Table of Contents Intruduction

The religio-Islamic concept of faraj

The religious teaching of faraj is among the most important divine promises brought by Islam. According to this divine tradition and based on the unanimous view of all Islamic sects and groups, even if there be left a single day in the life this world God will prolong that final day so long as to allow the appearance of the Mahdi. Such a belief is shared by all divine religions, wherein the Promised Savior is referred to by a variety of appellations. In a broad overview, the existing views about the Promised Savior may be divided into the following categories (Movahhediyan `Attar, 2004: 38 – 39):

Based on nature:

1) Personal savior:

a. Of divine nature (e.g. Jesus in Christianity)

b. Of a purely human nature (e.g. Saoshyant in Zoroastrianism)

2) Impersonal savior (e.g. the ideal of a universal world peace in Daoism and Confucianism)

Based on function:

1) Individual salvation

2) Collective salvation

The collective savior may be further divided into the following categories:

1) Based on social function:

a. A purely social savior (e.g. among certain Indian and African tribes)

b. A spiritual as well as a social savior (e.g. in Islam)

c. A purely spiritual savior (e.g. in Mahayana Buddhism)

2) Based on the extent of the mission:

a. The savior of a particular nation (e.g. in Judaism and Zionism)

b. A universal savior (e.g. in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism)

3) Based on the objective:

a. Backward-looking:

I. Utopian (e.g. Plato)

II. Believing in heaven

III. Antiquarian (e.g. the promised ideal of Confucius)

b. Forward-looking:

I. Eschatological (e.g. Mahdi, as an individual not as a type)

II. Belonging to a particular juncture (e.g. Mahdi as a type, such as a reformer in Sunnism; or the savior in Zoroastrianism)

4) Based on cosmology:

a. With cosmological implications (e.g. the savior in Islam and Hinduism whose coming heralds the end of the world)

b. Without cosmological implications
Belief in the coming of a personal savior with divine attributes and from the progeny of the Holy Prophet of Islam is among the major convictions shared by all Islamic sects. Abdul `Alim Abdul `Azim Al-Bastuy (1999) of Umm al-Quray University in Mecca has conducted a research from a strict Wahhabi point of view wherein he has located 338 prophetic traditions (hadiths), 46 of which he has validated as authentic (sahih, or hasan) in terms of their chains of transmission. The content of these traditions refer to the certainty of the rising of the Promised Mahdi and his establishment of a just universal government as well as Christ’s adherence to him. In another research, Professor Shaykh Abdul Mohsen Al-`Ibad of the Islamic University of Medina has dealt with extremist views with regard to the principle of the belief in the coming of the Mahdi as reflected in hadiths transmitted by Sunni traditionists.

In any event, the important point is the nature and characteristics of Islam’s view with regard to the idea of faraj. What follows is a brief account of the characteristics of faraj.

The religious nature of faraj. One of the distinctive features of the Islamic idea of faraj is its divine aspect. Unlike other modern futurist outlooks, which harbor a view of the future of history based on the modern idea of progress and one that is summed up in the domination of the modern secular man, Islam views the future of history as one wherein man comes into harmony with the divine realm. In other words, from this latter point of view, the future is not one of domination of man but one of absolute domination of God. Therefore, the man of the era of faraj is one who is in perfect harmony with the divine creation. According to the Holy Quran, the coming of such an age will take place by divine command. Islam will be the universal religion and men will eagerly embrace the divine message of Islam with open arms. The main principle in the Islamic outlook on this issue is the sovereignty of God. In the Holy Quran God is said to be the origin of the command. “Indeed the command is but for Allah” (Yusuf (12): 76). “Surely His is the judgment (command)” (An`am (6): 62; Yusuf (12): 40). In other verses the prophets are said to be also possessed of hukm (command, judgment): “Surely, We have sent down to you the book with the truth, so that you may judge between the people by that which God has shown you” (Nisa’ (4): 105). In other parts of the Holy Quran reference is made to prophets and to the bestowal to them of hukm along with the book and prophecy: “Those are they to whom We gave the book, the judgment, the prophethood” (An`am (6): 82).

