وَلِکُلٍّ وِجْهَهٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّیهَا ۖ فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَیْرَاتِ ۚ أَیْنَ مَا تَکُونُوا یَأْتِ بِکُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِیعًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ کُلِّ شَیْءٍ قَدِیرٌ
To each, a direction to which they turn; so hasten towards all that is good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you all together. Indeed, Allah is capable of all things.
02:148
Subject: The Cabinet of the Promised Government
Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) states: “Those who disappear from their beds are 313 men, the number of the people of [the Battle of] Badr. They will then appear in Mecca, and this is a promise from God, as He says: ‘Wherever you may be…’ and they are the companions of Imam al-Qa’im.”
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) also says about this matter: “Indeed, this verse has been revealed concerning those who disappear among the companions of al-Qa’im, as it says: ‘Wherever you may be, Allah will bring…’ Indeed, they disappear overnight from their beds and by morning they will be in Mecca. Some of them travel in the clouds and are recognized by their names, their fathers’ names, their features, and their lineage. Al-Mufaddal says: I asked His Eminence: ‘Which of them are greater in faith?’ The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: ‘He who moves through the clouds by day.'”
Note:
From various narratives, it is evident that these individuals, equal in number to the people of Badr, are special companions and senior commanders of the army of the Imam. It is not explicitly mentioned whether all of them will remain alive until the appearance of the Imam or whether some, who have passed away, will return with the emergence of the Imam; however, the apparent meaning of the narratives suggests that some of them have died and will return by divine permission upon his appearance. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that these individuals have unusually long lifespans.
According to some narratives, there are fifty women among them; two questions arise:
- Are these women among the 313?
- What role will they play? Will they, like the men, have command and management responsibilities? In response to the first question, the narrative states, “Among them are fifty women,” not “of them are fifty women,” indicating that they are part of the 313.
Regarding the second question, in a global uprising and revolution, there are missions that necessarily need to be undertaken by women, such as what happened in the past; for example, the sensitive mission of transferring Aisha from Kufa to Medina, which was carried out by twenty women.
According to the narratives, these women tend to the wounded and care for the sick, as happened in the early days of Islam during battles like Uhud, where they accompanied the Prophet in these tasks.
d) The companions of the Imam do not end with this number; rather, the next circle includes ten thousand individuals who, upon completion of this number, will leave Mecca, and subsequently, the number of his companions will increase.