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This is a summary of various lectures by Moulana Sadiq Hassan
some of them from
www.Hussainiat.com &
www.Azadari.com in Urdu on
the above topic.
Background
a) Waiting is
not a passive situation. It requires efforts & actions to bring
about changes on both personal & social fronts.
b) The
Reappearance is also dependant upon the conditions of supporters
& the society. The leader also awaits the availability of
followers who will instantly obey w/o hesitation & questioning.
c) Allah (swt)
operates through a normal cause & effect conditions & miracles
are not put into motion in many situations. Allah does not
change the condition of a people until they change their own
condition; Quran Ch 13 V11
d) History
repeats itself & Quran is a book of guidance, hence narrates
those episodes where there are learning values for humanity
e) Many recent
events point to the fact that the reappearance is very close.
Many Hadith also point out that, at the end of time it will be
easier to hold burning coal in bare hands than to keep ones
faith in tact.
f) Reappearance
will finally take place, with or without participation from us,
the question each one of us has to answer is; what is our role &
responsibility today in the scheme of things.
Two
contrasting types of ‘Calling’ in Islamic History
a) Calling Imam
Hussain (as) by the people of Kufa. The people were aware who is
the just leader & even their hearts were for the Imam, YET when
the time for support arrived they were not prepared for
consequences & take personal losses. They did not sufficiently
change themselves to be prepared for sacrifices required to
follow him. They expected the Imam to come & change
situation/solve problems rather than attempting/preparing for it
first. They even welcomed the wrong leader in disguise, assuming
him to be the Imam, due to lack of marefat.
b) Calling the
Prophet (saws) by the people of Medina. The prophet received
invitations from Medina, but accepted it only when there was
sufficient evidence of the people having changed themselves
sufficiently to bear the consequences of his arrival. History
then proved how the people supported him in the mission.
Over
Confidence . “ Its not us” -The danger of losing faith
Our present
status is no guarantee that we will continue to be on the right
path & not deviate at times of crucial tests. Even the love,
recognition of the Ahlul bayt, piety & worship, may not be
sufficient to ensure that we become his followers. There are 3
events given below which are vivid examples:
a) Azazeel:
There was a cry in the skies that one of the pious worshippers
would be one of the most cursed ones. All the creatures, at all
stations were worried that it could be them & went to the
creation, next higher in station, to seek his intercession by
prayer. Only Azazeel was confident & prayed for all, except
himself & as a result was the cursed Satan.!
b) Servant
of Mamoon: She loved the Imam & Mamoon sent her to the Imams
house for work. The conditions of Imams house were very
different from Mamoon’s luxuries & the servant maid could not
get used to the perceived difficulty of getting up for prayer
each morning etc, which ultimately led her to seek to go away
from the Imams servitude.
c) Balam e
baoor: He had a high status & his duas were accepted
instantly. He was asked to pray for victory against Prophet Musa
(as), which he finally attempted, due to the riches offered to
him.
We easily
condemn the people mentioned in Sura Juma, who left the Prophet
in prayer for entertainment & business deals. We need to apply
it to ourselves first & check if we too have similar habits of
giving priority to these matters over Islam.
We are required
to continually recite “Ihdinis siratal Mustaqim” i.e. keep us on
the right path, at least 17 times in a day, because there is a
danger of deviating & being misled.
Preperations:
a) Our Homes
should show preparedness to welcome the Imam. They should be
Islamic homes devoid of all things/situations, which lead to
sins.
If we are not
prepared to give up sins; shaving beards, listening to haram
music, not wearing hijab etc for Islam, we may not be able to
follow the Imam on his reappearance.
Attention to
Islamic education of our children is very important. In our
pursuit of wealth and/or over emphasis on academics, the
children’s upbringing (tarbiyat) suffers causing our children to
deviate.
Hujr ibn hadi’s
insistence of his son to be killed before himself & Khizr’s
killing of a son, in Sura Khaf, explain to us very vividly that
it is better for our children to die in Iman rather than to lose
faith & suffer the punishments of the Hereafter
b) Imam Hussain
(as) in his last address on 10th Muharrum addressed his
opponents by saying that they were unable to recognize the right
path due to the Haram rizq in their stomach.
