ETHICS OF SHIAS TOWARDS IMAM MAHDI (A.S.)

ON THE DAY OF EID UL FITR

The honourable Sayyid Razi ud Deen Ali bin Taoos writes in a section of his book under the heading ‘ethics of Shias on the day of Eid towards someone who considers that he is the Imam and holds a mighty position’ that:

            Hence I say: when the day of Eid ul Fitr arrives, and if the Master of the government and its issues is Imam Mahdi (A.S.) himself, who administers the nation and the kingdom, and his people hold the character he desires, thus congratulate his holiness for Allah (S.W.T.) has turned towards him and has granted him the power and kingdom. Then congratulate yourself, and all your near and dear one, and all the people living on earth having faith in the Imamate of his holiness, and all those who have benefitted from his presence, his imamate, his grace and guidance, and has gained the benefits of his noble kingdom.

            And if the person whose obedience is considered obligatory by You but he is prevented from ruling the kingdom, then the impact of Allah’s wrath and anger should be evident on your faces, and you should be sorrowful and upset about all the divine grace and favour from which you are deprived.

            Thus, indeed we have narrated from the book ‘Man la yahzarhul faqeeh’ through our own chain of authority which ends on Sheikh Sadooq (R.A.), and from other books with his authority, from Hannan bin Sadeer, who narrated from Abdullah bin Dinar, who narrated from Imam Baqir (A.S.) that his holiness said:

            “O’ Abdullah, there is no Eid ul Qurbaan or Fitr that arrives for the Muslims in which the sorrow and grief of the household of Mohammad (peace be upon them) does not increase.

            Abdullah asked: What for?

            His holiness replied: Because they (peace be upon them) consider their right to be usurped by others.”

I say: If you knew the conditions of the time of his reappearance, and would be aware of how the flags of Islam will be wide open for justice, and the rulings of people will be evident by grace and knowledge, and the riches will be distributed with generosity between the slaves of Allah in His path, and the desires will be fulfilled, safety and peace will overcome all the near and distanced points of earth, and victory will be in the hands of the weak and humiliated men, and the sun of good-fortune will shine upon the world making it bright, good-fortune will spread widely in all the high and low lying lands, and the illuminating order of Allah along with His powerful empire will prevail in such a way that all minds will be delighted, all hearts will be rejoiced, and all place will be dominated by light. Indeed, this Eid, upon whose arrival you are delighted, would seem offensive to you and you would realize how much of Allah’s grace and bounties you have lost, and your heart would be occupied with mourning and grief, and it is appropriate and loyal for someone who is dignified and respectable near You.

            By mentioning these brief points, we have unveiled the reality for you up to some extent but haven’t illustrated and explained it like it should have been done; and that which we mentioned is merely for providing awareness and to indicate towards it. This is because the aforementioned text falls short of explaining that which we intend to explain.

            And you should know that friendship and loyalty for the righteous people while living away from them is more appropriate than the friendship and loyalty expressed in their presence. Thus, this friendship and devotion should seep in the bottom of ones heart for his master; and your Lord is able to solve and remove all your grief, sorrows and difficulties.[1]