زياد الكوفي الحناط

“I hold your hand as Abu Abdullah (as) has held my hand and said to me: “O Mufadhdhal, this matter is not achieved by saying only. No, by Allah, it is not so until (our companions) preserve it as Allah has preserved it, honor it as Allah has honored it and care for it deservingly as Allah has ordered.”

Once al-Qa’im was mentioned before Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as). He said: “How will that be and yet the orbit has not turned nor has it been said: Has he died, perished or which valley has he followed?” I (Abdul Kareem) asked him: “What is the turning of the orbit?” He said: “It is the disagreement of the Shia among themselves.” These traditions refer to the conditions of the different groups that are ascribed to Shiism. They have deviated from the real Shia, who believe in the imamate of the twelfth imam Muhammad bin al-Hasan bin Ali al-Mahdi (aj). The Sunni say when talking about the expected imam: Where is he? How can his disappearance and reappearance be? Until when will he disappear? How long will he live and eighty years have passed since he has disappeared till now? Some of them say that he is dead. Others deny his being born and deny his existence at all. They scorn those, who believe in him. Some think that the period is too long and that Allah is unable to make His guardian live so long in concealment and then reappear again! We have seen many people of our time outliving for more than a hundred years. They have been sane and healthy until the last moment of their lives. Then how do thy deny the ability of Allah to make His authority outlive for more than that and to make that as one of His great signs among His people? Have they not read the story of Moses (as) mentioned in the Qur’an? When Moses (as) was born, a great number of women and children were killed in order to prevent the will of Allah from being realized but in spite of all what the Pharaoh had done; Allah had carried out His will. The great sign of Allah was that the Pharaoh, who had killed the great number of women and children in order to perish the chance of bringing life to the expected prophet, himself had brought Moses up and in his own palace since being a baby until becoming a young man. “Such has been the course of Allah that has indeed run before, and you shall not find a change in Allah’s course.” O people of understanding, learn a lesson and you, the Shia, keep to what Allah has guided you to and praise Him for the great favor He has distinguished you with.

“Al-Qa’im will face (difficulties) in his wars more than what the Prophet (S) has faced. The Prophet (S) came to people while they used to worship stone and wood whereas the people of al-Qa’im will protest against him by the means of the Book of Allah and will fight him by the means of the Book of Allah.”

“The hasteners will perish and those nearest to Allah will be saved! Keep to your homes because seditions will be against those, who cause them! Whenever they wish you a distress, Allah afflicts them with what makes them busy away from you except those, who follow them.”

"Shall I show you the shirt of the Qaim that he will rise in?" I said: "Yes." He then called for a container, opened it, and took out a shirt made of coarse fabric. He unfolded it, and there was blood on its left sleeve. He said: "This is the shirt of the Messenger of Allah (saw), which he was wearing on the day his tooth was struck, and it is with this shirt that the Qaim will rise." I kissed the blood and placed it on my face. Then Abu Abdullah folded the shirt and put it away.

“After one hundred and fifty years unbeliever rulers, untrusted treasurers and dissolute officials will control the rule. Then the merchants increase but the profits decrease. Usury spreads, illegitimate sons will be everywhere, adultery increase, relatives deny each other, the crescent is regarded as greater than it is, a woman is satisfied with a woman (in lesbianism) and a man is satisfied with a man.” A man said to him: “What will we do when such a time comes?” Imam Ali said: “Escape! Escape! The justice of Allah will still spread among this umma as long as the ulama do not incline to the rulers and as long as the pious still forbid the dissolute from committing sins. If they do not do so and then they are alerted and say: There is no god but Allah, Allah will say from on His Throne: You say it falsely. You are not truthful.”

When the Prophet (s) became ill with the illness that Allah caused him to pass away with, his Ahl al-Bayt and his companions gathered to him and said: O Messenger of Allah! If something were to happen to you, who will be for us after you? Who will take charge of your authority over us? He did not respond to them and remained silent with them. On the second day, they repeated this saying to him, but he did not respond to them in anything that they had asked. On the third day, they said to him: O Messenger of Allah! If something were to happen to you, who will be for us after you? Who will take charge of your authority over us? So, he said to them: Tomorrow, a meteor will fall from the sky into the house of a man from my companions. So, look for him, for he is my vicegerent (khalifa) over you after me and the one who will take charge of my authority over you. So, there was not one among them except that they desired for him to say to them: “You will take charge after me.” On Wednesday, each man among them sat in his room, looking for the landing of the meteor, when a meteor fell from the sky. Its light overpowered the light of the world; until it landed in the room of `Ali (as). So, the people rushed and said: By Allah! This man is misguided and astray, and he has not spoken regarding his cousin except by desire. So, regarding this, Allah revealed, “By the star when it descends! Your companion is neither misguided nor astray, nor does he speak by desire. It is but an inspired revelation.” (53:1-4)