The History of looking forward to the emergence
To look forward to a savior goes back to the last years and even centuries. Of the 150 sections of the book of Psalms of David [pbuh], which belongs to 2800 years ago, 55 sections are related to Imām Zamān [mgehr].
It is stated in Psalm 149 of that book, “He will rise, holding a double-edged sword.” (It refers to Ḏū-l-Faqār[1].)
The look forward -To the Emergence
The literary Meaning:
Pause about things and then decide, to watch, to look forward to, a kind of hope for the future.
The concept:
Referring to the Aḥādīth, to look forward to [the emergence] is a deed, worship, and jihād[2]. But unfortunately, some people limit it to the literary meaning.
Given the two above interpretations, two types of perceptions are expected:
1. A kind of looking forward in which, the one who looks forward endures the current situation and remains still, having hope for a better future.
2. A kind of looking forward that brings dynamics and activity.
It should be noted that that kind of looking forward (the second one) never has meant and means to protest ( the current situation), or to avoid (to step back). For the one who looks forward, protesting is admirable when it causes attempts and effort. Otherwise, that person is like the one who is oppressed, but he is not aware of it.
To fulfill the Emergence, we should look forward [to it]; hence, we must know what we are looking forward to. In Holy Qurʾān, God stated,
” فَانْتَظِرُوا إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الْمُنْتَظِرِينَ”
“Wait and I too shall be waiting with you”.[Surah Yunus, Verse 20]
Grounding
[Once] someone entered the presence of Imām Baqīr (PBUH) and said, “Verily, If Mahdī (MGEHR) rises, everything will proceed and goes well for him on its own. And there will not shed blood, even as much as a cupping container.” His Majesty returned, “It is never like this, By the one who owns my life, if it was supposed that things go right for someone on its own, surely, it had been for the Messenger of God (pbuh&h), when His Majesty’s anterior teeth were broken and his face wounded. It is never like this, By the one who owns my life, it will lead you and us to wipe away dried blood and swear.” (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 5, Page 358)
Know that the next step after looking forward to the Emergence and acting to lay the groundwork is that we are to welcome The Excellency (mgehr).
From Ādam (PBUH) to the Emergence
It has been extracted from the Aḥādīth that, to reach the Emergence, the human has to pass six stages, before the seventh which is the Emergence.
First, The era of the ruling of wisdom
That stage is the era of the ruling of reason. It started His Majesty Ādam (PBUH) until His Majesty Noah (PBUH). At this stage, the humans lived merely relying on their innate intelligence and there was no universal call to guide humanity. In this stage of invitation by prophets (PBU THt), acting according to the human’s wisdom and conscience.
Second, The mission of prophets (PBUH)
That stage is for the Mission of Prophets (PBUH), which started by His Majesty Noah (PBUH) and ended by the Last Prophet (pbuh&h) in “Ghadir Khumm3”. On Ghadir day, It is worth mentioning that the Prophet (pbuh&h) stated, “This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favor to you.” (Holy Qurʾān, surah Al-Maeda, verse 3)
Through that stage, when the human realized wisdom, the religious laws came to help it.
Third, Telling the Last Word:
This stage is the Last Word. It started by ‘Amir a- Muʾminīn (PBUH) and continued till the minor occultation of Imām Zamān (mgehr). In this stage, the order of reason and the religious law were combined by the Imām, and it was proved that they don’t contradict each other.
Fourth is occultation:
In this stage, the religious law didn’t accompany wisdom anymore. In fact, the human connoted, “Wisdom is enough for me!” [However,] the human goes so far as to prove to him that reason alone is not enough to guide human society! Well, in today’s world there are one billion and eight hundred million hungry people, and this is just one of the thousands of cases of human stupidity.
Fifth is coming to power of the religious centers:
The starting point of this stage was the Islāmic Revolution of Iran. In this stage, the religious centers all around the world began to take shape, then they cross paths to form a network and a [global religious] village. In this stage, the people will realize what is expected to request from The Savior [Imām Zamān (mgehr)].
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1. The sword of Imām Alī (PBUH)
2. In an Isāmic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God’s guidance, such as the struggle against one’s evil inclinations.
3- It refers to a sermon delivered by the Islāmic prophet Muḥammad (pbuh&h) at the Pond of Khumm, shortly before his death in 632 CE. In the sermon, Muḥammad (pbuh&h) announced Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH) as his successor, after which the final verse of the Quran has revealed a verse of the Qur’an was revealed instructing Muḥammad (pbuh&h) to deliver an important message. The Muslīms were gathered and Muḥammad (pbuh&h) delivered a lengthy sermon.
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