MUJADDIDISM
The ma’nawî collective personality of a Mujaddid. His works, his current and true followers, who are loyal to his way minutely and carry out his duty as he does. The ma’nawî collective personality and community, which the Mujaddid represents.
The fundamental qualities of the renewal (Tajdîd) movement of the current of Mujaddidism:
1) The current appears in the time of fitnah.
2) The renewal (Tajdîd) movement appears both in the field of ideas and deeds.
3) It reveals the reality and essence of the currents of nifâq.
4) It possesses the means to eliminate the bâtil ideas and remedies for the doubts that the currents of nifâq mixed up in Islam and used for its corruption.
5) It strives through complete courage, devotion and sacrifice for the repair of the ma’nawî destruction of the obstinate and munâfiq sharr currents that occur in its time.
6) This current considers it of great importance to eliminate the widespread bid’ahs and restore Sunnah as-Saniyyah and Shaâ’er.
7) The followers of this current abstain from bid’ahs through their actions, just as they abstain from bid’ahs through their ideas.
8) It restores Sunnah as-Saniyyah by practising it and accepts taqwâ as its fundamental principle.
(Please refer to the articles of Mujaddid and Mahdî)
A subtle point of the âyâh فَقَدْ جَۤاءَ اَشْرَاطُهَا1 has been written in order to preserve the aqîdah of the ‘awâm mu’mins and protect them from doubts.
Like the mutashabihât of the Qur'an, some hadiths about the events that will occur at the âkhirzaman have profound meanings. They are not to be made tafsir like muhkamât âyâhs and not everyone knows their meanings. Their ta'wîl is made instead of tafsir. Through the mystery of وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَاْوِيلَهُ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِى الْعِلْمِ2, their ta'wil is understood and what is intended by them is known only after they have occurred. And those who are well-grounded in ‘ilm disclose those hidden haqiqahs by saying, آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا3.
The Fifth Ray-Introduction
It is also due to this mystery that they expected the individuals who will come in the âkhirzaman like the Mahdî and Sufyan long beforehand, and even in the time of the tâbi’în, and hoped to live long enough to see them. Some of the people of walâyah, even, said that they had passed. Like the qiyâmah, Ilahî hikmah requires that the times of these individuals are not specified either. Because every time and every age is in need of the Mahdî's meaning, for strengthening ma’mawî power and saving the people from despair. Every age has to have a share of this meaning. In order that people should not follow evil ones in ghaflah and the reins of the nafs should not be left free in negligence, every age must beware and fear the fearsome individuals who come to lead nifâq. If they had been specified, the benefits of general guidance would have been lost.
Now the difference in the riwâyât about individuals like the Mahdî and their mystery is this: those who expounded Hadiths applied the text of the Hadiths to their own tafsir and inferring. For example, since the centre of sovereignty at that time was Damascus or Medina, they imagined the events connected with the Mahdî and Sufyan in places like Basra, Kufa and Syria, which were in the region of those centres, and expounded them accordingly. Moreover, they had conceived the mighty works belonging to that individual’s ma’nawî collective personality or community which those individuals represent to be in their persons and expounded them in that way so that they ascribed a form to them whereby when those extraordinary individuals appear, everyone will recognize them. However, as we said, this world is the arena of trial. The door is opened to the mind, but the will is not taken from the hand. So, when those individuals and even the terrible Dajjâl appear many people and himself even will not know to start with that, he is the Dajjâl. Those individuals of the âkhirzaman will be known through the attentiveness of the nûr of îmân.
The Twenty-Fourth Word/Third Branch/Eighth Principle
Since îmân and man's accountability are a test, trial and competition within the sphere of the will, secondary (nadharî) matters of religion that are veiled, profound and in need of experience and thorough examination surely cannot be evident, and these matters cannot be entirely explicit to the extent that everyone will affirm them, whether they want to or not, so that the Abu Bakrs would rise to the a’lâ ‘illiyyin and the Abu Jahls would descend to the asfal sâfilîn. If the will does not remain, there cannot be accountability. As for this mystery and hikmah, the miracles are seldom and rarely bestowed. Furthermore, the signs of qiyâmah that will be seen in the realm of accountability by eyes are veiled and only open to ta’wîl, like some mutashabihât of the Qur'an. However, the door of tawbah is closed when the sun rises from the west, as this evident event will be evident that compels everyone to affirm; tawbah and îmân will no longer be accepted because the Abu Bakrs will be equal in affirmation with the Abu Jahls. So much so that the descent of Hazrat ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm and the fact that he is ‘Îsâ ‘Alayhissalâm are known through the attentiveness of the nûr of îmân; not everyone can recognise him. Even fearsome figures, such as the Dajjal and the Sufyan, do not know themselves to be such.
The Fifth Ray-Introduction-1st Point