Introduction

Among the religious features, including confessional doctrine, moral principles, and religious rites (commandments), one can present a structural division by virtue of their priority and importance. Each and every teaching enjoys a relative degree of priority and importance and plays an important role in the field of man’s piety and perfection; thus we cannot claim that all religious teachings enjoy the same significance in understanding of religion and leading to piety. In proof of some priority in religious teachings, we can observe that a hierarchy of obligatory and fixed notions is used in religious teachings, and a specific range of reward and punishment is considered in penal and civil laws. This discrepancy, in fact, reminds the worthiness of the believers’ deeds.

In view of the priority among the religious doctrine, when some teaching is ignored and the other is magnified, it hasn’t done justice to religious doctrines in either case, whereas the dignity of religious teachings should be kept in terms of revealed recommendations, and the extremes should be avoided. To illustrate it, when the believers fail to observe the basic tenets of the religion as much as the religion itself has emphasized and neglect them instead, it much resembles a man who misuses his valuable garment, or a student who concentrates on trivial questions with low marks instead of the questions with high marks.

Undoubtedly in the doctrinal system of all religions, there exists a kind of ranking among their teachings. And there it seems that from the viewpoint of structure and foundation, some religious components are relatively more important than the others. For instance, in all Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions, the questions of God existence, life after death, immortality, prophethood, prosperity, hope, content of life, salvation, felicity, world reformation, Soteriology, etc. have all been carefully taken into consideration so that they have been bound to give reasonable answers to their disciples essential questions.

This article first fall embarks on the very question that why the issue of Mahdiism, which enjoys a significant standing in religious sources and Islamic civilization, has been neglected in the fields of anthropology and sociology? It is, indeed, an indispensable teaching that has a determined role in the headway of the community, the philosophy of the history, and the believers’ duty to attain the ideal society with elevated civilians, either in the ages of occultation or appearance. The second attempted has been focused on the interdiction of Mahdavi culture in the foundation of Muslims lives and in their theorization; while Mahdiism is of shared discourses among the Islamic sects and had the greatest contribution to the history of civilization and Islamic culture? The study of false pretenders of Mahdiism throughout the Islamic history signifies the eminence of Mahdiism among the disciples of various sects of Religion. Still, Mahdiism is not fully applied in the theorization in various humanity and social domains, and its real potentiality has been neglected.

Definition of the term ‘Doctrine’

According to the researches done in The Encyclopedia of Religion and a major number of dictionaries, there are two meanings for the term ‘Doctrine’; ‘the affirmation of a truth’ and ‘Percept’ that is synonymous to terms like ‘tenet’, ‘teaching’, and ‘dogma’. Given the first meaning, the term ‘Doctrine’ has a philosophical concept, but in the second sense its practical aspect is more obvious.

From the standpoint of terminology, the term ‘Doctrine’ has got independent meanings and applications in different sciences. In politics, for instance, it connotes ‘a model, design, or political principle’, which is raised by a politician; for instance, ‘the Doctrine of the equality of man’, or ‘Truman Doctrine’ and ‘Brezhnev Doctrine’ represent ‘a specific political position or policy’.

In natural sciences and humanities, the same term introduces a principle that forms the basis for a scientific theory that has not yet been proved to be true. An example of this sense is the ‘doctrine of evolution’, in which the term ‘doctrine’ does not mean some ‘teaching’ but a ‘theory’.

In religions, the term ‘doctrine’ is meant the religious and theological principles that are fundamental, self-evident, and unquestioned with basic roots in theological contexts, firmly believed by their disciples, such as ‘the doctrine of Buddha’, ‘the doctrine of Maya’, and ‘the doctrine of Mahdiism’.

In Christian rituals, the term ‘Doctrine or Dogma’ is referred to as a set of teachings that brings about salvation for its disciples. In Catholic Encyclopedia of Religion, the term ‘Doctrine’ stands for a series of teachings designed for the Catechesis or Kerygma. In Jewish rituals, it stands for the teachings, utilized mostly for the teachings of the Testament. In Islam, it is meant to be the ‘verbal and ideological teachings’ that are both fundamental and leading. When the term ‘Doctrine’ is occasionally juxtaposed with religious teachings such as ‘Mahdiism’ it would suggests an area of various notions, such as ‘philosophy’, ‘the school of thought’, and ‘ism’ as in the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, which signifies ‘the philosophy of Mahdiism’ and ‘the School of Mahdiism’.

Terminology of the Mahdiism Doctrine

Some religious or philosophical concepts are pivotal, and are interpreted in a particular way as Doctrine. For instance, ‘Dukkha’ (“Suffering” or “sorrow”) in Buddhism is so important that is called ‘the Doctrine of Dukkha or the Doctrine of Buddha’; or ‘Maya’ (“imaginary world”) is a fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy, which construes as ‘the Doctrine of Maya’.

