Hawzah News Agency- Some of the verses related to Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) and his global revolution are as follows:
The Third Verse:
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذینَ آمَنُوا مِنْکُمْ وَ عَمِلُوا الصَّالِحاتِ لَیسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِی الْأَرْض کَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذینَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَ لَیمَکِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دینَهُمُ الَّذِی ارْتَضی لَهُمْ وَ لَیبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ أَمْناً یعْبُدُونَنی لا یشْرِکُونَ بی شَیئاً وَ مَنْ کَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذلِکَ فَأُولئِکَ هُمُ الْفاسِقُونَ.
Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors upon the earth, just as He made those before them successors, and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has approved for them, and that He will surely replace their fear with security. They worship Me, associating nothing with Me. And whoever disbelieves after that, it is they who are the transgressors.
(Nur (24), verse 55)
In the verses preceding this verse, the discussion is about obedience and submission to the command of Allah and the Prophet (pbuh and his family), and in this verse, the discussion continues and the result of this obedience—which is the global government—is mentioned.
The mentioned verse indicates that Allah has given three promises to a group of righteous and faithful Muslims:
1. Succession and governance on earth;
2. The spread of the true religion in the world;
3. The elimination of the causes of fear and insecurity.
To conclude, people in this era will worship Allah with ultimate freedom, obey His command, attribute no partner or likeness to Him, and spread pure monotheism everywhere.
Points:
1. According to this verse, individuals prior to the Muslims possessed succession on the earth. Who were these people? Some interpreters have considered it a reference to Prophet Adam, Prophet David, and Prophet Solomon (pbut); because the Holy Quran says about Prophet Adam (pbuh):
إِنِّی جاعِلٌ فِی الْأَرْضِ خَلِیفَة.
Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority [= a representative].
(Al-Baqarah (2), verse 30)
Regarding Prophet David (pbuh), it has said:
یا داوُدُ إِنَّا جَعَلْناکَ خَلِیفَةً فِی الْأَرْض.
O David, indeed We have made you a successor and (Our representative) upon the earth.
(Saad (37), verse 26)
Prophet Solomon (pbuh) also, according to verse sixteen of Surah “An-Naml”, was the inheritor of Prophet David’s (pbuh) government and became a successor on the earth.
However, some other interpreters—like Allamah Tabataba’i (may Allah have mercy on him)—have considered this meaning unlikely; because they did not find the expression “الَّذینَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ” (those who were before them) fitting for the Prophets. In the view of Allamah, this expression is not used for Prophets in the Quran; therefore, it is a reference to past nations who had faith and righteous deeds and attained governance on the earth.
Another group of interpreters believe this verse refers to the tribes of “Bani-Israel”; because with the advent of Prophet Moses (pbuh) and the shattering of Pharaoh’s power, they became the governors on earth; as it is mentioned in a verse:
وَ أَوْرَثْنَا الْقَوْمَ الَّذینَ کانُوا یسْتَضْعَفُونَ مَشارِقَ الْأَرْضِ وَ مَغارِبَهَا الَّتی بارَکْنا فیها.
And We made the people who were oppressed inherit the eastern and western parts of the land, which We had blessed.
(Al-A'raf (7), verse 137)
And also, regarding them, it says:
وَ نُمَکِّنَ لَهُمْ فِی الْأَرْض
We intended to establish the oppressed people (the believers of the Bani-Israel) in the land (and make them dominant).
2. To whom does this divine promise belong?
In this verse, Allah has given the promise of governance on the earth, the supremacy of religion and faith, and complete security to a group of believers and the righteous, but there is a discussion among interpreters regarding who is meant by this group.
Some consider it a reference to the government of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) where the East and West of the world will come under the banner of his government, the true religion will penetrate everywhere, insecurity, fear, and war will be wiped off the face of the earth, and worship free from polytheism will be achieved in the world. (Tafsir al-Mizan, Vol. 15, p. 218)
Undoubtedly, the verse encompasses both the early Muslims and the government of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief). According to the belief of the majority of Muslims—both Shia and Sunni—Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) will fill the entire earth with justice, and he is the perfect embodiment of this verse, yet still, there is no prevention to the universality of its concept.
