Signs preceding the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s)

I heard from an elder that Saif bin Umaira narrated: Once I was in the company of Abu Ja’far Mansur Dawaniqi. I heard him say: O Saif bin Umaira, it is inevitable that the name of a man from the descendants of Abu Talib will be announced from the sky. I asked: Has someone reported a tradition about it? He replied: By the one in whose control my life is, I have directly heard that an announcement will be made from the sky in the name of a person. I said: O chief of believers, but I have never heard any such report? He replied: O Saif, when there is such an announcement, I will be the first to harken to it, except that it would be in favor of one of my cousins. I asked: Which cousins. Mansur said: From the descendants of Lady Fatima (s). Then he said: O Saif, if I had not heard this from Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali (a.s) I would not have believed it even if the whole world had stated thus.

“The hour will not arise until the Mahdi from my descendants comes forth. The Mahdi will not come forth until sixty liars come forward, all of them declaring: I am a prophet.”

I said to Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s): Your respected father, Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s) used to state that the coming of Sufyani is inevitable, the call from the sky is inevitable, the rising of the sun from the west is inevitable and he used to mention the same about many things. Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) said: And mutual discord in Bani so-and-so is inevitable, killing of Nafse Zakiyyah is inevitable and the rising of Imam Qaim is also inevitable. I asked: What the call from the sky would be? A caller will call out from the sky in the morning: Know that the truth is with Imam Ali (a.s) and his Shia. And then in the evening the Iblis will call out from the sky: Know that the truth is with Uthman and his followers. This call from Iblis would make the people of falsehood fall into doubts.

“Ten things are inevitable before Judgment Day: Sufyani, Dajjal, Smoke, Daabba, advent of the Qaim, rising of the sun from the west, splitting of the earth in the east, descent of Isa (a.s), splitting of the earth in the Arabian Gulf, rising of a fire from the sea of Adn, which will herd the people towards the field of gathering (Mahshar).”

“Five signs will become visible before the reappearance of the Qaim: Call from the sky, advent of Sufyani, splitting of the earth in the desert, advent of Yamani and killing of Nafse Zakiyyah (the pure soul).”

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) said: “The Qaim will not come forth until twelve of the Bani Hashim come forth before him, all of them summoning men to themselves.”

I heard binte Hasan bin Ali (a.s) say: “The matter, for which you are waiting for, will not occur till you do not get fed up of each other, till you don’t curse each other, till you don’t spit at each other’s face and call each other disbelievers.” I (the narrator) said: “There is nothing positive about it!” He said: “There is indeed, because at that time our Qaim will reappear and all that will end.”

“Before the Qaim, there will be red death and white death; there will be locusts at their usual time and at their unusual time like the colors of blood. As for red death it is (from) the sword, while the white death is (from) plague.”

in a long tradition, which we have condensed here as follows: “It is inevitable that a terrible mischief will arise, in which all the secrets will be exposed and it will happen at a time when the Shia will be deprived of my third descendant; that is after the passing away of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) on which the folks of the earth and the sky will mourn. And how many will be aggrieved by the disappearance of the spring of sweet water. As if I can see their worried state, when there will be a call for them, which the whole world would be able to hear clearly. This call will be a mercy to the believers and chastisement to the disbelievers. I asked: What that call would be? He replied: Three calls will be issued in the month of Rajab. The first will say: Know that, curse of Allah is on the unjust. The second call will say: The near event draws nigh. O community of believers. At the time of the third call, a shape will be seen in the sun and a voice will say: This is Amirul Momineen; he will repeatedly attack the oppressors. And in another report Himyari has said that a shape will become visible in the sun and it will say: The Almighty Allah has sent so-and-so; listen to him and obey him. And at that time, people will get deliverance and peace and even the dead will wish to have been alive and the hearts of the believers will become free of grief.”

