For example, a woman who went through her menstrual cycle in the Holy Month of Ramadan must make up for her missed fast and not her missed prayers. Does that mean that fasting is better than prayer? The distinction in the ruling does not actually mean that fasting is superior to prayers.
Another example, when it comes to the estate of a deceased man who has no children, the mother inherits a third while the father inherits a sixth. Does that mean that the mother is superior to the father? What about the other rules that give some preference to the father? Again, these rules do establish a difference in their application, but they do not indicate actual preference or superiority.
All this simply means that religious rules may be the result of constructive social goals, and do not reflect actual preference or superiority. A group of individuals may each be at a different status in the eyes of God, but the religious rules may show preferences that do not necessarily reflect that.
So in conclusion, the fact that men are given preference in some religious rulings – i.e. that a man gets double the share of a woman in inheritance or that a man’s testimony is equal to the testimony of two women – does not indicate an actual preference. God says,
O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of God is the most Godwary among you.[200]
He also said, “Whoever acts righteously, [whether] male or female, should they be faithful, We shall revive them with a good life.”[201]
Women’s Role in Imam Mahdi’s Movement
Do women play a role in Imam Mahdi’s (a) movement, either at the time of reappearance or before that? We affirm that they play a significant and heroic role in the blessed movement.
Textual Evidence
There are a number of narrations in which our Imams (a) mention the role of women in the movement of Imam Mahdi (a). For example, it is reported that Imam Sadiq (a) said, “By God, three hundred and thirteen individuals, amongst them fifty women, will come and gather in Mecca without a predetermined appointment.”[202] So there will be fifty women who are of the closest companions of the Imam (a), as these 313 individuals will be his closest advisors, the pillars of his government, his most loyal companions, and his most trusted supporters. This elite group of individuals will include 50 women.
Furthermore, the texts are mostly phrased in absolute terms and do not address men in particular. For example God says, “There has to be a nation among you summoning to the good, bidding what is right, and forbidding what is wrong.”[203] In another verse God also says, “The faithful, men and women, are guardians of one another: they bid what is right and forbid what is wrong.”[204] This basically means that women are guardians over their husbands, much like men are guardians over their wives. For example, if a woman sees her husband neglecting his prayers or listening to music, she has the authority to bid him do right and forbid him from wrong.
So what has been narrated from the Holy Prophet (s) – “The best deed for my nation is to await relief from God.”[205] – is not a specific instruction for men only. The women who are sincere and excel in the fields of medicine, education, or any other profession are awaiting relief from God.
Historical Evidence
The history of Islam was not crafted solely by men. Women played a large role in the development of Islamic history and heritage. Just as the companions such as Abu Thar, Salman, Miqdad, and Ammar played a critical role in Muslim history, there were women who played a similar role. For example, Lady Khadija (a) provided vital moral and financial support for the Holy Prophet (s) in his mission to deliver the divine message.
Or Lady Fatima (a) in her stance and struggle, when she lent her time, effort, and her life to defend the nation’s right to a rightly guided successor to the Holy Prophet (s).
Or Lady Zaynab (a) and her critical role in propagating the message of Imam Hussain’s (a) movement.
Or Lady Hakima, the daughter of Imam Jawad (a), who was a religious scholar and an intermediary between the Imams (a) and their Shia.
These great women did not take their role due to exigent or exceptional circumstances. They are foundational roles that showed Muslim women how to be part of the making of history. They inspire Muslim women to rise with vigor and determination to fulfill such vital roles.
A Cosmic Civilization
In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Know that God revives the earth after its death. We have certainly made the signs clear for you, so that you may exercise your reason.[206]
What does it mean that God will revive the earth after its death? There are two narrations that address this issue directly. It is reported that Imam Baqir (a) said, “God will revive [the earth] with Al-Qa’im (a) after its death. Its death is the disbelief of its denizens…”[207] It is also reported that Imam Sadiq (a) said in reference to the verse, “God will revive it through the justice of Al-Qa’im (a) after it dies by the oppression of the chiefs of deviation.”[208]
Now, if we momentarily put these narration aside, how can we be sure that the verse actually refers to the Twelfth Imam? There are two major sources of support for this interpretation.
First, we must look at the preceding verse,
Is it not time yet for those who have faith that their hearts should be humbled for God’s remembrance and toward the truth which has come down [to them], and to be not like those who were given the Book before? Time took its toll on them….[209]
The expression “time took its toll on them” is an indication that the Jews and Christians went through a period of waiting. Moses (a) had left them and they awaited his return. They awaited the birth of Jesus (a) after Moses (a). The verse then continues, “Their hearts were hardened, and many of them are transgressors.”
