 وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين، الطاهرين، الهدات المهديين، واللعنة الدائمة على أعدائهم أجمعين إلى يوم الحديث وطاهرين الهدات المهديين واللعنة الدائمة على أعدائهم أجمعينا إلى يوم الدين قال الله تعالى في كتابه الكريم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ولقد كتبنا في الزبور من بعد الذكر أن الأرض يريثها عبادية الصالحون صدق الله العلي العظيم ببعدائي أمي وصخيب السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته كما تحدثنا في نهاية السنة كما قتلنا عن الغيبة الصغرة المعلمة الغيبة وخلصة عام 12 أمام المهدي عدر الله تعالى فرجه الشريف وأن هذا العام الغيبة الصغرة وطاقتها على أحمد السمري إمام المهدي ، كما نكتب ، حديث يخبره أنه قلت him a letter وقلت him do not appoint anyone after you وفي هذا العام الغيبة الصغرة has ended وفي هذا العام الغيبة الكبرى has begun ماذا is the difference between الغيبة الصغرة and الكبرى؟ ولماذا are there two? لماذا لدينا دلاثة لهم؟ لماذا يمكن أن يكون فقط؟ الثلاثة difference between الغيبة الصغرة and الكبرى is that الغيبة الصغرة was short it was 69 to 70 years and it ended with the death of the last of the ambassadors but الغيبة الكبرى is much much longer now how long is it only Allah knows because up until this very second we are still living in الغيبة الكبرى so far it has been 1108 years since الغيبة الكبرى began how long will it be before this period ends and the Imam reappears only Allah knows and that's why we have in our حديث and one hadith from Imam al-Sadiq عليه السلام which is صحيح he says للقائم غيبتان the Imam al-Mahdi عد الله فرجو الشريف will have two gaibas this is Imam al-Sadiq 100 years before Imam al-Mahdi he will have two gaibas احداهما قصيرة والاخرى طويلة he says one is short الغيبة الصغرة and the second is long and we mentioned Imam al-Mahdi himself in the توقيع of Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samari when he told him you're gonna die in six days he said so the Imam said now the full gaiba the new long gaiba will begin so these are terms taken from the أحاديث we did not make them up so that's the first difference بين الغيبة الصغرة and الغيبة الكبرى one is long the other is short the second and most important difference is what happened during the gaibas we mentioned that during الغيبة الصغرة Imam al-Mahdi appointed direct specific ambassadors for ambassadors that served as gateways between the Shi'a and between the Imam the Shi'a could indirectly reach the Imam through the ambassadors we said that for over 250 years the they were used to going and speaking to the Imam directly when the small things changed no longer anyone can meet the Imam directly now you can only access the Imam indirectly but when in the year 329 after Hijra things changed no one could access the Imam even indirectly because the Imam no longer had any ambassadors specific ambassadors to represent to him yes the Imam has general ambassadors and general let's say representatives in this غيبة الكبرى that I'll speak about but specific ambassadors that we can reach the Imam through in the غيبة الكبرى this changed it was no longer available and that's why when the غيبة الكبرى began it was a very difficult time for the Shi'a because now not only we cannot see the Imam not only we can't meet the Imam not only we cannot directly access him we can no longer indirectly access him I can't send the letter and receive the answer so we can ask questions from the Imam and receive the answers we can no longer for example know about the information and the lifestyle about the Imam and that's why many things about Imam Al-Mahdi in the غيبة الكبرى we don't know many people ask where does Imam Al-Mahdi live in the غيبة الكبرى we don't know why because there is no communication between us we have no means of reaching him how does the Imam spend his time in غيبة الكبرى we don't know is the Imam married does he have children all of these matters about the personal life of the Imam we're ignorant of we don't know because that's it we've lost connection to the Imam and likewise you find this was a difficult time for the Shi'a because we said in the غيبة الكبرى if there were any imposters that what that used to pose themselves as علماء or some of the علماء they would deviate the Imam right away he would condemn them he would issue a letter he would tell the Shi'a be careful this person is not a true علم he would give them a warning but when the غيبة الكبرى started there isn't the Imam is no longer available for us he'd no longer issues statements for us and tells us which علم is true which علم must be followed and which علم must not be followed and that's why you see there's so much chaos today you see for example you go to Iraq so many people claim they are مراجه so many people claim that they are what مراجه الإمام المهدي you have one for example by the name of الصرخي a man who claims he is a مرجع he lives in Iraq a man that claims that he is the representative of إمام المهدي he is وليه أمر المسلمي he is the guardian of the Muslim and he cannot even read one ayah correct ask him to read one ayah correct he can't read it ask him one question he cannot answer you and unfortunately what bothers you is that these people have followers another person that we have today because the Imam is in the state of full غيبة and he's not issuing letters and statements telling us that these people are imposters is another person in the city of البصرة by the name of أحمد قواطع you've heard of him he claims one day that he is the grandson of إمام المهدي he claims one day that he's the messenger one day he claims that he's the سفير of إمام المهدي so all of a sudden we have a fifth سفير of إمام المهدي one day he claims he's the يماني the يماني that he appears before إمام المهدي reappeers every day he's changing his what he's changing his claims and once again you have people following them unfortunately this is what hurts that the شيع so many times in history they're so naive and gullible that whoever comes and says I'm عالم I'm مرجع I'm this I'm that they go and they follow him they do not use what they're عقل they're wisdom they're حكمة to differentiate between a true عالم a true مرجع and these decoys and these imposters who claim their مراجع and unfortunately some of them when you ask them why did you follow this person in البصرة قواطع who claims to be يماني they tell you because I saw a dream your entire faith you're building it and formulating on a dream that probably you ate probably you had a burrito