“The call from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s) of your Prophet will come during the end of time. Thus, hold on to the earth and keep quiet until you see its leader (of the call). When the Turks confront the Romans, and battles shall increase all over the world; a caller will call out from the walls of Damascus: "Woe to the one who is near from the approaching evil!", and the wall of the mosque (of Damascus) will collapse.”

Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah about the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s) and he said: “How is it possible so soon? The cruel time has not yet arrived. How is it possible so soon? As yet brothers have not started oppressing brothers. How is it possible so soon? The ruler of the time has not started oppressing. How is it possible so soon? The atheists have not staged an uprising from Qazwin. That they may halt their progress; who may change their town shelters, who destroys their joys, who apprehends those who try to flee from them, who kills those who come out to fight them, those who recede to solitude become needful, one who obeys them becomes a denier; so much so that there will finally be two kinds of mourners: One who will mourn for their religion and another, who will mourn for their world.”

“Stay close to the ground and do not move your hands or feet until you witness the signs that I mention to you, and I don’t think that you will live until that time: The descendats of so-and-so will disintegrate into groups, a caller will call out from the sky and his voice will come to you from the direction of Damascus with victory, one of your villages in the region of al-Sham (greater Syria) named Jabia would cave into the ground, the brothers of the Turks will rise up in Jazira, and the remnants of the Romans will attack Ramla. In that year, there will be much disagreement in every land, from the direction of the Maghrib (the West). The first land to be ruined will be al-Sham. The cause of its destruction will be the meeting of three standards there; the standard of the Red, the standard of the Spotted and the standard of the Sufyani.”

“It will rain twenty-four times in the year in which Imam Mahdi (a.s) will reappear; and its effects and bounties would be clear.”

“When the owner of Ain [A’] from Bani Abbas comes to the throne; that is Abdullah, then this rule will begin with a person named Abdullah and end with a person named Abdullah. He will be the key to calamities and the sword of annihilation. When his announcement will be read in the evening, that: From the slave of Allah, Abdullah, the chief of believers, to the people of Syria: You will immediately come to know that the same is being announced from the pulpit of Egypt: From the slave of Allah, Abdullah, the chief of believers, to the people of Egypt…” When this happens, it will be the time of the decline of the kingdom of Bani Abbas. When this announcement is made by Bani Abbas in the morning, in the name of Abdullah you should wait till this announcement is made in the evening, in the name of Abdur Rahman and the latter will attack Abdullah in the cruelest way.”

“I said to Ali bin Husain (a.s): Describe to me the rise of Mahdi and tell me about his proofs and signs. He said: Before his advent, a man will appear whose name is Auf Salmi, in the land of Jazira, who will stay in Tikrit and will be killed in the Masjid of Damascus; after that will appear Shuaib bin Salih from Samarqand. At that time will appear the accursed Sufyani from the valley of Yabis, and he would be from the progeny of Utbah bin Abu Sufyan; and when Sufyani appears, the Mahdi will go into occultation, after that he will appear again.”

“A man will rise up from Qazwin, whose name will be same as the name of a Prophet. People will make haste in accepting his authority; but the mountains will be full of disbelievers and believers due to his fear.”

Abu Ja'far (a.s) said: “Two signs will occur before the Qa'im (a.s), they both never occurred since Adam (AS) came down to Earth: there will be a solar eclipse in the middle of the month of Ramadan, and a lunar eclipse at the end of it.” So a man said: “Oh son of Allah’s Messenger, doesn't a solar eclipse (usually) occur at the end of the month and lunar eclipse in the middle of it?” Abu Ja'far (AS) replied: “I know what you are saying, but they are both signs which have not occurred since Adam (AS) came down.”

I heard Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) say: “There will be only a gap of fifteen days between the rising of the Qaim of Aale Muhammad and the killing of the Pure Soul (Nafse Zakiyyah).”

“I asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s): When will this event occur? He replied: Jabir, it will occur at a time when killing between Hira and Kufa is considerable.”