The verse thus indicates that the nation of the Holy Prophet (s) will go through a period much like that of the People of the Book. It will go through a prolonged period of waiting. It must take heed not to gall into the same errors as earlier nations. “Time took its toll on them and so their hearts were hardened, and many of them are transgressors.”
The expression “time took its toll” in the preceding verse is an indication that the revival of the earth after its death is something that will happen after a prolonged period of waiting. This does not apply to any theory other than what we explained above – i.e. that Imam Mahdi (a) is the instrument with which God will revive the earth.
Second, the verse says, “Know that God revives the earth after its death.” What does it mean that He will revive the earth? Which earth? The verse did not say that God may revive a piece of the earth after it dies. Rather, it refers to the earth as a whole. So what is the day in which God will revive the entire earth?
The indication is that before the appearance of Imam Mahdi (a), the earth will suffer a physical and spiritual death. It will be struck with disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods alongside the disastrous consequences of global warming. It will be revived after this death by a new global civilization. That is the day that the Holy Prophet (s) foretold of when he said,
If there is naught left in this world but a single day, God will prolong that day until a man of my Progeny (a) emerges and fills the earth with justice just as it was filled with injustice and transgression.[210]
This same meaning is reiterated in many other narrations. In elaborating on the verse, “The earth will glow with the light of its lord,” it is reported that Imam Sadiq (a) said, “The lord of the earth is its Imam.” The Imam (a) was asked what would happen once the Imam emerges out of occultation. He replied, “People will no longer need sunlight and moonlight, and will suffice themselves with his light.”[211]
This narration tells us that, since the Awaited Imam (a) is a manifestation of God’s glory and omnipotence, and once he leads the earth it will glow by his light. The fact that the verse comes within the context of the H
oly Quran’s elaboration on the events preceding Judgment does not refute this explanation. The establishment of Imam Mahdi’s (a) state, which will allow the earth to glow with his light, is a precedent event to Judgment.
These verses indicate that the earth will be revived through a new civilization that will be established on earth after his appearance. Speaking of this civilization will focus on three points.
Civilization as a Goal
The purpose of mankind’s existence on earth is to establish a cosmic civilization. The goal is not simply a global civilization, as that would not have much value in relation to the rest of the universe. Establishing a cosmic civilization would mean human control over the universe’s infinitely expansive space, in all its atoms, galaxies, energy sources, and treasures. The goal is a cosmic civilization, and this view can be supported by intellectual and textual proofs.
Intellectual Proof
There is no debating the fact that the universe is teeming with energies and undiscovered mysteries. In fact, scientists assert that there are a great many things that we still do not know about our own planet. There are millions of planets out there that we can study further. There are many mysteries swimming through space that mankind is yet to discover.
So we ask, ‘Why did God create all these stars and galaxies? Did God create all this without a purpose?’ If we say that there is no purpose behind the creation of the stars and galaxies, then we are claiming that God created it all frivolously. Frivolity is vice, and God the All Wise would never engage in a vice. The Holy Quran explicitly states,
We did not create the sky and the earth and whatever is between them for play. Had We desired to take up some diversion We would have taken it up with Ourselves, were We to do [so].[212]
In another verse, God says,
We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them for play. We did not create them except with consummate wisdom; but most of them do not know.[213]
All creation has a purpose. But what is that purpose?
The purpose for creation of the universe is to be at the disposal of mankind. Mankind is the only creature that has the potential to discover and develop the universe and its treasures. God says,
Certainly We have honored the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with all the good things, and preferred them with a complete preference over many of those We have created.[214]
The reason for the creation of the universe is so mankind can invest it in its entirety. This is what we mean by a cosmic civilization. Otherwise, the creation of the universe would be frivolous. This is what the verses of the Holy Quran emphasize. God says,
O company of jinn and humans! If you can pass through the confines of the heavens and the earth, then do pass through. But you will not pass through except by an authority [from God].[215]
The verse indicates that whenever mankind possesses authority, they will come to control the universe. In another verse, God says, “Indeed We presented the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to undertake it and were apprehensive of it; but man undertook it.”[216]
Some narrations say that the Trust in the verse is allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a).[217] It could also mean dominion over the universe in light of allegiance to Imam Ali (a), as this dominion is something that no creature is able to attain but humankind. In some verse, God mentions the earth specifically. For example, the Holy Quran says, “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed I am going to set a vicegerent on the earth.’”[218] But this reference to the earth simply indicates the capital of the vicegerency and does not limit its dominion. So the dominion of the vicegerency is the entire universe. This dominion cannot be established without a civilization that can come to control the entire expanse of outer space.
