Imam al-Mahdi Government according to the Quran

The Holy Quran has discussed the matter of the reappearance and revolution of Imam al-Mahdi (‘a), without going in to its specific details and particulars. It has also spoken of the complete victory of the pious and the formation of a just and global government.

Commentators of the Quran, through the use of traditions and Islamic documents, have attributed these verses to the Mahdi (‘a) and to his reappearance and revolution. For the sake of brevity, we will bring forward three verses of the Quran that the scholars have attributed to this subject and which are the clearest in their attribution:[1]

1- وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ)[ [2]

“Certainly We wrote in the Psalms, after the Torah: ‘Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth.”

In the explanation of the meaning of this verse, it is worth mentioning that the word Dhikr essentially means anything which causes remembrance. Yet in this specific verse, it has been attributed to the divine book of Prophet Moses (‘a) (meaning the Tawrāt) and has the contextual meaning of being introduced before the Zabūr (Psalms).

According to another commentary, the word ‘Dhikr’ is a reference to the Holy Quran, for the Quran itself, in another verse, has mentioned: (إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ),[3] which means: ‘Verily this is but a reminder to (all) the nations’.

The meaning of ‘Min Ba’d’ here also takes on the meaning of ‘in addition to’; based on this interpretation therefore, the verse takes on this meaning: We, in addition to the Quran, have written in the Zabūr that in the end, my pious servants shall inherit the earth.[4]

The late Shaykh al-Mufīd, in the beginning of the chapter on Imam al-Mahdi (‘a), has referenced this verse, as well as the next verse (which we will later mention).[5]

In the commentary on this verse, the following hadith has been narrated from Imam al-Baqir (‘a): “These pious servants are those very same companions of the Mahdi (‘a) at the end of time.”[6]

The late al-Ṭabrasī, the prominent commentator of the Quran, after narrating the above mentioned tradition, has said: “Traditions narrated by both the Shiʿa and the Sunni schools from the Holy Prophet (ṣ) convey one massage which is If only one day is left of the earth’s time, Allah will make that day of such duration, until He appoints a pious man from the Prophet’s (ṣ) descendants, and he will fill the earth with justice and equity, much like it had been filled with oppression and inequity.[7]

The fact that the coming of a just government of the worthy servants of God, as related in this verse, is promised in the books of the Tawrāt and Injīl as well, shows the importance of this issue.

 Another interesting point is that this matter has also been mentioned in the Psalms of David, which is today a part of the Old Testament. This book contains a collection of the supplications of Prophet David (‘a). For example, in the 37th Psalm, we find the following: ‘…For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the Abundance of peace.’ Likewise, in the same Psalm, we read: ‘…The blessed shall inherit the earth, but the cursed shall be uprooted.’[8]

2- (وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ),[[9]]

“And We desired to show favor to those who were abased in the land, and to make them imams, and to make them the heirs .”

As mentioned previously in the section of ‘Imam al-Mahdi (‘a) Through Shiʿa Sources’, Amīr al-Mu’minīn (‘a), after foretelling the return and turning of the people towards the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet (ṣ), recited this verse.[10]

Muhammad  ibn Ja’far, who was one of the Alawīs, revolted against the ‘Abbasid government during the time of Ma’mūn. He has mentioned: One day I spoke to Mālik ibn Anas in regards to the difficulties and pressures that we were facing. He said: Be patient until the meaning of the verse: (And We desired to show favor to those who…) becomes manifest.[11]

3- (وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضَىٰ لَهُمْ وَلَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُم مِّن بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْنًا ۚ يَعْبُدُونَنِي لَا يُشْرِكُونَ بِي شَيْئًا).[[12]]

“Allah has promised those of you who have faith and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth, just as He made those who were before them successors, and He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and that He will surely change their state to security after their fear, while they worship Me, not ascribing any partners to Me. And whoever is ungrateful after that —it is they who are the transgressors.”

The late al-Ṭabarsī has said in regards to the commentary on this verse: It has been narrated from the Ahlulbayt of the Prophet (ṣ) that this verse has been revealed about the Mahdi (‘a). Al-‘Ayyāshī has narrated from Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (‘a) that he read this verse and said: I swear by God that they are our Shiʿas… God will enact this by their right, through the hands of a man who is from us, and he is the Mahdi (‘a) of this community (Ummah). He is the same individual whom the Prophet (ṣ) has said the following in regards to: If there is only one day left of the life of this earth, God will make that day so long in duration, in order that a man from my family can become the ruler of the world. His name is (the same as) my name (Muhammad); he will fill the earth with justice and equity, in the same way that it had been filled with oppression and inequity. Al-Ṭabarsī further adds: This same meaning has also been narrated by Imam al-Baqir (‘a) and Imam al-Sadiq (‘a).[13]

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References

[1] Ḥākīmī, Muhammad Riḍā, Khurshide Maghrib, Tehran, Daftare Nashr Farhange Islāmī, 1360 Hijrī Shamshi, p. 140-151.

[2] Surah Anbīyā’, verse 105. [

[3] Surah Takwīr, verse 2

[4] Ayatollah Makarem, Naser, Mahdī Inqilabiye Buzurg, Second Print, Qum, Maṭbū’ātī Hadaf, p. 121-122.

[5] Al-‘Irshād, Qum, Maktabah Baṣīratī, p. 346.

[6] Ṭabarsī, Majma’ al-bayān, Tehran, Shirkat al-Ma’ārif al-Islāmīya, 1379 Hijrī Qamarī, vol. 7, p. 66.

[7] Ṭabarsī, Ibid, p. 67.

[8] Tawrāt, Translated in Farsi by William Kilen Qisīs Iksī through the British Fine Bible Society, London Print, 1856 A.D., p. 1030.

[9] Surah Qaṣaṣ, verse 6.

[10] Sharḥ Nahj al-Balāghah, Ibn Abī al-Ḥadīd, vol. 19, p. 29, Wisdom 205.

[11] Abū al-Faraj, Ibid, p. 359.

[12] Surah Nūr, verse 55.

[13] Majma’ al-bayān, vol. 7, p. 152.

The selection taken from the makarem.ir