Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah ( ar, النفس الزكية, , the Pure Soul, fa, نفس زکیه, Nafs-e-Zakiyyah), according to Shia Islamic eschatology, is one of the apocalyptic characters that

Mahdi The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...

will send as his envoy to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

before his reappearance which will end the

Major Occultation In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ, ', 329 AH-present, 941 CE-present) is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise in ...

. He will be killed in Mecca and his death is one of the signs of the Mahdi in Shia Islam.

Appellation

Nafs-e-Zakiyyah is a person by the name of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. He is a descendant of

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

. He is named Nafse-e-Zakiyyah because he is very pious and devout and another reason for his nickname is that he will be slain without any sin and crime.

Duty of Nafs-e-Zakiyyah

The duty of Nafs-e-Zakiyyah is mentioned in a

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

that was narrated by Abu-Basir from

Muhammad al-Baqir Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...

. According to the hadith, when Muhammad al-Mahdi realizes, the people of Mecca won't accept his reappearance. Therefore, he will send Nafs-e-Zakiyyah as an envoy to convey his oral message to people of Mecca.

Certain sign of reappearance

According to narrations, the murder of Nafs-e-Zakiyyah is one of the certain signs of reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi. The hadith of

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

mentions these signs: "there are five signs for our Dhuhur (the reappearance of the twelfth Imam), the appearance of

Sufyani Sufyani ( ar, سفیاني) is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology, usually portrayed in hadith as a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief. According to Shia Hadith, Sufyani will rise in the month of Rajab. The predicted location of hi ...

and Yamani, the loud cry in the sky, the martyr of Nafs-e-Zakiyyah, and the earth swallowing (a group of people) in the land of Beyda."

Place and time of murder

He will be slain by the people of Mecca around the

Ka'ba The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...

after imparting the Imam's message to them.

Ibn Babawayh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawayh al-Qummi (Persian: ar, أَبُو جَعْفَر مُحَمَّد ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱبْن بَابَوَيْه ٱلْقُمِيّ; –991), commonly referred to as Ibn Babawayh (Persian: ar, � ...

in his work mentions a hadith of Ja'far al-Sadiq that says the uprising of Muhammad al-Mahdi will occur 15 days after the murder of Nafse Zakkeyah. According to

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

beliefs, Nafs-e-Zakiyyah is a sign that will occur before Muhammad al-Mahdi's appearance, who will be killed between Rukn and Maqame

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

(Position of Ibrahim) in the ambit of Ka’ba. ''Al-Irshad'' contains biographies of each of

the fourteen infallibles The Fourteen Infallibles ( ar, ٱلْمَعْصُومُون ٱلْأَرْبَعَة عَشَر, '; fa, چهارده معصومین, ') in Twelver Shia Islam are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra, and the Twelve Imams. ...

and says the reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi will occur at an interval of 15 days after this event.

References

{{Reflist Shia eschatology Shia imams Islamic terminology Mahdism

Appellation

Duty of Nafs-e-Zakiyyah

Certain sign of reappearance

Place and time of murder

See also

References