Marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a)

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Marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is one of the disputed matters about the Twelfth Imam (a). Those who believe the marriage has taken place cite some narrations wherein Imam al-Mahdi's (a) children are mentioned. They also believe marriage is a stressed element in the Prophet's (s) Sunna; therefore, the Imam (a) must have practiced it. Those who disagree consider his marriage inconsistent with his occultation philosophy, which is to be hidden from people. Some believe that although the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is probable, we cannot have any final opinion about it.

Some believe the Twelfth Imam (a) is married, including Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (d. 1419/1999), Mirza Husayn Nuri (d. 1320/1902), and Ali Akbar Nahawandi (d. 1369/1949).

As an extensive analysis, this matter first appeared in the book Tarikh al-Ghaybat al-Kubra (History of the Major Occultation) by Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr.

Background

Shia scholars disagree over the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) during occultation. As reported in the book Danishnama-yi Imam Mahdi (a) (Encyclopedia of Imam al-Mahdi (a)), this topic has been seriously brought up since late fourteenth/twentieth century,[1] and the first book to discuss the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) analytically was Tarikh al-Ghaybat al-Kubra (History of the Major Occultation) by Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr (d. 1419/1999).[2] However, before that and in the books al-Najm al-thaqib[3] by Mirza Husayn Nuri (d. 1320/1902) and al-'Abqari al-Hisan[4] by 'Ali Akbar Nahawandi (d. 1369/1949) contributions had been made to this discussion. Also, in Bihar al-Anwar there is a chapter entitled "Successors to Mahdi and His Children and What Happens After Him, peace be upon him and his forefathers"[5]

Opinions

There are three opinions about the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a):

Positive

Sayyid Muhammad al-Sadr[6], Mirza Husayn Nuri[7] and Ali Akbar Nahawandi[8] believe the Twelfth Imam (a) is married. Also, in the book Danishnama-yi Imam Mahdi (a) (Encyclopedia of Imam al-Mahdi (a)), this position is attributed to Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi.[9] The arguments they present in favor of their position are as follows:

  • Marriage is the Sunna of the Prophet (s) and Imam al-Mahdi (a) is the worthiest and the most deserving of the Sunna; therefore, it is safe to conclude he has practiced this particular aspect of the Sunna during occultation.[10]
  • There are certain Hadiths and Ziyara-texts with reference to the children of Imam al-Mahdi (a). In the book Danishnama-yi Imam Mahdi (a) (Encyclopedia of Imam al-Mahdi (a)), fourteen such Hadiths have been compiled.[11] Among them is a Hadith famously known as the Hadith al-Wasiyya according to which twelve persons from the progeny of Imam al-Mahdi (a), all called Mahdi, will rule after him.[12] However, according to Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, this Hadith is against Mashhur (a generally accepted Hadith or belief). Moreover, the twelve Mahdis are probably the other eleven Imams (a) in addition to the Prophet (s) who are Mahdis (lit. the guided ones).[13] Another Hadith cited by this group is a narration by Imam al-Sadiq (a), which mentions the residence of Imam al-Mahdi (a) and his family in al-Sahla Mosque.[14] According to those who deny the marriage of Imam Mahdi (a), these hadiths, if authentic, are about his wife and children after his reappearance.[15]
  • There is a report about the residence of Imam al-Mahdi’s family in Khadra island[16] too. However, some Shia scholars consider Khadra island a fabricated legend.[17]

Negative

The arguments against the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) are as follows:

  • Inconsistency with the wisdom and philosophy of occultation: the philosophy of Imam Mahdi's (a) occultation is for him to be hidden from people, and marriage is inconsistent with such philosophy, for marriage reveals a person's identity.[18]
  • It is understood from some Hadiths that the Imam (a) has no children.[19]

Suspension of Opinion

As illustrated in the book Danishnama-yi Imam Mahdi (a) (Encyclopedia of Imam al-Mahdi (a)), the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is an antinomic issue with equally reasonable arguments for either side. Therefore, such arguments cannot be cited to yield a definite conclusion in a historical matter. [21]Researcher in the history of Islam, Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-'Amili (d. 1441/2019) believes that the marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a) is an uncertain matter about which one cannot have any final opinion.[22] Also, the Marja', Lutf Allah Safi Gulpayigani (d. 2022) says he could not find any reliable and authentic hadith in this matter, although the marriage is probable in itself.[23]

