Signs Before the Appearance of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.)
This is Part 1 of a series on the end times according to Shia sources. It gathers narrations transmitted from the Ahlulbayt (a.s.) concerning signs that will occur before the appearance and rising of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.).
THE FIVE CERTAIN SIGNS
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, al-Shaykh al-Saduq, vol. 2, p. 650, ch. 57, hadith 7
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"Before the rising of the Qa'im there are five certain signs: the Yamani, the Sufyani, the cry, the killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, and the sinking at al-Bayda."
Al-Kafi, al-Kulayni, vol. 8, p. 310
The same five signs are also transmitted in al-Kafi.
Al-Ghaybah, al-Nu'mani, ch. 14
Muhammad ibn al-Samit asked Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) whether there was a sign before this matter. The Imam mentioned the destruction of the Abbasid, the appearance of the Sufyani, the killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, the sinking at al-Bayda, and the voice from heaven.
When Muhammad ibn al-Samit expressed concern that these events might take a long time, the Imam said:
"No. They are like the beads of a rosary, following one another."
THE ECLIPSES IN RAMADAN
Al-Kafi, al-Kulayni, vol. 8, p. 212, hadith 258
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said:
"There will be two signs before the rising of the Qa'im which have not occurred since Adam descended to the earth: the sun will be eclipsed in the middle of the month of Ramadan and the moon at its end."
A man objected that normally the moon is eclipsed in the middle of the month and the sun at the end. Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) replied that he knew what the man was saying, but that these would be signs unlike anything that had occurred since Adam descended to the earth.
Also transmitted in: al-Ghaybah, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, p. 444, hadith 439.
THE WEAKENING OF THE ABBASIDS
Al-Kafi, al-Kulayni, vol. 8, p. 224, hadith 285
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"When the descendants of al-Abbas disagree and their authority becomes weak, and those who did not previously dare against them become ambitious against them, and the Arabs cast off their reins, and every possessor of strength displays his strength, and the Shami appears, and the Yamani approaches, and the Hasani moves, the master of this affair will leave Medina for Mecca with the inheritance of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.)."
The narration then describes this inheritance as including possessions associated with the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.).
THE RISING OF THE SUFYANI
Al-Ghaybah, al-Nu'mani, ch. 18, hadith 1
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"The Sufyani is among the certain matters, and his rising will be in Rajab. From the beginning of his rising until its end will be fifteen months: six months in which he will fight, and when he gains control of the five districts, he will rule for nine months and will not exceed them by a single day."
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, al-Saduq, vol. 2, p. 650, ch. 57, hadith 5 also transmits from Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) that the affair of the Sufyani is among the certain matters and that his appearance will be in Rajab.
EVENTS IN AL-SHAM
Al-Ghaybah, al-Nu'mani, ch. 14, narration of Jabir al-Ju'fi from Imam al-Baqir (a.s.)
Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) told Jabir that a year would come in which there would be great turmoil and disagreement. He said:
"The first land to fall into ruin will be the land of al-Sham. Then they will divide under three banners: the banner of al-Ashhab, the banner of al-Abqa', and the banner of al-Sufyani."
The narration continues that the Sufyani will meet al-Abqa' in battle and kill him and those who follow him. He will then kill al-Ashhab, after which his attention will turn toward Iraq.
The same lengthy narration also describes events involving Damascus, al-Jabiyah, Qarqisiya, Kufa, Khurasan, Medina, Mecca and the army that will eventually be swallowed by the earth at al-Bayda.
THE KILLING OF AL-NAFS AL-ZAKIYYA
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, al-Saduq, vol. 2, p. 649, ch. 57, hadith 2
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"There will be only fifteen nights between the rising of the Qa'im of the family of Muhammad and the killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya."
Also transmitted in: al-Ghaybah, al-Shaykh al-Tusi, p. 445, hadith 440; and al-Irshad, al-Shaykh al-Mufid.
The killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya is therefore specifically identified in the Shia narrations as one of the five certain signs preceding the Qa'im (a.s.).
THE HEAVENLY CRY
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, al-Saduq, vol. 2, p. 650, ch. 57, hadith 6
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"The cry that will occur in the month of Ramadan will be on the night of Friday, after twenty-three nights of Ramadan have passed."
Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah, vol. 2, p. 650, ch. 57, hadith 8
Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) also said that a caller will call out the name of the Qa'im. When asked whether the call would be private or general, the Imam replied that it would be general and that every people would hear it in their own language.
THE SUFYANI'S ARMY AND THE SINKING AT AL-BAYDA
Al-Ghaybah, al-Nu'mani, ch. 14, narration of Jabir al-Ju'fi from Imam al-Baqir (a.s.)
In the lengthy narration concerning the signs, Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) says that the Sufyani will send an army toward Medina.
Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) will leave Medina for Mecca. When the commander of the Sufyani's army learns that he has gone toward Mecca, an army will be sent after him.
The army will reach al-Bayda, where a caller from heaven will call upon the land to destroy the people. The earth will then swallow the army.
In this particular narration, three men are said to escape the swallowing, and their faces will be turned backward. Other transmitted versions contain differences in the details concerning those who survive.
THE SIGNS WILL FOLLOW ONE ANOTHER
Al-Ghaybah, al-Nu'mani, ch. 14
When Muhammad ibn al-Samit feared that the events preceding the appearance might take a long time, Imam al-Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"No. They are like the beads of a rosary, following one another."
CONCLUSION
The narrations transmitted in the Shia sources describe a number of events preceding the rising of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.). Among them, five are specifically described as certain signs: the Yamani, the Sufyani, the heavenly cry, the killing of al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, and the sinking at al-Bayda.
Other narrations describe upheaval in al-Sham, the weakening and disagreement of the Abbasids, unusual eclipses, the movement of the Sufyani and a series of events that will occur close to the time of the Qa'im (a.s.).
These reports should be understood as transmitted narrations from the Shia hadith literature. The presence of a narration in a classical collection does not by itself establish the authenticity of every chain of transmission, and the reports should not be used to assign these signs to contemporary people or events without evidence.
Part 2, insha'Allah, will cover the appearance and rising of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) and the events that follow.