before you slept and then you saw that dream this is your dean this is your religion and that's why you see مام عليبنا يبطالب عليه الثلاث he speaks about some of us unfortunately he says there's three types of people عالم رباني the true عالم for example أهل البيت ومتعلم على سبيل رجعت and then the wise they know they look at the حاريطة باهل البيت and they can differentiate between حق and باطل and then he says وهمج الرعاء the mobs the mobs that are that are out of control همج الرعاء they're just like sheep they go in any direction you point towards يميلون مع كل ناق they go after anyone just like the wind left and right they have no standards they have no way of telling what's right and wrong and that's why you find the time of غيبة الكبرى that we live in today is a very critical and difficult time because the Imam is no longer in that position to lead us the Imam is with us he is present but the Imam does not issue statements and telling us follow this person or follow that person and the imams of أهل البيت because they know how difficult زمن الغيبة الكبرى will be they spoke in many a hadith about this like I mentioned yesterday one hadith I will read for you إمام عليبنا أبي طالب عليه السلام he spoke about غيبة الكبرى and he told the shee'a I'll be aware of الغيبة الكبرى it will be a difficult time because the Imam will not be there for you to lead you so what did the Imam say in the hadith he said للقائم من غيبة يطول أمدها the qa'im amongst us إمام المهدي عدل الله فرجه الشري he will go in a state of غيبة occultation and it will be a very long very long period so far it's been over what over 1200 years إمام is in the غيبة and then the Imam says he speaks about the shee'a this is إمام علي hundreds of years before إمام مهدي كأني بالشي'a يجولون جوالان النعم في غيبة يطلبون المرع فلا يجدون the shee'a do you see the example he gives the analogy he says the shee'a غيبة الكبرى they will be like sheep lost sheep looking for the grassland they don't know where to go this way this way the other way and then he says يطلبون المرع فلا يجدون they're looking for the right way the shepherd the grassland they cannot find it's a difficult time because the Imam is not there to guide us this is one حديث for إمام علي عليه السلام that shows you the difficulties of this period of غيبة الكبرى a second حديث from إمام الصادق عليه السلام this this حديث is even more extreme it shows you how difficult غيبة الكبرى is he tells his companion المفضل بن عمر one day he tells him يا مفضل أما والله لا يغيبنا صاحبكم أو لا يغيبنا القائم مننا الله أكبر this is إمام الصادق إمام علي that telling us about the غيبة of the إمام لا يغيبنا صاحبكم لا يغيبنا القائم مننا and then the إمام tells مفضل about how difficult it will be أما والله لا يغيبنا القائم سنينا من دهركم he will go in the غيبة for many many years and then he says ولا تمح حصنه and you will be tried you will be tested your إمام will be tested and the things will reach a point in which people will say حتى قيل فيه ما تقتل هلك في أي وادن سلك people will say where is إمام مهدي why is he taking so long the غيبة is taking too long people will say إمام مهدي died إمام مهدي is not there he does not even exist so people they will begin to have doubts about إمام المهدي عدجل الله فرجه الشريف and then the imam he said these words he said as for the mu'mineen the true believers they will cry for إمام مهدي because they will see إمام مهدي is not coming they will say when will you come يا صاحب الزمان يا صاحب الزمان الامان الامان الامان من فتن الزمان there are so many fitan and difficulties in غيبة الكبرى when will you come and save us from all this chaos this is what this is the believers and then he says look at how difficult غيبة الكبرى he says if you see a ship in the ocean and it's in the middle of the ocean it's in the middle of a hurricane do you see how the waves keep on slapping it and taking it left and right he says this is how you'll be in غيبة الكبرى the fitan of the غيبة الكبرى they will take you left and right like you're in the middle of a hurricane this is how difficult it is and then he says and there will be the Imam says 12 standards each standard within the shia saying I am right you are wrong they fight within each other when you look you don't know which one is the truth and then the Imam says who will be saved who will be spared غيبة الكبرى in the middle of all these fitan and difficulties the Imam Imam Sadiq said only those people who are true believers who have true Imam in their hearts they have no doubt strong conviction in their عقائد in their beliefs they will not be affected they're like mountains nothing can move them so المفضل when he heard this hadith he began to cry he said ya Imam Sadiq are you serious a time will come in which this is how hard it will become for the shia that they will be like ships inside a hurricane and they'll be 12 standards so then he said what do we do what will the shia do in that time they'll all be lost Imam Sadiq look at the beautiful answer because here we're about to lose hope yes once we read the hadith up to this point we begin to lose hope then خلص we're all doomed yes no the Imam says look if you want to be guided the Haqq is clear the problem is with us shia we don't follow the orders of the imams we don't read their hadith if you don't close your eyes and you don't look of course you're gonna be misguided the imam he pointed at a window there was a window in the room and there was some sunlight coming the rays of the sunlight they were coming inside the room he told him يا مفضل do you see the sunlight he said yes of course who wouldn't see only a blind prince and can't see it he said والله إن أمرنا لأبين من هذه الشمس he says والله يا مفضل أمرنا the true path of أهل البيت أنا الغيبة الكبرى is clearer than the sun it's clearer than the sun you just have to open your eyes and look unfortunately sometimes because we do not follow the teachings of أهل البيت we don't read the أحادي to see who's the right عالم what to do when I'll غيبة الكبرى I have one lecture entire lecture what are we supposed to do when I'll غيبة الكبرى we have so much أحادي from أهل البيت when I close my eyes and I don't look of course I'm gonna be lost when an an imposter comes and says I'm an scholar and I don't go back to the أحادي the أهل البيت to see who's a true آلم who's not I don't use my mind my intellect my wisdom of course I'm gonna be lost so but if I use my intellect my wisdom and I