Hawzah News Agency ­– It is beyond the scope of this book to speak in detail of each of the twelve Imams. The only question we feel it is necessary to broach here is the belief in the existence of the Imam of the [present] age, his state of being hidden behind the veil of occultation, and belief in his re-appearance, at God’s command, to establish justice throughout the world. We shall address this issue in the following eight articles.
 

The coming forth of a man from the family of the Prophet, one who is destined to establish the rule of universal justice in an age wherein injustice and oppression prevail, is an axiom of Islamic belief, and as such, agreed upon by the whole community of Muslims, the hadiths on this matter reaching the highest level of authenticity, that of tawatur. According to the estimates of the scholars, there are 657 hadiths on this subject, of which we shall cite just one, which has been transmitted in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal. The Prophet said: ‘If there were only one day left in the life of the world, God would prolong that day until a man come forth from my descendants, who will fill the world with justice and equity, just as it had been filled with injustice and oppression.’
 

Therefore, there is complete agreement among all Muslims, Shi’a and Sunni alike, upon the fact that a man from the Prophet’s family will arise, in the manner indicated in the hadith, in the Last Days.

Reference:

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, Doctrines of Shii Islam, A Compendium of Imami Beliefs and Practices, Translated and Edited by Reza Shah-Kazemi, published by I.B.Tauris Publishers, london • new york  2003.

End.