“When the wall of the mosque of Kufa, which adjoins the house of Abdullah bin Masud is destroyed, at that time the kingdom of Bani Abbas would decline. And know that one who demolishes that wall would not rebuild it.”

“There will be three appearances in one year, one month and one day – the Sufyani, the Khurasani and the Yamani. The standard of guidance will not be among them, except the standard of the Yamani, because he will summon (people) to the truth.”

“Misri and Yamani will appear before Sufyani.”

I heard Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) say: “I am prepared to guarantee Imam Qaim to one who guarantees the death of Abdullah; because after the death of Abdullah, the Muslims will not have consensus on any one person and this matter will not end, except with your Imam. If Allah wills, the kingdom running into years will end and the kingdom running into days and months will begin.” I (the narrator) asked: “Would this matter be prolonged?” He replied: “Definitely not.”

“The kingdom of Bani so-and-so cannot decline till the two swords of so-and-so do not clash. When they clash, their kingdom will begin to decline.”

“Among the signs of the relief is an event, which will occur between the two mosques (of Mecca and Medina). So-and-so from the descendants of so-and-so will kill fifteen leaders of the Arabs.”

“The kingdom of these men will not disappear until they slaughter people in Kufa on Friday. It is as if I was looking at heads falling between the Gate of al-Feel and (the place of) the soap-sellers.

A man asked Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s) about the reappearance and he asked in return: “Do you want most of it or shall I give you a summary?” “Would you give me a summary?” he said. “(It will be) when the standards of Qays are carried in Egypt and the standards of Kinda in Khurasan,” he replied.

“The year preceding the reappearance of Imam Qaim (a.s) will be so verdant that dates will rot on the trees and there will be no one to pick them. Have no doubt about it.”

“The people of Abyssinia will demolish the Kaaba; the Black Stone will be taken away and fixed in the Kufa Mosque.”

I heard His Eminence, Abu Abdullah Sadiq (a.s) say: “After the Sufyani gets control over five provinces he would rule equal to the duration of pregnancy of a woman.” Then he said: “I seek forgiveness of Allah, he would rule for the duration of pregnancy of a camel. And his matter is inevitable.”

“As if I can see the Sufyani or a representative of Sufyani camped outside Kufa and his statements are being announced to the people: Anyone who brings a severed head of a Shia of Ali (a.s) would be rewarded a thousand Dirhams. Then a neighbor would attack his neighbor and say: ‘he is from them’, and he would cut off his head and collect a thousand Dirhams. And indeed the rulership and kingdom at that time would not be in the control of anyone, except the illegitimate born. As if I can see the veiled one. I asked: ‘Who is the veiled one?’ He replied: ‘He is a man from you who would be talking just like you. He would be veiled and he would identify each of you so that you may be captured, he is not, but a bastard.”

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) said: “The Almighty Allah will assist Imam Mahdi (a.s) through people who have no religion and faith. When he reappears, there will be people who had till date been idolaters, but they will give up idolatry and join the Imam.”

“Judgment Day will not arrive till all the believers do not gather in Kufa.”

“In the year of the reappearance, there will be such a terrible flood in the Euphrates that even the lanes of Kufa will be inundated.”

"In the year of the conquest, the Euphrates will split until it enters the streets of Kufa."

“The name of Imam Qaim (a.s) will be announced on the 23rd night and he will reappear on the day of Ashura, on which Imam Husain (a.s) was martyred.”

“As if I can see the Qaim (a.s) on the day of Ashura, on Saturday standing between the Rukn and Maqam and Jibraeel is announcing before him: Allegiance is for Allah. Then he would fill the earth with justice and equity, like it would have been fraught with injustice and oppression.”

The Qaim will not reappear, except in an odd year, like 9, 3, 5 and 1.

