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The Signed Letter Of Hujjat-Allah Al-Mahdi
The final letter of Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the Hidden Imam in Twelver Shi'ism, to his agent Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri predicted his imminent death and announced the beginning of the Major Occultation (941–present). In Twelver belief, the Major Occultation concludes with the rise of al-Mahdi in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. This letter belongs to the Tawqi'at ( ar, تَوْقِيعات , lit=signed letters), a collection of signed letters and pronouncements attributed to the Hidden Imam. Etymology ( ar, تَوْقِيع , label=none) is derived from the verb ( ar, وَقَعَ, link=no, label=none), a polysemous word which often means to fall or cause to fall. itself means a person's name or mark used in signing a letter (signature). Historically, referred to a sign on camel's saddle. In this sense, came be identified with a signature of caliph or ruler on a letter. Tawqi'at is the plural form of . In Twelver literature, the f ...
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Muhammad Al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī ( ar, محمد بن الحسن المهدي) is believed by the Twelver Shia to be the last of the Twelve Imams and the eschatological Mahdi, who will emerge in the end of time to establish peace and justice and redeem Islam. Hasan al-Askari, the eleventh Imam, died in 260 AH (873-874 CE), possibly poisoned by the Abbasids. Immediately after his death, his main representative, Uthman ibn Sa'id, claimed that the eleventh Imam had an infant son named Muhammad, who was kept hidden from the public out of fear of Abbasid persecution. Uthman also claimed to represent Muhammad, who had entered a state of occultation. Other local representatives of al-Askari largely supported these assertions, while the Shia community fragmented into several sects over al-Askari's succession. All these sects, however, are said to have disappeared after a few decades except the Twelvers, who accept the son of al-Askari as the twelfth and final Imam in occultat ...
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Islamic Calendar
The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual fasting and the annual season for the great pilgrimage. In almost all countries where the predominant religion is Islam, the civil calendar is the Gregorian calendar, with Syriac month-names used in the Levant and Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine) but the religious calendar is the Hijri one. This calendar enumerates the Hijri era, whose epoch was established as the Islamic New Year in 622 CE. During that year, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina and established the first Muslim community ('' ummah''), an event commemorated as the Hijrah. In the West, dates in this era are usually ...
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Signs Of The Reappearance Of Hujjat-Allah Al-Mahdi
The signs of the appearance of the Mahdi are the collection of events, according to Islamic eschatology, that will occur before the arrival of the Mahdi, The signs differ based on Sunni and Shia branches of Islam. Sunni signs Mahdi will be the last of the minor signs of the Judgement Day. Therefore all signs of the Judgement Day are also considered as the signs of the appearance of Mahdi. Minor signs # The coming of '' fitna'' ( tribulations) and removal of '' khushoo'' ( fearfulness of God, reverence of God, etc.) Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 0213 # A person passing by a grave might say to another the following: "I wish it were my abode." Sahih Muslim, Book 41, Hadith 6947 # The loss of honesty, as well as authority put in the hands of those who do not deserve it. Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 076, Hadith 503 # The loss of knowledge and the prevalence of religious ignorance. Sahih Bukhari Volume 1, Book 3, Hadith 81 # Frequent, sudden, and unexpected deaths. Sahi ...
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Reappearance Of Hujjat-Allah Al-Mahdi
The reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi is the Twelver eschatological belief in the return of their Hidden Imam in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. For Twelvers, this would end a period of occultation that began shortly after the death of Hasan al-Askari in 260 AH (873874 CE), the eleventh Imam. While the miraculously prolonged life of the eschatological Mahdi is specific to Shia, the signs of his (re)appearance and his career are largely common in Shia and Sunni, and the belief in a messianic Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources. Historical background Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh of the Twelve Imams were held under close surveillance in the garrison town of Samarra by the Abbasids, who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams, namely, Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari. Contemporary to the tenth Imam, the Abbasid al-Mutawa ...
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The Four Deputies
The Four Deputies ( ar, ٱلنُّوَّاب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة, ') were the four individuals who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation (874–941 CE). Historical background Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams ( Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, respectively) were held under close surveillance in the garrison town of Samarra by the Abbasids, who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams. The two Imams witnessed the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate, as the imperial authority rapidly transitioned into the hands of the Turks, particularly after al-Mutawakkil. Contemporary to the tenth Imam, the Abbasid al-Mutawakkil violently prosecuted the Shia, partly due to the renewed Zaydi opposition. The restrictive policies of al-Mutawakkil towards the tenth Imam were later adopted by his son, al-Mu'tamid, who is reported to have kept the eleventh I ...