The spiritual and virtuous orientation of the era of the appearance. In the age of the appearance, unlike the current modern western view which considers virtue as a personal affair and as being outside of the ambit of the collective life of humans, the ideal society will be founded upon virtue and the ethical good. The most pressing preoccupation of the modern man has been the search for freedom. Contemporary political theories have based the nature of modern society and man upon the idea of freedom. In contrast to the classical theories of ancient Greece, and the views expounded by the thinkers of the Christian and Islamic eras, wherein the ultimate objective of society was to lay the groundwork for the realization of ethical virtues and salvation, in the post-Machiavellian period, the modern man has been obsessed with the search for freedom, which has been reflected in its individual and collective connotations in modern liberal and socialist theories (Bloom, 1997: vol. 2). However, in Islamic theories and the outlook of Muslim thinkers the objective in politics and in collective life is to lay the groundwork for human salvation. The well-known tradition of the Holy Prophet in which he compares the earthly life to a farm for cultivating one’s afterlife has been the source of inspiration for all social and political views in Islam. Therefore, for Muslim thinkers, politics is synonymous with the improvement of the people.

The central role of knowledge and rationality in Islam. One of the principles of Islamic thought, which also finds its reflection in the idea of faraj, is the crucial role assigned to reason and rational teachings. In a hadith of Imam al-Sadiq about knowledge, it is noted:
Science is made up of 27 letters. What has so far been brought by the prophets is only two of those letters and the people do not have the knowledge of but two letters. When our Mahdi rises, he will reveal the other 25 letters and will propagate them among the people. He will also add the other two letters and will disseminate the totality of the 27 letters among the people (Majlisi, 1411 (AH): vol. 52, p. 326).
The principal point in the Islamic idea of faraj is that, unlike the contemporary modern science which is founded upon a self-sustained rationality, as is aptly put by Max Weber who notes that instrumental rationality has supplanted judgmental rationality and that the modern man is solely after worldly interests, in Islam rationality and spirituality go hand in hand. A case in point is the opening hadith in the book of al-Kafi in which intellect is lauded and an oath is sworn to the effect that it is only bestowed by God Almighty upon the dearest of His men. Therefore, in the age of the appearance such rationality will be accessible to all men. In another tradition Imam al-Baqir is reported as saying that at the time of the rising of the Mahdi, he will place his hand upon men’s heads and thus will enhance their minds (Majlisi, ibid.: 336).

The universality of the Islamic faraj. Another one of the seminal features of the Islamic faraj is its universal message for all humans. In contrast to the messianic ideas of such religions as Judaism that consider the promised savior to belong to a particular race or group, the Islamic faraj is characterized by its universal orientation and its inclusion of the entire humanity. This is owing to the fact that God has bestowed His religion to all men and called all of them to a single religion. According to the unequivocal assertion of the Holy Quran, in the eyes of God there is only one religion and that is the religion of Islam. Based on this outlook, the Islamic faraj will also embrace the entire human community. At the age of the appearance, the elimination of injustice and the spread of peace and wisdom will be realized through the acceptance of Islam by all the people of the world. It may be possible to view Christ’s following of the Mahdi as the symbol of such unity. It goes without saying that Christians comprise a major portion of human population on earth and the adherence of Jesus to Imam al-Mahdi will epitomize the unification of the human race. This is the same “single community” (ummatan wahidatan) referred to in the Holy Quran, where the Almighty God speaks of the divine unified ummah (community) that will gather together at the time of the appearance.

The spread of justice and equality throughout the world. The Islamic faraj is also distinguished by its diffusion of justice and equity throughout the entire world. Justice has always been an ideal of humans throughout history. In spite of various theories and ideas set forth with regard to the notion of justice, its true realization continues to be as elusive as ever. The failure to attain to this ideal may be accounted for from the two viewpoints of theory and practice. What kind of justice may be compatible with the condition of men? Many answers have been offered in response to this question by thinkers throughout history, though no consensus has yet been reached. In time, many interpretations of justice have been abandoned in favor of new alternatives. This inability to arrive at a definition of justice acceptable to all men may be viewed as one obstacle in the way of its actual realization. Therefore, the formulation of an ultimate definition of justice that would be acceptable to all humans and that would be congruous with their innate characteristics is among the objectives of the Promised Mahdi, wherewith he would free man from their confusion regarding the nature of justice.

Another principal task of the Mahdi is to spread justice and equality throughout the world. According to Islamic traditions, this will take place when the world will have been filled with oppression and injustice; at a time when the people of the world will have been subjected to such levels of inequity that they would long for the establishment of justice in the world. Such longing will be of a global scale, an indication that injustice will not be specific to a particular region of the world. The ubiquity of injustice will be a sign of its universality in that age. Such a situation is indicative of an era when men are placed alongside one another and are fully aware of each other’s conditions throughout the world. In the past, owing to vast distances separating peoples, societies were characterized by different conditions. However, in the period immediately preceding the era of the appearance these distances will become insignificant. Therefore, it is possible to imagine a world where injustice is spread everywhere and where every individual is eagerly awaiting the coming of faraj. It is in relation to such crisis that justice will become universal throughout the world.

