Chapters
From the Perspective of Miracles
The Clear Message – Part 1 · Sheikh Nadhim Aloqaili
Fifth: From the Perspective of Miracles
It is God's tradition with most Prophets and Messengers that when they call people to embrace God's oneness, reject idols, and fight against desires, the first to believe are those with insight who see with the eye of God. Examples include Ali ibn Abi Talib, Khadija, Ammar, al-Miqdad, Malik al-Ashtar, and others among the guardians, peace be upon them all. These individuals never asked the MessengerP for a miracle to believe in him and verify his truthfulness.
God Almighty said: “Whoever God has not granted light, for him there is no light.”47 He also says: “Indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the chests that grow blind.”48
Those not guided by the light of God, whose hearts are tainted by sin, have tarnished their pure innate nature with their love of wealth, status, and increased followers. They have become like cattle or even more astray. Their belief in the unseen and divine messages is restricted to visible, physical miracles, as they see only with their eyes. Since people cannot differentiate between a divine miracle and magic, the messenger of Imam Al-MahdiP, Ahmed Alhasan, challenged the most renowned scholars to request a physical miracle of their choice from him that they believe will prove his truthfulness. He would then perform the miracle so that people could determine whether he was truthful or not.
It has been over six months without any response. As God says, "Those who do not know say, 'Why does God not speak to us or bring us a sign?' Thus spoke those before them, their hearts resembling each other. We have made clear the signs for people who are certain."49
Here I am, raising a loud voice, hoping to awaken consciences, clear the blindness from perceptions, and guide truth-seekers and lovers of Imam Al-MahdiP. You have been promised forerunners who will arrive before the rise of Imam Al-Mahdi. If you reject Ahmed Alhasan as the messenger of Imam al-Mahdi despite all his evidence, how will you recognize a messenger sent by Imam Al-MahdiP? What evidence would you expect from him to prove his truthfulness?
God Almighty says: “Oh, the regret for the servants. No messenger ever came to them that they did not ridicule.”50
I remind you that the Prophet’s household have narrated about the trials that will precede the rise of Imam Al-MahdiP:
The Commander of the FaithfulP said: “By the One who has my soul in His hands, you will not see what you desire until you spit in each other's faces and call each other liars.51 None of you will be left…” Or he [may have] said, “None of my followers will be left-except as few as eyeliner in the eye or salt in food."52
Imam AliP said: "The one who will be absent [Imam MahdiP] will have two occultations. One will last longer than the other. The first will last six days, six months, or six years. The other will be so prolonged that many of those who believe in the cause of Imam Al-Mahdi will turn their backs on it. None will remain firm except those with strong certainty, correct understanding, and unwavering acceptance of our decisions, submitting to us, the Prophet’s Household."53
Abu AbdullahP said: "You will be afflicted with confusion, where you will be left without any visible knowledge and without a guiding Imam. None will be saved from it except those who
beseech God with the supplication of the drowning one (Al-Ghareeq). You should say: ‘O God, O Abundantly Merciful, O Intensely Merciful, O Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm on Your religion.’"54
Ibn Abbas narrated that the Messenger of GodP said: "Ali ibn Abi Talib is the Imam of my nation, my vicegerent after me, and the awaited Riser will be from his descendants. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it was filled with oppression and injustice, being both a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. Those who remain steadfast in his leadership during the time of occultation are rarer than red sulfur."55
Musa ibn JafarP said: "When the fifth descendant of the seventh [Imam] is lost, guard your faith and do not let anyone take it away from you. Indeed, the companion of this affair [Imam MahdiP] will have an occultation until those who believed in this matter turn their backs on it. It is only a trial from God to test His creation."56
Abu JafarP said: "Our narrations that you relay to others are unsettling to them. If someone accepts it, then tell him more. If someone rejects it, then leave them. There must be a trial that every trusted advisor and intimate friend will fail, even those who can split a hair into two, until the only ones left are us and our followers (Shia)."57 58
God Almighty says: “Let them not become like those who were previously given the Scripture. A long period passed over them, and their hearts hardened; many of them were defiantly disobedient.”59 Abu Abdullah said: “This verse was revealed specifically for the people living during the time of the
occultation. The long period (mentioned in the verse) refers to the period of occultation.”60
In the narration of the Ascension (Mi'raj)61, it is stated:
I said: “O my Lord and Master, when will it (the rise of the Riser) occur?” God, the Exalted and Mighty, revealed: ‘It will occur when knowledge is lifted away, ignorance prevails, reciters [of the Quran] become numerous, good deeds become scarce, murder becomes widespread, guiding scholars diminish in numbers, and misguiding treacherous scholars increase in numbers..."62
In the Name of God, the Abundantly Merciful, the Intensely Merciful. “Alif Laam Meem. Do people think once they say, ‘We believe,’ they will be left alone without being put to the test? We certainly tested those before them. God will clearly distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are liars.”63
Praise be to God alone.
Sheikh Nadhim Aloqaili