Hawzah News Agency - One of the topics that has always been discussed and debated in Mahdism studies is the ruling on uprisings and governments during the era of occultation and before the global rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief). Based on a few narrations, some have presumed that any movement against oppressive rulers is forbidden prior to the rise of the Imam of the Time (pbuh); therefore, they oppose any call for justice and label it as illegitimate authority (Taghut)!
Here, we will briefly investigate the narrations related to uprisings before the Imam’s rise.
1. The Taghut Nature of the Standard-Bearers of Pre-Advent Uprisings
Some of these narrations generally condemn any rebellion and the raising of any flag before the rise of the Imam (may Allah hasten his relief), and introduce its standard-bearer as a Taghut or polytheist. We will mention only two narrations in this discussion:
Imam Sadiq (pbuh) said:
کُلُّ رایَةٍ تُرْفَعُ قَبْلَ قِیامِ القائِمِ فَصاحِبُها طاغُوتٌ یُعْبَدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللّهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
Every flag raised before the rise of the Qa’im, its owner is a Taghut, worshipped instead of Allah, the Almighty.
(Al-Kafi, Vol.8, p.295)
Imam Baqir (pbuh) said:
کُلُّ رایَةٍ تُرْفَعُ قَبْلَ رایة القائِمِ صاحِبُها طاغُوتٌ.
Every flag raised before the flag of the Qa’im, its owner is a Taghut.
(Al-Nu’mani, Al-Ghaybah, p.114)
Aside from the chain of transmission (isnad) issues associated with these narrations, a researcher examining the content of these narration writes: The call (da’wah) is of two types:
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Call to the truth; meaning, calling people to establish the truth and return the government to the Ahlul-Bayt (pbut). Such a call is endorsed by the infallible Imams (pbut).
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Call to falsehood; meaning, calling people to promote oneself. The intended meaning of “every flag” refers to this second type; meaning a call that is parallel to and in opposition to the call of the Ahlul-Bayt (pbuh), not in line with and along their path. Therefore, uprisings based on defending the sanctity of the Ahlul-Bayt (pbuh) and calling people toward them are entirely excluded from the scope of instances of these narrations.
Some might presume these hadiths are apparent in invalidating all uprisings prior to the uprising of the Qa’im (may Allah hasten his relief); meaning, the criterion for invalidity is not that the call is for oneself or parallel to the movement of the infallible Imams (pbut); rather, the criterion is preceding the uprising of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief), whether it is a call to truth or a call to falsehood!
Firstly: Most likely, these narrations refer to specific uprisings of the time of the hadith and are external propositions, not a universal one, and do not refer to all uprisings. The criterion for being true or false is the call to the right path.
Secondly: Many narrations from the infallible Imams (pbut) completely endorse some of the uprisings that would occur later and before the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief), encouraging people to join them; such as the “Rise of the Yamani”. (Najm al-Din Tabasi, Ta Dhuhoor, Vol.1, p.78)
In response to those who make excuses by referring to the aforementioned narrations Imam Khomeini (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
“These hadiths absolutely have nothing to do with establishing a just, divine government—which every rational person considers necessary. Rather, in the first hadith, there are two possibilities:
1. One is that it pertains to the news of the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief) and is related to the signs of his advent, intending to say that flags raised claiming Imamate before the Qa’im’s uprising are false.
2. The other possibility is that it is a prediction regarding these governments that will be formed in the world until the time of the Imam’s rise, none of which act according to their duty, and this is how it has been until now…”
(Kashf al-Asrar, p.225)
In another statement, he says:
“Those narrations [indicate] that whoever raises a flag along with the flag of Mahdi, raising it under the title of ‘Mahdi’, [is false].”
(Sahifeh-ye Imam, Vol.21, p.14)
2. The Defeat of Pre-Advent Uprisings
This category of narrations are those that express the defeat of uprisings prior to the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief). They point to the illegitimacy of attempting to establish an Islamic government, because an uprising that bears no fruit is intellectually reprehensible.
Some hadiths narrated in this regard are as follows:
Imam Sajjad (pbuh) said:
وَاللَّهِ لایَخْرُجُ واحِدٌ مِنَّا قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ القائِمِ علیهالسلام اِلاّ کانَ مَثَلُهُ مَثَلَ فَرْخٍ طارَ مِنْ وَکْرِهِ قَبْلَ اَنْ یَسْتَوِی جَناحاهُ فَاَخَذَهُ الصِّبْیانُ فَعَبَثُوا بِهِ.
By Allah! Not one of us rises before the rise of the Qa’im (pbuh) except that his likeness is that of a fledgling that flies from its nest before its wings have strengthened, so children catch it and play with it.
(Al-Kafi, Vol.8, p.264)
From this narration, they have concluded that: An uprising to establish an Islamic government is not only fruitless, but it also results in Ahlul-Bayt’s dissatisfaction. Therefore, one must abandon the establishment of an Islamic government before the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief)!
