Disagreement among the Shia during the disappearance

When Amirul Mo’mineen (as) was paid homage as the caliph after Uthman had been killed, he ascended the minbar and made a speech. He said: “Your affliction became as it had been when Allah had sent His messenger Muhammad (as). I swear by Him, Who has sent His messenger with the truth, that you will be confused and will be sifted until your notables become low and your lows become notable. Some of you, who have been indecent, will be virtuous and some, who have been virtuous, will be indecent. By Allah I have not hidden a truth nor have I told a lie. I have been inspired with this position and this day.”

I heard Abul Hasan (Imam Ali) (as) reciting, “Alif Lam Mim. Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, We believe, and not be tried (with sedition)?” and then he asked: What is sedition?” I said: “May I die for you! We think that sedition is in religion.” He said: “People are tried as gold is tried. They are purified as gold is purified.”

“Your talk (about al-Qa’im) disgusts the hearts of men. Say it to them forcefully. Say more to whoever accepts it and leave aside whoever denies it. There must be a sedition, by which companions, kin and even those, who split a hair into two (who are so strict and accurate), fall until no one remains save us and our sincere Shia (followers).”

“May I die for you! By Allah, I love you and love whoever loves you. O my master, how many your Shia are!” Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) said: “Would you please mention them?” The man said: “They are too many.” He said: “Could you count them?” The man said: “They are much more than to be counted.” Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) said: “If the number becomes three hundred and a little more then what you want will happen. Our Shia are those, whose voice dose not pass beyond their ears, nor does their zeal go beyond their body, nor do they praise us openly, nor quarrel with anyone because of us, nor sit with anyone criticizing us, nor talk with anyone abusing us, nor love whoever hates us and do not hate whoever loves us.” The man said: “Then how do we deal with these different groups, who pretend that they are Shia?” He said: “They will be tried, purified and distinguished. Years come that will perish them, a sword that will kill them and disagreement that will scatter them. Our real Shia are those, who do not growl like a dog, do not covet like a crow and do not ask people for alms even if they die of hunger.” The man said: “May I die for you! Where can I find such a kind of people?” He said: “You can find them in the far sides of the world. They are those, whose lives are so simple, whose abodes move from place to another, who if are seen, will not be known, if absent, will not be missed, if become ill, will not be visited, if propose to a woman, will not be married and if die, their funerals will not be attended. It is they, who divide their monies among them, who visit each other in their graves and who never disagree even if their countries are different.” The same was narrated by Muhammad bin Hammam from Hameed bin Ziyad al-Kufi from al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Suma’a from Ahmad bin al-Hasan al-Maythami from Ali bin Mansoor from Ibraheem bin Muhzim al-Asadi from his father from Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) but with an addition: “If they see a believer, they will honor him and if they see a hypocrite, they will leave him aside. They do not worry when about to die and they visit each other in their graves…”

“There will be a very few Arabs with al-Qa’im (as).” It is said to him: “But those, who talk about this matter among the Arabs, are so much many.” He said: “People must be tried, sifted and purified. Much many people will be thrown away from the sieve.”

I heard Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) saying: “Woe unto the arrogants of the Arabs from a soon evil.” I said: “May I die for you! How many of the Arabs will be with al-Qa’im (as)?” He said: “Very few.” I said: “By Allah, those, who talk about this matter among the Arabs, are too many!” He said: “People must be tried, sifted and purified. Much many people will be thrown away from the sieve.” The same was narrated by Muhammad bin Ya’qoob al-Kulayni from Muhammad bin Yahya and al-Hasan bin Muhammad from Ja’far bin Muhammad from al-Qassim bin Issma’eel al-Anbari from al-Hasan bin Ali from Abul Mughra from Abu Ya’foor.

“I heard Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) saying: “By Allah, you are going to be tested, clarified and sifted like sifting out the Zu’an from wheat.”

“I heard al-Husayn bin Ali (as) saying: “The matter that you are expecting will not occur until a time comes that you disavow each other, spit at the face of each other, declare unbelief against each other and curse each other.” I said to him: “There will be no goodness in that time!” He said: “All the goodness will be in that time. Our Qa’im will rise and do away with all of that.”

“That matter (the appearance of al-Qa’im) will not occur until a time comes that you spit at the face of each other, curse each other and call each other as liars.”

“Amirul Mo’mineen (as) said to me: “O Malik bin Dhamra, how about you when the Shia disagree like this?” He interlaced the fingers of his two hands. I said: “O Amirul Mo’mineen, there will be no any goodness then.” He said: “O Malik, all the goodness will be then! At that time our Qa’im will appear. He will present seventy men as liars fabricating lies against Allah and His messenger (as) and he will kill them. Then Allah will make people agree unanimously upon one thing.”

“O Shia of Muhammad’s progeny, you are going to be tested like the kohl in the eye. One knows when the kohl is put into his eye but he does not know when it gets out of it. Just in the same way that one believes in our matter in the morning and recants it in the evening or he believes in it in the evening and when morning comes he recants it.”

