Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

The Last Luminary
There is no doubt that the Holy Quran is the book of Allah and
that all Muslims of the world are required to accept its teachings
and instructions.

When one opens Quran and casts a glance at its
verses he will come across to what seems to be a clear landscape
of an extraordinary, sensational, and exciting future and the
end of the universe.

Quran indicates that the ultimate mission of the Prophet of Islam
was to make this religion prevail over all other religions in
the world; and one day this holy aspiration will finally be fulfilled.

Allah stated in Quran:

It is He who has sent His messenger (Muhammad) with the
guidance and the Religion of truth, to prevail over all religions,
even though the idolaters may detest.

(Quran 9:33)
The Holy book of the last Messenger of Allah gives the glad tidings
that the rule over the earth shall finally belong to the righteous
and virtuous servants of Allah:

The earth is Allah's.

He gives it as a heritage to whom
He wills, and the good end is for the righteous people.

(Quran 7:128)
And He, Exalted, also said:

And We wrote in Psalm (Zabur) after the Reminder that surely
My righteous servants will inherit the earth.

(Quran 21:105)
The earth which will be full of corruption destruction and ignorance,
like a lifeless body, will be revived with the glowing light of
justice as indicated in His book:

Know that Allah gives life to earth after its death!
(Quran 57:17)
We also read in Quran:

Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do
good deeds that He will surely make them succeed (the present
rulers) in the earth as he caused those who were before them to
succeed others and that He will surely establish for them religion
which He has approved for them and will give them safety after
their fear to worship Me and not to associate anything with Me.

(Quran 24:55)
Allah also stated:

They intend to put out the light of Allah with their mouths
but Allah will complete His Light even though the unbelievers
may detest.

(Quran 61:8)
He, Exalted He is, also said:

And We desired to show favor unto those who were oppressed
in the earth to make them symbols and to make them inheritors.

(Quran 28:5)
These were some short examples of the divine glad tidings mentioned
in Quran.

By studying these matters and tens of other similar
indications, it is deduced that the Islamic message will reach
its complete fulfillment when these holy aspirations will take
place.

All fabricated and superstitious objectives will disappear
and then only the Islam, the unique and true religion, will be
the faith of the people in the east and west of the world.

Injustice,
oppression, and inequality shall vanish, and instead, justice
and equality which is the law of the creation of the world will
be established everywhere.

The Kingdom of the divinely appointed
Caliph (Khalifatullah) will manifest itself in all the corners
of the world.

The light of the guidance of Allah will shine and
the earth shall belong to the virtuous ones.

Yes, Quran gives
the Good News which the day that all Muslims of the world are
enthusiastically waiting for it, will arrive.

Beside Quran, the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) are the
most important and worthiest treasure of Islamic learning.

In
the sea of jewels of Islamic traditions glad tidings on the Government
of Justice can be seen which is regarding to the Divine
Revolution and the divinely appointed leader
who will fulfill this holy aspiration.

In a tradition upon whose authenticity all Muslims agree, the
Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HF) has said:

Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has
already been exhausted and only one day is left before Doomsday,
Allah will expand that day to such length of time as to accommodate
the kingdom of a person from my Ahlul-Bayt who will be called
by my name.

He will fill out the earth with peace and justice
as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny (by then).

[Please see the next article for the list of Sunni references
for the above tradition as well as many other traditions.]

The above precious tradition testifies that the golden divine
promises will take place, sooner or later, one way or another,
as also mentioned in most of the Shi'ite and Sunnite sources.

In both subjects of prophecy and Imamat (leadership) it is discussed
that as a result of the law of general guidance which governs
all of creation, human is of necessity endowed with the power
of receiving revelation through prophecy, which directs him toward
the perfection of the human norm and the well-being of the human
species.

Obviously, if this perfection and happiness were not
possible for human, the very fact that he is endowed with this
power would have been meaningless and futile.

But there is no
futility in creation.

In other words, ever since he has inhabited the earth, human has
had the wish to lead a social life filled with happiness in its
true sense and has striven toward this end.

If such a wish were
not to have an objective existence it would never have been imprinted
upon human's inner nature, in the same way that if there were
no food there would have been no meaning for hunger (since hunger
is understood when one compares a person who has eaten food and
a person who has not), and if there were no water there would
have been no thirst and if there were no reproduction there would
have been no sexual attraction between the sexes.

Therefore, by the reason of inner necessity and determination,
the future will see a day when human society will be replete with
justice, when all will live in peace and tranquillity, and when
human beings will be fully possessed of virtue and perfection.

The establishment of such a condition will occur through human
hands but with Divine Assistance.

