AL-IMAM AL-MAHDI (as): A HUMBLE PERSPECTIVE
IN SERVICE OF THE DIVINE MISSION
Author: Br. Salahuddeen Abdul Kareem
(January 24, 2019)
My “scholarship and knowledge” when it comes to the life, legacy, and mission of Imam Al-Mahdi (as) is very shallow. I try to live more in the “reality of his existence” rather than the complex theology of his being. It is on this premise that I offer the following perspective.
I can say the following: If we are interested and committed to living in the letter and spirit of Imam Al-Mahdi’s mission, we must try to identify the causes and concerns that impact our lives today. We should not sit passively and inactively while vice and brutality run rampant throughout Allah’s beautiful creation. We know that once he, the Imam (as), reappears – physically and dynamically – in the world, he will address each and every social malady that delivers heartache, pain, and suffering to Allah’s creation – both human and non-human. He will overcome and conquer every distraction and aberration that leads humanity away from Allah’s sacred path. And as promised, he will do this alongside those who are true to their contract with Allah; true to Allah’s prophetic servants, peace be upon all 124,000 of them; and true to the Prophet’s progeny (the Ahlul-Bayt); and true to those brave souls who have carried and continue to carry the bright, illuminating torch of Islamic values and principles from the beginning of time until the emergence of the savior, Al-Imam Al-Mahdi (as).
Unfortunately, there are some Muslims who have misconceptions about the Imam (as), and about how they should live during his occultation. Some mistakenly believe that we are delaying the Imam’s reappearance when we speak against and rise against injustice, brutality, and corruption. They erroneously believe that the narrations from previous Imams about the “earth becoming totally consumed by evil” is the way the world must become in order to “hasten his reappearance.” They therefore believe that we should turn a blind eye to the violence, corruption, oppression, occupation, colonization, exploitation, and other satanic movements that are causing our world endless pain and horror.
This belief, in my humble opinion, is irrational and inconsistent with being Allah’s representative in life and society. We, the Muslim community, have a responsibility and duty of institutionalizing all that is good and wholesome in the world, while simultaneously deconstructing and de-institutionalizing all that is unhealthy and destructive. We cannot assume a cozy-posture along the margins of life while horror, destruction, and death invade and occupy virtually every corner of the world. The victims of oppression are ever-increasing, such as the cases of Uyghur Muslims, Yemen, Myanmar, Palestine, Syria, and many more.
Our world – our dear, sacred world – is profusely bleeding and crying out for help and healing. We cannot turn a blind eye to these escalating tragedies. We cannot dump the societal reformative work on the Imam (as). Let us not forget: Al-Imam Al-Mahdi (as) is a human being with human qualities and characteristics. Obviously, we all believe that he will be supported and aided in his work by the Lord of the heavens and earth, Allah Almighty. However, this divine assistance should not be left exclusively for him to shoulder. We must pave the way for his return with our dedication, labor, commitment, and sacrifices in today’s troubled world, not sit back in a passive and stagnant manner waiting for his reappearance.
