By .A.R.Ghavidel.Psychlogist,Jawan counseling center
Wars have disrupted both personal and national life, leaving in their wake grief, destruction and social unrest. Economic fluctuations and inflation have taken their toll in unemployment, dislocation and poverty for millions of people. Racial prejudice, with its unreasoned feeling of superiority, hatred and resentment, hurts both the individual and community. Urban society with its high mobility disrupts friendships, and loss of extended family bonds places increasing stress on the home. Unhappy marriages and homes broken by divorce bring hurt and disillusionment and leave emotional scars on parents and children alike. Excessive competition and interpersonal bureaucracy tend to dehumanize the individual and lead to loss of meaning in human existence. The human population explosion increases widespread hunger and starvation, cancelling out the advances of the “green revolution” and creating difficult social problems and tensions. Grinding poverty and discrimination exist side by side with abundance and opportunity, leading to social pressures that periodically erupt in violence. The wasteful use of our natural resources, coupled with the pollution of air, water and soil, threatens the life-support system of all who travel on the spaceship Earth. And the ever-present threat of global atomic war further aggravates our anxieties.
Ours is an age of tremendous growth of knowledge and of rapid social change. More scientific and technological advances have been made in the past fifty years than in all previous recorded time. For many people, the pace of change is simply too fast, resulting in what has been termed “Future Shock”. Modern science and technology affect all phases of our lives. Innovations in transportation and communication have broadened our horizons and shown the interdependence of peoples, so that daily we face international as well as national and local problems.
The landing of man on the moon has inevitably placed the earth and its inhabitants in a new perspective, and as we venture farther into the universe, we are increasingly and inescapably confronted with our own finiteness and with questions concerning the meaning of human existence.
Unfortunately, advances in our understanding of human nature and behind our advances in the physical and biological sciences. We know much about the atom and the gene but not nearly enough about love or the values needed for achieving a meaningful and fulfilling life, or for constructing a better world for us all. As a consequence, many of us tend to stumble round seeking answers among diverse religions, philosophies and social provide direction and meaning for living in our contemporary world.
Small wonder that on every side we see anxious, unhappy and bewildered people who fail to fulfill their potential because they cannot find satisfactory answers to problems that seem just too great.
The stress of modern life is indicated by the incredible amount of tranquilizers, sleeping pills and alcoholic beverages consumed in our society, by the emergence of heart attacks as the leading cause of death in our society, by the marked increase in suicide among the youth, and by the alarming increase in delinquency and crime, particularly crimes of violence. In an equally dramatic way, it is reflected in the widespread preoccupation with altered states of consciousness and parapsychology as well as the ample literature on dehumanization and alienation.
The majority of the world’s religions, irrespective of their being divine or earthly, believe in the advent of a savior. The spiritual leaders of different religions have discussed and debated this subject. Divine Man is described as the deliverer of mankind, who will appear at the ultimate stage of the world, fill the earth with justice and equity after it has been filled with tyranny and oppression, eradicate deviation, ignorance and atheism and disseminate moral and spiritual guidance and monotheism. Such ideas can be found in various religions. And in their books. One can even find the various attributes and characteristics of the Divine Man. It also becomes clear that the belief in a Divine Man is based on instinct, as anybody hopesthat the world will culminate in good rather than evil. The following are some excerpts from the books of ancient religions about the Divine Man;
Zoroastrianism, or Dualism, is regarded as an ancient religion. It is known through discussions and extracts from Zoroastrian writing that one of the significant principles of this religion is the belief is a savior who will defeat Ahriman (the devil) after his return and lead the world towards light. In the Zoroastrian book of “Zend”, the struggle between Ahriman and Yazdan is narrated as follows:
“… Then Yazdan(Divine Man will achieve a great triumph, and Ahriman will be annihilated… The world will receive its virtual salvation after the victory of Yazdan. And with the elimination and destruction of Ahriman, the sons of Adam will ascend the throne of virtues.”