go back to the أحادي ثب أهل البيت then the truth will be simpler and will be clearer and more crisp than the sun so the Imam gives us hope once again but at the end of the day this time الغيبة الكبرى is a very difficult time for us to be in but however أهل البيت عليهم السلام they knew these difficulties are there they did not leave us to go astral they did not just leave us like that no they gave us guidelines they did two things the first thing we spoke about yesterday مام المهدي is not available now if I have a question about I have a question about for example the now I can't go to the Imam directly nor indirectly because there's no ambassadors today of the Imam but however the earlier Imam's the preceding Imam's they what all their حديث are mentioned in the books and the books are available today so if I have a question a concern about my religious affairs I go back to the there are thousands of حديث like I mentioned بحار الانوار 110 volume all وسائل الشيعة 30 volumes all the how to pray how to fast how to give your how to do the marriage the talaq the divorce so and so forth how to do a transaction 30 volumes حديث بحال البيت so you can't say اهل البيت left us without any knowledge no go back to the حديث امام صادق امام الباقر and it's all there so that's the first thing they did they made sure their حديث are available for the الشيعة انزم انغيبة الكبرى so we can't say we're lost that's number one number two the second thing اهل البيت عليهم السلام did for us انغيبة الكبرى so that we are not lost is they appointed general representatives for us to follow what do I mean yesterday we said that during the lives of the امامs they would sometimes appoint certain people to what to give فتوة to collect خمس like we said امام الباقر appointed ابان ابن تغلب امام صادق appointed ابو بصير محمد ابن مسلم امام الرضاز اكرية ابن آدم and so on and so forth يونس بن عبد الرحمن now in these instances the امامs would directly appoint them by their names go to فلان صنف فلان likewise امام المهدي ان الغيبة السغرة he had four ambassadors he directly appointed them by their names الغيبة الكبرى the imams do have representatives but not specific representatives meaning the imams didn't mention فلان will be my representatives they gave a general title a general criteria whoever meets the criteria automatically they will be the representatives of the imams and this is where we get into the topic of مرجعية we mentioned yesterday some ignorant people they say the Shia they made of مرجعية there's no such thing as مرجعية i proved yesterday through the احادي that no مرجعية existed since the time of امام باقر he told abaan sit in the majid and give fatwa he told محمد ابن مسلم امام صادق امام رضا told some of his companions so this existed since the time of the imams and likewise we have احادي from our امام telling us that in the time of الغيبة then you have to go back to the مراجع the علماء and they will be our representatives on your behalf and i'll mention to a حاديث about this so if anytime someone asks you where do you get the مرجعية from from the imams themselves one حاديث memorize this from امام الحسن العسكري عليه السلام this is a very famous and very very crisp and clear حادي very obvious what does the امام say before i mentioned اقصلوا علام محمد والي محمد and this حاديث it's narrated that امام العسكري عليه السلام he told his his Shia this he knows that his son will go into a state of غيبة so what did the Shia do he gave them this general principle to live by what did he tell them he told them this حاديث it's a very famous حاديث فأما من كان من الفقهاء صائل للنفسه حافظ للدين مخالفا لهواه مطيعا لأمر مولاه فللعوام ان يقلدوه it's very very crisp and very clear the imam says that you during this in the state of غيبة you do not have you do not have the imam do not worry I will appoint general representatives who is my representatives he said anyone who has these two criteria he will be my representative he my mom can have 100 representatives of thousands so who is the representative of the imam two criteria number one any person that wants to be my representative he has to be فقهاء من كان من الفقهاء he has to be فقه فقه means what means a scholar he has to be عالم he has to study the Qur'an he has to study the أحاديث of أهل البيت حلال حرام so that's number one this is common sense if you want to be representative of the imam you have to know their علوم their knowledge this is number one number two the imam he said he has to be عادل حافظا لديل مخالفا لهوا مطيعا لأبن مولاه he has to be just and he has to have تقوى fears الله سبحان وتعال so i can't follow someone that who who does not fear الله does حرام no he has to be just if these two criteria are met إمام حسن العسكري in this حديث he said what فل العوام and يقلدو the عوام meaning the general public of the شيع then they can follow this مرجع يقلدو he used the word تقليد he used the word عوام he used the word فقي so this is a very obvious crisp clear حديث from إمام العسكري عليه السلام to guide us شيع during الغيبة الكبراء we go back to the علماء so this is number one number two the second حديث we have many i'll just mention these two the second حديث that we have from the imams about doing تقليد and going back to our مرجع انا غيبة الكبراء so that we know what's حلال حرام we preserve our faith is a حديث from إمام المهدي himself in الغيبة الصغرة one of the توقيعات we said إمام المهدي would issue letters called توقيعات one of the توقيعات that a شيخ الطوسي narrates in his book الغيبة is a letter that إمام المهدي sent to the شيعة and amongst the things إمام المهدي said in this توقيع is this he said these words exactly he said they asked him يا إمام الزمان after you go after the ambassador the fourth ambassador in our religious affairs who do we go back to you will be in the state of full غيبة who do we go back to refer us to someone the imam said this أما الحوادث الواقع in your religious affairs فرجعوا فيها إلى رواة حديثنا go back to whom to the narrators رواة حديثنا is the narrators those people that narrate the أحاديث of أهل البيت and then the imam says فإنهم حجتي عليكم وأنا حجة الله عليهم they are my representatives for you my proof for you and I am Allah's proof for them and against them very beautiful حديث رمي مام المهدي عجو الله فرجع الشيخ go back to the narrators now you may object here you may say مام المهدي said narrators he did not say فقها علماء so we go back to the narrators now this objection we could obviously