Praying for Imam of the Age
Imam Mahdi
Prayer for hastening Imam’s advent is a command from Imam az-Zaman (a.t.f.s.) himself. As he (a.t.f.s.) says:
“And pray abundantly for hastening the ‘faraj’ (respite) [i.e. Imam’s advent], for that is your very respite and deliverance from entanglements.”1
The divine ‘faqih’, Mirza Husain Nouri writes:
“Among the duties is to pray for the safety of the blessed life of Imam (a.t.f.s.) from the satanic evils of men and jinn and to earnestly call for his quick victory and triumph over the unbelievers, atheists and hypocrites. This it is a kind of manifestation of servitude and one’s consent to Allah’s promise that such a precious figure that is nourished in the reservoir of His Power and Mercy and covered by the curtain of greatness and splendour will be made manifest and the world will be lightened by his rays.”2
About the stimulus of praying for Imam (a.t.f.s.) of the age, Ayatullah Sayyed Taqi Musawi Esfahani writes:
“Praying for someone is the outcome of love for that person. And the main motive behind love and friendship is that one reckons that person’s existence to be a blessing. In fact, goodness in anyone is expedient and is the cause of love towards him. Thus, the more perfect one’s personal acquaintance of a person’s blessed existence and the more perfect his love for him, the greater would be his attachment in prayers to his existence….The more a believer’s knowledge of Imam (a.t.f.s.) and the more his perception that Imam’s existence is a blessing, the more perfect would be his love too. And the more perfect is one’s love, the more would be his endeavours in praying for Imam (a.t.f.s.).”3
- 1. Kamaluddin; 2/85 & Ghaibah-Tusi/292&293
- 2. Najm-Saqeb/508
- 3. Kanz-ul-Ghanaem/52 & 53
