2) The Return is Another Test

2) The Return is Another Test

It has been clarified that the Return is one of the three Days of God. Therefore, it is another world and another test, embarked upon by those who were pure in their faith and those who were pure in their disbelief.

Abu Abdullah pbuh said: “{One day We will gather together from every nation a company}” Quran Chapter “The Ant” 27:83. Then he said: “There is no believer that is killed except that he will return after death. Nobody will return except those who had very pure faith or very pure disbelief” (Al-Qumi 1983, vol. 2, 131. Also Al-Majlisi 1983, vol. 53, 53).

It is a world that has its own laws:

Imam Sadiq pbuh said after he mentioned the death of Iblis by the hands of the Prophet of God pbuh in the Return:

“. . . during that time, God Almighty will be worshiped and nothing will be worshiped alongside Him. The Prince of Believers pbuh will rule for 44,000 years such that a man from the followers (Shia) of Ali pbuh will produce one thousand male children. At that time the two gardens, dark green in color, will appear at the Kufa mosque and around it, along with whatever God wishes” (Al-Hilli 1950, 27).

It is clear that one man being the father of one thousand male children without a female is a matter that normally cannot occur in this physical world, given the laws that govern it. Also, the time periods that the religious accounts mention about the rule of the vicegerents of God in the Return shows us once more that it is another world with its own laws that are different than the laws of this world.^[7]

Sayed Ahmad Al-Hasan pbuh says:

The World of the Return is another world, other than the one we live in. This is clear from the religious accounts. For example, there are accounts that show that it is a different world, because the characteristics of the World of the Return are different than this world, such as humans living for long periods of time and having many children. Also, the Quranic text mentions the Return, and that it is a life after death. Therefore, how could it be a scenario in which people see other people coming out of their graves in front of their eyes, and in large numbers? Where is the test, and why do some people still rebel?!

He also says:

I will draw your attention to an issue regarding the Return. When a reasonable person becomes acquainted with the religious accounts about the Return and how life would be in it, and how many children each person would have, and so on, he will conclude that it is another world. Intellect and reality do not accept that this can happen within the confines of the physical world. This understanding is unacceptable to reasonable people, but what do we do about people who can barely comprehend speech?!

In clarifying some examples of this simplistic and poor understanding of the religious accounts used by some people who claim to be knowledgeable, whether about the Return or other beliefs, he pbuh says:

An example of this simplistic understanding of the religious accounts is when some people depict the Dajjal to be a person, even though the pace of his donkey is extremely long, and the span between the ears of the donkey is forty arms’ length, or even seventy in some accounts. Although he has a mountain of food and a mountain of fire as mentioned in the accounts, how is it that a donkey’s ear has a length of thirty arms, or that the distance between his ears is forty arms’ length?! What about the mountain of fire and the mountain of food?! Does the intellect or the average person accept this hadith as it is, and accept that it does not contain symbols or codes?!! Because of their naive interpretations of the hadiths, they cause people to live in an imaginary and illusory world that is far from reality.

For example, according to the understanding of these naive people regarding the religious accounts, the companions of the Mahdi will be found missing from their beds and will all be gathered in Mecca, just like that, without anything happening prior to it, as if it is a cartoon for little children. It will happen just like that-without ideological preparation, and without the Mahdi arming them with knowledge. In this way, they depict for the people that in one night, the companions of the Mahdi will fly in the air and find themselves in the Kaaba. And with only the Mahdi and the 313 companions beside him, they will find themselves in Mecca surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Wahhabis.

This interpretation is one that approaches foolishness. In this way, they stupefy the people and hold them back from supporting the Mahdi under this pretext: “He and his 313 companions will appear in Mecca and become victorious. Wait for his appearance and victory, and don't do anything!!” All right, how will he be victorious over hundreds of thousands of Wahabis when they fight him in Mecca?! How will he take control of Hijaz?! Will he do this with only a few hundred supporters, or with compelling miracles? If it were simply an issue of compelling miracles and destroying people, then there would be no need for the Mahdi, and God Almighty himself would destroy the people, defeat them through miracles, and make them believe by force-and it would be over!!

This naive understanding of the ideological issues, whether related to the Mahdi pbuh or the Return, shows the foolishness of whoever adopts these ideas, and how little they understand. This needs to be made clear, so that people who listen to them recognize their level of intellect and knowledge, and will not be fooled by them.

Moreover, perhaps there are ambiguous religious accounts, and it seems that the Return is part of this physical world, based on their literal meaning. For example, in a long account, Sheikh Al-Sadooq (may God be pleased with him) narrates that Al-Mamun, an Abbasid Caliph, asks Imam Al-Ridha:

“O father of Al-Hassan! What do you say about the Return?” Al-Ridha pbuh replied, “It is indeed true. It has happened within past nations. The Quran spoke of it, and the Prophet of God pbuhap said, ‘Whatever happened within past nations will also happen in my nation in a completely identical manner’” (Al-Sadooq 1983, vol. 1, 218).

Regarding this narration, Sayed Ahmad Al-Hasan pbuh was asked which return Imam Al-Ridha pbuh was talking about.

He answered:

Generally, whether the Return is another world as we have said or it is not-as the opponents claim-it is still a resurrection after death, as you know. Therefore, it is correct to put forth an example pertaining to it, such as the resurrection of certain people in the past. This is because the resurrection of dead people is an event that the opponents agree with.

Al-Mamun, the Abbasid Caliph who debated with Imam Al-Ridha pbuh, is an opponent. So what can you use as an argument when debating him? Shouldn’t it be evidence that he agrees with? When debating him, Imam [Ridha] uses an argument that they themselves believe in, namely, the argument of the resurrection of certain people who have died within past nations.