Is the uprising of the Yamani one of the immutable signs of Imam Mahdi’s reappearance? (question)

From Imamatpedia
Comprehensive Data Bank of Q & A's about Mahdism
Upper entryMahdism / Preconditions for the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a) / Signs of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a)
Main entryUprising of the Yamani

Short Comprehensive Answer

Narrated traditions that speak only about the Yamani’s uprising

• One of the immutable signs of Imam Mahdi’s reappearance is the uprising of a leader from amongst the people of Yemen who will invite the masses towards truth and justice. Shi’ah source texts contain numerous narrated traditions in this regard.[1] However, the narrated traditions about the Yamani’s uprising fall into several different categories. These are as follows:

• One group of narrated traditions only speak about the Yamani’s uprising without mentioning any details about this incident. For instance, Imam Sadiq (a) is reported to have said :[2] “There will be three uprisings in the same year, in the same month and the same day: the (uprisings of the) Khurasani, the (uprising of the) Sufyani and the (uprising of the) Yamani. None of the standards will be more rightly-guided than the standard of the Yamani, who will guide towards the truth.”[3]

Narrated traditions that speak of the Yamani’s uprising as one of the signs of Imam Mahdi’s reappearance

• The second group of narrated traditions mention the Yamani’s uprising as one of the signs of Imam Mahdi’s return. Two of these narrations explicitly state the immutability of this particular sign. In the first of these two traditions, Imam Sadiq (a) is reported to have said :[4] “The celestial proclamation is immutable, the (appearance of the) Sufyani is immutable, the (uprising of the) Yamani is immutable, the murder of al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is immutable, and the emergence of a celestial hand from the sky is immutable.”[5] While analysing this narrated tradition, a couple of points must be noted. Firstly, the chain of transmission for this tradition is weak.[6] Secondly, the same narration is also present within books such as Bihar al-Anwar[7] and Ithbat al-Hudat[8] however, the text therein does not speak about the sign's immutability under scrutiny. Therefore, one cannot rely upon this particular narrated tradition while arguing in favour of this sign's immutability.[9]

• The second narrated tradition is narrated by Umar ibn Ḥanẓalah from Imam Sadiq (a). In this tradition, the Imam is quoted to have said :[10] “There will be five immutable signs prior to the uprising of the Qa’im (i.e. Imam Mahdi): the (uprising of the) Yamani, the (appearance of the) Sufyani, the celestial outcry, the murder of al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah, and the sinking of the Earth at Bayda.”[11]

• This narrated tradition is present within al-Kafi[12] as well as within Nu’mani’s al-Ghaybah.[13] However, the text found within both these books is devoid of the word “immutable”. Since all three of these traditions are narrated by Umar ibn Ḥanẓalah from Imam Sadiq (a), it is inadmissible to suggest that they are three separate narrations. Still, rather they must be three instances of a single narrated tradition. On the other hand, the tradition quoted by Nu’mani lacks a credible chain of transmission. However, the tradition present within al-Kafi is credible, and the chain of transmission belonging to the narration quoted by Shaykh Saduq is also acceptable. As a result, we are faced with one narrated tradition that has been transmitted in two different manners: one bearing the word “immutable” and the other devoid of this particular term. Furthermore, the chain of transmission belonging to the tradition quoted within al-Kafi is better than the one quoted within Kamal al-Din. This is because the chain of transmission for the tradition within Kamal al-Din contains the name Husayn ibn Hasan ibn Aban who does not enjoy explicit accreditation from the classical experts of the study of Rijal. Nevertheless, Ibn Dawud considers him to be a credible and authenticated narrator.[14]

• Distributing the signs of Imam Mahdi’s reappearance into immutable and mutable types was a clear and certain matter during the time of the Immaculate Imams (a). So much so that the companions of the Imams would often ask them whether these prophesized signs were immutable or not. Such queries clearly show that this distribution was an established and well-known affair. However, there exists no narrated tradition in which we find a companion of the Imams asking them about the immutability or mutability of Yamani’s uprising. On the other hand, five signs from amongst the numerous signs of Imam Mahdi’s re-emergence from occultation were normally mentioned together and often described as immutable nature. For instance, Abu Hamzah al-Thumali narrates that he asked Imam Baqir (a): “Is the uprising of the Sufyani an immutable matter?” The Imam replied :[15] “Yes, and the celestial proclamation is immutable, and the rising of the Sun from the west is immutable, and the disagreement amongst the Abbasids over rulership is immutable, and the murder of al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is immutable, and the uprising of the Qa’im from amongst the progeny of Muhammad (s) is immutable.”[16] Nevertheless, despite the above-mentioned points, some scholars believe that Yamani’s uprising is indeed one of the immutable signs of Imam Mahdi’s return.[17]