We are very
careful of eating food, which does not harm our body & read /
know all ingredients. Similar care is required to check if the
food we eat is purchased by halal earnings and Khums is paid.
This has a great effect on the ability to recognize & follow the
leader in his just cause. We need to ensure this to be ready to
participate with the Imam
c) Zulqarnain
required the affected community to participate in efforts, which
he directed. He used modern technology of mixing metals, to
create a barrier between Gog & Magog & the troubled community.
Time & energy is/ will be required to be spent for the cause of
Islam by the community & only providing money will not be
sufficient as the verses of Sura kahf narrating this event
explain. Acquisition of the latest Technology is also required
for salvation, even when the leader reappears to help. But
technology without the control of the conscience is disastrous
to humanity.
d)
Implementation of the complete Shariah in society will be the
main objective on reappearance & people who have complete
knowledge of Islamic rules will be required. We need to learn &
know more of the Islamic Rules. Download some of these from
www.islamic-laws.com.
Ziarat Arbaeen describes the purpose of Imam Hussain (as) jihad
as 'taking people out of Ignorance'. Acquisition of Knowledge is
therefore very important. We do our best, but each one of us has
different capacities, yet must remain connected to the source
i.e. Marjas rather than remain isolated containers of the
limited knowledge we can gather.
We are warned,
through a dream of Jabir, of a piece of cloth being torn in
parts. The Prophet explained this dream that at the end of time,
people will take only parts of Islam to suit themselves, which
will benefit no one. This will also give a bad image to Islam
like a torn cloth. We need to accept the whole of Islam with all
its rules & not only the parts that suit us/ our method of
thinking, irrespective of our ability to understand the complete
reasons/logic for the rules.
e)
Representatives for different regions who have the perfect
morals will be required & we need to ensure we acquire those
qualities & get rid of the various diseases of the soul like
Backbiting, Envy etc
f) We need to
go behind events taking place & analyse the depths, rather than
take them at face value. This skill requires to be developed for
correct analysis & recognition of the plans of the enemy.
Similarly we
need to possess the skills to distinguish between the false/self
seeking & the true religious leaders. There will be
intellectuals who will present a face of Islam devoid of Islam,
in the name of modernity, with the use of Media. The real Ulemas/Maraje
& Howzas will never alter Islam to suit the people‘s wishes.
They have a known background of years of study, tutors/students
etc
g) We need to
be aware of the attacks on us & protect the 3 corner stones
institutions of Shia Islam i.e. Azadari, Marjaiyyat & the Belief
in our Imam.
Our enemy knows
this & makes efforts to cause doubts. Our lack of knowledge &
emotions are used for these matters in the following ways:
1) Azadari:
The attacks are from 2 sources i.) Certain practices, which
contradict Shari at i.e. Aspects, like women w/o hijab; Letting
Salaat become qaza etc,is used by adversaries to mention that
azadari itself is not ok as it results in these things. ii.) Use
of so called 'intellectual' arguments to say, what is the need
for Alam a wooden stick & Tazia & why beat chest etc. This is
done to deviate us from practicing & keeping Azadari alive.
Azadari is a source of spiritual strength.
2) Marjaiyat:
i.) Doubts on the need for Taqleed in the name of "we only
follow masoom" & Marjas are fallible humans in one corner of the
world who are not aware of many matters on which rulings are
required etc ii.) Creation of Conflict between followers of
different Maraje.
3) False
Mahdi's introduced like creation of Bahai & Ahmadia & Wahabi
isms. We must watch & evaluate any claims rather than rush to
accept any claim of being mahdi even if he can demonstrate some
miracle like acts (using technology probably).
h) Imam Ali’s
has informed us of an allegiance (bayyatnama) that the twelfth
imam will ask of his followers. This was written & saved by him
in a casket for posterity, lists 25 matters, which are to be
accepted/followed to be eligible to be amongst the followers of
the Imam. Besides the usual things of Avoiding sins, they
include; leading simple life protecting property/travelers, Amr
bil maroof etc
i) Unity
amongst Muslims & Shias We must try to eliminate differences &
not give them prominence. Divisions & subdivisions are
increasing by the day, which is a policy of our enemy. We should
help in playing down conflicts & encourage reconciliation. This
does not mean that we give up our Faith about wilayat & forget
the atrocities. Mothers need to inform the children of history &
public forums need not b used to accentuate differences
Sufyani
(Sword- fear) & Dajjal (Material Benefits- Attractions)
Historically
tyrants have used 2 methods to silence/mislead people; the sword
to make them fearful & money to buy peoples loyalties. Sufyani &
Dajjal are symbolic for these at the time of Imams return.