understand the answer to this just think to yourself would إمام المهدي tell us to go back to a narrator that does not understand what he's narrating or he would tell you to go back to a narrator that understands what he's narrating which one obviously مام المهدي you wouldn't tell you go back to a narrator that doesn't understand what he's narrating or else he'll be like whom قران gives an example the only quran says he'll be like a donkey we read in صورة الجمعة كمثل الحماري يحمل أسفاره some people they just say something they memorize things but they don't understand it the quran says they are like donkeys a donkey you can put so many books on his back no one will carry as much as a donkey trust me one day have a competition with a donkey you can carry much more books than you can but will the donkey understand what's in the books the contents of the book nothing he's a donkey he carries it from point eight point B doesn't understand anything so if I go back to a narrator that doesn't understand what he's narrating he'll be just like a donkey there's no word the إمام is want us to go to a narrator that understands what he's narrating and this is the علماء go to the حوزة today you see the علماء the whole time from صباحة المغرب time they are what they are studying the أحاديث they're narrating them and they are trying to figure out what did the إمام mean in this حديث is this حديث صحيح or is it ضعيف if there are two أحاديث they are conflicting each other how can we solve this conflict into عارض between the أحاديث and that's why the علماء are the narrators the إمام المهدي told us to go back to anytime we have questions or concerns in our religious affairs so this is the second thing that our إمامs did in order to ensure that we're not lost that's why we have to pay respect to our علماء do not disrespect them do not undermine the knowledge of the علماء the true علماء in the حوزة because إمام المهدي says that they are my حجة against you and if you speak against the حجة of إمام المهدي it says if you have spoken against the إمام himself now these are the true علماء remember we said there's always imposters and there is the true علماء we have to always make sure we follow the true and the good علماء so these are two steps that the إمام took in order to make sure that we during الغيبة الكبرى were not lost now there are a few questions that come to our mind and there's a few misconceptions that are always raised about إمام المهدي in the time of الغيبة الكبرى and many people sometimes our enemy sometimes other Muslims from other schools of thought sometimes Christians and Jews they ask us these questions about إمام المهدي they raise it as a misconception how do we answer them and we have to always what we have to always know the answer and know how to reply I'll mention five five misconceptions about إمام المهدي or five important questions and I will answer them tonight and over the course of the next few nights so we begin with the first question now إمام المهدي عدل الله تعالى فرجو شريف is a life amongst us yes yes when was the Imam born he was born in the year 255 what year is it now in the hijra calendar 1437 so that would make the Imam how old how old that would make the Imam close to 1300 years old correct maybe 1200 80 something like that now many people will tell you especially some other Muslims from other schools of thought they tell you how can you believe in an Imam that's living for over a thousand years old this doesn't make sense this is a myth this is fiction you truly believe in an Imam that's 1200 years old how can that be and they sometimes they begin to mock us because of the long age of إمام المهدي now how do we reply to this very quick easy reply number one you tell them that this is not natural we're not saying the Imam just naturally lived all this time we say this is a miracle أب الله سبحانه وتعالى and الله سبحانه وتعالى it's easy for him to let a human being live 10,000 years 20,000 years so number one do not undermine the power of Allah الله سبحانه وتعالى if he wants anyone of us to live for forever just like in جنة we will live for forever الله سبحانه وتعالى can prolong the life of any human being for any age that Allah wants all he has to say it's gone be and it will be so that's number one this is not natural this is a miracle number two you tell them why are you mocking إمام المهدي when you also believe in other human beings that lived the long age like whom every muslim believes that نوح lived thousands of years are Ahadith say that نوح lived for 2,500 years how is that possible isn't this a joke how can you believe in a prophet that lived 2,500 years the Quran says نوح spent 950 years just with this tribe isn't this fiction isn't this a myth isn't this a joke if you want to speak with this mentality then you have to disbelieve number one نوح you tell them number two آدم are Ahadith tell us آدم lived for 930 years so this is a long age how come you believe in Adam this is number two so these are two prophets that died they live a long age number two we have many prophets that are still alive today and they believe in them all muslims believe in them like whom for example we have الخضر الخضر some say he's a prophet some say he was a wise man not a prophet the point is all muslims except that الخضر is alive today and he was before Islam he was he was during the time of Musa so if how old is he right now he's probably 4 or 5,000 years old right now you believe in a 4 or 5,000 year old خضر but you don't believe in Mahdi because he's 1,000 years old this is what this is a contradiction this is this doesn't make sense so you tell them خضر is alive you believe in خضر and he's a couple of thousand years old number two الياس الياس was a prophet of Allah he's alive they believe he's alive until right now all muslims believe this and سبحان الله there is a hadith from Imam al-Sadaq عليه السلام that says he speaks about الخضر he speaks about Imam al-Mahdi's long life and then he speaks about الخضر he says the only reason Allah prolonged the life of خضر so that so that you that we can use it as proof against them when they say how is your Imam living 1,000 years you tell them خضر is alive so Allah used he placed الخضر so that we can use him to what to prove Imam al-Mahdi is also alive there's nothing wrong with someone living too long if Allah wants that and by the way we have a hadith that الخضر is always with Imam al-Mahdi