عمر

And among them Mufaddal bin Umar:

“Indeed the Master of the Age will be aged like Prophet Ibrahim (a.s); (that is he lived to be a hundred and twenty years), but he will look like a thirty-year-old young man.”

Abu Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad as-Sadiq (as) had said: “Al-Qa’im is one of my descendants. His old is like Abraham’s old; one hundred and twenty years. He is recognized and then he disappears for a period of time and then he reappears as a young man of thirty-two years old. Some groups of people deviate from him. He fills the world with justice after it has been filled with injustice and oppression.”

I was present when Abu Bakr died and Umar succeeded him. A Jew from Medina, who was a leader of Jews and whom the Jews considered to be the most knowledgeable person of the time, came to Umar and said: O Umar, I want to embrace Islam at your hands. If you can answer my questions, I would know that you are the most knowledgeable follower of this Book and Sunnah. Umar said: “I am not having this capability, but I will show you one who is the most knowledgeable about our Book and Prophet’s Sunnah and you can ask all you want from him and it is him.” And he pointed to Imam Ali (a.s)” The Jew said: O Umar, if it is as such as you say, what right do you have that people should pay allegiance to you while that person is most knowledgeable of you all? Umar told him to shut up and warned him. After that the Jew arose and came to Ali (a.s) and asked: “Are you like Umar has told?” Imam Ali (a.s) asked: what did Umar say? The Jew explained the situation to him and said: I will ask you some questions and I want to know whether anyone has asked you about them; and whether you are true in your claim that you are the best and the most knowledgeable of nation, so that I may also enter the fold of Islam. Imam Ali (a.s) said: Yes, I am as Umar has told you. Ask me whatever you like and I will answer, if Allah wills. The Jew said: I will ask you about three, three and one thing. Imam Ali (a.s) said: Why don’t you say: I’ll ask you about seven things? The Jew said: No, first I will ask you about three and if you give the right answers, I will ask you about another three and if you give the right answers, I will ask you the last one. If you fail to answer the first three, I will keep quiet and not ask you anything else. Imam Ali (a.s) said: Ask whatever you like. The Jew said: Which was the first stone to be placed on the earth, the first tree that has grew on the earth and the first fountain that flowed on the earth? Amirul Momineen (a.s) replied to all three questions. Then the Jew asked: How many Imams of guidance are there in this nation? In what position Muhammad would be in Paradise? Who would be with Muhammad in Paradise? Imam Ali (a.s) said: This nation has twelve guiding Imams from the progeny of the Prophet of this nation and they are from my descendants. The position of Muhammad (s) is in the best and the most honored location of the Garden of Eden. As for those from this nation, who would be in the company of the Messenger of Allah (s) are the same twelve from his progeny and their mother and their grandmother – mother of their mother and their progeny – no one else will share this.

I came to Abu Abdullah Imam Sadiq (a.s) and wanted to ask him about Mufaddal Ibn Umar. Imam (a.s) was working on his field and he was perspiring excessively. He started the conversation and said: Yes, by the God, except whom there is no god, I swear that only Mufaddal bin Umar Jofi is the man. Yes, by the God, except whom there is no god, I swear that only Mufaddal bin Umar Jofi is the man [having manly qualities]. Imam (a.s) repeated this more than thirty times and I also counted upto thirty. After that Imam (a.s) said: Indeed, he is father after the father.

Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Umar and a number of others came to Askar and were present there during the time Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) was alive. Amongst them was Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Tanin. Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Umar wrote a letter asking permission to enter the tomb. Ali Ibn Ahmad said to him, “Do not write my name. I am not seeking permission.” Ja’far Ibn Muhammad did not write his name and the reply came, “Enter you and the one who did not seek permission.”

I carried money for Imam Kadhim (a.s), but he said: Hand it over to Mufaddal bin Umar. I took it back to Jofa locality and placed it before the house of Mufaddal.

If it is said: Your claim of the long life of your Patron [Imam Mahdi (a.s)] is extraordinary, as according to you, he remains a man of complete intelligence, strength and youthful looks, because he is, according to you, at this time in 447 A.H., a hundred and ninety-seven years old, as his birth was in 256 A.H.

“Islam has begun strange and it will return strange as it has begun. Blessed are the strangers!”

I was with Abul Hasan Askari [Imam Hadi (a.s)] in his house, when Abu Ja’far passed from there. I asked: Is he our master? He replied: No, your master is Hasan.

“I asked Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as): “What will the sign of al-Qa’im be?” He said: “When the orbit will turn and it will be said: Has he died, perished or which valley has he followed?” I said: “May I die for you! Then what will happen?” He said: “He will appear with the sword.”

“Al-Qa’im will rise and he has not paid homage to anyone at all.”

H 87 - Luqman bin Aad lived the longest and he lived for 3500 years. It is said that he lived with seven eagles in such a manner that he used to catch an eagle chick and rear it under his care on the mountain till it became old and died. Then he took up another chick and trained it till the seventh eagle, which was named as Labad and it had a longer lifespan than others.

“The man of this matter disappears twice.” Also he had said: “Al-Qa’im will rise and he has never paid any homage to anyone on the earth.”

“People are nearer to Allah, Majestic is Whose mention, and He is more pleased with them when the leader who possesses authority from Allah, Majestic is Whose mention, will be out of their sight. He would not publicly appear among them and they would not know his place. Despite this they would know that the leader who possesses authority from Allah, Majestic is Whose mention, is not invalidated nor is His covenant as suCh In such a case, they expect relief and happiness through his reappearance in public mornings and evenings. Allah’s anger on His enemies is most intense when the leadership with Allah’s authority would be out of public sight and would not appear to them. He (Allah) knows that his friends do not have doubts. Had it been in His knowledge that they would doubt He would not have caused the leader with His authority to disappear from public sight not even for a blinking of an eye. The reappearance of the Leader with Divine Authority will only take place over the heads of the evil ones among the people.”

I heard Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) mentioning al-Qa’im (as). I said: “I hope that his matter (rising) will be so easy.” He said: “It will be not so until you wipe blood and sweat together.”

Abdullah bin Umar said to me: O Aba Tufayl, you must consider twelve persons from the descendants of Kaab bin Loi as the Caliphs of the Messenger of Allah (s), after whom mischief and bloodshed would occur and people would fight each other [as all those who mention the twelve persons would create a great controversy].

“When al-Qa’im (as) rises, he will recite this Qur’anic verse, “So I fled from you when I feared you.”

the head of Mahdi was presented as a gift to Isa bin Musa, who is among the associates of Sufyani? He also said: Abu Ibrahim (a.s) would return after eight months. Are the supporters of Abu Hamza not aware of his falsehood?

“People will be closer to Allah and He will be more pleasant with them when they miss His authority and he (the authority) does not appear to them nor they know his place although they know that the authority of Allah will never be annulled. Then you wait for the deliverance day and night because the bitterest wrath of Allah will be upon His enemies when they miss His authority forever. Allah has known that His true believers will never doubt; otherwise He will never hide His authority from them for a while. That will not be except with the evilest people.” Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) has praised his followers by saying that Allah will be more pleasant with them when they will miss the authority by being hidden from them and in spite of that they know well that the authority of Allah will never be annulled. He has described his followers by saying that they will never doubt because if Allah knows that they will doubt, He will never hide His authority from them for a while. Praise be to Allah, Who has made us from among those, who do not doubt, suspect or deviate from the straight way into the way leading to blindness and perishment!