Conclusion

• From the numerous narrated traditions about the Yamani,[18] one can gather that there exist two opinions with regards to the immutability of this particular event.[19] Many scholars believe that the Yamani’s uprising is an immutable sign of Imam Mahdi’s reappearance. Indeed, this standpoint represents the most well-known and academically popular point of view on this subject. On the other hand, certain scholars assert that there does not exist sufficient evidence to prove that Yamani’s uprising is immutable in nature.[20] However, the sheer number of narrated traditions about the Yamani clearly demonstrates the credibility of this prophesy, even though the veracity regarding the particular details of this event cannot be proven if we adhere to the strict academic standards related to chains of transmission.[21] Furthermore, if we view the text of these traditions as metaphorical or allegorical in nature, then the Yamani would merely be a symbol representing any truthful and just uprising against forces of corruption, deviation and perversion within human society during the era of Imam Mahdi’s occultation.[22]

References

  1. Salīmīyān, Khudāmurād, Farhangnāma-ye Mahdawīyyat, pp. 210-211.
  2. Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, Al-Ghayba, p. 446.
  3. Ṣadr, Sayyid Muhammad; Tārīkh e Ghaybat e Kubrā, pp. 653-655; Salīmīyān, Khudāmurād, Farhangnāma-ye Mahdawīyyat, pp. 210-211.
  4. Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, Al-Ghayba, p. 436.
  5. al-Ṣadr, Sayyid Muhammad, Tārīkh e Ghaybat e Kubrā, pp. 653-655.
  6. Mustadrakat ilm rijal al-hadith, vol. 5, p. 196.
  7. Majlisī, Muhammad Bāqir, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 52, p. 233, chapter 25, hadith 98.
  8. Ithbat al-Hudat, vol. 3, p. 735, chapter 34, hadith 99.
  9. Nuṣratullāh Āyatī, Taʾammuli dar Nishāniha-ye Ḥatmī-ye Ẓuhūr, pp. 63-68.
  10. Ibn Babawayh, Muhammad ibn Ali. Kamal al-Din, hadith 7, chapter 57, p. 650.
  11. Muḥammadī Rayshahrī, Muḥammad, Dānishnāma-ye Imām Mahdī bar Pāya-ye Qurʾān, Ḥadith wa Tārīkh vol. 7, pp. 445; Nuṣratullāh Āyatī, Taʾammuli dar Nishāniha-ye Ḥatmī-ye Ẓuhūr, pp. 63-68; ʿAlī Akbar Mahdīpūr, Dar Āstāna-ye Ẓuhūr, p. 49.
  12. Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, al-Kafi, vol. 8, p. 310, hadith 483.
  13. Nu'mani, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim. Al-Ghaybah Nu'mani, chapter 14, hadith 9, p. 261.
  14. Ibn Dāwūd, Hasan ibn Ali ibn Ibn Dāwūd, Rijāl ibn Dāwūd, p. 270.
  15. Shaykh al-Mufīd, Al-Irshād, vol. 2, p. 371.
  16. Nuṣratullāh Āyatī, Taʾammuli dar Nishāniha-ye Ḥatmī-ye Ẓuhūr, pp. 63-68.
  17. Muḥammadī Rayshahrī, Muḥammad, Dānishnāma-ye Imām Mahdī bar Pāya-ye Qurʾān, Ḥadith wa Tārīkh vol. 7, pp. 445;ʿAlī Akbar Mahdīpūr, Dar Āstāna-ye Ẓuhūr; Salīmīyān, Khudāmurād, Farhangnāma-ye Mahdawīyyat, pp. 210-211.
  18. Ṣadr, Sayyid Muhammad, Tārīkh e Ghaybat e Kubrā, pp. 563-655.
  19. Mūsawī Nasab, Sayyid Jaʾfar, Diwīst Pursish wa Pāsukh Pīramūn-e Imām Zamān (a) vol. 2, pp. 54-55; Zahādat, Abdulmajīd; Ma’ārif wa ‘Aqā’id 5 vol. 2, p. 266; Salīmīyān, Khudāmurād, Farhangnāma-ye Mahdawīyyat, vol. 3, p. 129; Nadhīr al-Ḥasanī, Sayyid Nadhīr, Muṣliḥ-e Kull, p. 206; Baqirizadih Ash'ari, Muhammad, Az Imām Mahdī Bīshtar Bidānīm, pp. 85-86; Ramaḍānīyān, Alī Riḍā, Sharāyiṭ wa Alā'im-e Ḥatmī-ye Ẓuhūr, pp. 49-51; Group of Authors, Chashm bi Rāh-e Mahdī , p. 280-281; ʿAlī Akbar Mahdīpūr, Dar Āstāna-ye Ẓuhūr, p. 52.
  20. Nuṣratullāh Āyatī, Taʾammuli dar Nishāniha-ye Ḥatmī-ye Ẓuhūr, pp. 63-68.
  21. Muḥammadī Rayshahrī, Muḥammad, Dānishnāma-ye Imām Mahdī bar Pāya-ye Qurʾān, Ḥadith wa Tārīkh vol. 7, p. 445; Ṣadr, Sayyid Muhammad, Tārīkh e Ghaybat e Kubrā, pp. 653-655.
  22. Ṣadr, Sayyid Muhammad, Tārīkh e Ghaybat e Kubrā, pp. 653-655.