عليه السلام and wherever the Imam goes he helps the Imam and the Qibra so خضر number one number two الياس and they narrate a hadith that every year سبحان الله خضر and الياس they go to Hajj and they meet each other in Hajj and if any of you have been to Hajj you know that after you finish your عمال you have to shave your head correct you have to shave your hair they say in the hadith they narrate that's not us that خضر and الياس they meet and then they shave each other's heads so خضر shaves the head of الياس and الياس shaves the head of الخضر now fine we accept this because they're prophets of Allah سبحانه وتعالى these are two prophets in this world we have two prophets that are alive you tell them but they are in the heavens whom they never died prophet عيسة every muslim believes that prophet عيسة is alive he did not die the holy Quran clearly says that number two prophet ادريس they all believe prophet ادريس is still alive he's in the heavens with probably prophet عيسة so you tell them wait a minute this is a long list of prophets that you believe they live such long lives some of them are still alive you believe in that but then you mark المهدي this is not someone who wants to to find the haق this is someone that just wants to speak against us and just wants to make a motion in كياس سلام عليكم برحمة الله سلام هلا وسهلا صلى على محمد ولي محمد so this is number two you tell them we have prophets that are still alive number three you tell them what اصحاب الكهف do not you believe in اصحاب الكهف اصحاب الكهف how many years did they sleep in that cave the holy Quran says 309 years how can human being sleep for 309 years isn't this a myth isn't this a joke you believe in it it's in the Quran so why not believe in المهدي and finally you can use this as the best proof the muslims the sunni muslims they believe that ادجال ادجال the one night ادجال who will come with Imam al-Mahdi and he will be the leader of the forces of evil he will fight against المهدي after Imam al-Mahdi appears they believe that دجال was born before رسول الله and he is alive he is hiding right now and he will come when Imam al-Mahdi comes so how old is دجال he is at least 14-15 hundred years old you believe in دجال he has such a long life but with Imam al-Mahdi the son of رسول الله you say it's impossible so you see you just bring them these proofs that you show them there is absolutely nothing wrong nothing abnormal about Imam al-Mahdi living such a long life we have when we have such a long life and finally finally who else do we have that's still alive today he's a friend to some of us شاء الله no one here but some human being شيطان إبليس إبليس is still alive today correct how old is he don't know friends and شاء الله no one here be friends with the Iblis so it's just a joke so شيطان how old is he الله told him that I will let you live until الوقت المعلوغ either that's the day that Imam reappears or a day of judgment Iblis is probably 5,000 10,000 20,000 years old we believe in that so إمام المهدي no إبليس yes إمام المهدي no come on so this is number one إمام المهدي is long life there is nothing abnormal about it we have many prophets and other individuals that have long lives like إمام المهدي so now we come to the second misconception the second question that's raised about إمام المهدي الزمن الغيبها the second question is can we see إمام المهدي ان زمن الغيبة الكبرى or not this is a very important question can we see him can we meet him can we sit with him or no here you will find two views between the علماء the first view some علماء they say no impossible no one can see إمام المهدي ان زمن الغيبة الكبرى he's there he's alive he's amongst us we just can't see him why Allah wanted it that way this is the first view the second view which most علماء believe in is that no it is possible to see إمام المهدي ان زمن الغيبة الكبرى but it's very rare it's very difficult to see most of us we will not see إمام المهدي only those close servants of Allah Allah سبحانه وتعالى may give them that honor in their lives once or twice one minute two minute they will see إمام المهدي but for most human beings no they will not have the honor to meet إمام المهدي and sit with إمام المهدي now what's the proofs that we can use and understand of these two opinions when you come to the first view of the علماء they say no it's impossible for anyone to see the إمام you ask them why they tell you the توقيع of إمام المهدي that he gave to عليبنا محمد السمر that we mentioned yesterday we said that six days before عليبنا محمد السمر the fourth ambassador died a توقيع a letter from إمام المهدي was sent to عليبنا محمد السمر he told him you're going to die in six days he told him do not appoint anyone after me and then he told him this he says فأنا كما يتون ما بينك وبينا ستة أيام فلا توصي لا أحدا يقوم مقامك بعدك and then he said this فلا ظهور إلا بعد إذن الله he said I will not appear until Allah accepts until Allah wants and then the إمام says وذلك بعد طول الأمد وقسوة القلب وامتلاء الأرضي جورا he said I will not appear again until three things happen number one a huge amount of time has to pass thousands of years maybe number two قسوة القلب the hearts will harden because when the إمام is not there you can't see him of course the hearts will harden and will go far away from Allah and number three he said the world will be filled with injustice only then I will reappear and then the إمام said this after he said there will be no fifth ambassador ذيبة الكبرى will begin no one I will reappear only when Allah wants and then he said this he said he says now that I will go into the big غيبة some people will come to my شيعة and they will claim مشاهده what is مشاهده these علماء they say مشاهده here means saw some people will come to my شيعة and they will claim that they saw me and then the إمام he says this he says he says some people will come to my شيعة they will claim that they saw me according to this تفسير they saw me مشاهده is they saw me because we will get to this whoever claims مشاهده they saw me before صفياني appears before صيحة of جبرائيل and we'll speak about that and the signs of reappearance later that person is a liar and an imposter they tell you this حديث is very clear the إمام says whoever claims he saw me before I reappear and that person is a liar and that's why no one can see إمام المهدي in زمنه غيبة القبرة now this is the first view the second view of most علماء they say no it is possible to see