Mahdiism is one of the tenets, which is of high significance in Islam. It is in conformity with ‘Soteriology’, ‘Salvation’, and ‘Millenarianism’, presented in other religions. The notion of salvation and Mahdavi global government are the matter of concordance among the whole Islamic sects, and their authentic books of traditions, such as Sihah al-Sittah (“Six Correct Books”), refer to them under four titles: 1. Al-Mahdi’s Book; 2. Al-Fitan Chapter (“The Calamities”); 3. Al-Malahem Chapter (“The Disturbances” ); 4. Ashrat al-Sa`ah (“The signs of the End Times” ). Although there may exist some slight differences among the Islamic sects on the conditions of Mahdiism, yet none of them feel doubt about its principals and certainty.

Moreover, the frequency of subjects on the issue of Mahdiism in the theological contexts of both the Shi`a and the Sunni branches of Islam signifies that it is one of the joint issues in the Islamic tenets, having been verified by the whole Islamic sects. Although the issue of Imamate and Caliphate is the most vulnerable matter of difference in the history of the Shi`a and Sunni, arising from their difference on the first Imam or Caliph, the Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) or the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ puts an end to all their differences and brings about the unity and unanimity of all Muslims. Thus, as stated in the holy Quran, Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) manifests the return of whole matters to God as well as the transformation of whole nations in one nation.

The ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ signifies a series of teachings, based on Mahdiism, which can be used to present applied ways and theoretical approaches in different fields both before and after the age of appearance. In Muslims’ mind, the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ is an organizing feature, which has presence in theorization and mental role models.

Throughout the history, the Shi`as have always utilized the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ for theorizing the government, the rulers’ criteria, and the way to manage the society in the age of occultation. The Islamic scholars and jurisconsults, on the other side, studied the `Doctrine of Mahdiism’ as an Islamic tenet and paradigm. To study the subjects, including government, guardianship, Caliphate, and the rulers’ criteria in the age of occultation, they have always invoked the traditions on Imamate, Mahdiism, and Imam Mahdi’s qualities. Unfortunately, the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ has only been applied in this field while its impact on other fields, such as the philosophy of history, the philosophy of politics, social sciences, social management, economics, organizational behavior, social affairs and relations, enforcement of law, anthropology, and psychology has been neglected. In Islamic view, Imam Mahdi’s appearance settles all these fields; however, the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ has been already employed in political and governmental aspects.

Like a cardiac patient who shall always care about his diet, rest, exercise, journey, etc., one shall consider the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ in all aspect of his life. Mahdiism is as the heart of the Islamic thought; thus, it shall always be in the center of all aspects of man’s life.

After the Imamate of Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance), the issue of Mahdiism in religious thought gains higher significance, compared with the other Islamic beliefs, and the whole official and non-official interpretations, presented by religions and creeds, give way to the Divine interpretation. This is one of the impacts of Mahdiism, which puts an end to the whole religious diversities, and thereafter, Mahdiism is the only lens, through which the whole Islamic tenets, including Monotheism, Prophethood, Resurrection, etc., are viewed. It is noteworthy to mention that one of the features of Mahdiism makes it even superior to the Prophethood; that is: completing and integrating the whole prophets’ mission throughout man’s history, making unity among the entire teachings of the prior religions, presenting a pure interpretation on the religious beliefs, and verifying the absolute certainty of this religious ideal.

Impacts of the Mahdiism Doctrine

A political, scientific, and theological doctrine is deemed to present comments and applied ways on a series of issues in question so as to improve man and the society. Now central to this discussion is the question: Is the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, as a theological and discourse premise, able to achieve this end? To answer the question, the writer intends to study the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ from the standpoint of anthropology and sociology in two stages, i.e., before and after the age of appearance. Thus, in this section, the impacts of the Mahdiism Doctrine are examined in four stages, as follows: 

1. Anthropological standpoint:
1-1. The anthropological impact of the Mahdiism Doctrine before the age of appearance.
1-2. The anthropological impact of the Mahdiism Doctrine after the age of appearance.

2. Sociological standpoint:
2-1. The sociological impact of the Mahdiism Doctrine before the age of appearance.
2-2. The sociological impact of the Mahdiism Doctrine after the age of appearance.

1. The impact of Mahdiism Doctrine from the anthropology standpoint: The whole anthropological schools are deemed to take man’s desires, interests, limits, and ultimate goals into consideration and respond to his demands, such as peace of mind, hope, content, joy, etc. Like religions, the great contemporary schools of anthropology and even psychology endeavor to respond to man’s needs and mental health, and in some ways, compete with religions. To this end, the great psychologists employed various approaches. For instance, Sigmund Freud proposed the theory of subconscious sexual feelings; Alfred Adler propounded the theory of Power; and Victoria Frankel concentrated on the meaningfulness of life. In their way, Hinduism and their techniques had a major influence on their views.

The great existential philosophers also strived to respond to man’s questions on life, and accordingly, proposed some ways. A number of them, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and Franz Kafka held an atheistic view toward life so that Camus and Kafka regarded life senseless and futile in one hand, and on the other hand, Sartre considered life as the childlike joy and gaiety, and death as the end of world while negating the Day of the Last Judgment. Camus likened life to a rolling stone, rolled up and down the hill by man, day in, day out. Since life is a matter of repetition, Camus believed, it is futile and senseless. However, he enjoined that man should endure this circumstance and avoid any withdrawal.

