14) The Return of the Successors of God and their Followers

14) The Return of the Successors of God and their Followers

These are some of the religious accounts concerning the Return of the progeny of Muhammad pbut:

Abu Abdullah pbuh said: Ali pbuh will return to the earth with his son Al-Hussain pbut. He accepts his banner in order to exact vengeance upon Umaya and Muawiya and the progeny of Muawiya and whoever fought with him. Then, on that day, God sends supporters to them: 30,000 from Kufa, and 70,000 from the remainder of the people. He will meet them in Siffin just like the first time, until he kills them, and not even an informer will remain from them. Then God Almighty will resurrect them and will give them the worst punishments alongside Pharaoh and the people of Pharaoh. Then, another return will take place with the Messenger of God pbuhap, and he will become the vicegerent on Earth, and the Imams pbut will work for him. The worship of God on Earth will become as public as it was private. Then he said: Yes by God, and twice as much as that.” He joined his hands together to indicate doubling. “God will give His Prophet pbuh and his progeny the kingdom over all the people of the earth who existed from the time He created the temporal world up until the day he annihilates it, so that He fulfills the promise He made in the Book, just as He said: {(in order) to manifest it over all religion, although the polytheists dislike it}” Quran Chapter “The Repentance” 9:33. (Al-Hilli 1950, 29).

Jabir narrated that Abu Jafar pbuh said: Al-Hussain, son of Imam Ali pbut, said to his companions before he was killed: “The Prophet of God pbuh said to me, ‘O my son, you will be compelled to go to Iraq, a land in which the Prophets and successors have gathered. It is a land called Amura [Karbala]. You and a group of your companions that do not submit to the pain of iron will be martyred there. Then he recited: {We said: ‘O Fire! be thou cool, and (a means of) safety for Abraham!’} Quran Chapter “The Prophets” 21:69. The battle will be cool and a means of safety for you and them. So be happy, for by God if they kill us, we shall return to our Prophet pbuh, and then I shall dwell as long as God pleases. I will be the first whom the earth shall split for, and my emergence (rising, and life) will be similar to the emergence of the Prince of Believers pbuh, the rise of our Qaim pbuh, and the life of the Messenger pbuhap. Then a delegation will come down from the sky from God Almighty that has never come down to the earth before, along with Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, and an army of angels. Muhammad, Ali, me, my brother, and all whom God has favored, will come down in carriages from God's carriages-white horses of light that no creation has ever mounted. Then Muhammad pbuhap will wave his banner and send it and his sword to our Qaim pbuh. We will stay after that for as long as God pleases. Then God will produce a spring of oil, a well of milk, and a well of water from the Kufa mosque. The Prince of Believers pbuh will then hand the sword of the Messenger of God pbuhap over to me, and he will send me to the East and West. I will not pass by an enemy of God but that I will shed his blood and I will not leave an idol but that I burn it. . . .” (Al-Hilli 1950, 37).

Sayed Ahmad Al-Hasan pbuh was asked about these religious accounts and similar ones:

What will the Return of the Imams pbut be like? Will they return at one particular time period in history?

Also, will they return in the same order in which they came in this world, in terms of father and son?

For example, it is narrated that the first to return is Imam Al-Hussain pbuh. Will he return as the son of Imam Ali pbuh with his grandfather being the messenger of God pbuhap, and so on?

The same question goes for the people who will be returning, in terms of their father, their sons, genealogy, marriage, companionship and the like.

He answered:

The Return is another world that is different than this physical world. Therefore, its characteristics are different than this world. As for fathers, sons, and social relations in the present, they are part of the requirements of this world, may God grant you success.

The Return is another test for those who were pure in faith and those who were pure in disbelief. The Return would not have any meaning and there would be no wisdom behind it if it were not a test. I have previously explained the reason that it is another test. The World of the Return is another world in which God must cause the ones entering it to forget their past states, so that everyone enters the test fairly, and is given the same chance to win or lose.