the إمام so what do we do with this حديث first of all they tell us anytime we want to understand the حديث we want to evaluate the حديث we have to look at the the سند the سند is what the chain of narrators is this صحيح or not صحيح some علماء they have said that this this حديث is not صحيح why because who is narrating this حديث to begin with say خطوسي he mentions it in الغيبة he narrates it from a man by the name of الحسن ابن أحمد المكتب when we go back to the books of رجال we find no one has said that this is an authentic person reliable person no one has said he is sticker so how can we rely on him and that's why say دلخوي he says he's مجهول this narrator is مجهول we cannot rely on him no one has said he's honest and trustworthy and reliable so that's number one other علماء they have said no this حديث we can accept it why either because أحمد ابن الحسن مكتب we believe he's ثقة why is he ثقة because الشيخ الصدوق he relied on him الشيخ الصدوق what الشيخ الصدوق he said رحمه الله about him may Allah have mercy upon him and the الشيخ الصدوق will not say may Allah have mercy upon someone who's who's unauthenticated so obviously الشيخ الصدوق accepted him when الشيخ الصدوق says about him الله رحمه that means he accepts him that means he's ثقة other علماء they have said this توقيق we are sure that this the Imam said this why because no علم during that time غيبة الصغراء objected to this توقيق we didn't hear from any علم saying this توقيق is what we doubt this توقيق who said this توقيق all the علماء they accepted this توقيق so we cannot speak about the Senate of this حديث so this let's say this this is حديث this حديث الصحيح after we finish the Senate we go to the دلالة دلالة is the حديث itself what is the علماء saying is this حديث because sometimes some people they they place they claim something they bring you a حديث while they have not understood the حديث this is not what the علماء is saying because anytime we look at the حديث we have to first understand the Arabic of the حديث what is the حديث if you take out the context you will not understand what the علماء is saying so when we come to this حديث these second group of علماء the majority they say the word مشاهده here we have to put it under examination what is the word مشاهده here the first group they claim to see whoever claims مشاهده see me that person is a liar these second group they say no مشاهده does not mean see in this حديث what does the علماء mean in this حديث he means something else what I'll get to that why does it he mean مشاهده they tell you number one مشاهده doesn't mean see because first of all we have tens of علماء أنا الغيبة الكبرى they saw the علماء reports hundreds of reports of علماء big علماء close to اللهسبعنه تعالا مراجع they claim that they saw the علماء so wait we're going to say all these people are liars this is impossible so that means the حديث the Imam is saying something else because many علماء like علام الحلي they say he saw the Imam like for example say the منطاوس المقدس الأردبيلي I say بحر العلوم and the list continues in بحار الأنوار the entire volume he lists the people that what reports of people seeing إمام المهدي أنا الغيبة الكبرى so it's not to see that's number one number two we have حديث from the imams that there are some people that see the إمام غيبة الكبرى like what one حديث from إمام الصادق عليه السلام he says لا بد لصاحب الأمر من غيبة he says the إمام المهدي he will go into غيبة and then he says وما بثلاثين من وحشة he says إمام المهدي in الغيبة he will always have 30 كمبانيين we think the إمام is alone no we said خذر is with him 30 كمبانيين are with him they are called the عبدال when they die الله from that 30 كمبانيين are always with the إمام so they're seeing him yes so there are some people that see the إمام yes not everyone but some can see the إمام that's one حديث another حديث also we have from أهل البيت عليه السلام that tells us إمام الصادق in the حديث I mentioned he said إمام المهدي will have two غيبة one short one long he said in the long غيبة no one will know his location except the close companion of his so if there are some close companions of إمام المهدي that know his location then obviously they can see him you know where he is but you can't see him so we have a حديث we have reports of ألماء that no it is possible to see إمام المهدي in الغيبة الكبرا but it's very rare and very difficult so when we come to the word مشاهد the إمام doesn't mean whoever saw me his الله no there's another meaning what there's one of four meanings four opinions about this حديث you see when we come to study that حديث how difficult it is sometimes we spend a month just trying to understand one حديث and sometimes we take one look and we think oh this is what the إمام is trying to say so four meanings to this حديث I want you to pay close attention because these meanings some of them are delicate صلى علام محمد وعالي محمد the first meaning when إمام said فمن الدعال مشاهد فهو كذاب مفتري these most they say the إمامام when he says مشاهده he means whoever claims he's an ambassador he's telling عليمة محمد is somebody the fourth ambassador you are the final ambassador do not appoint anyone after you and then he says whoever says I saw the إمام whoever says مشاهده meaning on a regular basis he sits and sees the إمام he's a liar so the إمام is speaking about ambassadors there are no more ambassadors remember we said we have to look at the context the letter is to an ambassador the إمامام is saying there's no more ambassadors but then he says some people will claim we saw the إمام meaning we are ambassadors so many علماء they say in this حديث إمام I'm saying there is no more ambassadors مشاهده meaning whoever sees the إمام on a regular basis every day meaning he's an ambassador and that's why after the fourth ambassador if we can please have these children sit down please صلى علام محمد عليمة محمد and that's why after the fourth ambassador until the إمام reappeers insha'Allah there is no fifth ambassador right now today I remember I mentioned this man أحمد قويتح who says I'm the يماني he says I am سفير إمام المهدي go on his وبسى he says I'm سفير you tell him this حديث says no whoever claims that I am the سفير meaning on a regular basis see the إمام this person is a liar and an impostor so this is the first meaning that's some علماء understood the second meaning that's some علماء understood the إمام didn't say no one will see me the إمام whoever يدعي المشاهد whoever