In his theory, Sartre presented a negative and hostile image of God and the world. He was of the opinion that God’s omnipotence circumscribes man’s will since he had conceived man’s relationship with God as the relationship between a master and his slave, in which the existence of the master lapses the slave’s free will. He then viewed each man as an isolated being, cast into an alien world but is free to choose his own destiny. These existential and atheistic philosophers endeavored to respond to the angst of man, frustrated by the Second World War, Science, and Church. Owing to their hostility to the Church, they cut their relationship with God and negated His existence. Then, they tried to cherish high hopes in man’s heart through reliance on his own talent and free will, regardless of the religious premises. This mainstream is evidently perceived in the works of the philosophers, artists, and thinkers, especially after the Second World War.

On the contrary, other existentialists, including Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Jaspers, and Gabriel Marcel endeavored to respond to man’s questions through metaphysical and spiritual ways. In their view, man’s relationship with God is as the relationship between the lover and the beloved. They believed in man’s inner faith, spiritual facets, and his ultimate goals, and to gain salvation, they enjoined divinity, faith, and the Day of Last Judgment on their followers.

Some religions, in their moral tenets and teachings, have affiliation to the anthropological schools in studying man’s concerns through a humanitarian angel. For instance, Hinduism strives to respond to man’s questions toward life in a positive way. Buddhism, which has affected some contemporary philosophers and psychologists, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, etc., is to set man free from his mental angst and illusion through Meditation. The success of these creeds in affecting the mentioned philosophers and psychologists was due to the common people’s demand for humanitarian values.

Now, in the Islamic tenets and ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, this question is posed: Are the Mahdavi teachings able to present an effective way for terminating man’s concerns? Admittedly, man’s perfection is one of the greatest ideals of Abrahamic religions, and the Divine prophets are to help man blossom his potentials under the protection of Divine teachings, which consider man’s honor and all aspects of his nature. In this article, we study whether Mahdavi insight can present a true response to man’s internal questions?

Anthropology in Modern time

Apropos of modern anthropology, despite the fact that the contemporary man thinks he has developed in such fields of civilization and culture, he, indeed, has not improved upon a major number of fields when compared with the Age of Ignorance, in which the girls were buried alive, and the women were despised. Today, the women and girls are also despised, and their souls are buried alive, too. As an instance, the women in the time of e-commerce are used as the means of commercial advertisement and pleasure, and although Feminism, the active movement in Modern time, pretends that it has provided the women with freedom, erudition, and equal rights as men, the women continue to be regarded as second-rate citizens.

Another element, dealt with in modern anthropology, is the significance of geographical border, language, race, history, and other conventions among nations. The influence of this element on man’s mind and sentiment is so strong that if anybody die because of a natural calamity or war even in the farthest regions of one country, the other countrymen feel sympathy toward him, but they may not show the same feeling for he who dies even in the neighboring countries having close affinity with them in language, history, or culture. For instance, an Iranian may treat an Afghani or Iraqi emigrant, whose countries were once a part of Iran, as second-class citizens, but another Iranian who settles in the remotest regions of Iran as his countryman.

Here a question is posed, that is: Does ‘homeland’ signify the same notion presented in the religious culture and Islamic anthropology? Are we the followers of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants), who made the ties of brotherhood between Ansar (the helpers) and Muhajerin (the migrants)? The holy Prophet, who intended to substitute the human and religious virtues for the lingual, national, and tribal supremacy, and due to this fact, he appointed a youth as the commander-in-chief of Islam troops while there were present some elders. When asked for the cause, the holy Prophet (Peace be upon him and his descendants) replied that Usamah was the pious and true protector of the holy Qur`an.

Suppose how nice it would be if the people of the entire world or all countries treated one another as the citizens of one single country and felt sympathy for one another as the members of one family! As a case in point, it is perceived that the people of other countries after the occurrence of some natural calamities, such as earthquake or flood, feel sympathy and contribute aid for those afflicted so as to ameliorate their pains. In such cases, the sense of egoism is ignored, and the people help their fellow-creatures as far as possible.

But in today’s world, due to various economic and political treaties, concluded among nations, as well as lingual, tribal, and racial differences, the peoples have split up into diverse groups and stood aloof from sympathy toward their fellow-creatures. On account of the mentioned diversities, some people fight for their own native soil, and some others conquer the other nations, plundering their economic interests and valuables. These conventions, which are considered as a part of the contemporary anthropology, have condemned a great number of people to death, poverty, disease, and slavery!

As during the Hajj rituals the whole material qualities and diversities are ignored, and the pilgrims are engaged to serve God, the Almighty, regardless of their races, colors, social status, etc.; the people after the age of appearance and the formation of Mahdavi government, which refines their souls, treat one another as the members of one single family. There will be found no poor or hungry person, and security is so widespread that even the women who are more vulnerable feel secure.

In the age of Mahdiism, no person is despised for his color, race, language, or geographical borders, what draws distinction among the people and nations in the contemporary anthropology, and the whole humankind share special affinity with one another. Like those who act in accordance with their own clear conscience at the time of a natural calamity, the peoples after the presence of a perfect man, i.e., Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) among them replace the transient material entities, such as wealth, beauty, and social rank, with eternal spiritual qualities, such as faith, pure heart, good deeds, and piety in the society. In other words, piety is taken as the sole criterion for the distinction among people, and the transient material possessions are no longer worth considering in Mahdavi anthropology.