In addition to issues with the chain of transmission, relying on this narration and similar ones for this claim is invalid for several reasons:
First reason: This narration does not intend to reject the permissibility of uprising; rather, it negates victory. If we were to hold that this narration negates permissibility, then it would also condemn the rise of Imam Husayn (pbuh) against Yazid, as well as the uprisings of Zayd bin Ali and Husayn bin Ali (the martyr of Fakh), etc.! But undoubtedly these uprisings were endorsed by the Imams (pbut). Regarding the uprising of the martyr Zayd, Imam Sadiq (pbuh) said:
وَ لَا تَقُولُوا خَرَجَ زَیْدٌ فَإِنَّ زَیْداً کَانَ عَالِماً وَ کَانَ صَدُوقاً وَ لَمْ یَدْعُکُمْ إِلَی نَفْسِهِ إِنَّمَا دَعَاکُمْ إِلَی الرِّضَا مِنْ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ علیهم السلام وَ لَوْ ظَهَرَ لَوَفَی بِمَا دَعَاکُمْ إِلَیْهِ إِنَّمَا خَرَجَ إِلَی سُلْطَانٍ مُجْتَمِعٍ لِیَنْقُضَه.
And do not say, ‘Zayd rebelled,’ for indeed Zayd was a scholar and he was truthful. He did not call you to himself; rather, he called you to the pleasure of the family of Muhammad (pbut). Had he been victorious, he would have fulfilled what he called you to. He only rose up against an established ruling power to dismantle it.
(Al-Kafi, Vol.8, p.264)
Second reason: The lack of victory in an uprising is not a reason to negate the obligation to rise. For example, during the Battle of Siffain, a rumor spread that Mu’awiyah had died. This news caused joy among the people, but Imam Ali (pbuh), in response to the people’s joy, said: ‘I swear to Allah in whose hand is my soul, Mu’awiyah will not perish until the people align with him’. They asked the Imam: ‘Then why are you fighting him?’ The Imam replied:
اَلْتَمِسُ العُذْرَ بَینی وَ بَیْنَ اللَّهِ.
I seek to have a proof between myself and Allah.
(Ibn Shahr Ashub, Al-Manaqib, Vol.2, p.259)
This narration [1] and similar ones indicate that a Muslim must act according to their duty and should not expect to necessarily achieve the aimed outcome.
Third reason: In some narrations, glad tidings have been given about uprisings before the rise of the Qa’im that pave the way for the government of Imam Mahdi (pbuh). Undoubtedly, their paving of the way is due to the success of those uprisings. Moreover, merely preparing the world for the main rise is their greatest fruit. One of the most prominent uprisings is the rise of the Yamani, whose flag is mentioned in many narrations as the most rightly guided flag.
Fourth reason: If these narrations intend to forbid uprising and fighting against oppression and corruption, it would be incompatible with the verses of Jihad and Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil, as well as with the conduct of the infallible Imams (pbut).
3. Silence and Staying at Home
Some narrations call people to silence and stillness, preventing them from participating in any uprising or struggle before the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief).
For example, Imam Sadiq (pbuh) tells Sadeer:
یا سَدیرُ اِلْزَمْ بَیْتَکَ وکُنْ حِلْساً مِن اَحْلاسِهِ وَاسْکُنْ ما سَکَنَ اللَّیْلُ وَالنَّهارُ فَاِذا بَلَغَکَ اَنَّ السُّفْیانِیَّ قَدْ خَرَجَ فَارْحَلْ اِلَیْنا وَلَوْ عَلی رِجْلِکَ.
O Sadir! Stay in your house and be like a carpet among its carpets, and remain calm as long as the night and day are calm; but when news reaches you that the Sufyani has emerged, come to us, even if on foot.
(Al-Kafi, Vol.8, p.264)
The implication of this narration according to some researchers is not exclusive to Sadeer; rather, it is obligatory for everyone to remain silent and refrain from uprising until the emergence of the Sufyani, etc.!
In response to that view, we’d say this: You can’t just apply a ruling to everyone, for all time, unless you’re absolutely certain that the Imam wasn’t just talking about a specific person or a particular situation.
Therefore, assuming the authenticity of the chains of transmission for some of these hadiths, none of them can call into question the legitimacy of uprising and governance during the Era of Occultation. Rather, such narrations forbid and condemn as invalid those uprisings that lack the necessary conditions or are carried out for corrupt purposes and personal desires.
Thus, if an uprising is carried out with the conditions stated in the Islamic Law, under the supervision of a just Islamic scholar, and its goals are shaped based on Islam and Islamic values, it will pave the way for the rise of Imam Mahdi (may Allah hasten his relief). Not only will it not be forbidden, but in some cases, striving to establish it will be obligatory.
This discussion continues…
Adapted from “Mahdism Textbook” by Khodamorad Salimian with slight modifications.
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[1] Note: In this hadith, Imam Ali (pbuh) basically predicts the future. He told his followers that Mu’awiyah wasn’t going to die in the current battle. He revealed that Mu’awiyah would not only survive but would go on to rule over people before eventually dying later. Naturally, his companions were confused. They asked him, “If you already know he’s going to live and take power, then what’s the point of fighting him right now?” Imam Ali’s (pbuh) response was powerful. He explained that his job wasn’t about guaranteeing a specific outcome in this one battle. His duty was to always act on what was right—and that meant opposing evil and fighting the enemies of Allah, no matter what the future held.
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