The present era, the period of the occultation of our Last Imam (as) is quite different from all other periods in the journey of human excellence. Man has made more progress in the last four hundred years than the entire human history. And this progress has not been limited to any one facet of life. It has spanned and encompassed the entire human life from all aspects.The intellectuals of the...
To seek a mediator implies to gain proximity to an individual in order to achieve one’s objective through the mediator’s recommendation and arbitration. One of the duties of Shiahs, in every age, especially during the period of Ghaybat of Imam Mahdi (as) is to seek help through his mediation. Arabic litterateurs define mediation (tawassul) as “When he sought proximity with him through his...
Every religion and community recommends a general or specific greeting before starting any conversation. This greeting is like a practice which everyone is commonly expected to adhere to. Islam has also put a lot of emphasis that when Muslims meet, either in person or communicate with each other through letters or any other medium, they should first convey “salaam” (peace) to each other or in...
A believer should always mention Imam (as) with the best of the titles. For example, Hujjat, Qaem, Mahdi, Sahibul Amr and Sahibuz-Zaman etc. He should refrain from uttering his actual name, which is the name of Holy Prophet (sawa): (M – H – M – D). There are varying opinions among the scholars, as regards the pronouncing of the name of Imam (as). Some have given unrestricted permission, some...
The discussion about the Mahdi has been taken up extensively in traditions – both from sources of the Shiah and the Ahle Sunnah. Several books on the subject have been written over the years on the topic. What is interesting to note is that there were books written on the topic of the Mahdi, or chapters written on the subject even before the birth of Imam Mahdi (as) in 255 AH. Traditions from...