Occultation (Ghaibat) Of Past Prophets – Hazrat Saleh (a.s.)
Dear children, it is now more than 1,095 years since our beloved Imam – Hazrat Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) has gone into major occultation (Ghaibat-e-Kubra). Ghaibat of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) is a great calamity for us. We cannot meet our beloved Imam like the Shias of the earlier periods used to meet the Imams (a.s.). We cannot speak to him, rather we cannot even see him like the Shias used to speak to, and see the previous 11 Imams (a.s.). This separation from our Imam makes Ghaibat a difficulty for us and we should pray to Allah to remove this calamity with Imam’s (a.t.f.s.) earliest reappearance. We continue our series on Ghaibat of the past prophets (a.s.) from the book of Kamaaluddin. As we know this is a very famous book written by Shaikh Saduq (r.a.) by the order of Imam (a.t.f.s.) himself. Imam (a.t.f.s.) commanded Shaikh Saduq (r.a.) to record the Ghaibat of the previous prophets (a.s.) in this book. In this way Imam (a.t.f.s.) wanted the people to know that Ghaibat was a common trait of the previous prophets (a.s.). When we hear Hazrat Saleh’s (a.s.) name, we are reminded of his great miracle, i.e. the she-camel of Allah.
As Allah says in the Holy Quran:
‘And to Samood (We sent) their brother Saleh. He said: 0 my people! Serve Allah, you have no god other than Him; clear proof indeed has come to you from your Lord; this is (as) Allah’s she-camel for you – a sign, therefore leave her alone to pasture on Allah’s earth, and do not touch her with any harm, otherwise painful chastisement will overtake you.’
(Surah Araaf, (7):73)
The she-camel was very big and gave enough milk to feed the entire nation. It was a blessing for the people. However, some evil people of the nation killed this she-camel. They disobeyed Allah and were severely punished by Him. Even in the Islamic nation, some evil people killed a great blessing of Allah – Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s.) and ignored the Holy Prophet’s (s.a.w.a) warning about treating his successor well. When Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) left his nation he was middle-aged, with a big belly, a fine body, a dense beard and of medium height. When he returned after some years, he looked youthful and there were no signs of aging. As a result, the people could not recognize him. Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) found the people divided into 3 groups.
The first group was in doubt about whether he was the same Saleh who had left the nation many years ago. The second group denied him completely. They did not believe for a moment that he was the same Saleh who left the nation years ago. The third group of people was steadfast in its belief and accepted Hazrat Saleh as the prophet of their nation.
Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) first approached the group that doubted him. When he claimed to be Saleh, they refused to accept him and instead abused him and turned him away. Then he went to the group that denied him. Even they did not believe in his claim and abused him. Both these groups denied Hazrat Saleh’s (a.s.) prophethood by saying, ‘The Saleh we knew looked different from you. You cannot be the same Saleh.’ Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) explained, ‘Allah gives the appearance to whomsoever He Pleases. He is the One who has given me this appearance to test you.’ But they remained stubborn in their disbelief.
Finally Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) turned his attention to the third group. This group was steadfast in its faith. Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) approached them and introduced himself as Saleh – the same prophet who had left their nation years ago. The group asked him, ‘If you are Saleh, then inform us about him.’ Hazrat Saleh (a.s.) revealed, ‘I got the she-camel for you. She used to drink water for one day and you used to drink water on the next day.’ The group replied, ‘We accept you as the same Prophet Saleh. We only wanted to test you before accepting you.’ In this manner, only one small group accepted, while the majority rejected him.
From this incident we learn that:
- Ghaibat was common among the previous prophets (a.s.). Therefore, Imam’s (a.s.) Ghaibat is not surprising or something new.
- We should respect Allah’s Blessing. We should not take it lightly or destroy it, like Hazrat Saleh’s nation destroyed the she-camel.
- Allah gives an appearance to whomsoever He Pleases and can make an old man look young. Even Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) shall look like a youth on his reappearance despite his advanced age.
- Just like the majority rejected Hazrat Saleh (a.s.), the majority of the people shall deny Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.). Very few people shall accept Imam (a.t.f.s.) as their leader. We should pray to Allah to include us among that small group who shall believe in Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.).
- For his government, Imam (a.t.f.s.) does not need a large number of people. Even a small number, with steadfastness and firm belief is sufficient for him. We should try to do good actions so that even we can become a part of this group.
February 24th, 2009 at 3:44 am
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