Verse No. 7
“No time is devoid of a righteous Imam that whoever dies with him has gained salvation.”
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى حِكَايَةً عَنْ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ:
﴿وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْأَبْرَارِ﴾[1]
Translation:
God Almighty has said quoting the men of wisdom:
“And make us die with the righteous”.
Consideration
أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ الدَّامْغَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنْ قَوْلِ أُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ: ﴿وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْأَبْرَارِ﴾، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الزَّمَانَ لَا يَخْلُو مِنْ إِمَامِ بِرٍّ مَنْ تُوُفِّيَ مَعَهُ فَقَدْ أَفْلَحَ، فَلَازِمُوا إِمَامَ الْبِرِّ فِي زَمَانِكُمْ تُفْلِحُوا! قُلْتُ: وَمَنْ إِمَامُ الْبِرِّ فِي زَمَانِنَا؟ قَالَ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُقَالُ لَهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ، قُلْتُ: كَيْفَ نُلَازِمُهُ وَلَا نَعْرِفُهُ؟! قَالَ: إِذَا أَحَسَّ مِنْكُمُ الْمُلَازَمَةَ عَرَّفَكُمْ نَفْسَهُ، كَمَا غَابَ عَنْكُمْ إِذْ أَحَسَّ مِنْكُمُ الْمُفَارَقَةَ!
Translation:
Ali ibn Isma’il al-Damghani informed us, he said: I asked Mansoor about the words of the wise that say: “And make us die with the righteous”, so he said: No time is empty of a righteous Imam with whom whoever dies will gain salvation, so be companions of the righteous Imam in your time to gain salvation! I said: Who is the righteous Imam in our time? He said: A man from the household of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, who is called Mahdi, I said: How can we be his companions when we do not know him?! He said: Whenever he feels companionship in you, he will introduce himself to you, just as when he felt separation in you, he hid from you!