Imam Mahdi in the Thoughts of Martyr Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi: Part One

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful

وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ ‎

And We wanted to confer favor on those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them heirs

Holy Qur’an 28:5

The issue of Imam Mahdi — the divine awaited savior in Islam — is linked to every person yearning for justice and peace. As we live today in a world troubled by injustice, murder, and tyranny, we must strengthen the relationship with the Savior (aj) and learn about the opinions of scholars about him and about our responsibility in the time of awaiting. Among these is Martyr Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi (ra), the martyred former secretary general of Hezbollah, who was keen to introduce people to the Imam of the Time (aj) in his behavior and individual and collective jihad against evil powers.

The 15th of Shaban is a blessed day according to the hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and the holy Imam (as), as the rank of this night comes directly after Laylat al-Qadr, the holiest night of Ramadan.

Sayyed Abbas says: “This day — the day of the middle of Shaban — is the day of Imam Mahdi, the Imam who represents Allah on His earth, the awaited proof that the hearts of the oppressed and Muslims all over the world are waiting for.” He adds: “We know the secret and greatness of Laylat al-Qadr, because it is on that night that the angels descend, and God Almighty decrees all the affairs of His servants and His creatures in the heavens and earth alike. That night we know its secret and greatness, but what is the secret of the night of the middle of Shaban? This is what Muslims were asking about before the birth of Imam Mahdi. It is Allah’s decree that this day, through His Imam who was born, would be a happy ending for humanity, as the suffering human being throughout history and generations could find a day in which he could live in safety, reassurance and peace.”

Martyr Sayyed Abbas highlights how Imam Mahdi has prepared the people for the issue of his absence by appointing his four ambassadors so that we — as Shi’a — would maintain a strong connection to our shrewd exceptional leadership.

He says: “The Imam wanted to educate the Shi’a on this new relationship and this new leader with whom they should relate from now on; that is, during his absence, he wanted to teach them how to relate to the jurist who possesses a certain competence and a certain devotion to Allah Almighty and to the Ahlul Bayt (as). This person is my successor among you, people. Therefore, when the great occultation began with the end of the era of the four ambassadors, the Shi’a have not been shocked, but rather they have got accustomed to it, so they have automatically moved to following the jurists, the supreme authority, who is the deputy of Imam Mahdi in the era of His great occultation (i.e. Wilayat al-Faqih).”

Martyr Sayyed Abbas explains the reason for the Imam’s occultation, saying: “You know that the affliction that all the Imams have experienced, including Imam Mahdi himself, i.e. the affliction of the lack of supporters. This is the basic affliction, which was the reason for the eeriness of Abu Abdullah al-Hussein (as) in Karbala, and the affliction that made Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (as) was murdered in the mihrab of the Kufa Mosque, then his son Imam Hassan (as) was poisoned by Muawiyah. So when you ask: Why Imam al-Hujjah has been forced to go into occultation, whether in the period of minor occultation during the days of the four ambassadors or in the period of major occultation? The answer is: due to the lack of supporters. Otherwise, if the supporters are crowded around the Imam, and if the people joined together to support him, the Imam would remain among them, fighting, performing jihad, and leading the [Islamic] movement.”

Indeed, Martyr Sayyed Abbas was very attached to the Nudba supplication that is recited on Friday-mornings, and he used to say that we are the guests of the Imam (aj) on this day. He used to gather the resistance mujahideen in the “Graveyard of Baalbek’s Martyrs” and tell them: “The martyrs are the first to adhere to the command of the Imam (aj), and the first to pave the way for the Imam with their blood. They are alive, they see our gathering, and they hear our words.” He asked the resistance leaders to inform the members of “the importance of this supplication for our path…and the greater the insistence in praying, the more the Imam will respond to us and help us achieve the answer.”

Further, Sayyed Abbas was keen for the children to be present with their families, as he would embrace them, and say: “These will complete the mission, they will pave the way for the state of the Imam (aj).” Currently, most of these children have actually martyred and some of them are still paving the way culturally, scientifically, militarily, and in the media, etc.

He was also very attached to Dua of Allegiance (Ahd) to Imam Mahdi (ajtfs) that is read every morning. When he reached the passage:

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنْ حَالَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ ٱلْمَوْتُ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلْتَهُ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِكَ حَتْما مَقْضِيّا وَبَيْنَهُ ٱلْمَوْتُ ٱلَّذِي جَعَلْتَهُ عَلَىٰ عِبَادِكَ حَتْما مَقْضِيّا فَأَخْرِجْنِي مِنْ قَبْرِي مُؤْتَزِراً كَفَنِي شَاهِرا سَيْفِي

O Allah, if death that You have made inevitably and certainly incumbent upon Your servants stands between me and him,then (please do) take me out of my grave using my shroud as dress, unsheathing my sword..

Dua al-Ahd

Martyr Sayyed Abbas would cry intensely and pray that he would return to life to be martyred once again in the hands of the Imam (ajtfs). The reason for this is because Allah has chose the Imam “specifically to apply the genuine Islam to every inch of the earth, and this is what was not available to all the prophets in history, even to Prophet Muhammad.” This requires determination, strength, and readiness.

Sayyed Abbas (R) adds: “Imam Mahdi will lead this vast change process. Therefore, just as it was required of Allah Almighty to arm Abraham (peace be upon him) with determination, and to arm prophets with high levels of determination as well, our Imam Mahdi is also armed with the weapon of determination. This is why Allah has paved the ground for us with a man who possesses the quality of determination and will, but not at the level of Imam Mahdi, who is Imam Khomeini (ra).”

To be continued in another installment to this series…