As a global insight, Mahdiism has an impact on anthropology. Admittedly, the Divine religions and prophets are responsible for directing man toward perfection and responding to their questions and concerns; that is the joint mission of all religions and prophets. To study this issue, we deal with two headlines, as follows:
1-1: The anthropological impact of Mahdiism Doctrine before the age of appearance: The anthropological schools both present practical solutions for man\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s problems and consider the human value and interests. Now, the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Doctrine of Mahdiism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' poses the question of whether belief in the issue of Mahdiism during the Major Absence period or before the age of appearance is of interest for believers, and how they shall make use of this global tenet.

Apropos of the Waiting strategy before the age of appearance, the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Doctrine of Mahdiism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' enjoys three fundamental features, as follows:
1. The cause of self-refinery
2. The cause of hope to the future
3. The cause of vivacity, rejoicing, and endeavor

Jabir narrated a hadith from the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his descendants), in which the negation of Mahdiism is considered as atheism:
"من کذب بالمهدی فقد کفر"
Besides, the believers are recommended to know the Imam of their own time; otherwise,
"من مات و لم يعرف امام زمانه مات ميته جاهليه "
Anyone who dies without recognizing the Imam of his own time has died the death of ignorance.

The waiting man is as a woman who tidies the house up before the guests arrive. He is to conform his soul to his Imam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s. He is hopeful about the future, and never shows despair.
Before the age of appearance, the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Doctrine of Mahdiism\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' brings about the self-refinery for those who fondly look for Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) and his ideal society. Unlike the Platonic Utopia, which is an abstract notion, and due to its lack of sanctity, no effort has been already made to act it out, Mahdiism is certain to occur, and the believers endeavor to achieve it as a sacred entity. Waiting for Mahdi in the age of occultation is an ethical deed, resulting in self-construction. Thus, as stated in the Islamic traditions, waiting for appearance is known as the best deed , and the waiting man is always trying to attain the desired conditions and the ideals or objectives he has been promised. Therefore, he never idles away his lifetime.

In the believers\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' view, belief in Mahdiism is not merely a theory but a certain ideal. The believers are then advised to think of it as an impending event. Throughout the history, Mahdiism no doubt has been one of the major Islamic tenets, which together with the culture of `Ashura forms the Shi`i culture. In the history, the Shi`a owes the major part of his moral, spiritual, and mystical gains to the Mahdavi and Husayni Culture, which need to be discussed separately.

Thus, from the anthropological standpoint, the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ leads to man’s consent, tranquility, hope, endurance, and as a result, the better life before the age of appearance. And for this reason some psychologists are of the opinion that the religious beliefs make the believers endure the failures and straits. Therefore, Mahdiism has this marked impact on man’s soul and mind to stimulate an eternal movement and to achieve a religious ideal and vista of future life.

1-2: The anthropological impact of the ‘Mahdiism Doctrine’ after appearance: The believers expect to perceive a substantial change in mankind after the age of appearance and formation of Mahdavi government; here, a question is posed, that is: What features make the man, having lived before the time of appearance, distinguishable from the man living after?
It is evident that the ultimate goal of whole Divine prophets’ celestial teachings and their great efforts is to direct man to the right way and settle his affairs, and this has always been the main concern of Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic religions as well as the other schools of thought throughout man’s history. In fact, in spite of the diverse views the scholars present for man’s perfection, they wholly share a common view, and that is to deliver man and cling for his salvation, and owing to this fact, some concepts such as deliverance, salvation, reformation, Divine dominion, perfection, and so forth have always been fascinating for man and schools of thought.

No doubt, reforming and improving man’s mind and identity is considered as the main impact and program of the formation of Mahdavi government; however, in some cases, justice, logical freedom, security, peace, and peaceful coexistence may be achieved in a society, but it does not enjoy a pleasant status as these qualities have not been actually employed in the elevation of man’s soul.

According to the prior introduction, the issue of Mahdiism is one of the precepts, which clearly proclaims the humanistic goals, and due to this fact, Mahdavi government, in the Islamic belief, is counted as the ultimate manifestation of Divine religions (بقيه الله); that is, the sapling, planted by Adam and watered by 124 thousand Divine prophets, bears fruit in the Mahdavi government. According to our ancestors’ words, “Good for those who live in that moment. Should we lived in that time, we would assist Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his Reappearance)”. Indeed, they were enthusiastic to live in that time as the utopia of all prophets and Imams is achieved in Mahdavi government, and thereafter, man’s development is accelerated, and despite the time before the age of appearance, the peoples can develop with the least effort and cost. Therefore, it is evident that the whole religions, prophets, and Imams feel good and commemorate that promised time and government. Therefore, four major features distinguish the man before and after the formation of Mahdavi government; as follows:
I. Man’s relationship with God,
II. Man’s relationship with his self,
III. Man’s relationship with society,
IV. Man’s relationship with nature.

I. Man’s relationship with God: The main feature of ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ in the age of appearance, which distinguishes it from the societies prior to it, is God-centrism and piety. In modern time, it seems that God is really dead; as a result, people observe the ethical instructions as the social laws and etiquettes. The Divine and internal control has given way to the external control and social impact. In the religious literature, a believer avoids drinking alcohol, because he knows it a banned substance and is firm in his solemn promise with God even in solitude, and not because he may be finned while driving. 

