as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ﴾[1]; “He said: ‘I am better than him,’” and for this reason, he did not submit in recognition of and obedience to Adam. Therefore, Allah nullified his belief and deed, deeming him “disbelieving” in belief and “sinful” 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 to Adam,’ so they prostrated, except Iblis, who refused, displayed arrogance, and was among the disbelievers,” and: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ﴾[3]; “And when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate to Adam,’ so they all prostrated, except Iblis, who was of the jinn, and thus became sinful against the command of his Lord.” Therefore, it is clear that anyone who refuses recognition of Allah’s caliph on the Earth and obedience to him has taken an approach similar to that of Iblis and is among the party of Satan, and accordingly, his belief and deed—like those of Satan—are nullified; 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 Way for People to Recognize the Mahdi]

It is clear that, after the obstacle to the Mahdi’s appearance is removed and people gain access to him, it becomes necessary for them to recognize him objectively and with certainty. Such recognition is attained by a sign from Allah, since the Mahdi is Allah’s caliph; thus, to recognize him, there is no way but to refer to Allah. Referring to Allah is possible by referring to someone on the Earth whose truthfulness in reporting from Allah is certain; and he is either a person whose truthfulness in reporting from Allah has been established by a sign from Him, or someone designated by such a person. Therefore, Allah’s caliph on the Earth is recognized either through himself—when he brings a sign from Allah—or through the caliph before him—when he is designated by that caliph.