According to our 12 Shia Imams almost all of Imam Mahdi’s soldiers are Iranians and few from Sham (Iraq).
Iranians
It can be understood from the
hadiths that a considerable number of the special soldiers in the army of al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) would be Iranians and they have been mentioned in various ways such as the people of Rey, the people of Khurasan, the treasures of Taleqan, the Qummis, the people of Persia, etc.
Imam al-Baqir (
‘a) said: “The forces with black banners that will rise up from Khurasan will come to Kufah, and when Hadrat al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) appears in Mecca, they will pay allegiance to him.”
14
Imam al-Baqir (
‘a) also said: “The supporters of Hadrat al-Qa’im (
‘a) will be three hundred and thirteen persons who will be from the children of the
a‘jam (non-Arabs).”
15
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said that the Prophet (S) said: “God will give your (Muslims’) power to the
a‘jam; they are like lions that will never desert the battlefield. They will kill you (Arabs) and plunder your properties.”
16
Hudhayfah also narrated a
hadith with the same content from the Prophet (S).
17 Of course, the implication of the
hadith is debatable and problematic. Based on the
hadiths, a time will come when the Iranians will unsheathe their swords against the Arabs to spread Islam and make them return to Islam, and they will slay those who oppose them. The condition of the Arabs at that time will be very deplorable with difficult and unpleasant days awaiting them.
Although
a‘jam is said to be the non-Arabs, the Iranians are definitely included. On the basis of other
hadiths, both in preparing the ground for operations to be conducted prior to the advent (
zuhur) and at the time of the uprising of Hadrat al-Mahdi (
‘atfs), the Iranians will have a pivotal role and they will constitute a large number of combatants.
In a sermon delivered by ‘Ali (
‘a) regarding the supporters of al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) and their nationalities, the names of some Iranian cities have been mentioned.
Asbagh ibn Nabatah said that the Commander of the Faithful (
‘a) delivered a sermon in which he mentioned Hadrat al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) and his supporters who will accompany him in the uprising, saying: “One is from Ahwaz; one from Shushtar; three are from Shiraz whose names are Hafs, Ya‘qub and ‘Ali; four are from Isfahan whose names are Musa, ‘Ali, ‘Abdullah, and Ghalfan; one from Burujerd named Qadim; one is from Nahavand named ‘Abdur-Razzaq; three are from Hamedan
18 whose names are Ja‘far, Ishaq and Musa; ten are from Qum whose names are that of the
Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah (and in another
hadith eighteen have been mentioned); one from Shirvan’; and one is from Khurasan named Darid.
There are also five whose names are that of the Companions of the Cave; one from Amul; one from Gorgan; one from Damghan; one from Sarakhs; one from Saveh; twenty four from Taleqan; two from Qazvin; one from Fars; one from Abhar; one from Ardebil; three from Maragheh; one from Khuy; one from Salmas; three from Abadan; and one from Kazerun.”
Then, the Commander of the Faithful said: “The Noble Prophet (S) mentioned to me three hundred and thirteen persons of the supporters of al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) equal to the number of the supporters in (the Battle of) Badr, and he said: ‘God will bring them from both the east and the west to the precinct of the
Ka‘bah’ faster than the blink of an eye.”
19
As you can observe, among the three hundred and thirteen persons constituting the special corps of Hadrat al-Mahdi (
‘atfs)—who will accompany him at the beginning of the uprising—seventy two will come from the present cities of Iran. If we also take into account what has been narrated in
Dala’il al-Imamah20 of Tabari and the names of cities that were in Iran at that time, the number of Iranians will become more than this.
In this
hadith the name of a city is sometimes mentioned twice, sometimes the names of some cities in a country, and at other times the name of the very country has been mentioned.
In case the
hadith has been correctly recorded, it perhaps bespeaks of the divisions and the names used at that time, thus geographical divisions in the present age cannot serve as the criteria to interpret and understand this
hadith; for, the names of cities change over time; sometimes, the name of one city is used for a country at the present time or vice versa.