claims he saw me so that means you can see the إمام but just don't claim you saw the إمام whoever sees the إمام he doesn't claim whoever claims he saw the إمام he's a liar so many علماء we have they saw the إمام but they would never say it don't publicly go and announce it in front of the people that I saw the إمام yes maybe they would tell their close friends only in secret gathering or maybe someone would find doubts that he saw the إمام but whoever comes in the microphone says I saw إمام المهدي إمام المهدي speaking about these people whoever publicly announces يدعي claims that he saw the إمام this person is a liar and an imposter why would the إمام say that you could see me but you can't announce it because the إمام knew there will be many imposters they will come they told you you know why yesterday I can come right now on the there's no way to know I'm like إمام مهدي says whoever goes on the من بر says I saw my مهدي and he told me such and such this person is a liar they're not believe him he's trying to what he's trying to benefit from this he's trying to take advantage of the fact that he saw me any person that tries to benefit take advantage from the fact that he saw إم مهدي he's a liar but if I see إمام مهدي and I just want and I just cherish those moments there's nothing so this is the second opinion the third opinion that many علماء they say they say إمام المهدي says whoever claims مشاهد مشاهد means you see and you recognize we can all see the إمام maybe all of us you have seen the إمام but when we saw him we did not recognize them correct and there are two حديث that tell us about this one حديث from the second ambassador عثمان محمد ابن عثمان العمر what is he's he's he's he's he says إن صاحب هذا الأمر يحظر الموسم كل سنة ويرونكم ويعرفكم وترونه ولا تعرفنا he says he sees you he knows you and you see him as well but you don't know him whoever has one تحج here maybe you saw but you did not know this is إمام المهدي because his identity is concealed you saw a pious man you thought was just a normal man this was إمام المهدي so this حديث says it's possible to see إمام مهدي but you won't recognize him another حديث from إمام الصادر he tells his companions about the غيبة and how the إمام will be in سيدة بغيبة he tells them the غيبة of إمام البهدي is like the غيبة of يوسف prophet يوسف when his brothers came he was عزيز مصر did they recognize him no they thought this was just a stranger as you can see him he tells them إمام المهدي walks in the in the markets in the streets but you cannot recognize him so based on these two حادي they say that you can see the إمام maybe many of us saw it صاعمام المهدي but you cannot recognize him so when إمام مهدي says no one will see me and recognize me and that's why when you go back to the stories of the علماء that صاعمام مهدي you'll see all of them they only understood this is the إمام after the إمام when they saw him they did not recognize him because the إمام says whoever claims that he saw me and he recognize me when he saw me this person is a liar you could see me and not recognize me this is the third view and finally the last view the word مشاهد that does not mean view means present what do we mean present come back to the Qur'an الله says in the holy Qur'an أباق شهر رمضان شهر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآن هدل للناس وبينات سمنا الهداء والفرقان and then الله says فمن شهده فمن شهده منكم الشهره فليصم whoever شهده the month he has to fast what is the word شهده people think شهده whoever saw them no go back to the تفاصيل شهده means whoever was present was not traveling you're either in شهود or you are in سفر in trouble so الشهده means you are present عالم الغيبي والشهده though we say عالم الغيبي والشهده الله سبحانه انسعاله he is the he knows everything about the غيب the hidden and the شهود whatever is present so شهود means present so إمام المهدي here saying whoever claims that i am present meaning i have come out of the غيبة before the صفياني and before the صيحة جبرايل this person is lying so the إمام says if someone right now comes and says إمام مهدي has appeared he is a liar why because صفياني hasn't appeared yet because the صيحة جبرايل hasn't appeared yet hasn't come yet so the إمام is not speaking about seeing he's speaking about the reappearance of himself so these are four different meanings of this حديث which one is it but it depends on the إشتهاد and the understanding of the علم himself صلى علام محمد وقالي محمد and number three the third question that comes to the mind of many of us and this is an area of controversy is when will إمام المهدي reappear how many times have we thought about this question throughout our lives يا صاحب الزمان العجل العجل العجل when will you come back when will إمام المهدي reappear when we go back to the أحاديث of أهل البيت you will find the أهل البيت when they were asked the أصحاب would ask about إمام المهدي because the إمامs would tell them that he will go into غيبة they would ask the different إمامs when will إمام المهدي reappear and build that beautiful government of أهل البيت establish it when will that that happened the إمامs always gave one answer what did they say كذب الوقاتون كذب الوقاتون كذب الوقاتون whoever tells you إمام المهدي will reappear on this day in this time the إمام say this person is a liar stay away from him this is what this is a question what to place on that person you're lying because all the إمامs ماني أحاديث I could bring you 20 حديث any إمام was asked when will إمام المهدي reappear they used to say كذب الوقاتون we don't know the imams used to say we won't tell you now did they not know this is an area of dispute maybe they knew but they did not want to tell the الشيعة they used to say whoever tells you إمام المهدي will reappear on this day this person is a liar so any reports you hear my dear brother and sisters of this person saying oh إمام مهدي is going to appear this year إمام مهدي is going to appear this time all of this is nonsense because the imams told us كذب الوقاتون no one knows but Allah and maybe إمام المهدي himself when إمام المهدي will reappear now the question why didn't أهل البيت just tell us right now it's what it's the year 1437 after why didn't they tell us for example إمام المهدي is going to appear the year 1500 2000 10 000 whatever why why did they keep it a secret what's the philosophy behind the fact that they did not tell us when the إمام will reappear three answers here three reasons number