Since man’s relationship with God causes tranquility, and makes him prudent, and delivers him from futility and frivolous life, the peoples’ lives find meaning after the age of appearance, and the majority of people attains piety and never waste their lifetime in futility, and thus man’s relationship with God becomes widespread. Nowadays, unfortunately, this tendency, arising from man’s innate nature, is getting pale, and in some cases, opposes modern man’s other behaviors, which are inconsistent with the noble religious objectives.

We have not to coalesce the sociological and psychological religiosity (external interpretation of religion) and the Divine religions, presented in the Scriptures, such as the holy Qur`an (internal interpretation of religion). From the standpoint of sociologists and psychologists, more than 90 percents of people are religious and allocate a part of their daily life to religious rites along with sport activities, trip, pastime, studying, etc. They believe in God as the Providence and resort to Him in their hardships. This is the way that most people act before the age of appearance. Their beliefs are not deep and comprehensive. A brief survey of the societies, governed in accordance with religion, shows that the people’s religiosity is combined with their non-religious affairs, and this has led to the apparently contradictory attitudes.

Apropos of Mahdiism, the people attain the true piety after the age of appearance, and unlike the people living prior to that age, who are disobedient to the Divine decrees, avoid committing sin and corruption, and since man’s pure relationship with Providence is the most significant feature of Mahdavi society, their religiosity is not a common matter, and the tangible and verbal relationship with God is not in consistency with corruption, and this fact affects the whole facets of man’s life after the age of appearance.

II. Man’s relationship with his self: After the age of appearance, man’s relationship with his self is also transformed, and the purified man finds the responses of his questions in the teachings of Mahdiism. His tranquility, life satisfaction, and hope to the future construct the character of the person who observes the ethical instructions and etiquettes due to his obedience to God’s decrees and not the civil laws and obligations. His anxiety, agitation, and his belief in relativism give way to his firm belief in eternality and the truthfulness of religion and its teachings. Certitude -- which according to the infallible Imam, few people enjoy in the age of occultation -- replaces the skepticism, and unlike the age of occultation, few people suffer from the blaze of doubt after the age of appearance.

III. Man’s relationship with society: The peaceful coexistence, peace of mind, immunity from oppression, etc. have always been the main social concerns of man throughout the history. But in that age, the people enjoy tranquility and are protected from the other peoples’ harms as their minds are matured. The wealth is distributed among the peoples justly, and due to the rapid growth of piety and faith in the world, they are immune from the other peoples’ oppressions.

As a result, the human societies are delivered from the entire harms, vulnerability, and lack of peaceful coexistence. Hence, it is believed that the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ allows of a new interpretation of the world and man. With regard to the allegiance of Imam Mahdi’s companions to him, Imam Ali (a.s) stated, “They swear an oath of allegiance not to steal, commit rape, insult another Muslims, shed the people’s blood unjustly, disgrace anyone, invade one’s home, etc.”

In the age of Mahdiism, the people live together in unity and show benevolence toward one another in addition to the social regulations. They regard and safeguard the other people’s interests as their own.

IV. Man’s relationship with nature: With the growth of man’s knowledge as well as his mind perfection, his enjoyment of the nature and his control over it reaches to the maximum, and thus, the environmental crises, arising from the ignorance of man and nations in the age of occultation and leading to an ecological catastrophe nowadays, give way to the preservation of environment. After the establishment of Mahdavi government, there would be no reason for the ruin of the environment or supply of munitions, and as the laws enacted in one country oblige its inhabitants to preserve their homeland and environment, the whole peoples in the world feel so.

2. The impact of the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ from sociology aspect:
Through studying the tradition sources concerning the age of appearance and Mahdavi government, it is deduced that the formation of the just, religious, civil, and humanitarian society is one of the main objects of the global government of Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance). A part of the causes and conditions for the achievement of the humanitarian facets is based on the social conditions. Therefore, should the society not enjoy those required conditions, the human would not develop at all. Hence, we have no alternative except to reform the society. The reformation of the society means to create reformation in the whole basis, which sound significant in human communities.

Nowadays, the political philosophers believe that every government -- whether religious or non-religious – shall be able to give security, justice, sound economic conditions, freedom, human rights, hygiene, so forth to its citizens and provide them with the conditions, necessary for their peaceful co-existence and social life. The peaceful coexistence among the people is of two types: the peaceful coexistence among the people of one country or society, and the peaceful coexistence among the people of different nations and countries. Some governments have managed to uphold the peaceful coexistence and social justice in their own countries, and flourish security, justice, hygiene, freedom, and so forth for their own citizens while the peaceful coexistence among the people of different nations and countries, and in one word the whole world, has been never reached in the history of religions. The development of one country and the attainment of the standard life in it result in the torture, plunder, and exploitation of the national resources of one or some other countries.

