Mahdi 3/5
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=aHEBRAqby8c&feature=related

The End Times and The Mahdi 4/5
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=4e4HMdxwdmo&feature=related

The End Times and The Mahdi 5/5
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=COMU-LjodO0