one the first reason is because أهل البيت did not tell us when the إمام is going to reappear إمام المهدي just in the same way that no one knows when they will die so that we are always prepared for إمام المهدي you see why didn't الله tell us when we will die so that we're always prepared for death if Allah tells you that you're going to die when you're 90 you're going to spend your entire life wasting time and going after your desires and then when you're 89 you turn to Allah correct Allah wants you to always be ready I could die tomorrow likewise Allah didn't tell you if you're going to die young or you're going to die when you're 20 you're going to spend your whole life crying so Allah wanted you to relax whenever death comes it comes always be prepared that's the point the same philosophy applies about what the same philosophy applies about إمام المهدي the imams wanted us to always be ready for إمام المهدي if they would have told us he's going to appear what in 5000 years from now خلاص we're going to say إمام المهدي not even my 100th grandson is going to is going to see him so he doesn't have to do with you no every one of us here has hope that I will see إمام المهدي that he will reappear in my time and that's why I will try to prepare for إمام المهدي how do we prepare I'll speak about that in a different lecture so this anytime you don't know when something's going to happen you're always what you're always prepared this is number one number two the second reason why they didn't tell الله للبيت think about it right now how many years the غيبة بِمام المهدي over 1200 years correct now the شيع of أهل البيت ever since إمام عليز خلافة was usurped إمام حسين was killed in عشورة the شيع of أهل البيت were always under pressure from the governments they were killed they were tortured their money was stolen they were always prosecuted they used to come to the imams they used to tell the imam صادق إمام الباقر إمام الرضا when will the government of أهل البيت come when will إمام المهدي be born when will he come and he will establish that country that that beautiful government of his in the حديث you find that the شيع they were so eager though desperately waiting because they were under oppression of the ظالمين now imagine أهل البيت would have come and tell them you know what the government of أهل البيت will be in five thousand years from now can you imagine what this will do to the to the spirit of these شيع this will completely kill their eagerness for إمام مهدي five thousand years we have to bear this destruction we have to bear this oppression so the imams didn't want them to what to lose hope and Allah سبحانه وتعالى so that's why I did not tell them when إمام المهدي will reappear and there's a beautiful حدي there's a conversation between علي بن يقطين who's a companion of إمام الكاظم الرضا and his father يقطين يقطين was with بن العباس his son علي بن يقطين is with أهل البيت so يقطين he tells his son علي بن يقطين how come we have أحاديث from رسول الله that you narrate from your إمامs that بن العباس will have a government رسول الله said بن العباس my nephews they will have a government and my cousins and we also you also have أحاديث that you أهل البيت our government happened بن العباس their government happened 100 years after رسول الله your government hasn't happened yet what's the problem how come this happened this didn't happen علي بن يقطين he gave him this answer that he heard from إمام الكاظم he told him look both of them are from رسول الله so both of them are right the only difference is your time came the time of بن العباس government came our time hasn't come yet the time of the government of أهل البيت hasn't come yet if أهل البيت would have said بن العباس government is in 100 years our government is in 2000 years this of course the شيع they would do كفر they would apostasize what بن العباس 100 years way 5000 years we don't want this the شيع they go and they become they follow other people so to preserve the faith of the شيع they did not want people to despair they did not tell them when the فرج will be this is number two and finally number three and we'll end with this the third reason why أهل البيت they didn't tell us when إمام المهدي will reappear is because of البدا or yeah when إمام المهدي will appear is because of البدا البدا I spoke about it last year entire lecture Allah sometimes informs us of some things and then he erases it he changes it imagine إمام of أهل البيت what I've told us إمام المهدي will appear in 1999 and then all of a sudden Allah does بدا he erases it he says no 2099 1999 comes we see there's no مهدي what will we say that إمام's life but they didn't lie الله سبحانه و تعاله changed matters this is called بدا we believe in بدا and if you want to understand it I have a lecture about بدا I gave last year and it's on youtube so الله سبحانه و تعاله sometimes he will change so if Allah may change it why give a date and then it will it may change and then I will turn out to be like a liar and that's why in one حديث when the Imam was asked why do you not give us a time what did the Imam say he said كذب الوقاتون and then he said the story of Prophet Musa what is it he said الله سبحانه و تعاله I told Musa come to the mountain 30 days for the ميقات he told I will go for 30 days and come back when he went to the to the mountain الله he did بدا he at the 10 days he told him not 30 days 40 days the 30th day came they saw Musa is nowhere to be found 31 they said what Musa lied to us he said 30 days he's not here what did they do they went and they started to do سجود and prostrate to the calf the عجل so when he came back he saw they had all apostatized he said for the suiz and the Imam الله did not or we أهل البيت do not give a time for the reappearance of the Imam so if but that happens the Shi'a I don't say oh the Imam's lied and they begin to despair in the hope of Allah سبحانه وتعالى these are three questions that we understand about زمن الغيبة الكبرى there are two important questions left number one why did Imam المهدي go in the state of غيبة and number two how can we benefit from an Imam that's in the state of غيبة we will address that insha'Allah tomorrow I ask Allah سبحانه وتعالا to give us the توفيق that we continue in the footsteps of Ahad el-Bayt and Imam المهدي عدر الله تعالى ورجوه الشريف and I ask him to accept الله رعمان ورصيام وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على محمد وآله الطيبين الطاهرين