The other point is that by collating the names of cities (mentioned in the
hadith in question) with the present geographical map of the world, it can be concluded perhaps that the supporters of the Imam are scattered throughout the world and it is possible that the word “
It is because at no time will the earth be devoid of good men; otherwise, it will come to an end.
In other
hadiths, some cities have been especially mentioned. Here, we will suffice to mention some
hadiths concerning the cities of Qum, Khurasan and Taleqan:
a. Qum
Imam as-Sadiq (
‘a) said: “The soil of Qum is holy… Aren’t they the supporters of our Qa’im and callers toward our right?”
21
‘Affan al-Basiri said that Imam as-Sadiq (
‘a) said to him: “Do you know why Qum is named “Qum”?” I replied: “God, His Messenger and you know better.” He said: “It is called Qum because its inhabitants will rally behind the Qa’im of Muhammad’s Progeny (
‘atfs) and rise up along with him (
‘atfs). Along this line, they will show their perseverance and assist him (
‘atfs).”
22
b. Khurasan
The Commander of the Faithful (
‘a) said that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: “…There are treasures in Khurasan but they are not gold and silver. Instead, they are men who will gather together on their belief in God and His Messenger.”
23Perhaps, it means that what they have in common is the correct belief in God and His Messenger, or it may mean that God will gather them one day in Mecca.
C. Taleqan
The Commander of the Faithful (
‘a) said: “Blessed is Taleqan! It is because God has treasures there which are neither gold nor silver. Instead, they are men of faith who have really recognized God and they will be the companions of the Mahdi (Guided One) of Muhammad’s Progeny (
‘atfs) at the end of time.”
24
2. Arabs
The
hadiths related to the participation of Arabs in the uprising of Hadrat al-Mahdi (
‘a) can be classified into two. Some indicate their lack of participation in the revolution of al-Mahdi while a number of other
hadiths mention some cities in Arab countries in which there are those who will rise up to support the Imam.
Assuming that they are authentic, the
hadiths that talk about the lack of participation of the Arabs can be justified. For, it might be possible that there will be no Arabs among the soldiers who will accompany the Imam at the beginning of the uprising. Shaykh Hurr ‘Amili in the book,
Ithbat al-Hudah, has interpreted it this way.
Concerning the Arab cities mentioned in the
hadiths, perhaps non-Arab soldiers residing there will hasten to aid the Imam, and not those who are Arab in origin. It may also mean that it refers to Arab governments and states. Let us look at this category of
hadiths:
Imam as-Sadiq (
‘a) said: “Keep aloof from the Arabs for they will have a gloomy and dangerous future; isn’t it that no one from among them will accompany Hadrat al-Mahdi in his uprising?”
25Shaykh Hurr ‘Amili said: “Perhaps this statement of Imam as-Sadiq (
‘a) refers to the beginning of the Mahdi’s uprising, or it alludes to their minimal participation…”
The Messenger of Allah (S) said: “Great and noble personalities from the land of Sham will join al-Mahdi (
‘atfs) as well as those from the various tribes and lands adjacent to Sham; they are the ones whose hearts are said to be like pieces of iron. They are worshippers at night and lions during the day.”
26
Imam al-Baqir (
‘a) said: “Three hundred and thirteen persons, the same number as that of the supporters (Muslim soldiers) in the Battle of Badr, will pay allegiance to Hadrat al-Mahdi in between the
rukn and
maqam (in the
Ka‘bah). From among them, great figures from among the people of Egypt, good men from Sham, and good men from among the people of Iraq can be seen and the Imam will rule to the extent that God would wish.”
27
Imam al-Baqir (
‘a) also said concerning the city of Kufah: “When Hadrat al-Qa’im appears and proceeds to Kufah, God will choose from behind Kufah (Najaf al-Ashraf) seventy thousand truthful and upright people. They will be among the supporters and companions of the Imam.”
28
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