Even if we superficially accept the claims of some social philosophers concerning the attainment of some ideal societies, and believe that freedom, justice, human rights etc. have been achieved in one or some countries, we evidently see that a great number of countries still suffer from oppression and injustice. Nowadays, so-called the age of modernism, the whole people unanimously agree that oppression and hostility are raging in the international affairs, and in spite of the countries’ flourish in such fields of science, technology, and economics, the number of countries below the line of poverty is increasing day by day, and their people suffer from the anxiety arising from unemployment, poverty, death, and dark future. In this route, the modern man, having been equipped to mass destruction weapons and the rapid pace of technology, feels more anxious than the traditional man.

On the other side, one cannot neglect the benefits of science and technology as well as its positive impact of man’s intellectuality, and the modern man has managed to solve a great deal of his problems under the protection of technology, without which man’s social life seems infeasible, yet we shall not forget its destructive effects and harms, resulting in some problems for him.

Unlike some philosophers, such as Francis Bacon, who claimed that man can dominate over the nature through the experimental sciences, the scholars today have faced a paradox that with the rapid growth of science and rationality, why are the modernism and technology not able to offer man the global security and justice? And why is the contemporary man living in crisis?

2-1: The social impact of ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ before the age of appearance: In addition to the humanitarian benefits of the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, some social benefits are also enumerated for it. In Islamic culture, the believers reject the view that the increase of oppression and injustice accelerate the course of appearance. On the contrary, to accelerate the course of appearance, the believers are encouraged to prepare their living environments and social status. Man’s great demand for the infallible Imam and the Mahdavi government together with the spread of this thought among the mass of people are some of the ways to prepare the ground for his appearance. In fact, firm belief in Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) necessitates spreading the believers’ thoughts and views in the society and preparing the social status for this fact.

As stated in the traditions, Imam Mahdi’s appearance takes its rise from Divine decree, but its acceleration is based on the real demand of the peoples for a heavenly savior. The history of religions testifies that after being absence for a while, some prophets returned to their nations after the people regretted from their deeds and greatly demanded for them. Hence, the return of Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) requires the peoples’ demand. In a letter to Shaikh Mufid, Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) writes as such:
If our Shi`ites had unanimously redeemed their pledge, they would have never been deprived of visiting us, and verily, they would have been blissful if they had visited us with sincerity and insight. Their bad deeds, of which we are informed deprive them from our visitation; the deeds which dissatisfy us.

Before the age of appearance, a number of believers activate the social impact of the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, while in this period, the majority of people experience the other ways which they feel can bring them tranquility, peace, coexistence, justice, and freedom, but they are of no avail as none of them could make the world devoid of crisis and disturbance. After the Renaissance, man tried various dogmas, such as technology, secularism, modernism, economic policies (Socialism and Capitalism), international policies, etc. but they were all the matters of trial and errors, as the contemporary man is still suffering from injustice, oppression, excessive rationality, environmental crises, global disturbance, exploitation, relativism, instability in his faith and religious beliefs, etc. This fact certifies that the contemporary man will never manage to surmount his barriers if he ignores his divine identity; thus, man’s great demand for Mahdiism and the heavenly Savior is his only palpable way to deliver himself from this condition in the modern age.

To surmount the present shortcomings of modernity and to blur the contradictions among modernism, tradition, and religion or in one word, culture, the thinkers have presented some ways. Some of them have presented ‘Post-Modernism’ believing that the Modernism has got some defects, as its processes have not been completed yet, while hoping that its defects are removed if the Modernism proceeds. Some others have resorted to Pre-Modernism, while criticizing its extremist rationality, science-centrism, and their impacts. They have considered the cultural and epistemological pluralism, subcultures, relativism, etc. into account.

Considering the relation among religion, Modernism, and brave new world, a number of thinkers believe that the modern man resorts to rationality and reasoning while he shirks worship and morality to release himself from hardships and these affairs are inconsistent with the metaphysical system of religions. In their view, the religions, promulgating faith and piety, depend on the historical and geographical frames and rely on the complicated systems of metaphysics. Owing to this fact, the traditional insights cannot satisfy the modern man, seeking for life satisfaction, joy, and hope; the one who is in search of a way to diminish his hardships. The religion that can respond to man’s needs and questions in a better way absorbs more peoples. Thus, to put an end to the contemporary man’s hardships, these scholars replace the spiritual insights with the traditional ones and try to make consistency between religion and modernism.

To achieve this end, they sometimes resort to the New-realism and the relationship between the new man and the metaphysical notions through spirituality and terrestrial morality, which account divinity as art and personal affairs and sound enjoyable and tranquil for man, and sometimes follow the psychological approaches, such as Yuga and meditation; the approaches in which man is to release himself from the psychic illusions, surmount the hardships and anxiety of modernity, and find his lost identity.

To study the religion and tradition, a number of neo thinkers prefer modernity to religion and custom and recognize it officially. In their view, since making changes in the modern life and technological processes is inevitable, we have to reform the religion so as to reconcile it with modernity. They have hence studied the religion through the lens of social and humanitarian ethics, and presented the terrestrial interpretation in proportionate with the secularism for religious notions. In this view, the ultimate goals of religion are merely considered, and the traditional interpretation of religion gives way to some notions, such as humanity, spirituality, worship, and common and non-celestial piety. They are of the opinion that the traditional cognition of Christianity has a lack of consistency with the modern life, and in some case, they contradict each other. Therefore, we necessarily have to make some changes in the traditional insights to conform religion to Modernism.