According to the above excerpt, the triumph foYazdan, or theDivine Man, is regarded as the success of humanity…………
Belief of Jews in Divine Man
The history of the Jews dates back to ancient times. They have distorted and tempered with their divine books to the greatest possible extent and cunningly endeavored to delete all those portions which prophesy about Islam and Holy prophet (S). Since Allah wishes to illuminate the darkness of deviation with the beacon of guidance, despite such attempts by the Jews, these parts can be seen in their books where predictions regarding the advent of a Divine Man who will establish justice and equity in the world are recorded.
The following are some excerpts from the Jewish books which pertinently describe their Divine Man:
“Because the pious man will inherit the earth, but the accused will perish.” Psalms of David, sentences 22 & 29
This excerpts indicates that the Divine Man will be pious the ruler of a just kingdom protector of the divine precepts. Besides this narration in the Old Testament , says, “If he delays (his coming), then await him because he will certainly come and will not delay or procrastinate his arrival Rather he will gather all people around himself to face all the nation.”
Christian and Divine man
There are plenty of verse in the holy books of the Christians (presently known as the New Testament) regarding the Divine Man .Despite blatant distortions, there are quite a few verses which talk about the Divine Man, as example:
“As lightning shoots up from the east and is visible up to the west, similar is the advent of the son of man.”
“They will see the son of man on the clouds coming with his glorious pomp splendor…”
The Gospel of Matthew chapter 24: “From the above verses, the advent of the Divine Man, the importance of waiting for him and the signs of his reappearance become clear.”
Moslems and Divine Man,Divine Day and Divine Promise
Belief in the Divine man is one of the fundamentals of Islam. Denial of this belief is like repudiating any other Islamic fundamental, and the denial of any of these fundamentals is tantamount to apostasy.
There are numerous Qoranic verses and traditions from the Holy Prophet (S) that
“the only Divine Mane is Imam Mahdi (AS), who will establish justice and equity in the world on that Divine Day and, thus, fulfill the Divine Promise of “So that it (Islam) may prevail over all other religions.”
(Holy Qoran)
1- Imam Mahdi the Holy Qoran has mentioned the aims of prophets; it has cited justice as the chief objective of their mission. The Holy Qoran says:
“… so that men may conduct themselves with equity.” (Hadded: 25)
“The last era is for the pious men.“ (A’raf: 128)
“…. that He might cause it (Islam) to prevail over all religions, though the polytheists may be avere.” (Towba: 33)
And people will realize the truth of the following verses:
“Say (O’Prophet) truth has come, and falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood was bound to vanish.”
2- Traditions: The Holy Prophet (S) spoke a lot about Imam Mahdi (AS) and stated emphatically that Qiyamat (Resurrection Day) will occur only after the arrival of Imam Mahdi (AS). The Holy Prophet (S) was quoted as saying:
“Even if the last day of the world comes, Allah will prolong that day to such an extent that He will delegate a man from my progeny on that particular day…”
(behar-ul-Anwar vol. 53, &Sunan-e AbiDavood, Kitab-ul-Mahdi, tradition No. 4282)
And: “Denying the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) is just like disbelieving in all that was revealed upon Holy Prophet Mohammad (S).”
It can be inferred from the above Qoranic verses and traditions that the purpose of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) is the dissemination of justice. When he arrives, injustice. When he arrives, injustice and oppression will be rampant in the world. There will be only one person who can change the trend, are the same as those of the Holy Prophet (S). It will be the era of the fulfillment of the divine promise that: “The last era is for the pious men.” (A’raf: 128)
3- An Emphatic Command for the Believers: Not doubt that the revolution of Imam Mahdi (AS) will not be an ordinary one. It will bring a sea change in the cosmic order in its wake. It is evident that for bringing about such an unparalleled revolution, his holiness will need a legion of companions who are determined and can endure all sorts of untold calamities in their way.
In conclusion, we raise our hands and pray to Allah that: “O’ Lord, Hasten the advent and reappearance of the Promised Divine man and make it known to the world that he is none but Mohammad bin al-Hassan al-Askari (AS), the only Hope, the only Divine Man .” Wish you, all the readers, a blessed and joyous time on Sha’ban.
