By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

 

“We desired to show favour to those who were abased in the land, and to make them Imams (Leaders), and to make them the inheritors.” (Holy Qur’an 28:5)

“Certainly, We had written in the Psalms, after the Reminder (Torah), Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.” (Holy Qur’an 21:105)

The above ayahs are self-explanatory. They refer to the Divine Promise to make the faithful the eventual victors and inheritors of Planet Earth, which for millenniums has been wantonly looted of its rich natural resources by oppressors, who subjected fellow humans to untold oppression and injustice. 

God Almighty had sent a long line of Prophets to guide mankind ever since the creation of the first pair of humans – Adam and Eve – in all part of this wide Earth and in every age, culminating with the universal message of Islam entrusted to the Last and Greatest of Messengers, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). 

As the Mercy unto the Creation, the Seal of Divine Messengers excellently accomplished his mission, and since the end times were still far away, and there were more trials and tribulations in store for humanity, including the Muslims, on God’s commandments he explained every minute matter in detail before his departure from the mortal world so that the Ummah could avoid the fate that befell the nations of the past.

In one of his famous statements recorded by all denominations of Islam, he said: “My Caliphs are my legatees and the proofs of Allah upon the creatures, after me they are Twelve. The first of them is my brother and the last of them is my (grand)son.”

He was asked: “0 Prophet of Allah, which brother of yours.”

He replied: “Ali Ibn Abi Talib”

The questioner then asked: “And which (grand)son?”

He said: “Al-Mahdi is the one who will fill the earth with justice and equity just like it had been filled with injustice and tyranny. By the One Who has sent me as the giver of good tidings, even is a single day remains for the world (to end), Allah shall prolong that day till he sends (to it) my son Mahdi. Then Ruhullah Jesus son of Mary will descend and perform prayers behind him. The earth shall be illuminated by his radiance and his authority shall stretch from the east to the west.”  (This hadith is mentioned in the book “Fara’id us-Simtain” vol.2 Pg.312, through Sunni Muslim sources)

Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir says: 

“When the Qa’em shall arise, he will rule with justice, the tyrants of his time shall fear him, the righteous will be safe, the earth shall reveal its treasures, all the truth-seekers will seek his company and no follower of any religion would remain except that they see Islam and declare their faith in it.”

What are the signs of the reappearance of the Redeemer in the end times and when will he come? 

It is narrated that when Imam Mahdi (AS) will reappear on the 25th of the lunar month of Zilhijja, it will be the Spring Equinox, or Nowruz, as the Iranian people call it and celebrate it as start of the new calendar year.

We are on the threshold of the auspicious 15th of Sh’ban, the birth anniversary of the Redeemer of mankind, Imam Mahdi (AS), which this year coincides with Nowruz, which is also mentioned in Islamic texts.

“In Nowruz Allah made a covenant with His servants to worship Him and not to allow any partner for Him. To welcome, His messengers and obey their rulings. This day is the first day that the fertile wind blew and the flowers on the earth appeared. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet, and it is the day that Abraham (as) broke the idols. The day Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) held (Imam) Ali (AS) on his shoulders to destroy the idols the Quraish had placed atop the (symbolic) House of God, the Ka’ba.”   

The above hadith from Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), has been recorded by Allamah Muhammad Baqer Majlisi in his famous encyclopedic work “Behaar al-Anwaar”. 

The passage is self-explanatory. It is firm proof of the fact that it is Allah Who is the One and Creator, without any partner, assistant or advisor in His designs. It is He the All-Wise Who brought the universe into existence, shaped the Milky Way Galaxy, fashioned the solar system, made the Earth (like the other planets) spin on its axis while revolving around the Sun – in order to determine day and night, the cyclic change of weather conditions, computation of the year – and created winds to interact with the sunlight and the salty seas to set in motion the clouds for raining fresh water on the soil to make it bloom with vegetation of different kinds for the thriving of birds, animals, and insects of various hues and colours – all for the benefit of the Best of Creation, that is Mankind. 

“It is Allah Who sends the winds and these (winds) raise a cloud; then We drive it toward a dead land and with it revive the earth after its death. Likewise will be the resurrection [of the dead].” – Holy Qur’an 35:9

This means that the Spring Equinox, when verdure freshness brightens the environment and flowers bloom, is not the work of any human mind, neither has it anything to do with mythology, nor is it a narrow nationalistic phenomenon. 

It is all the handiwork of the All-Merciful Lord, and it is for this very reason that the New Day of Spring (Nowrouz in Persian and Iranic cultures), is celebrated as a manifestation of the Glory of God with prayers and supplications, especially the following invocation: 

“Ya Moqallab al-Qoloub wa’l-Absaar;

“Ya Modabber al-Layl wa’n-Nahaar;

“Ya Mohawwel al-Howl wa’l-Ahwaal;

“Hawwil Halana ila Ahsan il-Haal.” 

Rendered into English the above supplication means: 

“O’ Transformer of Hearts and Eyes;

“O’ Regulator of Day and Night;

“O’ Rotator of Time and Situation;

“Change our state to the most excellent of Situation.”

This supplication will echo throughout the length and breadth of the Islamic Republic of Iran and beyond its geographical and political borders at 19:03:26 hours sharp local time (15:33:26 GMT) on Sunday, March 20, as the Muslim people – many of the faithful after a day’s fast as thanksgiving to God – usher in the calendar year 1401 solar hijri, with supplications to God to hasten the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) – following celebration of his blessed birthday on Sha’ban 15, which according to Imam Muhammad Baqer (AS), the Prophet’s 5th Infallible Heir “is the best of nights after the Night of Qadr (in Ramadhan). During it, God Almighty confers His Grace on His servants and forgives them out of His Favour and Munificence….”