سورة الإسراء

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Rifa'a ibn Musa said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The first one who will return to the world is Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him) along with his companions, and Yazid ibn Mu'awiya along with his companions, and he will kill them one by one. Then the Imam (peace be upon him) recited the verse: ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَکُمُ الْکَرَّةَ عَلَیْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاکُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِینَ وَجَعَلْنَاکُمْ أَکْثَرَ نَفِیرًا [Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Qasim al-Batal narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that the meaning of the noble verse ... ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَکُمُ الْکَرَّةَ عَلَیْهِمْ [Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them] is the return (raj'a) of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) with seventy of his loyal companions who wear golden helmets — [each helmet has two faces] — coming from both sides and informing the people that this is Husayn (peace be upon him) who has returned and come forth, so that no believer may have any doubt or uncertainty concerning him (peace be upon him), and undoubtedly he is not the Dajjal nor a devil, and Hujjat ibn al-Hasan (may Allah hasten his noble relief) is still among the people. And when it becomes firmly established in the hearts of the believers that he is Husayn (peace be upon him), the appointed time of the twelfth Imam (peace be upon him), who is the Hujja, will arrive, and it will be Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) himself who will wash him, shroud him, apply hanut to him, and lay him in his grave — for none takes charge of a wasi (successor) except a wasi and an Imam.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said in his sermon: "O people! Ask me before you lose me and cannot find me, for there is much knowledge in my breast. Ask me before an eastern fitna befalls you. This fitna moves bridled: its crier, its master, the one who pulls its reins from the front, the one who drives it from behind, and everyone who takes refuge in it are cursed. How many are those who raised its tail high, but now wish for its death, existing beside the Tigris or around it. There is no refuge to shelter it and no one to have mercy upon it. When the wheel of fate turns, you will say: 'He has died — rather, he has perished; and what paths did he traverse!' At that moment you will sit awaiting relief (faraj), and this is the interpretation of the word of Allah, who says: ثُمَّ رَدَدْنَا لَکُمُ الْکَرَّةَ عَلَیْهِمْ وَأَمْدَدْنَاکُم بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِینَ وَجَعَلْنَاکُمْ أَکْثَرَ نَفِیرًا [Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band]. By the One who split the seed and created the breeze, at that time kings will live in bliss, and no man among them will die until a thousand sons are born from his loins; they will be safe from every innovation and calamity, and will act upon the Book of Allah and the sunna of His Messenger, while calamities and doubts have been removed from them."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu al-Jarud narrates from someone who heard from Imam Ali (peace be upon him) that His Eminence (peace be upon him) said: "The utmost of wonders is from an event that takes place between the month of Jumada and Rajab!" A man stood up and said: "O Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him)! What is this wondrous matter at which you continually marvel?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "May your mother mourn you! What wonder is greater than the dead who [during the period of raj'a (return), come back to life and] strike all the enemies of Allah, His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) [with a sword or something like it], and that event is the ta'wil (esoteric interpretation) of this verse: يا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَتَوَلَّوْا قَوْماً غَضِبَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدْ يَئِسُوا مِنَ الْآخِرَةِ كَما يَئِسَ الْكُفَّارُ مِنْ أَصْحابِ الْقُبُورِ [O you who believe! Do not befriend a people upon whom Allah has cast His wrath; they have despaired of the Hereafter just as the disbelievers have despaired of those in the graves] (Mumtahina/13). And when the killing [in the world] becomes great, you [because of the prolongation of the period of the occultation of His Eminence Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance)] will say: he (His Eminence Mahdi (may Allah hasten his noble reappearance)) has died or perished, or which land has he gone to? And that event is the ta'wil of this verse: ثُمَّ رَدَدْنا لَكُمُ الْكَرَّةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَ أَمْدَدْناكُمْ بِأَمْوالٍ وَ بَنِينَ وَ جَعَلْناكُمْ أَكْثَرَ نَفِيراً [Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Dawud ibn Kathir al-Raqqi said: I entered the city of Madinah and was honored to come into the presence of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). When I took my place in his gathering, I began to weep. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Dawud! What has caused you to weep?" I said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! A group of people say to us: Allah has not granted you, the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), any special virtue beyond what He has given others, and He has not bestowed upon you any special superiority beyond what He has bestowed upon others?!" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The accursed ones have lied." Then he stood up and struck [the wall of] the house with his foot. And [addressing it] he said: "By the power of Allah, come into being!" Suddenly a ship of red ruby came into being, in the middle of which was a white pearl, and atop the ship was a green banner upon which was written: "There is no god but the One Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) is the Messenger of Allah, and the Qa'im (may Allah hasten his noble relief) will destroy the enemies and raise up the believers, and Allah will aid him by means of the angels." And in the middle of the ship were four thrones of various kinds of jewels. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) sat on one of them, and seated me on one of them, and seated [his son] Musa (Imam Kazim (peace be upon him)) on one, and seated [his other son] Isma'il on another of them. And [addressing the ship] he said: "By the blessing of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, set forth." The ship set into motion upon a raging sea whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, and we travelled among mountains of pearl and ruby until we reached an island in the middle of which were domes of white pearl, with angels encircled around them calling out: "Welcome! Welcome! O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "These are the domes of the Imams from the family and progeny of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). Whenever one of them departs from the world, he comes to these domes, until the arrival of the time which Allah has mentioned in the Qur'an: ثُمَّ رَدَدْنا لَکُمُ الْکَرَّةَ عَلَیْهِمْ وَ أَمْدَدْناکُمْ بِأَمْوالٍ وَ بَنِینَ وَ جَعَلْناکُمْ أَکْثَرَ نَفِیراً [Then We gave you back the turn to prevail against them, and aided you with wealth and children and made you a numerous band]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The first person for whom the earth will split open and who will return to the world is Husayn ibn Ali (peace be upon him). And the return (raj'ah) is not a general matter, but rather it is specific [to certain people]; only those who are completely and one hundred percent of pure faith, or those who are completely disbelievers, will return.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The one who will attend to the reckoning of the people before the arrival of the Day of Resurrection is Imam Husayn (peace be upon him). But on the Day of Resurrection, he is the one who will cause people to be sent to Paradise or to Hell.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Jabir ibn Yazid said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Ali (peace be upon him) and his son Husayn (peace be upon him) will return to the earth once more and will have an attack and battle. He will come forward with his banner (رایة) until he takes his revenge from Banu Umayya, Muawiya and the family of Muawiya and everyone who was present in the war against him. Then Allah will raise up their supporters for them on that day: thirty thousand from the people of Kufa and seventy thousand from among the rest of the people. Then he (peace be upon him) will meet them at Siffin and will kill them all, and not even one of them will remain [to carry the news]. Then Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will resurrect them and cast them into the severest punishment along with Firawn and the family of Firawn. Then another battle will take place together with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), until the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) becomes the vicegerent on the earth and the Imams (peace be upon them) become his agents, and Allah will raise him openly, and the worship of Allah on the earth will be openly [performed], just as he had worshipped Allah secretly on the earth. Then he said: 'Yes, by Allah! And many times over that,' and he indicated it with his hand. Allah will give to His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) the kingship and dominion of all the people of the world, from the day Allah created the world until the day He brings it to an end, so that He fulfils for him the promise He gave him in His Book, where He says: 'That He may cause it to prevail over all religions, even though the polytheists may be averse' (Tawba/33).