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SEEKING MEANS THROUGH IMAM MAHDI (A.S.) IN DIFFICULTIES

One of our important duties is to pay attention and seek means through Imam Mahdi (A.S.), especially at the time of hardships, extreme difficulties and the unbearable diseases which occur in a person’s life.

In such times, our obligation for the solution of the difficulties and to escape from them, is to seek means through Imam Mahdi (A.S.) who is the guardian of our affairs.

Therefore, in all entanglements, especially when our entire existence is occupied by helplessness and distress, we must seek means through the Avenger of the chosen ones of Allah, the Imam of Time (A.S.), and we should understand that all these sufferings and miseries that occur in our lives are the impact of the occultation of his holiness (A.S.). And we are obligated to supplicate for his reappearance.

Majlis (R.A.) writes in ‘Bihar ul Anwaar’ that: Abul Wafaa Shirazi says:

I was captured in a prison and was deeply troubled by my condition. Seeking the Infallible Imams as the means, I began to supplicate before Allah. When the eve of Friday arrived, I slept after offering prayer and saw Prophet (P.B.U.H.) in my dream.

Prophet (peace be upon him) guided him in his dream as to how and through which Imam he should seek means for every demand? Then his holiness said:

وأمّا صاحب الزّمان فإذا بلغ منك السيف الذّبح ، فاستعن به، فإنّه يعينك ووضع يده على حلقه .

“And as for the Master of Time (A.S.), whenever the sword reaches your neck (and his holiness placed his hand on his throat), seek his help as he will surely help you”.

(Abul Wafa says) I shouted in my dream:

يا مولاي ؛ يا صاحب الزّمان ؛ أدركني فقد بلغ مجهودي .

“O’ my Master, o’ Master of the Time, help me! My life is nearing its end”.

And I woke up suddenly and witnessed that the jailer was opening my chain.^[1]

In the book ‘Salahul Momineen’, the author says:

My father said:

 إِن دَنا مِنْ نَحْرِكَ السَّيْفُ اسْتَغِثْ                بِوَلِيِّ الْعَصْرِ مَوْلاكَ وَقُل :

    يا صاحِبَ الزَّمانِ أَغِثْني ، يا صاحِبَ الزَّمانِ أَدْرِكْني

 فَهُوَ بابُ اللَّهِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَالْ          غَوْثُ وَابنُ الْمُصْطَفى فَخْرِ الرُّسُلِ

“When the sword is placed on your neck, supplicate and seek help from your Master, Imam Mahdi (A.S.), saying: O’ Master of the Time! Come for my help, O’ Master of the Time, accept me. He is Allah’s door, the Divine Mercy, the helper, and the son of the pride of all prophets.^[2]

Muhaddis e Noori (R.A.) says:

      Apparently the Prophet’s motive behind this word isn’t that a person should only seek Imam Mahdi (A.S.) as his means at the time of entanglements by the hands of the enemies (whose intention is to kill and destroy you), but it hints towards this point that one should compulsorily seek him as his means whenever hardships reach their final extent, and all the material means and all hopes from the creations has vanished, and when man loses his patience. And it does not make a difference if the sufferings and calamities are religious or worldly, from the evil of humans or the Jinn. This point is evident from the supplication mentioned in the previous pages.

      Therefore, the duty of a helpless and distressed person is to seek justice and help from the noble existence of Imam Mahdi (A.S.), as all the accomplishments and supports come from the divine grades of his holiness.

      If the distressed person cannot verbally express himself due to the seriousness of his distress and difficulties, and cannot recite the supplication reported from the Holy Progeny (A.S.) and plead in their threshold, it is sufficient for him to seek help with his situational expression, i.e. to know and confirm that his holiness is his Guardian, Imam and spiritual Mentor, and the means of God’s grace is none but his noble existence, and he is the only lamp of guidance in the darkness of occultation.

      Thus he should understand and recognize that those who plead in the holy journeys such as Hajj and Ziyarat, none but Imam Mahdi (A.S.) helps them and delivers them from their hardships.

      The evidence that can be provided for this point is that one of the nicknames of his holiness (A.S.) is ‘Ghaws’, which is mentioned in the authentic Ziyarats, and its meaning is one who comes for help. It is obvious that this god-gifted nickname is not just a name and naturally, the owner of this nickname should be able to hear our voices from whichever place he is called and in every language he is supplicated.

      In fact, he should have such knowledge which can help him dominate over the conditions of all the seekers of help and justice, irrespective of their supplications, just like it is mentioned in his letter addressed to Sheikh Mufeed (R.A.).

      He has the power to deliver the seekers of help, in case of discretion, from the oceans of entanglements, irrespective of his condition and the language in which he is supplicated. No one is appropriate for this position but he who has the sublime status of Imamate and who possesses the grade of Guardianship.

      This point is confirmed by the traditional nickname, ‘Aba Salih’, with which he is called between the Arabs (both the urban Arabs and the bedoins). They do not seek him as means, and do not express their grievance in his threshold or supplicate to him, but with this noble name, i.e. Aba Salih.^[3]