وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّکُمْ بِشَیْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِینَ، الَّذِینَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِیبَهٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَیْهِ رَاجِعُونَ،أُولَٰئِکَ عَلَیْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَهٌ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِکَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
“And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’ Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the rightly guided.” 02:157
Subject: A Year of Trial and Test
Narrations:
الصّادق (علیه السلام)- ;وَ لَنَبْلُوَنَّکُمْ یَعْنِی الْمُؤْمِنِینَ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ الْقَائِمِ (عجل الله تعالی فرجه الشریف).
Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, “We will surely test you, meaning the believers, before the emergence of the Qa’im (may Allah hasten his noble relief).”
الصّادق (علیه السلام)- لَا بُدَّ أَنْ یَکُونَ قُدَّامَ الْقَائِمِ (عجل الله تعالی فرجه الشریف) سَنَهًٌْ تَجُوعُ فِیهَا النَّاسُ وَ یُصِیبُهُمْ خَوْفٌ شَدِیدٌ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ وَ نَقْصٌ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَ الْأَنْفُسِ وَ الثَّمَرَاتِ فَإِنَّ ذَلِکَ فِی کِتَابِ اللَّهِ لَبَیِّنٌ ثُمَّ تَلَا هَذِهِ الْآیَهًَْ وَ لَنَبْلُوَنَّکُمْ بِشَیْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَ الْجُوعِ وَ نَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوالِ وَ الْأَنْفُسِ وَ الثَّمَراتِ وَ بَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِینَ.
Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, “It is inevitable that before the Qa’im (may Allah hasten his noble relief), there will be a year in which people will suffer hunger and will be struck by severe fear of murder, and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits. Indeed, this is clearly stated in the Book of Allah.” Then he recited this verse: “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and fruits, and give good tidings to the patient.”
الصّادق (علیه السلام)- بَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِینَ عِنْدَ ذَلِکَ بِتَعْجِیلِ الْفَرَجِ
Al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said, “Give glad tidings to the patient ones at that time of the hastening of relief.”
الامام الصادق (علیه السلام): إِنَّ قُدَّامَ اَلْقَائِمِ عَلَيْهِ اَلصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَامَاتٍ ، تَكُون مِنْ اَللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَلَّتْ : وَمَا هِيَ جَعَلَنِي اَللَّهُ فَدَاكَ ؟ قَالَ : ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اَللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : ( وَلْنَبْلَوْنَكَمْ – يَعْنِي اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ اَلْقَائِمِ ( عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلَامُ ) – بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ اَلْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنْ اَلْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ ) قَالَ : لَنبَّلُونِكْمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ اَلْخَوْفِ مِنْ مُلُوكٍ بُنِيَ فُلَانٌ ، فِي آخِرٍ سُلْطَانهُمْ ، وَالْجُوعُ بِغَلَاءِ أَسْعَارِهِمْ ، وَنَقْص مِنْ اَلْأَمْوَالِ ، قَالَ : فَسَادُ اَلتِّجَارَاتِ وَقِلَّةِ اَلْفَضْلِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنْ اَلْأَنْفُسِ ، قَالَ : مَوْتٌ ذَرِيعٌ . وَنَقْص مِنْ اَلثَّمَرَاتِ لِقِلَّةِ رَيْعِ مَا يَزْرَعُ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ بِتَعْجِيلِ خُرُوجِ اَلْقَائِمِ ( عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلَامُ ) ثُمَّ قَالَ ( عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلَامُ ) لِي : يَا مُحَمَّدْ ، هَذَا تَأْوِيلُهُ إِنَّ اَللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ ( وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلُهُ إِلَّا اَللَّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي اَلْعَلَمِ )
Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him, says about this: Indeed, before the advent of Imam Mahdi, there will be signs from God for the believers. Muhammad ibn Muslim asked: May I be sacrificed for you, what are these signs?
He replied: It is the word of God who said: ‘And We will surely test you’ which means before the uprising of Imam Mahdi, you believers will be tested ‘with something of fear, hunger, and loss of wealth, lives, and fruits; and give good tidings to the patient ones; those who will face fear from kings in the end of their rule, and hunger with rising prices (inflation), ‘and loss of wealth’ due to downturn in trade and little profit and loss of lives meaning widespread and rapid deaths (to an extent that people are unable to bury the dead), and a deficiency in fruits meaning a reduction in harvest, test them, ‘and give good tidings to the patient ones’ at this time announce to the patient ones the hastening of the uprising of Imam Mahdi.
Then His Holiness said: ‘O Muhammad! This is the interpretation of the verse and God says: ‘And none know its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge.’
Notes:
1- In many traditions regarding the appearance of Imam Mahdi (AS), signs have been mentioned which can be categorized into distant and near, natural and supernatural, certain and uncertain.
2- The function of these signs and the secret of their expression by the infallible Imams (AS) can be summarized as follows:
- A way to identify false claimants
- Preventing the forgetting of the Imam and continuing the preparation for his appearance
- Strengthening hope and escaping from despair
- Distinguishing false uprisings from rightful ones
3- From God, those who are patient during the period of occultation are given glad tidings that ‘upon them are blessings from their Lord and mercy, and these are the ones who are truly guided,’ and these are the ones who will be worthy of the Imam’s help.