I asked: “How will it be announced?” He replied: “A caller will call out from the sky in the morning: Know that the truth is with Imam Ali (a.s) and his Shia. And then in the evening, Iblis will call out from the sky: Know that the truth is with Uthman and his followers.” At this time people of falsehood would fall into doubt.

“A caller will announce the name of Imam Qaim (a.s) from the sky, which will be heard by all the people of the world; which will awaken the sleeping ones; those who are standing will sit up and those who sit will stand up and this voice will be that of His Eminence, Jibraeel (a.s).”

I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say when Imam Mahdi (a.s) was mentioned in his presence: “Indeed his allegiance will be given between Rukn and Maqam. He has three names: Ahmad, Abdullah and Mahdi.”

When the Qaim enters Kufa, no believer would remain, but that he would be in Kufa or that he would move to Kufa. It is also mentioned in the discourse of Amirul Momineen (a.s) that Imam Mahdi (a.s) would address his companions: Come and join us to march against this transgressor [Sufyani, Dajjal and every tyrant who confronts the Imam].

“There will be occultation for the master of this affair. During this time those who remain attached to their religion will be like those who rub their hands on a thorny branch. Then he gestured and said: There is occultation for the master of this affair and every person is duty-bound to fear Allah and remain attached to his religion.”

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Blessed be those, who are fortunate to live during the time of Qaim of my Ahle Bayt; those who would believe in him during his occultation and before his advent; who would love his friends and remain aloof from his enemies. Such people would be my closest ones and my friends on Judgment Day.” (According to the tradition of Rufaa) “And the most respected creatures of Allah in my view.”

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: “Very soon will come a people after you, each of whom will be eligible for fifty times your reward. They said: O Messenger of Allah (s), we lived in your company, fought the Badr, Uhad and Hunain battles with you and the Holy Quran came down among us? The Prophet said: Indeed, if you were to face what they faced, you will not be as patient as them.”

“The most proximate servants of Allah and those with whom Allah is pleased are those who when the proof of Allah disappears from sight and they don’t know about his location, yet they continue to have faith that the Proof of Allah can never be invalid and day and night they continue to wait for him. And the wrath of Allah is on those of His enemies who when the proof of Allah disappears from sight, they fall into doubts and denial. He (Allah) knew that His special servants will never fall into doubts and if it were not so, He would not have taken away His Proof from their sight even for a moment. These doubts will reign supreme over the hearts of evil ones.”

“Why are you waiting so eagerly? Why are you so hasty? Are you not in peace and security? Does not one of you who leaves his house for some need return safely? Whereas in the past whenever one of your co-religionist left his house, he was immediately apprehended and his limbs were amputed and he was impaled on a date palm; he was sawn into half without being told what his fault was.” After that he recited the following verse: “Or do you think that you would enter the garden while yet the state of those who have passed away before you has not come upon you; distress and affliction befell them and they were shaken violently, so that the Apostle and those who believed with him said: When will the help of Allah come? Now surely the help of Allah is nigh!” (2:214)

When the Qaim rises up, someone will come and announce in the grave of every believer: Your Imam has risen, if you want to join, you may do so. Otherwise you may continue to lie in the mercy of God.”

“I asked His Eminence, Abul Hasan Musa bin Ja’far (a.s) regarding relief (Faraj). He replied: Don’t you know that waiting for the Faraj is Faraj? I asked: I don’t know anything, except what you have taught. He replied: Yes, waiting for the Faraj is (also) a kind of Faraj.”

“Obtain recognition of your Imam. If you are able to gain their recognition, it will not make any difference whether the period of their rule comes earlier or later. If one is able to gain the cognition of his Imam and he dies before his rule, and the reappearance of the Imam comes later, he would also be rewarded as one who is present in the Imam’s army.”

“Why are you impatient for the advent of Qaim (a.s)? By Allah, there will be no garments, except the coarse ones and no food, except barley with bran. His advent is not, except with the sword and death under the shade of the sword.”

