Can the Mahdi be met by fulfilling obligations, doing more recommended deeds, vowing to perform prayer, fast, give charity, and do other acts of worship?
Question & Answer
Meeting the Mahdi, based on the view that he exists at present, is possible for whoever encounters him, but knowing him before his advent is impossible except for one who possesses sufficient intellect and piety and does not expose him to danger knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, the one whom most of the claimants of meeting the Mahdi have seen in unusual conditions and thought that he was the Mahdi was probably someone other than the Mahdi, perhaps an Angel, a jinn, or one of the righteous. Moreover, there is no doubt that the most beneficial meeting with the Mahdi is possible after his advent and the establishment of his authority. Therefore, those who hope to meet him should join the preparer of the ground for his advent and help him to establish his authority instead of overburdening themselves in the corners of houses with acts of worship that Allah Almighty has not written for them!
*For more information, look at the appendices.
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Appendices
Sub-Questions & Answers
What is the opinion of His Eminence Allamah 
on the reports attributed to men such as Sheikh al-Mufid and Ayatollah ... of meeting Imam Mahdi 
? Is it possible at all to meet Imam Mahdi before his advent while knowing him, not as an ordinary man? Thank you in advance for your reply.
Please note the following points:
1. Based on the belief that Imam Mahdi exists at present, there is no rational obstacle to meeting him. However, considering that he must practice taqiyyah in dealing with his enemies and the ignorant from among his admirers to protect himself, the possibility of meeting him while knowing him is very limited. Therefore, meeting him without knowing him is undoubtedly possible and may happen, and meeting him while knowing him is not impossible either, except that it is mostly unnecessary and contrary to precaution and interest.
2. Meeting Imam Mahdi even if it happens, mostly cannot be proved. Therefore, there is no reason to claim it in most cases, even though it cannot be denied in many cases either.
3. The meeting of Imam Mahdi with those who claim to have met him while they are involved in clear oppression or misguidance is extremely unlikely; because, on the one hand, meeting them is contrary to precaution and interest, and on the other hand, it is not possible to happen except with rebuking them for their oppression and misguidance. Also, the claim of those who attribute to Imam Mahdi a saying or a deed that contradicts the certainties of Islam is nothing but a lie and slander against him. This is a very common injustice among the claimants and their followers, to the extent that some of them, to validate their beliefs and actions that contradict the intellect and Sharia, claim that they have met Imam Mahdi and he has ordered them to hold and practice those beliefs and actions, while this claim is just a lie and slander against him. It is clear that the one who has taught these people beliefs and actions that contradict the intellect and Sharia has not been Imam Mahdi but rather it has been Satan, who shows himself to his followers in various forms and leads them astray from the path of the intellect and Sharia. This is a terrifying truth that Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has disclosed in one of his words of wisdom; as one of our companions informed us, he said:
«ذُكِرَ عِنْدَ الْمَنْصُورِ أَحْمَدُ الْحَسَنُ[1]، فَقَالَ: أَدْرَكْتُ شَيْطَانَهُ بِمُلْتَقَى الطَّرِيقَيْنِ، فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَقْتُلَهُ فَهَرَبَ مِنِّي! أَلَا وَاللَّهِ لَوْ قَتَلْتُهُ لَارْتَاحَ الرَّجُلُ كَأَنَّمَا نَشِطَ مِنْ عِقَالٍ! قُلْتُ: أَلَهُ شَيْطَانٌ -جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، وَيُقَالُ لَهُ الْمُتَكَوِّنُ، يَأْتِيهِ وَأَصْحَابَهُ فِي كُلِّ صُورَةٍ فَيُغْوِيهِمْ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَا يَأْتِيهِمْ فِي صُورَةِ الْمَهْدِيِّ»[2]; “We were with His Eminence Mansoor when Ahmad al-Hasan was mentioned, so he said: I found his Satan at a road junction, so I tried to kill him, then he ran away from me! I swear to Allah if I had killed him, he would have become comfortable like he has been released from straps! I said: is there a Satan for him- may I be your sacrifice? He said: yes and his name is Matkun, he comes to him with every face, then he deceives him, except he does not come to him with Mahdi’s face!”
We seek refuge with Allah from Satan and his friends, who spare no effort to mislead people and exploit the name of Imam Mahdi to achieve their evil purposes and spread their wrong beliefs and actions.
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