Textual Proof
First, the verses indicate that the entire universe is deeply interconnected. We can easily imagine how disruptive it would be if you take the sun or the moon out of existence because of their direct influence on our world. The same is true across the universe, as each object effects and is effected by other objects far and wide. We read in the Holy Quran, “Neither it behooves the sun to overtake the moon, nor may the night outrun the day, and each swims in an orbit.”[219] We also read,
Do you not see that God has disposed for you whatever there is in the heavens and whatever there is in the earth and He has showered upon you His blessings, the outward, and the inward?[220]
What does it mean that God has disposed the universe for us? It means that that the stars that are four hundred or more light years away are also at our disposal. They affect us whether we like it or not. We are affected by every star, planet, and object out there.
God also says: “He disposed the sun and the moon for you, constant [in their courses], and He disposed the night and the day”;[221] “the sun, the moon, and the stars, [all of them] disposed by His command”;[222] and “He has disposed for [your benefit] whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth; all is from Him.”[223]
The universe is one family. The sun affects all living things on Earth. Mankind has been attempting to understand celestial bodies and their effects on the earth. Thousands of years ago, humans began to develop theories on astronomy as a means of deciphering the movements of stars and other celestial objects. We are now better able to understand our relationship to the vast expanse of outer-space through scientific programs like the Hubble telescope and the Apollo space missions.
Second, it is important for us to attempt to understand our relation to the rest of the universe. Just as we are asked to pray and fast, we are also asked to study and understand the universe.
God says,
Have you not regarded that God is glorified by everyone in the heavens and the earth, and the birds spreading their wings. Each knows his prayer and glorification, and God knows best what they do.[224]
In another verse God says, “Whatever there is in the heavens and in the earth glorifies God, the Sovereign, the All-holy, the All-mighty, the All-wise.”[225] He also says, “There is not a thing but celebrates His praise, but you do not understand their glorification.”[226]
These verses not only indicate God’s omnipotence and sustenance of the entire universe through the glorifications of all beings, but also that mankind needs to work to understand these glorifications. God says, “But you do not understand their glorification” – meaning that you must work to understand their glorifications.
We cannot understand these glorifications unless we understand our relation to them. We cannot do that until we establish the cosmic civilization. Once we establish that civilization, we will discover the secrets of the universe, understand our relation to all creation, and begin to comprehend these glorifications. That is why God says in the Holy Quran,
Those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth [and say], ‘Our Lord, You have not created this in vain! Immaculate are You! Save us from the punishment of the Fire.’[227]
Thus, mankind’s purpose on earth is to establish the cosmic civilization and discover the secrets of the universe.
Imam Mahdi and Global Civilization
The civilization that will be ushered by Imam Mahdi (a) is the cosmic civilization that mankind is meant to establish. This can be seen in the discussion of two matters.
Technology
The state of Imam Mahdi (a) is not one of swords and spades. His movement will not take mankind back in history. Rather, his state will be the most technologically advanced in human history. It will also be the most spiritually advanced, as establishing the cosmic civilization and discovering the secrets of the universe will lead mankind to better understand its Creator.
We believe that the day of Imam Mahdi’s (a) emergence is the day that God will fulfill his promise to mankind. God says, “And We desired to show favor to those who were abased in the l
and, and to make them imams, and to make them the heirs.”[228] God promised that one day those who are abased in the earth will be made to inherit it. God also made a promise specifically to the pious – “The earth indeed belongs to God, and He gives its inheritance to whomever He wishes of His servants, and the outcome will be in favor of the Godwary.”[229]
God will bless his servants with the day of the emergence of Imam Mahdi (a), as that will be the day of civil and spiritual perfection. This is understood from the verses, which speak of this day as a promise of great favor and blessings. God says, “God has promised those of you who have faith and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors in the earth.”[230]
God also says to the Holy Prophet (s), “We did not send you but as a mercy to all creation.”[231] God could have said that the Holy Prophet (s) is a mercy to mankind, but instead said to “all creation.” This includes beasts, plants, and inanimate objects. How could this be?
This absolute mercy has not yet taken full effect. The scholars of mysticism say that mercy is the actualization of perfection. If something becomes perfect in some way, it has received mercy. For example, a seed that is sown and grows to become a tree has received mercy. If it is sown but withers before becoming a tree, it was denied mercy. So when the verse says “we did not send you but as a mercy to all creation,” it means that there will be a day when all creation will receive mercy in this way. It speaks of a day when all creation will reach perfection. That is the day when the cosmic civilization at the hands of Imam Mahdi (a), who is the extension of his grandfather the Holy Prophet (s).
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