On the other side, a number of traditional researchers state that the time and place are not genuine, so instead of modernity, they concentrate on the eternal realities of religion, which enjoy internal unity and are beyond times and boundaries. According to these researchers, the realities of whole religions take root from wisdom and celestial elements arising from the Omniscience, and in the event that the contemporary man is impotent in comprehending those eternal wisdom and realities, he is blamed as those realities are not defective, but the man’s soul is terrestrial and inferior. If he manages to elevate his inferior and terrestrial soul and direct his move toward the eternal reality and wisdom, there will be no contradiction between the religion and modernism, and they will be in harmony with each other.

From the Islamic standpoint, the whole Divine religions and prophets are to dedicate a good ending for mankind under the protection of reformation, correction, construction, and bright future. The construction and correction of man and the world after the age of appearance is achieved by Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance) and before the age of appearance by the believers’ efforts in the way of society reformation and hope toward a better life. The culture of Waiting signifies that the believers frequently think of the perfect Man, who can quell his id and consequently generate the fair society.

The ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ also purports the solution, presented in the age of occultation according to the precepts of Mahdiism and extracted from the science, reasoning, and the ancestors’ experience plus the main principles of Mahdiism. The Islamic teachings never permit us to desist from the religious teachings and sincerity or ignore the religious jurisprudence so as to conform ourselves with the brave new world and Secularism. In religious thought, one has to conform the religious precepts to rationality, human affairs, technology, science, and other subjects, not at the cost of paling the religious beliefs.

To surmount the present contradictions between tradition and modernity, the theologians either deviate the religious precepts and ignore the main religious principles, or present a gross approach to celestial wisdom of religion while neglecting the fundamental element of theology and philosophy in the history of Islam, viz. Mahdiism and demand for the global Savior in both cases. In the event of firm belief in the culture of Mahdiism, a majority of the mentioned approaches are not in conformity with the Islamic tenets. In all these approaches, which aim at responding to the social questions of Modernity and its relation with religion, one fact is common; that is none of the presented responses have been extracted from the original theological sources or emerged from the noble religious tenets.

2-2: The social impact of ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’ after the age of appearance: The study of traditions on Mahdavi government testifies that the occurrence of the essential reformation in such fields as social management, economics, social and human affairs, experimental sciences, and culture is certain after the appearance, so that the impact of Mahdavi government on these fields, so-called culture, is evidently perceived.
A part of man’s innate needs is common among the whole peoples, and the religions cannot treat them with indifference. The whole people are in search of justice, peace, freedom and fond of the just rulers, social security, and peaceful coexistence. On a very small scale, when these notions are achieved in a family, the members feel at ease. Now, should the people of the entire world feel so, they would achieve the Utopian ideals; the world wherein the peoples and the rulers show benevolence toward one another, the wealth, power, and justice are distributed based on rationality and excellence, and the people firmly believe that logic reigns over the system of the universe. With regard to the Mahdavi society and the uphold of social justice, Imam Ali (Peace be upon him) stated, “He will direct desires towards (the path of) guidance while people will have turned guidance towards desires, and he will turn their views to the direction of the Quran while the people will have turned the Quran to their views”.

As stated in the ‘Doctrine of Mahdiism’, after the appearance of Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his appearance), the world is so filled with justice and freedom that the people first release themselves from the bounds of their ids and impulses, and then, this sense of freedom manifests itself in the entire world. It is predicted that the security is so widespread that a woman can safely travel from Iraq to Syria on foot, and the women become so erudite that can judge by virtue of the Divine Book and Islamic traditions. The public welfare, economic status, and social justice are so improved that the donators and Zakat payers find no poor to donate to him. People enjoy abundant wealth, and they coexist peacefully; as allusively stated in the Islamic traditions, even the wolf and lamb coexist in peace together during that age.

Affection for Mahdavi society and demand for it is deeply rooted in the ideological beliefs, and the Prophet’s traditions together with the theological context testify it, and it does not originate from the thinkers’ mind and illusion. Although there may exist some societies in which the peaceful coexistence, human relationships, social justice, and human rights are desirably maintained, Mahdavi society enjoys an element, distinguishing it from other societies; that is, God is at the center of the righteous society, what in today societies has been sunk into oblivion.

In fact, even if a part of the features of ideal man and society might have been attained from the anthropological and sociological standpoint, yet one cannot claim that he has attained the Utopian world, and in our own age, we may introduce one single person behaving in accordance with the social norms, but we surely cannot introduce a person behaving totally in accordance with the religious norms, or a society replete with such persons.