“By Allah, you are going to be broken like glass but glass is remade and it returns as before. By Allah, you are going to be broken like the breaking of pottery but pottery is never remade as before. By Allah you are going to be sifted, to be clarified and to be purified until none of you remain save the least. (He shrank his hand.)” O people of Shia, pay much attention to these traditions narrated from Amirul Mo’mineen (as) and the infallible imams (as) after him. Ponder on them too much. They warn strongly of turning away from their Sharia by saying: “one believes in our matter in the morning and recants it in the evening or he believes in it in the evening and when morning comes he recants it.” It is a clear evidence showing neglecting the system of the imamate with all its concerns that lead to the straight path. Then Amirul Mo’mineen (as) gives an example when saying: “By Allah, you are going to be broken like glass but glass is remade and it returns as before. By Allah, you are going to be broken like the breaking of pottery but pottery is never remade as before.” Those, who believe in the doctrine of the infallible imams and then recant it and then they repent and return to the true belief when the mercy of Allah declares to them the purity of what they deny and the darkness of what they enter into, are like broken glass that it can be remade as before but those, who recant the true belief and remain in their confusion without repenting until death, are like broken pottery that cannot be remade as before because there is no repent after death.

“I said to Abul Hasan (Imam Ali) (as): May I die for you! My father died while still believing in this matter (the imamate) and I became so old. Shall I die and you do not tell me of anything?” He said: “O Abu Iss’haq, you hasten (to hasten the will of Allah).” I said: “Yes, by Allah, I hasten. Why do I not hasten where I became so old as you see?” He said: “O Abu Iss’haq, by Allah that does not occur until you are tried and clarified until none of you remains save the least. (And he shrank his hand.)”

“By Allah, That, which you look forward to, will not be until you are tested and clarified and until none of you remains save the least and the least.”

“Once I came to Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) and there were some people with him. While we were talking with each other, he turned to us and said: “What are you talking about? How far! How far! That, which you look forward to, will not be until you are tested. How far! That, which you look forward to, will not be until you are clarified. How far! That, which you look forward to, will not be until you are sifted. That, which you look forward to, will not be except after despair. That, which you look forward to, will not be until he, who is to be wretched, becomes wretched and he, who is to be happy, becomes happy.” The same was narrated by Muhammad bin Ya’qoob from Muhammad bin al-Hasan and Ali bin Muhammad from Sahl bin Ziyad from Muhammad bin Sinan from Muhammad bin Mansoor as-Sayqal from his father but with a little difference.

“Be like the bees among the birds. All the birds deem them weak but if they know what blessing there is inside their (the bees’) interiors, they will not do that to them. Mix with people with your tongues and persons and be far away from them with your hearts and deeds. I swear by Him, in Whose hand my soul is, you will not meet what you like until a time comes that you spit at the face of each other, call each other as liars and until none of you remains except like the kohl in an eye and like the salt in food. I give you an example. It is like a man having some food (grains). He sifts and purifies it and then he keeps it in a store for some time. Then he comes back to find that his food has been worm-eaten. He takes it out, purifies it and puts it back into the store for some time. After a time he comes to find that his food has been worm-eaten again. He takes it out, purifies it and puts it back into the store. He does so again and again until nothing of his food remains except the least, which will never be harmed by the worms. So are you! You are going to be clarified until none of you remains save a very few ones, who will never be affected by seditions.” The same was narrated by Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Sa’eed from Ali bin al-Hasan at-Taymali from Muhammad and Ahmad the sons of al-Hasan from their father from Tha’laba bin Maymoon from Abu Kahmas and others from Amirul Mo’mineen (as). This tradition has been mentioned at the beginning of this book.

“Our Shia (followers) are like a threshing-floor having some grains. The grains are afflicted with worms. They are purified and then are afflicted with worms until very little remains that will never be harmed by the worms. So are our Shia. They are clarified and purified until a very few of them remain, who will never be affected by seditions.”

'The believers are tested and purified by Allah. Allah has not assured the believers from calamities and distresses of this life but He has assured them from being wretched in the afterlife.' Then he said: 'Ali bin Al-Husayn bin Ali used to lay his dead side by side and say: 'Our dead are the dead of the prophets.'

“When al-Qa’im (as) rises, people will deny him because he comes as a young man. No one will still keep to him save the true believers, whom Allah has covenanted since the first Creation.” During the disappearance of al-Qa’im (as), people separate, disagree with each other, become desperate and their faith becomes weak for they find that the period of the disappearance of the imam has become too long. Therefore when Imam al-Mahdi (aj) reappears as a young man, they deny him. The infallible Imams (as) have declared that when saying: “They (people) separate into different sects, walk in various ways of seditions and are deceived by the mirage of the infatuates’ speech. So when he (al-Qa’im) appears to them after these many years, which definitely make one too old, too weak and with curved back, as a young man, those, whose hearts are full of diseases, will deny him but the true believers, whom Allah has favored with His kindness, will still believe in him and keep to him.” They, who believe in all that the infallible imams (as) have said and wait for the expected imam faithfully and with no a bit of doubt or confusion and who are not deceived by the fabrications of the Satan and his followers, definitely will win in the afterlife.