Some say: The word “أرض”(land) is absolute and includes the entire surface of the earth, and this is exclusively related to the government of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief); This fact is incompatible with the phrase “کما استخلف...” (Just as He made those who were before them successors); because the succession and governance of the predecessors were certainly not across the entire expanse of the earth.
Furthermore, the occasion of revelation of the verse also shows that at least a sample of this government was embodied in the last years of the Holy Prophet (pbuh and his family).
It is worth mentioning that the fruit of all the efforts of the Prophets and their persistent preaching, and the perfect manifestation of the sovereignty of monotheism, complete security, and worship, will be realized at the time when Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) rises. (Tafsir Nemuneh, Vol.14, p.530 - 532)
As we mentioned before, these interpretations do not mean restricting the embodiment of the verse; rather, they express its perfect embodiment.
Abu Basir narrated from Imam Sadiq (pbuh)that he said the following regarding the noble verse:
نَزَلَتْ فِی اَلْمَهْدِیِّ عَلَیْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ.
[This verse] was revealed concerning Mahdi (pbuh).
(Sheikh Tusi, Kitab al-Ghaybah, p. 177)
Allamah Tabataba’i (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in this regard:
“…This pure society, with the attributes of virtue and sanctity it possesses, has never yet been formed in the world, and the world has not seen such a society since the first day of the Prophet’s (pbuh and his family) prophethood. Inevitably, if it finds an embodiment, it will be in the era of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief); because the mutawatir (widely transmitted) reports that have been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (pbuh and his family) and the Ahlul-Bayt (pbut) regarding his characteristics, give the news of the formation of such a society. Of course, this is the case if we consider the addressee in the verse to be directed towards the righteous society, not solely Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief).”
Then he continues:
"You will say: According to this theory, you can’t consider the addressee at the time of the revelation of the verse to Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) by saying ‘those who believe and do righteous deeds’, while Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) was not there that day (neither he himself was present, nor anyone from the people of his time)?
In response, we say: This question arises from the questioner confusing individual addresses with collective addresses; because an address can be directed at individuals in two ways: One is that individuals are addressed because their personal characteristics are intended. The other is that the same individuals are addressed—not because their individual selves are intended, but—because they are a collective possessing specific attributes. In the first case, the address does not transfer from the addressees to non-addressees and does not include them—not its promise, not its threat, and nothing else—but in the second type, the individuals do not interfere at all, and the address is directed to the possessors of the specific attributes, in which case it is directed at others as well.
In the noble verse, the address is of the second type,that we explained, and most Quranic addresses—which either address the believers or the disbelievers—are of this type."
(Translation of Al-Mizan, Vol.15, p.220)
In Majma’ al-Bayan, regarding the verse “وَعَدَ اللهُ الذینَ آمنوا مِنکُم ...” (Allah has promised those of you who believe…), it is stated:
Interpreters differ as to who “those of you who believe” are, and it has been narrated from the Ahlul-Bayt (pbut) that the intended meaning is the Mahdi from the progeny of Muhammad (pbuh and his family).
Ayyashi, with his chain of transmission, has narrated from Imam Sajjad (pbuh): When he recited this verse, he said: By Allah! They are our Shia (followers), for whom Allah will fulfill this promise of His through a man from us, and he is the Mahdi of this ummah (nation). He is the one whom the Messenger of Allah (pbuh and his family) said: If there were to remain nothing of the world but one day, Allah would prolong that day until a man from my progeny rises, whose name is my name. He will fill the earth with justice just as it had been filled with injustice and oppression. A similar hadith has been narrated from Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (pbut).
(Majma’ al-Bayan, Vol.7, p.52)
This discussion continues…
Adapted from “Mahdism Textbook” by Khodamorad Salimian with slight modifications.
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