Endnotes:
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[1] Richard Comstock, The Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade, (New York, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987), vol. 4, pp. 384-85.
[2] See ‘doctrine’ in Mehdi Nowruzi, The Political Terms, sixth edition, (Tehran, Nei Publication, 1376, p. 85); also see ‘Truman’ in Ahmad Atiyatalah, The Political Dictionary, Third edition, (Egypt, Dar al-Nihzah al-Arabyyah, 1968), p. 287. The Brezhnev Doctrine, for example, warned that the Soviet Union would use military force if necessary to maintain its influence in Eastern Europe.
[3] Op. cit., vol. 4, p. 385.
[4] M. E. William, New Catholic Encyclopedia, second edition, (Washington D. C., Thomson Gale, 2003), vol. 4, p. 802.
[5] W. Richard Comstock, op. cit, p. 385.
[6] See Daryoush Shaygan, Indian Religions and the Philosophical Schools, fifth edition, (Tehran, Amir Kabir Publication, 1383), vol. 5, p. 14.
[7] Surah 11:123.
[8] Surah 11:118.
[9] Yusif b. Yahya al-Muqaddasi al-Shafi`i, `Aqd al-Durar fi Akhbar al-Muntazar, edited by `Abd al-Fattah Muhammad Huluv, (Qom, Alam al-Fikr Inst., 1979), p. 157. Kamil Sulayman, Yawm al-Khalas, Translated by Ali Akbar Mahdi Pour, second edition, (Tehran, Afaq Publication, 1407), p. 15.
[10] Sayyed Ibn Tawus, Great Battles and Disturbances before the Age of Imam Mahdi’s Appearance, (Beirut, Al-Vafa Publishing Company, 1403), p. 138; Muhammad b. Ya`qub Kulayni, Usul Kafi, (Tehran, Dar al-Kutub, 1365), vol. 1, p. 85; Kamil Sulayman, Yawm al-Khalas, Translated by Ali Akbar Mahdi Pour, second edition, (Tehran, Afaq Publication, 1407), p. 85.
[11] Lotfullah Safi Golpayegani, The Selected Hadiths, (Tehran, Maktab al-Sadr), p. 244; Mohammad Baqir Majlesi, Bihar al-Anvar, (Beirut, Dar al-Ihya Publication, 1403), vol. 52, p. 123.
[12] Muhammad b. Ibrahim No`mani, On Occultation, Sayyed Ahmad Fahri Zanjani, Fourth edition, (Tehran, Dar al-Kutub, 1362); Kamil Sulayman, Yawm al-Khalas, Translated by Ali Akbar Mahdi Pour, second edition, (Tehran, Afaq Publication, 1407), p. 425.
[13] Mircea Eliade, Study of Religion, translated by B. Khorramshahi, Second edition, (Tehran, Cultural and Scientific Publishing House, 1378), Vol. 1, p 85.
[14] Surah 5:49.
[15] Muhammad b. Ya`qub Kulayni, Usul Kafi, (Tehran, Dar al-Kutub, 1365), vol. 2, p. 51.
[16] Muhammad b. Ibrahim No`mani, On Occultation, Sayyed Ahmad Fahri Zanjani, Fourth edition, (Tehran, Dar al-Kutub, 1362), p. 277.
[17] Kamil Sulayman, Yawm al-Khalas, Translated by Ali Akbar Mahdi Pour, second edition, (Tehran, Afaq Publication, 1407), p. 465; Lotfullah Safi Golpayegani, The Selected Hadiths, (Tehran, Maktab al-Sadr ), p. 469; Sayyed Ibn Tawus, The Great Battles and disturbances before the Age of Imam Mahdi’s Appearance, (Beirut, Al-Vafa Publishing Company, 1403), p. 122.
[18] In his books, The Open Society and Its Enemies and The Lesson of This Century, which is indeed his interview with Giancarlo Bosetti, Karl Popper pretends that the liberal society of America is the most democratic society that has already been founded and considers it as a symbol of an ideal country.
[19] Bertrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy, Translated by Najaf Darya Bandari, (Tehran, Parvaz Publication, 1365), Vol. 2, p. 749. (Bertrand Russell believed that the basis of Francis Bacon’s philosophy was entirely pragmatic; that is, man can race over the natural forces through his discoveries and scientific inventions).
[20] Ahmad Tabarsi, Al-Ihtejaj, edited by Ibrahim Bahaduri and Mohammad Hadi, (Qom, Osveh Publishing Company, 1413), vol. 2, p. 602.
[21] Abdul Karim Sorush, et al., Tradition and Secularism, (Tehran, Serat Publication, 1381), pp. 267-347.
[22]. Don Cupitt, The Sea of Faith, Translated by Hasan Kamshad, (Tehran, Tarhe Naw, 1378), pp. 15-100.
[23] Hans Kung, The Catholic Church: A Short history, Translated by Hasan Qanbari, (Qom, The Center for Religious Studies, 1384), pp. 13- 34, and 205-275.
[24] Sayyed Husayn Nasr, Knowledge and Spirituality, Insha’llah Rahmati, (Tehran, Sohrevardi Publication, 1380), pp. 27-96, 131-215, and Knowledge and the Sacred, Farzad haji Mirza’ie, (Tehran, Foruzan Publication, 1380).
[25] Ali b. Abi Talib, Nahj al-Balaqih, Compiled by Sayyed Razi, Translated by Mohammad Dashti, (Qom, Mashreqain Publication, 1379), Sermon no. 138.
[26] Yusif b. Yahya al-Muqaddasi al-Shafi`i, `Aqd al-Durar fi Akhbar al-Muntazar, edited by Abd al-Fattah Muhammad Huluv, (Qom, Alam Ul-Fikr Inst., 1979), vol. 1, p. 329.