AWAITING IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESPONSIBILITIES:

Awaiting'
(Intezar) is the result of two conditions.
Firstly, he is not satisfied with the present circumstances and secondly, he
expects the improvement in his circumstances. If either of these conditions
are not fulfilled then it is not awaiting and the person concerned is not an
'awaiter'
*(Muntazir).

The awaiting of Hazrat
Imam Mahdi (A.S.)
also holds the same distinct characteristics. Even here awaiting purports that
an awaiter is not satisfied
with his present circumstances and is hoping for a bright and better future.

A believer is a witness to the assaults of the enemies
of Islam which they are inflicting on Islam with their full might and
munitions. The genuineness of beliefs and deeds are not judged as per the
criterion set by Quran and Hadith. Instead
they are examined through the clannish prejudice and norms set by their
forefathers. In such circumstances, a genuine awaiter should not sit idle.
Rather, the Holy Quran has instructed him in these words:

"And say to those who do not believe
that
you act as much you can. We are also trying. You
all await and surely we all are awaiting."

It is an open challenge for the enemies, that let them
make their best efforts. In the light of this challenge can anyone say that
awaiting implies sitting idle and remaining oblivious
? Or awaiting means to remain always alert
and defeat enemies on every front. Of course,
it necessitates that a believer should never exult on his strength but should
always rely on Allah. Because reliance in Allah gives victory to weaklings
over their stronger adversaries. Imam

Mohammad
Baqir (A.S.) said:

"If you act on our advices and teachings
and remain in
the same conditions, then whosoever dies before the advent of our
Qaem (A.S.) will
attain martyrdom."

(Beharul-Anwar,
Vol. 52, Chap. 22) In another tradition Imam Jafar
Sadiq (A.S.) said
:

"The
one who desires to be among the companions of Hazrat Qaem (A.S.),
then he must wait, adopt piety and behave courteously. If he dies in such a
condition before the advent of Qaem (A.S.),
then his reward will be similar to the one who attains his
(Qaem's (A.S.))
era. Hence strive vigorously, await his arrival congratulations to you all
for your relentless awaiting".

(Ghaibat-e-Nomani,
Chap. 11, Hadith 16)

While the first tradition calls for complete emulation
ofAhle-Bait (A.S.) so that human thinking
and beliefs may not be distracted from the right path the second tradition
exhorts for adopting piety and doing good, so that even in the field of
practice, their should not be any aberration.

The following tradition further clarifies
that awaiting does not mean remaining idle and careless. It never purports
mere verbal claim without practice but it signifies endless efforts and
incessant endeavors as Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) himself says
:

"Then all of you must do such deeds which draw
you nearer to our love and affection. And refrain from such acts which evokes
your anger and displeasure"

(Beharul
Anwar, Vol. 53, Chap. 21) He is the
true awaiter who always seeks to
please his Imam (A.S.).
His every effort is directed at achieving the invaluable pleasure of Imam (A.S.)
and it is but evident that the pleasure of Imam is in abiding by the tenets of
Islam and not in its sacrilege.

It is a
command for us and our Imam has encouraged
us and has instilled enthusiasm in us through these words
:

"We are not negligent
of your affairs and are not forgetful of your remembrance. Had it been so,
then terrible calamities would have struck you and your enemies would have
destroyed you. Fear Allah, strengthen your hands, so that we may relieve you
of the tribulations that have afflicted you."

Such love, kindness,
affection, and fondness is not found even in the parents, let alone anyone
else. After seeing so much kindness and compassion whose heart will not he
moved for action? Whose eyes will not shed tears at the separation from such
in Imam, while his love is glowing in his
heart when we see such a magnanimity we yearn to place our forehead at his
feet. But the burdens of sins
benumbed
our agility and the clutches of bad character retarded
our steps. The reason of being deprived of
his esteemed presence, as
explained by
Imam (A.S.) himself, is that
:-

"If our Shias
(may Allah give them the grace of obedience) would have fulfilled their
covenants with united hearts then surely there would have been no delay in our
meeting and they would have received the blessings of our visitation. But the
things which increased the distance between us are those news which we have
received about them regarding those actions which we dislike and which we do
not expect from them."

(Beharul Anwar, Vol. 53, Chap. 21
)

In this
Tauqee a signed letter from Imam (A.S.)]
Imam has not only explained the reason for the
delay in his reappearance but lias
also shown a clearway to approach him. When a true
awaiter is blessed with tlie
Ziyarat of Imam (A.S.) in
Samarrah then he addresses his dearest Imam
thus :

"0 Master be a witness I pledge to thee even if your
occultation
is prolonged to such an extent
that my life is on the verge of exhaustion. Still my certitude will enhance
every moment. Your love will keep on increasing manifold, with the increment
in my trust in you. I will keep waiting for you unswervingly and 1 shall he
waiting for (your) call of Jehad relentlessly.

"May my life, my wealth, my children, my family and
whatever Allah
has conferred upon me, be sacrificed for you and I leave them in your
authority."

[
Mafatihul-Jenan,
Ziyarate-lmam-e-Asr (A.S.)
] It becomes
clear after this explanation that a true

awaiter never tires of
waiting for Imam. He keeps on exerting continuously instead of being a
silent spectator.

Merely
being discontent with the present
circumstances is not sufficient hut he must strive to
bring change in it. It
becomes evident that in such vicious
atmosphere and sinful surroundings, what is the responsibility of a true
awaiter? And how important it is? Besides these there are also other
responsibilities which are as follows
:

Character
Building:

The foremost thing which a
true awaiter is expected to do is to build
his character. Character-building implies
following the tenets of Islam, developing good traits and purify his self in
such a way that every aspect of his personality should reflect the teachings
of Ahlebait (A.S.).
Often the friends and helpers of
Hazrat Mahdi
(A.S.) are described with such superlatives
:-

"Those
who will believe in the hidden Imam they are the most pious ones and their
faith is of the highest degree. They will establish prayers and spend
generously in the way of God. They believe firmly in
Quran and other
divine scriptures and they are certain of
Qiyamat.'