The sword has
not been effective in eliminating the true believers, but
apparent attractions & enticements have resulted in many
deviations of true believers.
Keeping wants &
desires in check will help in not getting carried away by
material pleasures offered & the apparent “heaven” which will
actually be Hell as shown by Dajjal.
Dajjal could be
a symbolic of a system of government based only on material
progress & NGO’s apparent beneficent aims having hidden agendas.
Or it could be governments, individuals & even an entertainment
system like Cable TV, which takes us away from HIS rules. One
eyed in the sense that it will only consider material aspects,
completely ignoring spirituality.
Recitation of
Sura Kahf (Ch 18) especially on Fridays is a recommended way to
protect oneself form Dajjal. Imam Hussein (as) recited this sura
on the spear in Kufa & drew our attention to it. This sura is in
exactly in the middle of the Quran & has several relevant
messages in the 3 events narrated in it as a reply to the
questioners. These are of Ashab e Kahf (Ikhlas), Musa / Khizr
(Importance of knowledge & unconditional acceptance of the
leader with knowledge without objections) & Zulqarnain
(Technology use, but ‘after’ knowledge/fear of Allah)
Some
Signs of Reappearance
At the time,
which is close to, Reappearance there will be 4 sins by 'Momins'
first by wrongly making them ‘halal’:
1) Interest, in
the name of profit 2) Alcohol, in
the name of medicine 3) Music, in
the name of entertainment 4) Bribe, in
the name of gift
There are other
Haidth, which continue after the famous “ Antenna” Hadith,
related to Salman E Farsi. It mentions about using a mirror like
gadget for security (possibly CCtv ) & a gadget for visually
communicating with people close & far (possibly the mobile gsm )
at the time of Reappearance.
Possible
reasons for Delay in Reappearance - Duas not accepted for our
salvation
Imam is in
waiting & Imams dua is accepted by Allah swt
State of momins
is that they are not prepared, ie involved in sins, not
following Sharia. However their Iman / Faith is in tact. Sins
can get forgiven & momins can achieve salvation despite all the
problems they face in the material world.
After
Reappearance, not following the Imam unconditionally, will mean
a fault in beliefs (Iman) & hence it is possible many "momins"
may lose their faith itself. & Hence lose salvation.
Our Imam is
concerned for Momins & prefers to wait & give additional
opportunity to Momins to reform themselves & be prepared. This
delay does cause additional hardship to Momins & their lives/
property / honor is more & more in danger with the passing of
time.
Insufficient followers who can Unconditionally obey Imam
There is a
Story of Ayt Khoie' s father who saw a house in Hilla which is a
mosque/imambara/ house / shrine all in one. The background is
that the resident of the house was a true follower of Imam & on
a specific day Imam informed him to call all believers to his
home. At this event, goats were used to spill blood from the
terrace, which scared the believers into fleeing the place. This
demonstrated that momins were not prepared to sacrifice for
Imam, but were calling without preperation & commitment of
unconditional adherence to his commands.
Sahl
Khurasani once approached Imam Ja'ffar al-Sadiq (as) and
complained: "Why is it that inspite of the truth being on
your side, you do not stage an uprising? At present, there are
100,000 Shia'hs, who upon your orders, would immediately
unsheathe their swords for battle". In order to give him a
practical answer, the Imam (as) ordered the furnace to be
lighted and then instructed Sahl to jump into the flames. Sahl
was shocked and said: "O my Master! May God shower you with
His grace and favours! Do not place me in the fire. I take back
my words and request you to withdraw your instruction".
After a while, Haroun Makki, a sincere companion of the Imam
(as) entered and greeted. As soon as the Imam (as) saw him, he
told him to take off his slippers and walk into the hot furnace.
Without any question, Haroun complied. Imam (as) then turned
towards Sahl and began inquiring about Khurasan as if nothing
had happened. All this time, Sahl appeared uncomfortable and
disturbed worrying about the plight of Haroun in the furnace.
