Imam Mahdi

Imam Mahdi is a figure of the end times which has more emphasis in Shia Islamic eschatology. Imam Mahdi is the twelfth and the last Imam as believed by Shia scholars and believers alike. As per Shiite theology, the last Imam is in occultation and his appearance is associated with the establishment of justice and order in the world. The canon concerning the arrival of Mahdi is exhaustive and have several complexities, however, this page deals mainly with relevance of Mahdi in contemporary times and a view from Infrared's lens.

Contemporary Significance of Imam Mahdi

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini in 2015 had said that there would be no entity named "Israel" in 25 years. It is symbolic because of the reason that JCPOA agreement or Iran Nuclear Deal happened in the year of 2015, which, basically, really aims to limit Iran's civilian nuclear program (uranium enrichment) so that it cannot be used for military purposes such as acquiring nuclear weapons.

Going by the timeline set by Iran's Supreme Leader, the limit of Israel's destruction is 2040 and the Shia scholars argue that Imam Mahdi would come, but in odd year i.e. 1,3,5,7,9 which translates into years like 2025, 2027, 2029, 2031, and so on till 2040. Moreover, Shia scholars emphasize the role of importance of Iran (Persians) in liberation (of Palestine) and destruction of Israel, they also allude to the fact that there will be events which are of challenging nature in Iran like the death of Mahsa Amini, the terrible war between Isarel and Palestine, all before the arrival of last Imam.

It is well known Iran has so-called "proxies" which are hostile to Israel such as Yemen's 'Houthis', Lebanon's 'Hezbollah', and Palestine's 'Hamas'. It should also be noted that Hamas' founder Yassin had said something similar to what the Shia scholars say: Yassin in 1999 had in an interview with Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Mansour that Israel would be "gone" by 2027. He said that Israel was founded upon injustice and plunder and it is destined to be destroyed.

Infrared's Haz on Occultation of Mahdi

Mahdi is a figure of the end times, so the occultation of the of the Mahdi means the end times have already happened, it's already here, it's just hidden. So you need this kind of specific hermeneutic to arrive at the truth of the present which is the end times. Simply put, the end times are here, just hidden, which can be explained from the same old dialectics between appearance and essence. The occultation of Imam Mahdi is a specific way that has more emphasis in Shia Islam which occludes the essence of reality (the truth): the essence as behind the appearance. It establishes a discontinuity between appearance and essence much as it establishes a discontinuity within the Ummah because of the injustice of martyrdom of Imam Hussain. All these are important factors in the occultation.

There is an indirect relationship to the revelation which is established through this concept of occultation. Shia Islam is defined more by an indirect relation to revelation, whereas, Sunni Islam is a direct relation to revelation. So Shia societies are hierarchical and mediated while Sunni societies are more amass, without the same religious hierarchy.