The philosophy of history and faraj

The idea of faraj may be viewed from another point of view, i.e. the Islamic outlook with regard to the philosophy of history. The logic of movement, the process, and the ultimate end of history are the three key issues as regards historical movement. It is quite obvious that the notion of a golden age is one that has as its focus the final destiny of human history. There exist two main views with regard to the end of history: one that is characterized by pessimism and another that foresees a bright future for the humankind. The study of future is also significant in terns of the mode of historical movement. Such views of history are based on a linear perspective. Others deem the movement of history as being cyclical. In contrast to the views predating the Abrahamic religions, mainly formed among the Hindu and tribal-human religions, that advocated a cyclical view of history, in the divine Abrahamic religions the movement of history is considered as being linear. History is viewed as having an ultimate destiny that is to be realized with the coming of the Savior. This will be the golden age of religions.

In Islam also according to the divine promise an auspicious destiny awaits the righteous, the dispossessed and the meek. Based on many Quranic verses and Islamic traditions, the divine tradition is founded upon the triumph of the truth over falsehood and the ultimate realization of the Islamic utopia. In the present discussion, the process of historical change, including the phenomenon of globalization, should also be viewed within the framework of this same historical dynamism and development. Human life was first shaped within the confines of the tribal system and, over time, was gradually integrated into larger societies. From the viewpoint of Islam’s philosophy of history, the terminus of history will come about with the realization of a unified Islamic community. According to the Holy Quran, the single God has a single ummah, whose members, regardless of their external differences, have been called upon to join together in the creation of a unified Islamic ummah (see Sadr, 1990; Mesbah Yazdi, 1989).

Undoubtedly, the divine tradition regarding the affairs of this world is effected through the use of means and instruments, a notion underlined in a well-known hadith (Majlisi, ibid.). The process of historical change will lay the groundwork for the realization of the ideal society. Surely, God was capable of establishing the ideal society through divine will. However, the tradition of trial necessitates humans to be put to the test such that the grounds for the creation of the ideal society may be laid over time. Through a wide range of experiences and trials, men will eventually arrive at the conclusion that it is only through the divine promise that the ideal society is to come about. All the societies predating the era of appearance will fail in their attempts to create the ideal community. This is owing to the unpreparedness of men. Though there have been many great and righteous leaders throughout history, they have been unable to give reality to their ideas owing to the unsuitable social conditions of their time. The same fate befell the government of Imam Ali, who himself foresaw an auspicious end to human history. In his Nahj al-Balaghah, the Imam refers to this aspect of history and asserts that the road to the government of Ahl al-Bayt (the Holy Prophet’s household) will eventually become open just as an unruly camel that eventually gives milk to her suckling (Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 200). Therefore, historical changes must be seen within the framework of their own logic and in the light of their role as preparatory developments toward the realization of the divine promise. In the same vein, globalization and developments of this type must be understood based on such logic, as will be made plain in the following pages.

Globalization and a deeper understanding of the idea of faraj

How can globalization shed light on the Islamic idea of faraj? To answer this question we must once again return to the characteristics of globalization. Though as was mentioned previously there exist many views regarding the phenomenon of globalization, it is possible to search for common denominators among them; factors that would contribute to the discussion of the Islamic ideal society as well as the Islamic idea of faraj.

a) The main characteristics of the era of globalization

The main features and universal characteristics of globalization may be grouped under the following headings:

1. Creation of unity among people and the establishment of a global community. One of the principal characteristics of globalization, in either of its connotations, may be said to be its encompassing of all the various aspects of human life. Globalization has attenuated the differences caused by distances in time and space and resulted in a situation where humans are more in harmony and live under more similar conditions.

Increasing concord in tastes, norms and cultures is one of the principal social and cultural consequences of globalization. Regardless of the content of such cultures, in reality, globalization impels people toward a state of homogenization. If at one time the world was divided into diverse regions and cultures, today, borders have disappeared and men have been placed in a state of ever-increasing proximity.

2. Intellectual development and increasing awareness of men in the age of globalization. One of the major features of the era of globalization is the ease of access to data and information. This factor creates a major distinction between the era of globalization and the previous stages of human history. Unlike in the past where the growth of knowledge was hampered by a paucity of hardware, today, globalization and the development in communication technologies that have facilitated the rise of the era of globalization have created a conducive atmosphere for the advancement of sciences. Of course, this state of affairs, through its virtualization of mentalities, has resulted in a new type of mystification (Shayegan). None the less, easy and quick access to data and information should be considered as one of the defining features of the age of globalization.