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Shaykh Tusi
Shaykh Tusi ( fa, شیخ طوسی), full name ''Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi'' ( ar, ابو جعفر محمد بن حسن طوسی), known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah ( ar, links=no, شيخ الطائفة) was a prominent Persian scholar of the Twelver school of Shia Islam. He was known as the "sheikh of the sect (''shaikh al-ta'ifah'')", author of two of the four main Shi'i books of hadith, '' Tahdhib al-Ahkam'' and ''al-Istibsar'', and is believed to have founded the hawza. He is also the founder of Shia jurisprudence. Life Shaykh Tusi was born 995 AD in Tus, Iran, and by 1018 AD he was living under the rule of the Buyid dynasty. Tusi's birth is considered a miracle, as he was born after the twelfth Imam of Shia, al- Mahdi's, supplications. He started his education in Tus, where he mastered many of the Islamic sciences of that period. He later studied in Baghdad, which was taken by Tughril-bek in 1055 AD. There he entered into the circles of Shaykh Al-Mufid as a paramou ...
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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, ٱبْن بَابَوَيْه, link=no) or al-Shaykh al-Saduq (Persian: ar, ٱلشَّيْخ ٱلصَّدُوق, lit=the truthful scholar, link=no) was a Persian Shia Islamic scholar whose work, entitled '' Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih'' (), forms part of The Four Books of the Shia Hadith collection. Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', p.135. Scarecrow Press. . Life The patronymic, ''Ibn Babawayh'' indicates a Persian origin, as ''Babawayh'' is an Arabic form of the Persian name ''Babuyah''.Fyzee A. "A Shi'ite Creed." Calcutta, 1942 p8 footnote 2. For some length of time, unknown, the family had been devout adherents of Shia Islam. Ibn Babawayh's father, Ali ibn Babawayh Qummi (d. 939 CE) was a leading figure ...
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Abu Al-Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Al-Samarri
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن مُحَمَّد ٱلسَّمَّرِيّ, ') was the last of the Four Deputies, who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation (874–941 CE). Al-Samarri in this role succeeded Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti in 937. Al-Samarri is said to have received a letter from Muhammad al-Mahdi shortly before his death in 941 CE. The letter predicted the death of al-Samarri in six days and announced the beginning of the complete occultation, later called the Major Occultation, which continues to this day. The letter, ascribed to Muhammad al-Mahdi, added that the complete occultation would continue until God granted him permission to manifest himself again in a time when the earth would be filled with tyranny.   Historical background Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams ( Ali a ...
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Four Deputies
The Four Deputies ( ar, ٱلنُّوَّاب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة, ') were the four individuals who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation (874–941 CE). Historical background Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams ( Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, respectively) were held under close surveillance in the garrison town of Samarra by the Abbasids, who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams. The two Imams witnessed the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate, as the imperial authority rapidly transitioned into the hands of the Turks, particularly after al-Mutawakkil. Contemporary to the tenth Imam, the Abbasid al-Mutawakkil violently prosecuted the Shia, partly due to the renewed Zaydi opposition. The restrictive policies of al-Mutawakkil towards the tenth Imam were later adopted by his son, al-Mu'tamid, who is reported to have kept the eleventh ...
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Minor Occultation
The Minor Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلصُّغْرَىٰ, '), also known as the First Occultation ( ar, ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْأُولَىٰ, '), refers in Twelver Shia Islam to a period of nearly seventy years (874–941 CE, 260-329 AH) during which the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is believed to have communicated regularly with his followers through four successive agents. This period was followed by the Major Occultation (941-present), where there is no agent of the Hidden Imam, whose reappearance is expected by the Twelvers to fill the earth with justice and peace in the end of time. Historical background Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams (Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, respectively) were held under close surveillance in the garrison town of Samarra by the Abbasids, who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams. The two Imams witnessed the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate, as the imperial authorit ...
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Ja'far Al-Zaki
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Jaʿfar ibn ʿAlī al-Hādī ()( 226-271 A.H., CE – CE), also known as Ja'far al-Kadhāb () in Twelver Shi'ism, was the third son of the tenth Shi'a Imam, Ali al-Hadi. He claimed to be an Imam and established his own sect of followers, to whom he was known as Ja'far al-Zakī (). Family Jafar b. Ali b. Muḥammad was the son of the tenth Imam, Ali al-Hadi and the brother of eleventh Imam Hasan al-Askari. Also, he had one older brother, Muhammad who died before his father's death. Challenge After the death of Ali al-Hadi After the death of Ali al-Hadi, Jafar b. Ali claimed Imamate. Twelvers believed that he was immoral. Baháʼís believe that he was a truthful person. In his defense, his followers claimed that his personality had changed from his youth. Jafar b. Ali's followers came to be known as the Ja’fariyya and al-Askari's followers were known as the Twelvers. After the death of Hasan al-Askari After the death of Hasan al-Askari, even though, al ...
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