Al-Qa'im (a)

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Al-Qāʾim (Arabic: القائم; literally meaning: who stands up) is a title of Imam al-Mahdi (a) indicating his promised uprising in the End Time. Although in many hadiths the title refers to Imam al-Mahdi (a), in others, it refers to other Imams (a) as well, which means a person who stands up for God's orders. Some Shi'as in 2nd/8th and 3rd/9th centuries thought that some Imams or their children were the promised al-Qa'im and were expecting their reappearance.

In Hadiths

In some hadiths, "Qa'im Al Muhammad" (the standing [person] of the family of Muhammad) is used as a title of Imam al-Mahdi (a).[1] But in others it is not used so; rather it is used as generally referring to a person who stands up or rises up for justice. In his al-Kafi, al-Kulayni wrote a chapter under "all Imams were al-Qa'im for God's order". Phrases in hadiths, such as "he is the al-Qa'im of his time"[2], "all of us are al-Qa'im for God's order"[3] and the like, imply that the term, "al-Qa'im", is not specifically used for Imam al-Mahdi (a).[4]

A Title of Imam al-Mahdi (a)

Since Imam al-Mahdi's (a) uprising (qiyam) is the most salient part of his life, this title was frequently used in the remarks of the Infallibles (a). Some hadiths are explicit about this, for example:

  • Imam al-Sadiq (a) is quoted as saying that: "He [al-Mahdi(a)] is called 'al-Qa'im' because he will stand up (or rise up) for the right".[5]
  • Imam al-Jawad (a) was asked why he [al-Mahdi (a)] is called 'al-Qa'im'. He said: "because [he] will rise up when his name is forgotten".[6]

History

In the age of the presence of the Imams (a), some Shi'as used the term, 'al-Qa'im', for some Imams (a) or their children.

Imams

  • After the demise of Imam al-Baqir (a), some people took him to be the last Imam, holding that he was the expected al-Qa'im. According to al-Baghdadi, when Imam al-Baqir (a) died, some of his companions believed in his Mahdawiyya (the promised savior)[7], and according to al-Shahristani, they believed that the Imam (a) will have a raj'a (return).[8]
  • During the lifetime of Imam al-Kazim (a), many people expected him, as the "Qa'im Al Muhammad", to found the right government that the society was expecting for years. After his martyrdom, some of his most prominent companions and representatives in different areas believed that he was alive and was only invisible to people and will soon reappear as the al-Qa'im and will establish the just government.[9] These people were called "Waqifiyya".

Children of Imams

  • Kaysanites believed that Muhammad b. al-Hanafiyya was an Imam and believed in his being the al-Mahdi and the al-Qa'im. After his death, some of them believed that he was occluded and would rise up soon.[11]
  • Some Zaydiyya claimed that the leaders of Zaydi uprisings were Mahdis. They believed that they would return one day and would fill the world with justice. They claimed Mahdawiyya about Zayd b. 'Ali[12], al-Nafs al-Zakiyya[13], and other leaders of Zaydiyya.[14]
  • Isma'iliyya which was formed after the martyrdom of Imam al-Sadiq (a) was branched into two groups: some of them accepted the imamate of Muahmmad, the son of Isma'il, and some of them stopped at the imamate of Isma'il and believed in his Mahdawiyya. They believed that Isma'il did not die; rather his father, Imam al-Sadiq (a), had hidden him from people in order to protect him from harms. They believed that he would live until he takes over the whole Earth. These are pure Isma'iliyya.[15] However, some of the followers of Muhammad b. Isma'il believed in his Mahdawiyya and stopped at his imamate.[16]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ "CF" Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 380-386.
  2. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 537.
  3. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 536.
  4. ↑ Tūniʾī, Muʿūd-nāma, p. 550.
  5. ↑ Mufīd, al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 383.
  6. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn, vol. 2, p. 378.
  7. ↑ Baghdādī, al-Farq bayn al-firaq, p. 59.
  8. ↑ Shahristānī, Kitāb al-milal wa l-niḥal, p. 147.
  9. ↑ Mudarrisī Ṭabāṭabāyī, Maktab dar farāyand-i takāmul, p. 123-126.
  10. ↑ Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-Dīn, vol. 1, p. 40.
  11. ↑ Nubakhtī, Firaq al-Shīʿa, p. 28.
  12. ↑ Masūdī, Murūj al-dhahab, vol. 3, p. 230; Mansūr bi-Allāh, al-ʿAqd al-thamīn fī aḥkām al-aʾimma al-ṭāhirīn, p. 197.
  13. ↑ Abū l-faraj al-Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 207, 210-219.
  14. ↑ See: Mūsawīnizhād, "Mahdawīyya wa firqa-yi Ḥusaynīyya-yi Zaydīyya", p. 127-162.
  15. ↑ Nubakhtī, Firaq al-Shīʿa, p. 67-68.
  16. ↑ Nubakhtī, Firaq al-Shīʿa, p. 73.

References

  • Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-Ṭālibīyyīn. Beirut: Aʿlamī, 1419 AH.
  • Baghdādī, ʿAbd al-Qāhir b. Ṭāhir al-. Al-Farq bayn al-firaq. Beirut: Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīda, 1978.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Second edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1362 Sh.
  • Mansūr bi-Allāh, ʿAbd Allāh b. Ḥamza al-. Al-ʿAqd al-thamīn fī aḥkām al-aʾimma al-ṭāhirīn. First edition. Sanaʿa: Muʾassisat al-Imām Zayd b. ʿAlī al-Thiqāfīyya, 1421 AH.
  • Masūdī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn al-. Murūj al-dhahab wa maʿādin al-Jawāhir. First edition. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1411 AH.
  • Mudarrisī Ṭabāṭabāyī, Sayyid Ḥusayn. Maktab dar farāyand-i takāmul. Translated by Hāshim Īzadpanāh. Seventh edition. Tehran: Kawīr, 1388 Sh.
  • Mufīd, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-. Al-Irshād fī maʿrifat ḥujaj Allāh ʿala l-ʿibād. First edition. Qom: Kungira-yi Shaykh al-Mufīd, 1413 AH.
  • Mūsawīnizhād, Sayyid ʿAlī. 1384 Sh. "Mahdawīyyat wa firqa-yi Ḥusaynīyya-yi Zaydīyya". Haft Asimān 27: (127-162)
  • Nubakhtī, Ḥasan b. Mūsā al-. Firaq al-Shīʿa. Najaf: Ḥaydarīyya. 1355 AH.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Kamāl al-Dīn wa tamām al-niʿma. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1359 Sh.
  • Shahristānī, Muḥammad b. ʿabd al-Karīm al-. Kitāb al-milal wa l-niḥal. Cairo: Maktaba Anjilo al-Miṣrīyya, 1956.
  • Tūniʾī, Mujtabā. Muʿūd nāma. Twelfth edition. Qom: Mīrāth-i Māndigār, 1389 Sh.
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