3. Laying the groundwork for the creation of organizations and a comprehensive system for global coordination. The new international conditions have given rise to an urgent need for the establishment of all-encompassing global bodies. The proliferation of international organizations in the past few decades has shifted the emphasis from local and national concerns to those with global ramifications. If at one time men were occupied with parochial issues and their aspirations were confined within local and regional frameworks, today, in the age of globalization, men have come to be concerned over common issues and are thus engaged in a search for commonly shared solutions. Therefore, globalization has laid the requisite groundwork for the establishment of an all-encompassing global system and government.

4. Man’s need for new content and meaning in the age of globalization. Another distinctive feature of the era of globalization may be said to be the challenges it has posed to the existing cultures and civilizations. Seen from this angle, it may be claimed that globalization has seriously jolted human cultures. This has been all the more noticeable owing to the integrative and homogenizing aspect of globalization. Therefore, in the era of globalization, men search for new meaning or at the least they cast a more conscious look at the institutionalized and ossified meaning of their previous lives. In other words, brought face to face with other cultures and civilizations, men are prompted into a state of self-examination. It is owing to this fact that the crisis of meaning has been deemed as among the characteristics of the age of globalization (Qavam, 2004: 35 – 48).
b) Globalization and the outlook for faraj

Undoubtedly, globalization has the potential to assist us, in certain ways, in gaining a deeper understanding of the Islamic idea of faraj. None the less, one should remain cognizant of the fact that, as it stands today, globalization differs in major ways from the Islamic notion of faraj. However, regardless of these distinctions, especially the views that consider globalization as synonymous with westernization or Americanization as well as the postmodern interpretations of the phenomenon, as was discussed previously, it is still possible to gain insights into the idea of faraj using the current state of the phenomenon of globalization. The following are aspects of this phenomenon that may serve as means for shedding additional light on the idea of faraj.

1. A better understanding of the universal aspect of Islamic faraj. Today, by making reference to the phenomenon of globalization, it has become much easier to envisage the possibility of the realization of the all-encompassing and universal aspects of faraj. In the past, owing to the existence of vast distances in time and space, the idea of a universal government appeared as unrealistic and farfetched. The nature of administration of a vast territory as was the case in previous empires continued to bring up the problem of direct communication. However, in the present state of the world, it is rather easy to envisage the possibility of direct and widespread contact, given the existence of advanced communication technologies which even provide the possibility of contact beyond the confines of the planet earth. Therefore, it is possible to interpret the content of hadiths that refer to direct contact between Imam al-Mahdi and the people, or even between the faithful in the era of globalization, as a cryptic allusion to the advancement of communication technologies, means that are taken for granted by the denizens of the age of globalization; this at a time when in the past such phenomena were only envisaged in relation to miraculous deeds.

2. Faraj and the sense of need for a world government. Throughout the corpus of Islamic traditions mention is made of global government and administration. However, in reality, in spite of the expansion of the Islamic Empire in the first few centuries after the hijra, independent or self-appointed local governments took on the de facto administration of the Islamic community. With the onset of the modern era, the idea of a universal government was made less probable given the increasing prominence gained by the newly established national governments. However, today, in the age of globalization, the idea of a unified administration of the world has become much more tangible and indeed has come to be viewed as a necessity. This particular view of the subject may also be considered as one of the ways in which the current state of the world, owing to an ever urgent need for a universal government regardless of its particular orientation, finds relevance to the world government of Imam al-Mahdi.

3. Inadequacy of human teachings and the need for a fresh meaning for life. Even though the advocates of modern views of globalization are intent on imposing their particular interpretations on others, from a realistic viewpoint, it may be claimed that today we are witnessing the decline of western modernism. This is in evidence both in the field of theory and in what is actually taking place in the world. The all-out postmodern criticisms leveled against the principles of modernism from within the western civilization, notwithstanding those of Muslim thinkers, is ample evidence for the inadequacy of the foundations of modernism. On the other hand, also in the sphere of real life, modern man appears to have lost the meaning of his existence, which has been based on modern foundations, and is searching for a new meaning for life. In this connection, religions have a great potential in terms of according meaning to the life of man. Therefore, it may be claimed that globalization by throwing into sharper relief the theoretical and practical shortcomings of the modernist outlook as well as those of other human schools of thought has in fact given rise to a more urgent need for divine guidance. Thus, the Savior of humanity whose promise of appearance is contained in the Islamic idea of faraj is accorded a better outlook and contemporary man feels a deeper sense of need for him.