1- Ṣafwān b. Mihrān narrated from Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh), that he stated, ‘The individual who acknowledges all [12 infallible] Imāms [pbuh] but denies Mahdī [mGehr], is like the one who acknowledges all prophets (pbu th) but denies Muḥammad (pbuh&h)’s prophet hood!
There they asked, ‘O, the Messenger of God! Who is Mahdī [mGehr], among your offspring?’ He replied, ‘He is the fifth [offspring] of the seventh [Imām]. He will be Occulted and you will not see him. And you are not allowed to call his first name!’
2- Abu Haytham narrated from Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh), that he stated, ‘When among Imāms, these three names come respectively; Muḥammad, Alī, and Haṣan, the fourth one will be Qā’im (mGehr) [Mahdī]
3- Mufaḍḍal ibn Ummer said:
[Once,] I visited my honorable Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh) and asked, ‘O, My sir! I wish you wrote you will about the successor, who comes after you!’ There, he stated, ‘O, Mufaḍḍal! The Imām after me, is my son “Mūsā” and the hopeful and Muntazar1 successor is “M, u, h, a, m, m, a, d”. He is the son of Haṣan ibn Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn Alī ibn Mūsā.
4- About the Tawil2 of this verse of Qurʾān, Alī ibn Raʾb narrated from Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh). And the Imām replied:
… يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا ۗ قُلِ انْتَظِرُوا إِنَّا مُنْتَظِرُونَ
On the day when some of the signs of your Lord shall come, its faith shall not profit a soul which did not believe before, or earn good through its faith. Say: Wait; we too are waiting.
By the signs, it refers to the Imāms. And the sign “Muntazar” refers to Qā’im. [Yes!] On the day of the Emergence, the beliefs of those who will now have believed3to his rise [via sword], will not be beneficial; even though they will have believed in his ancestors [the previous Imāms (pbu th)].
5- Mufaḍḍal ibn Ummer said:
I learned from Imām Ṣādiq (pbuh), that he stated, ‘Whoever looks forward this issue [the Emergence] and dies, is like the one who stays with Qā’im (mGehr) in his tent. Even more, they will be like the one who fights by the sword, on the front of the Messenger of God (pbuh&h).
1- It means, the one who looks forward Tomorrow [waits till his own Emergence]
2- Ta’wil means, to cause to return, to lead back to the origin, and thus to return to the true and original meaning of a written text. It is to cause something to arrive at its origin. He who practices Ta’wil, therefore, makes something revert to its truth, to its Hadiqah.” (“History of Islamic Philosophy”, H. Corbin)
This was the practice of the Prophet and Imams – to reveal the Ta’wil of the Qur’an and the Ta’wil of the events of their time. The verses of the Qur’an are referred to as Āyāt. This is because the Qur’an is a revelation from God (God’s speech to man) and as such each of its verses is a signpost, an indication of its origin. The interpretation, the hermeneutics (Ta’wil) of the Āyāt lead one back towards God. It is the same with all existent things in the Universe – they are all the traces, the signs of Allah. The Universe and all that is in it, including the laws by which it functions, are signposts pointing the way to the source and support of existence – God.
The Qur’an urges us to consider and reflect on the “book” of the Universe, just as it urges us to reflect on the book of the Qur’an – for it is a book of “Āyāt”, of signs. And signs are meant to be read and followed with the purpose of finding your way to a particular destination, a particular goal. This is the purpose of doing Ta’wil.
3- It is the belief in God, the Prophet and Imāms (pbu th).
Reference:
[Translations of:]
1-Kamāl al Din, Vol. 2, P. 4
2-Kamāl al Din, Vol. 2, P. 5
3-Kamāl al Din, Vol. 2, P. 8
4-Kamāl al Din, Vol. 2, P. 12
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