“One who believes in occultation and reappearance, but dies before the advent of Imam Mahdi (a.s) it is as if he has died fighting alongside the Imam.”

If Almighty Allah wishes, He has the right to admit the deviated ones to Paradise and it is preferable for Him and not a defect. Zurarah asked: May I be your ransom, how is that possible? Imam (a.s) replied: The speaking one [Imam] passes away and the silent one also does not say anything. On the basis of this a person who dies between these two in this period would be admitted to Paradise by Almighty Allah.

Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) said: “After that there will be a terrible earthquake in Shaam, which will be a blessing for the believers, but a punishment for disbelievers. A hundred thousand will die because of it. When this happens, you will see the companions of Barazeen; an army mounted on red horses coming from the west, waving a yellow flag and entering Shaam. When this happens, you will see a village of Shaam, [named Harasta] cave into the earth. When this also happens, you will witness the rising of Sufyani, the son of Hind, the liver-eater from the Yabis Valley.”

Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s) asked: “How long will the rule of Sufyani last?” I replied: “For the duration of a normal human pregnancy (nine months).” Imam (a.s) said: “O people of Kufa, how knowledgeable you are about this matter!”

“Sufyani will come from the Roman area in the disguise of a Christian, wearing a cross and leading a group.”

“The rule of the Ahle Bayt (a.s) of your Prophet shall be there in the last period of time and there are some signs for it; you should sit tight and keep quiet until you see them. When Rome and Turks attack you; when armies are prepared and that Caliph of yours, who hoards wealth, passes away. He is succeeded by an honest person, but within a few years of his allegiance, he is dismissed from where he was appointed (from Khorasan). Turks and Rome confront each other and battles rage everywhere. A caller will call out from the war shelters of Damascus: Perdition is near for humans. The western portion of the Masjid of Damascus caves in and its boundary walls collapse. Three groups will set out from Damascus to seize power. One would be led by a person on a piebald horse, another on a red horse and a man from the descendants of Abu Sufyan would rise up from the province of Kalab; who would bring all the people to Damascus and expel the people of the west to Egypt. When they enter Damascus, it would be the sign for the uprising of Sufyani and before that a person would stage an uprising and call the people to Aale Muhammad (a.s). The Turks would camp in Hira and the Romans would camp at Palestine and Abdullah would march forward till both the armies come face to face at Qurqisiya and a severe battle would ensue at the river banks. When the king of the west marches, he would kill the men and captivate the women. Then he would return to Qays till Sufyani enters the peninsula. Then Yamani would move and take over whatever the people had gathered. Then he would come to Kufa and slay the followers and supporters of Aale Muhammad (a.s); on the contrary, he would also slay the one who is named after them. After that Imam Mahdi (a.s) would arise and his standard would be held by Shuaib bin Salih. When Syrians realize that their country has come under the rule of the descendant of Abu Sufyan, they would go to Mecca. Nafse Zakiyyah and his brother would be killed at that time. A call would be raised from the sky: Your chief (Amir) is so-and-so [that is Imam Mahdi (a.s)], who would fill up the earth with justice and equity, as it would be fraught with injustice and oppression.”

he heard his father say: “Nafse Zakiyyah (the pure soul) is a young man from the Progeny of Muhammad (s), his name is Muhammad bin Hasan, who would be killed without any crime and sin and when they slay him, they shall neither have any excuse in the heavens nor would they have any friend in the earth. At that time the Almighty Allah will send the Qaim of Aale Muhammad with a group that in the view of the people would be softer than antimony. When they come out, the people will weep at their condition as they would think that they would very soon be eliminated at the hands of the enemies. However, the Almighty Allah will conquer the easts and the wests of the earth for them. Know that they are the true believers. Know that the best of the Jihads shall be in the last period of time.”

‘What is nauma, O Chief of believers?’ He said: ‘He is the one who does not know the people and people do not know him.’

“The Mahdi will not reappear till a sign appears with the Sun.”