Monograph

The book Tahlil-i Mas'ala-yi Izdiwaj-i Imam Mahdi (a) (The Analysis of the Marriage of Imam al-Mahdi (a)) by Muhammad Rida Fu'adiyan discusses different opinions and their respective arguments on the marriage and children of Imam al-Mahdi (a). the research department of Mahdawiyya and Futurism in Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy published the book in 2020.[24]

Notes

  1. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, p. 56.
  2. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, p. 45.
  3. ↑ Nūrī, Najm al-thāqib, p. 402-407.
  4. ↑ Nahāwandī, al-ʿAbqarīyy al-ḥisān, vol. 6, p. 537.
  5. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 53, p. 145.
  6. ↑ Ṣadr, Tārīkh al-ghayba ,vol. 2, p. 64.
  7. ↑ Nūrī, Najm al-thāqib, p. 403.
  8. ↑ Nahāwandī, al-ʿAbqarīyy al-ḥisān ,vol. 6, p. 537.
  9. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, p. 46.
  10. ↑ Nūrī, Najm al-thāqib, p. 403.
  11. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, p. 46-51.
  12. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba , p. 150.
  13. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār ,vol. 53, p. 148-149.
  14. ↑ Ibn al-Mashhadī, al-Mazār al-kabīr , p. 134-135.
  15. ↑ Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, Pāsukh-i Dah Pursish , p. 54.
  16. ↑ Nūrī, Najm al-thāqib, p. 405.
  17. ↑ Kāshif al-ghitāʾ, al-Haqq al-mubīn , p. 87.
  18. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, vol. 3, p. 52-53.
  19. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Ghayba , p. 224.
  20. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, vol. 3, p. 53.
  21. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, vol. 3, p. 55-56.
  22. ↑ Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī, p. 55.
  23. ↑ Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, Pāsukh-i dah pursish, p. 54.
  24. ↑ Reviewed by Mohammad Reza Fu'adiyan; Is Imam Zaman (a) married and has children?(Persian)

References

  • ʿĀmilī, al-Sayyid Jaʿfar al-Murtaḍā al-. Dirāsa fī ʿalāmāt al-ẓohūr. Qom: Muntadā Jabal ʿĀmil al-Islāmī Qism al-Ṭibāʿa wa l-Nashr, 1992.
  • Ibn al-Mashhadī, Muḥammad. Al-Mazār al-kabīr. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i wābasti bi Jāmiʿa-yi Mudarrisīn-i Ḥawza-yi ʿIlmīyya-yi Qom, 1409 AH.
  • Kāshif al-Ghitāʾ, Jaʿfar. Al-Haqq al-mubīn fī taṣwīb al-mujtahidīn wa takhṭaʾat al-ʾkhbārīyyīn. Tehran: Aḥmad Shīrāzī, 1319 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Muḥammadī Reyshahrī, Muḥammad. Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1393 Sh.
  • Nahāwandī, ʿAlī Akbar. Al-ʿAbqarīyy al-ḥisān fī aḥwāl mawlānā ṣāḥib al-zamān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Masjid-i Jamkarān, 1386 SH.
  • Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Najm al-thāqib fī aḥwāl al-Imām al-ghāʾib. Qom: Intishārāt-i Masjid-i Jamkarān, 1383 SH.
  • Ṣadr, Sayyid Muḥammad. Tārīkh al-ghayba. Beirut: Dār al-Taʿāruf, 1412 AH.
  • Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, Luṭf Allāh. Pāsukh-i dah pursish. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i āthār-i Āyat Allāh Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, 2011.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Ghayba. Edited by ʿIbād Allāh Tihrānī and ʿAlī Aḥmad Nāṣiḥ. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmīyya, 1411 AH.
  • به قلم محمدرضا فؤادیان بررسی شد؛ آیا امام زمان (عج) ازدواج کرده و فرزند دارد؟ (Reviewed by Mohammad Reza Fu'adiyan; Is Imam Zaman (a) married and has children?(Persian)). Accessed: 2023/06/03.
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