And the leader of such a society
is called in the language of the traditions, al-Mahdi (the Mahdi;
the guided one).

In the different religions that govern the world (either divine
or not) such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity
and Islam there are references to a person who will come as the
savior of mankind.

These religions have given glad tidings of
his coming, although there are naturally minor differences in
detail that can be discerned when these teachings are compared
carefully.

However one thing that all these teachings have in common is that
A human will come to establish peace and tranquillity all
over the earth.

Every religion has a different attachment
to it, however.

The least thing that a human being (regardless
of his religion) is supposed to do, is to accept what ALL these
teachings have in common.

This goes to prove the necessity of
belief for his coming.

Thus, the saviors of all these
religions who are all expected to come at the end of the time,
are manifested in one individual, since the foundation of such
belief is established by all.

The attachments of different religions
can be reconciled on their own tendencies, and thus rejected.

The fact remains that the teachings of the previous religions
have been under a long alteration process, and only Islam has
been guaranteed its survival.

Thus we should accept the attachment
that the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) has offered us
with regard to the one who is coming whose name is Imam al-Mahdi
(and, of course, there will come Jesus as one of the Imam al-Mahdi's
follower, based on the prophetic traditions).

There are numerous traditions cited in the Sunni and the Shi'i
sources from the Holy Prophet concerning the appearance of the
Mahdi, such as that he is of the progeny of the Prophet and that
his appearance will enable human society to reach true perfection
and the full realization of spiritual life.

In addition, there
are numerous other traditions concerning the fact that the Mahdi
is the son of the Eleventh Imam, al-Hasan al-Askari, and that
after being born and undergoing a long occultation (disappearance;
living among people while he is not identified) the Mahdi will
appear again, filling the world with justice as it has been corrupted
by injustice and tyranny.

In a tradition the holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) said to the Commander
of believers, Ali (AS), that:

There will be twelve Guides after me, the first of whom
is you, O' Ali, and the last one will be the 'Support' (al-Qa'im)
who, with the grace of Allah, will gain victory over the whole
east and west of the world.

Imam Ali al-Ridha (the eighth Imam) said, in the course of a tradition:

The Imam after me is my son, Muhammad, and after him his
son Ali, and after Ali his son, al-Hasan, and after al-Hasan his
son Hujjat al-Qa'im (the proof of Allah who shall stand), who
is awaited during his occultation and obeyed during his manifestation.

Even if there remain from the life of the world but a single day,
Allah will expand that day until he becomes manifest and fills
the world with justice in the same way that it had been filled
with injustice.

But when? As for news of the hour (i.
e.
, the moment
of appearance), frequently my father told me, having heard it
from his father who heard it from his father who heard it from
his ancestors who heard it from Ali (AS), that it was asked from
the holy Prophet, O Prophet of God, when will the 'Support' (al-Qa'im)
who is from your family appear? He said, His case is like that
of the Hour (of time of the resurrection).

'Allah alone knows
it and He will manifest it at its proper time.

It is heavy in
the heavens and the earth.

It cometh not to you save unawares'
(Quran 7:187).

Musa al-Baghdadi said, I heard Imam Hasan al-Askari (the eleventh
Imam) who said:

I see that after me differences will appear among you concerning
the Imam after me.

Whoever accepts the Imams after the Prophet
of God but denies my son is like the person who accepts all the
prophets but denies the prophethood of Muhammad, the Prophet of
God, upon whom be peace and blessing.

And whoever denies (Muhammad)
the Prophet of God is like one who has denied all the prophets
of God, for obeying the last of us is like obeying the first of
us and denying the last of us is like denying the first of us.

But beware! Verily, for my son there is an occultation during
which all people will fall into doubt except those whom Allah
protects.

There are hundreds of prophetic traditions about Imam al-Mahdi
(AS) which have been recorded in both the Shi'ite and Sunnite
collections of traditions.

A large number of religious scholars
form all Islamic schools of thought have independently compiled
books about Imam al-Mahdi, the leader of the time.

Their number
runs to tens of volumes.

(For more information in this regard,
please see the next article.
) Thus believing in Imam al-Mahdi
is not exclusive to the Shi'ites, and the Sunni scholars believe
in him, though they do not have the extensive information about
him that the Shia possess.

For more information about Imam al-Mahdi (AS), You may look at
the following English books:

1- The Awaited Savior, by B.
al-Sadr and M.
Mutahhari.

($3.
5) 2- An Inquiry Concerning al-Mahdi, by B.
al-Sadr.

($8) 3- A Reply To: Belief of Mahdism in Shia Imamia.

($6)
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