Finally the Imam (as) asked him to get up and to look inside the
furnace. Sahl witnessed that Haroun was seated comfortably and
unharmed in the fiery flames. Imam (as) asked, "How many
such Shia'hs exist in Khurasan?" Sahl said, "By Allah!
Not a single Shia'h like Haroun exists in Khurasan".
Thereupon, the Imam (as) said, "I shall not stage an
uprising when I do not have even five sincere companions. (And
do remember) we are very well aware as to when we should stage
an uprising". (Safeenatul-Bihar)
Perhaps this incident conveys why our 12th Imam (AJ) has still
not come out of his concealment. It is easy for us to call on
him but we must also ask ourselves how many of us are sincere in
what we say? How many of us are prepared for his arrival? And
how many of us lead a lifestyle, which is in conformity to his
teachings?
Taking
Time to recognize Imam
It is expected
that there will be many false Mahdi's who will appear before the
true Mahdi (atfs). We presently observe many people who claim
that Imam meets them regularly. These are all fraudsters.
Current technology also makes it possible to show the apparent
'miracles' if someone does not have sufficient knowledge of
science.
There is a
wrong notion that we have to immediately rush to our Imam upon
hearing a call. This is only true for those who can & will
recognize that it’s the Imams call through own
knowledge/deduction. Others need to wait & verify the claim
especially thru the Maraje who have the means to guide us.
Salman e Farsi
who had waited for 200 years for the Prophet to appear, took 3
consecutive weeks of action & meetings before confirming the
Prophet hood with the signs he had.
One final
method to recognize Imam will be thru the reappearance of Hazrat
Isa (as) who should not have an identifiable birth date
Accepting
ALL actions of Imam as full of wisdom
It is possible
that the awaiters/callers would go against the Imam when he
reappears. This could be because of 2 reasons; a) Being unable
to adopt lifestyle as required b) Expecting a favorable status
compared to others (esp. apparently non-believers/followers) &
not receiving the same. A superiority complex.
This has
happened before as Quran explains in Ch 2 V 89 :SHAKIR: And when
there came to them a Book from Allah verifying that which they
have, and aforetime they used to pray for victory against those
who disbelieve, but when there came to them (Prophet) that which
they did not recognize, they disbelieved in him; so Allah's
curse is on the unbelievers
Don’t
Despair, Take Actions within your capacity & Duas too
Duas have a
very important role but have to be accompanied by actions.
Prophet Abraham’s wife Hagar undertook the ‘action’ of Saaee
between Safa & Marwa & prayed to Allah swt & hence the prayer
was answered in a way, that she asked for a cupful of water &
got in return Zam Zam for all times !
We have to take
the required action & leave the rest to HIS will. Allama Hilli
commenced copying a very big book at dusk, though it was an
impossible task to do it by dawn & return the book to its owner
as required. His job was to start the work & with the Imams help
the work was accomplished!
The opponents
/enemy may appear very strong, & impossible to defeat, but this
should not lead to despair. It should lead us to redouble our
efforts instead with the resources at our disposal. There are
examples in History where the impossible became a reality in a
very short period of time. Eg Bilal would have been very happy
at being able to practice Islam himself without prosecution, in
Mecca, but could never have imagined that he would be reciting
the Azan from top of the Kaaba within a few years!
Our Imam has
also advised us to recite the following:
Ziarat Ashura
at http://www.duas.org/ashura/z_ashura.htm
Ziarat Jamiah
Salat Lail
http://www.duas.org/tahajjud.htm
There are other
duas relating to Imam like
Nudba,
Ahad etc & are at
http://www.duas.org/imamezamana.htm and
www.duas.org/Sahraz/imammehdihtml/indeximammehdi.htm
The
reappearance will also be a continuation of the fight between
evil & good. A continuation of the Kerbala episode;
It will require participation from all young old, men & women &
children, just as Kerbala required all participants. It will not
be sufficient to be observers ,as was the case of say Khandaq or
other wars at the time of the Prophet(saws).
Our Imam is in
waiting for over 1170 years & has been perfectly worshipping the
Almighty for these years. There are countless events of his
meetings/assistance & presentation of our deeds to him. Each of
us is required to act in our own way to hasten the reappearance.
May Allah swt
keep us guided, hasten his reappearance & make us amongst his
followers.
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