as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ﴾[1]; “He said: ‘I am better than him,’” and this is why he did not submit to accepting from and obeying him, and for this reason, Allah nullified his beliefs and deeds and considered him a “disbeliever” in belief and a “sinner” in deed; as He has said: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ﴾[2]; “And when We said to the Angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ then they all prostrated except for Satan who refused and acted arrogantly, and he was one of the disbelievers,” and said: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ﴾[3]; “And when We said to the Angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ then they all prostrated except for Satan who was one of the jinn, so he sinned against the command of his Lord.” Therefore, it is clear that whoever refuses to accept from and obey the Caliph of Allah on the earth has taken an approach similar to the approach of Satan and is one of the party of Satan, and therefore, his beliefs and deeds will come to nothing, like his beliefs and deeds; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أُولَئِكَ حِزْبُ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ أَلَا إِنَّ حِزْبَ الشَّيْطَانِ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ﴾[4]; “They are the party of Satan; be aware that the party of Satan are indeed the losers.”

[The method for people to know Mahdi]

It is clear that after removing the impediment to the advent of Mahdi and people’s access to him, it is essential for them to know him objectively in a certain manner, and this knowing is achieved through a sign from Allah; because Mahdi is the Caliph of Allah, and therefore, there is no way to know him except by going to Allah, and going to Allah is possible by going to a person on the earth whose truthfulness in what he says from Allah is known, and he is either a person whose truthfulness in what he says from Allah is known by a sign from Him or a person who has been introduced by such a person based on his truthfulness in what he says from Allah. Based on this, the Caliph of Allah on the earth is known either by himself, when he brings a sign from Allah, or by the Caliph before him, when he is introduced by him.