(
Tafsire-Nurus-Saqlain, Vol. 1, Sura
Baqarah )

"They are obedient,
sincere, honorable, good doers, patient, devout, helpers of the oppressed,
cordial and pure-hearted."

Their hearts are of steel. If they cast a
glance at an iron mountain, it will crumble and reduce to bits.

(llzamun-Naasib,
Vol. 1, Pg.
67 )

Their bodies will emit
fragrance of musk, while their countenance will be dazzling
like a full moon."

(
Kamaluddin, Chap. 24, Tradition
No. 11 )

"They will be braver than lions and sharper
than spears."

(Beharul-Anwar,
Vol. 52, Chap. 27, Tradition 17
)

"They will worship at night."

(Muntakhabul
Asar section
9, Chap: 3, Tradition No.1
)

(Now whosoever wishes to be
among the friends and helpers of Hazrat
Mahdi (A.S.)
then he must adorn his self with the above mentioned attributes
and characteristics)

"In
the period of occupation
they will hold religious convictions and will not allow the devil to meddle
with their faith.

(Kamaluddin.Pg.51)

Their gnosis
will be pure and veritable, while their faith will increase constantly. They
will mould their character in such a way that nothing will stop them from
emulating the Ahlebait
(A.S.)."

(Kamaluddin, Pg, 51)

These excerpts were extracted from various traditions which clarifies that in
the period of occultation one of our
P vital
responsibilities is to absorb
the teachings of Ahlebait (A.S.) in our character and personality so
that we may not wander hither and thither while
our beloved Imam (A.S.) is far from our eyes. In such an aimless wandering, it
is quite possible that a wanderer may end
up getting attached to any mundane caller, because every belief which is not a
product of the teachings of Ahlehait (A.S.)
is a clear deviation and every courteousness
which does not reflect their mannerisms is intact
sheer discourtesy.

It
is a proven fact that as much as a man holds Imam (A.S,)
dearer that much he will be attracted
towards good deeds and demeanors. And he will cleanse his self from bad habits
and vices. Numerous such incidents can he found in the hooks, stories of those
persons, particularly youths who felt the love of Imam (A.S.) in their hearts
which changed their entire lives. Undoubtedly,
love is such an elixir by which every impossible
is made possible. The Reformation
Of Society.

One
of our important responsibilities in the period of
occultation is the reformation of society.
The holy Quran in
Surae-Asr has suggested a remedy for those
who want to remain secure from loss i.e. enjoining patience to each other'.
Islam is against reclusion and
ascetism. Rather it advocates a social and
public life. The deplorable
aspect of the contemporary world is that people want to lead a social life hut
due to the fear of society, they do not want to take any initiative for
reformation. The fear of "what the people will say" has superseded the fear of
God. Hazrat Imam Ali
Naqi (A.S.) has extolled the virtues of
those who are fulfilling their
responsibilities in the period of occultation in the following
words:-

"Had
there not been such scholars in the period of occultation who call the people
towards the Ahlebait (A.S.),
guide towards them, defend their religion with the proofs of Allah, protect
weak Shias
from the devilish designs, deception of the tyrants and tentacles of the
enemies of Islam, then surely all would have deviated from the religion of
Allah. But it is they who are guarding the hearts of the weak Shias like a
captain guards the passengers on his ship. They are those who enjoy a supreme
position in front of Allah".(Mahajjatul-Baizaa,
Vol. 1, Pg. 32)

If they would not reform their society then how would it he known that the
whole society is awaiting Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.).
The following tradition throws light on our responsibilities in the period of
occultation :-

In the exegesis of the Holy
Quran attributed to Imam
Hasan Askari
(A.S.), the Holy Prophet
(S.A.) had
explained the significance of word 'Orphan'
in the following verse;

"And when
we took the
covenant from the children of lsrail
of not worshipping anyone but
Allah and goodness to parents and by giving to near ones and orphans."

(Baqarah
: 83) The Holy Prophet (S.A.) said
:

"Allah the Almighty has commanded to do good with the orphans and to act as (a
source of) guidance for them. Since they are deprived of their kind and
affectionate father. Allah will extend his grace to the one who will have
mercy on the orphans. If a person caresses the head of an orphan then as many
number of hairs come under his hand those many vast and expansive palatial
mansions will be given to
him in Paradise. This place will contain all
sorts of comforts and luxuries in
its precincts... These people will stay in it forever."

(Tafseer
attributed to Imam Hasan
Askari
(A.S.),Pg.239)

Imam Hasan Askari further
elucidates the tradition of Holy Prophet (S.A.) in these words
:

"There is another orphan whose plight is more
pitiful. He is the one who is far from his Imam and cannot have access to him.
He who is not aware of his religious obligations
.

Yes indeed 0'
people - one who teaches and trains our far off
Shias then he is
similar to the guardian of an orphan.

Be aware if somebody teaches an ignorant, guides a
misguided one, instills the teachings of
Ahlebait then on the day of Qiyamat he will be
with us. We will give him a seat next to us wherever we may be."

(Tafseer
attributed to Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) ,
Pg. 239)

In this period of
occultation, when we are separated from our
kind Imam(A.S.)
then what else can he the reward of teaching, training, and reforming the
society ? Where is the teaching and
training of society and where is the
proximity to Masumeen (A.S.) and the
fortune of staying with them ? This
tradition is sufficient to enlighten the keen and sensitive Shias. Even women
can join hands with men in fulfilling
this responsibility.