The Two Eras of Imam Mehdi (as)
Danial Abid's question
Walailkum Assalam.
'Imam Mehdi (as) adopted Seclusion.
Please explain the secret behind this. Thank you.'
The secret behind this is that when Imam Mehdi (as)
adopted Seclusion because
Imam Mehdi arrived in Kehtul Rijaal or the Age of Darkness
according to the Divine Plan.
The Age of Darkness is one which has no spiritual dignitary
in which there are no Perfect Spiritual Guides
Such an era is known as the Age of Darkness
The word 'Keht' means something like deficit or shortage.
And 'Rijaal' in Arabic means 'man' generally
but it refers to a Man of Valour.
Since this is spiritual and Sufi terminology
so it actually means an era in which there are no spiritual dignitaries.
An era in which there are no Perfect Spiritual Guides, the true Men of Valour
There are none who have witnessed the divine splendour
so such an era is known as the Age of Trials.
Imam Mehdi (as) has come in an era
according to a Prophetic Tradition
an era in which there will be but a few lamps lit.
People assumed that perhaps the Third World War will happen
and electricity; all these flashing lights
all of this will be destroyed and we will be in the Stone Age once again.
We will have to use oil lamps and this is the era the Prophetic Tradition is referring to.
It does not indicate such an era.
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said this when explaining the esoteric aspect of this world
and what he meant was there will be but a scarce few hearts illumined up with the name of God.
Islam denotes this era as Kehtul Rijaal
and Hinduism calls it 'Kalyug'.
It means the same thing.
Kalyug means darkness; Dark Ages.
Darkness.
An era in which there is no divine energy, no one to grant divine energy and no enlightened hearts.
And in Islam, it is known as Daur-e-Fitn (Era of Trials).
So not only is it the Dark Ages but on top of that, it is the Era of Trials.
What is the Era of Trials?
We already know that there are no spiritual dignitaries
despite that, you will see dozens of saints sitting in every corner, in every street.
There would be no real saints
but wherever you go, you will find people who claim to be saints from different Sufi Orders like the Qadri, Naqshbandi, Chishti, etc.
who claim to not only be Caliphs from somewhere or other but also to have pledged allegiance to all Sufi Orders at once.
This is the Era of Trials.
And in this era, no one is aware of the reality of a true Saint.
No one knows who is a Perfect Spiritual Guide.
No one knows.
So we are in the Era of Trials and the Dark Ages.
You understand?
Now if Imam Mehdi
arrives and announces that He is Imam Mehdi
then in these Dark Ages
in which people do not have the ability to recognise a Perfect Spiritual Guide
they don't even have the ability to know who is on the right path, the Straight Path, from among the Wahhabis, Deobandi, Barelvi, Shiites and Sunnis
then who would recognise Imam Mehdi in this Era of Trials?
So what happens is someone in India, in Junagadh, claims to be Imam Mehdi
and those who believe him become hellbound
and then someone from Qadian claims to be Imam Mehdi and people will start believing him.
This is due to the fact that in every era nobody possessed the criterion
to actually recognise the rank of faith
or to recognise the Straight Path
let alone being able to recognise Imam Mehdi.
How would they recognise Imam Mehdi?
Therefore, for the well-being and betterment of humanity
there were two eras designated for Imam Mehdi.
How many? [Audience repeats].
The first era of Imam Mehdi
in which He had to wear a cloak of obscurity
and prepare a caravan
of people who have the criterion to recognise faith as well as Imam Mehdi.
While remaining undercover, Imam Mehdi has to first prepare His platform.
His hub, so to speak.
And He must prepare His people with such integrity that they cannot be beaten when it comes to esoteric knowledge.
No one can challenge them when it comes to esoteric knowledge.
They would be unmatchable when it comes to the spiritual power they hold.
Unmatched spiritual power.
And when it's about activating the hearts
then the followers of Imam Mehdi would express powers like the Command Be.
They would reflect the power of Command Be.
And they would propagate Imam Mehdi; His personality, His teachings, His benevolence.
And when the world becomes aware of what they can receive from Imam Mehdi
and the purpose of Imam Mehdi's coming into this world
thereafter, Imam Mehdi's advent will take place.
And in this case, the people that He trained
the people who preached and propagated about Imam Mehdi to the world,
the world will not only have the criterion to recognise Imam Mehdi
but they will also know what they are to obtain from Imam Mehdi.
This is how Imam Mehdi (as) has two eras.
In the first era, Imam Mehdi has to prepare His staff; His caravan.
One day, His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi
while in Sharjah or Dubai said the same thing.
He said, 'I swear to God
I am neither preparing you for God nor for paradise.
I am preparing you for Imam Mehdi.'
I am preparing you for Imam Mehdi.
So this means that right now you are being given the esoteric power and the esoteric criterion
to prepare the caravan of Imam Mehdi.
Imam Mehdi's... [Audience repeats].
The propagation of Imam Mehdi is happening and the introduction of Imam Mehdi is being given to people all over the world
Before this, the concept of Imam Mehdi in the world
especially in western countries
especially countries such as Canada, America, UK, France, Germany, etc.
this entire western block
The concept they were given about Imam Mehdi was entirely false
and completely misguided.
And this misguided concept about Imam Mehdi
was given to the western countries by Iran.
They said: Imam Mehdi is coming. We are preparing a nuclear bomb which we will use on you.
And that the Shiites will control the entire world.
No, that's not how it is.
Imam Mehdi is not coming to wage war.
Imam Mehdi is not coming to defeat anyone.
Imam Mehdi is coming to connect humanity to God.
Imam Mehdi is coming to establish the religion
Imam Mehdi... [Audience repeats]
the religion which only had Prophets as practitioners.
Deen-e-Hanif.
Imam Mehdi (as) is coming to establish the religion which God mentioned in the Koran into the hearts and souls of people.
Koran 110:1-3
This is the religion: God's Religion. God's religion is God's love, God's rapturous love.
Imam Mehdi is coming to grant God's love for the entire humanity.
This is the correct introduction of Imam Mehdi: Imam Mehdi's message is Love.
It is not killing, war or hatred.
It is not to support one religion and degrade another.
Rather, it is to elevate humankind
and to bring out the entire humanity from misguidance.
It is to free them from the shackles of religion and let them soar in the skies
where they can see the Lord.
This true concept of Imam Mehdi (as) is now spreading worldwide.
ALRA TV: Bringing Light, Love and Peace in Your Life