Everybody has to depart after doing their time on this earth, irrespective of him being the Emperor of the Universe or an unknown beggar. As a poet says, Now there is neither Rustam nor Saam, Nay! Only their names exist, nothing else.
Gradually, even the domain of ‘name’ reduces and the word ‘exists’ sinks in the tempest of time. It is a living reality that annihilation is destined for everything. Nothing will survive save Allah the Almighty, Who created eternity and has power over non-existence. Here, annihilation does not imply non-existence; rather, it is used in the meaning of death.
Therefore, Allah the Almighty declares that when this earth will die, He will grant it a new life. Obviously, when life will be anew, then all things will wear the luster of newness. New hopes, new desires, new endowments, new light of the morn, new kohl of the evening, new human society, new social relations; wails giving way to songs of divinity, new people, new earth, new sky, new seasons, new deserts, new mountains, etc. All thoughts will be transformed. Every imagination will fly to the pinnacles of horizon with the wings of reality. The Satanic shadows of evil whisperings and baseless conjecture, along with their scary faces, will be rendered non-existent. The hearts of one and all will be so pure that everyone will be able to see the images of worship, generosity and love on them. How fortunate are those who will ‘return’ with new lives to the enlivened earth and witness this world; a world that will be astonishingly strange and one which will be re-embellished by the Almighty’s Power. The time is not far when the people of this world of a million eons will vanish in the dark valleys of death with their lives and a few chosen ones of the new world will emerge from the veils of dust. Every new thing gradually becomes old and antiquated, a system that is as old as time itself. Hence, Allah the Almighty says that such a change and transformation will come that when the earth will become absolutely lifeless, He, the All-Powerful, will grant it a new life. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) has even prophesied that the earth will be replete with injustice and oppression, a fact that is witnessed in every nook and corner of the globe. Life has become one big hell for the underdeveloped countries. The crop-producing power of the earth is reducing by the day and has to be strengthened with fertilizers. Pollution has contaminated the earth to such an extent that cities have started preparing large-scale plans to combat it. Jungles are being razed and converted to grounds, resulting in loss of rains and reduction in growth of crops. Newspapers are replete with articles about the gradual extinction of the animal kingdom due to human recklessness and negligence. Destruction of mountains has led to weakening the stability of the earth. The mode of oppression and tyranny of stronger countries is changing. Ask the inhabitants of the cities and countries where their devilish and demonic forces have been unleashed. Mothers beat their chests; fathers bang their heads against the wall while the earth burns with hunger and thirst. The Holy Quran questions the humans as to why they are not using their intellects? Why don’t they deliberate and reflect deeply on the verses of the Holy Quran? When things are changing at such a rapid pace, can one deny the fact that the world stands on the brink of annihilation and destruction? Initially, ‘oppressed’ was only a word that we heard but could not imagine. But the chilling cries that pervade the air from the cold countries of Chechnya , Bosnia and Ukraine to the hot deserts of Iraq convey a distressing tale of miserable conditions of oppressed nations. Even more tyrannical are the new faces of hypocrisy and pretense. That is, the noble standards of justice, equity, mercy, compassion, humanity, etc. are now associated with these very nations which shed human blood mercilessly and have ripped apart all norms of decency. In other words, oppression and tyranny are accompanied with the weighing-scale of justice and equity. This is one of the amazing twists of time about which Allah the Almighty had prophesied through His Messenger (s.a.w.a.) fourteen hundred years ago. Not only this, He had even informed about the impending revolution by declaring, “Allah’s Remnant is good for you if you are believers.” Each alphabet of this prophecy is a caveat and a word of warning. The pronouncement of this call after reflecting on the global destruction caused by the thoughts and views of prejudice makes man conclude that this will transpire only and only after the advent of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.). Yet, he is negligent and unaware of the news of this great goodness and does not ponder over the effects of the earth’s lifelessness as to how death is firmly strangulating the earth with its clutches and that this is a premise of a new revolution. After this revolution, caravans of blessings and endowments will descend from the sky on the earth from the side of Allah the High. Newness will suffuse everything. Youth will permeate all things. The earth will swallow the oppressors and the tyrants. The graves will open their mouths for the righteous people of their times to step out. They will rise from their graves with a new fragrance, their bodies still covered in their shrouds and with a renewed desire to accompany the ‘Remnant of Allah’ (a.t.f.s.). What a beautiful scenario! What a fantastic world! Resplendence showered all around. Troops of worshippers will emerge from their houses and move towards the mosques. Fragrances will permeate the atmosphere in every lane and market.
Everybody including our deficient intellects, discusses about the aforementioned prophecies. We talk about whatever goodness, kindness and compassion we have seen in this universe and the extent to which our intellects can comprehend. We write about the righteous of that era as per our conjecture. But the fact is that what do we know as to what will be the real scene at that time? It is beyond the comprehension and understanding of the greatest of intellectuals and scholars of today. Allah the Almighty, Who illuminated the universe with the sun and the moon, created the earth as carpet and the skies as the ceiling, has informed us that ‘His Remnant’ still lives on this very earth, through whom He will grant a new lease of life to it. His forefathers (a.s.) had looked down upon the governments of the world, guided the creatures while living in seclusion and isolation, made the oceans of knowledge flow and despite treading a path of thorns, trained students for whom distances of the earth and the skies were of no consequence. Death kissed their (a.s.) feet. The goodness and blessings of life were willing to be sacrificed on them (a.s.). The reverence of kings and emperors lay at their soles. They destroyed falsehood in the courts through their scientific and knowledgeable discussions and gave the message of victory and triumph to the sons of monotheism.
When the heir of the infallible guides (a.s.) will reappear, divinity will place the crown of caliphate on his head; a crown studded with the jewels of righteousness. We cannot imagine those times, which are known only to the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), his successor (a.s.) and the infallible Imams (a.s.) who succeeded him (a.s.). Or, which are known only to the smile on the resplendent face of the lady of paradise, Hazrat Zahra (s.a.). How we long to be among the companions and lovers of Imam-e-Zamana (a.t.f.s.) who will join him (a.t.f.s.) after rising from their graves! Aameen!