If that is how it is, then what names are you asking about? May God grant you success. They in reality will be caused to forget their past state and that they were tested before, just as God caused the people in the physical world to forget their previous state in the World of al-Tharr, as well as their test in that world.

{We have decreed death among you, and We are not to be outdone ✶ In that We will change your likenesses and produce you in that [form] which you do not know. ✶ And you have already known the first creation, so will you not remember?} The Quran, Chapter “The Inevitable” 56:60-62.

Pay attention to the Almighty’s saying: {and produce you in that [form] which you do not know. ✶ And you have already known the first creation, so will you not remember?} The Quran, Chapter “The Inevitable” 56:60-62. Notice that the Almighty said: {and produce you in that [form] which you do not know.} This is regarding the Return, as the one who enters that world will forget his past state and enter a new world that he is not familiar with. If you want an example of this future event, take a look at the past event of the World of al-Tharr. You were all in that world, you knew of it, and God tested you in it, but now you have completely forgotten it and cannot remember it. Why is that?! {And you have already known the first creation, so will you not remember?} The Quran Chapter “The Inevitable” 56--62.

It is because God caused you to forget when He veiled you with your bodies. This is the case for everyone, because God is just. And if this was not the case for everyone, even for the vicegerents of God on the earth, then what merit do the vicegerents of God have if they passed the test only because God did not cause them to forget? Yes, it is possible for a human to remember his past state after he passes the test, becomes pure, and knows. However, it is not possible for him to know his past state without working and passing the test because if he knew about it from the beginning, that would mean his test was cancelled, and this would be unfair. This is because he would have been given an advantage over the rest from the beginning without doing any work, and it would be contrary to wisdom because he started the test, so how could his test be cancelled?!

May God guide you in knowing the truth and always remaining firm with it. Know that every world is a test, and it must be that everyone enters it with equal ability to pass the test so that God’s justice is achieved. It is in everyone’s nature to know God. They have all forgotten their past state that they have reached, and they do not know their state that they will reach in this world. Therefore, the ones who win the race like Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad pbut have merit, and the ones who lose like Yazid and Muawiya and their likes deserve punishment. If this were not the case, then Muhammad pubhap would not have any merit, and Yazid (may God curse him) would not have deserved punishment because the test-in short-would be unfair.

Another question: Does the Imam from the progeny of Muhammad pbut return only once in the World of the Return, or can he return more than once, as has happened in this world with some individuals from the progeny of Muhammad pbut?

He answered:

The matter is with God Almighty.

Moreover, the narrator Faidh Ibn Abi Shaiba said:

I heard Abu Abdullah pbuh reciting this verse: “{Behold! God took the covenant of the prophets}” The Quran Chapter “The Family of Imran” 3:81. Then he said, “For believing in the Messenger of God pbuhap and supporting the Prince of Believers pbuh. Yes, by God, since the time of Adam, and so on. God has not sent a prophet or messenger but that He will return them all to the temporal world to fight with Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Prince of Believers pbuh” (Al-Hilli 1950, 26).

Sayed Ahmad Al-Hasan pbuh was asked about this: “Will the prophets come back in the same order as they came to this world? What does it mean that they will fight with Ali pbuh? Are they all together in one time period, for example?”

He answered:

Fighting with Ali pbuh is fighting with the truth that Ali came with, and with the infallible sons of Ali pbuh that represent him and represent his method. Therefore, it is not a problem for Prophets to come at different time periods in the Return, and for some of them to be in the company of one of the Hujjahs from among the progeny of Muhammad pbut.

He was also asked:

Will the supporters of the vicegerents of God return to support the same vicegerent of God that they supported in this world, or is it possible that they will support another vicegerent in the Return?

He said:

It is another test. The organization of the Return and the order in which these people return is in the hands of the Exalted and Almighty. It is possible that a person will return with the same Hujjah, and it is also possible that they will return with a different Hujjah.