JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES AND HUMANITIES

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1 Unity of Religions on a Certain Event before the End of the World Amir Tohidi 1, Fatemeh Karami Moghaddam 2 1 Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch. amir_tohidi_110@yahoo.com 2 Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch. moghaddam110110@yahoo.com Abstract: One of the important issues which have long been the subject of human thought is Raj at (return) after death and before the day of last judgment. Among the writings of the past human civilizations, holy books and theistic religions as well as the writings and books of nontheistic religions, we can readily trace this topic. This especially applies to Abraham religions, and even more especially to Islam, and Shiism. In this paper, we tried to demonstrate that all religions have consensus on Raj at based on several Abrahimic and non-abrahamic authorities. Keywords: Raj at (return), nontheistic religions, theistic religions, unity of religions, the inheritors of the earth INTRODUCTION Among the writings of the oldest human civilizations as well as the books and writings of theistic and nontheistic religions, evidence is found that suggests human Raj at after death and before the day of last judgment. This topic is more emphasized in Abrahamic religions, and especially in Islam and Shiism, compared with other religions and faiths. Based on the principle of Raj at, Shiites believe that only a number of believers and misbelievers who are cited in hadiths as Raj at is specific to those people who are either absolutely believer or absolutely disbeliever (Feyz: 461/2) are resurrected from their graves; and thereafter, the believers will survive physically and spiritually after having fought and overcome misbelieve. It is the period in which the righteous Mu minin (believers) rule the earth, oppression is fully eliminated, and the world enters the phase just before the day of last judgment. Before proceeding to the proof of the claim that religions have consensus on Raj at, it seems necessary to analyze the term Raj at. LITERAL MEANING OF RAJ AT Different terms have been used to refer to the concept of return in Quran and traditions of Imams (a.s.); for example, Raj at, Ayyab, Radd, all of which mean return in English, and Hashr, which is the Arabic equivalent of resurrection. Among these, Raj at is the most commonly used term. In Majma Al-Bahrain, Tarihi defined Raj at as: Rajat means one-time resurrection upon the advent of Imam Mahdi (a.s.), and is one of essentials of Shiism. There are also proofs for this claim in Quran and Hadiths of Ahl Al-Bayt. For example, Imams (a.s.) said, One who doesn t believe in our Raj at, and does not acknowledges secondary life is not one of us (Tarihi: 335/4). In Mofradat, Raqeb Isfahani stated, AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

2 Al-Roju means return to whatever is the starting point, or thinking about the beginning of something, about a part of parts, or an act of acts whether spatial, procedural or lingual. Then, Roju is return. However, Raj means return and repeat (transitive and intransitive). Raj at is both used in divorce terminology, and to refer to return to the world after death, like in this sentence: He believes in Raj at (Al-Raqeb: 343). Like many other terms, the term Raj at has contextual meaning in addition to literal meaning, and has different meanings in different fields such as fiqh, astronomy, mysticism, sociology, and kalaam; briefly speaking, in kalaam, this term means return of some dead bodies to the world after the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and before the day of last judgment. RAJ AT IN THE WORDS OF SHIITE SCHOLARS Undoubtedly, Shiites absolutely believe in Raj at, and the major Shiite scholars have considered the belief in the principle of Raj at to be essential to the school of Ahl Al-Bayt based on the traditions of Imams (a.s.). Shaykh Mofid, explaining the term Raj at, said, God brings back a group of dead to the world as they were in their past life, and makes some of them powerful, and makes others abject. God will give the people of truth victory over the people of the untruth, and give the oppressed victory over oppressors, and this will occur upon advent of Imam Mahdi (Mofid: 86). Sayyid Murtaza, who was a prominent pupil of Shaykh Mofid, a great Shiite scholar, said, Raj at means that upon advent of Imam Mahdi (a.s.), God resurrects a group of deceased Shiites so that they gain spiritual reward through assisting him, and experience his (generous) rule; God will also resurrect a group of enemies of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) to take revenge of them (Alamolhoda: 125/1). Allamah Muhammad Baqer Majlisi also said, How could one who believes in the truth of the worlds of Ahl Al-Bayt not accept the successively narrated hadiths on Raj at? If hadiths which are about two hundreds in number, and have been narrated by more than forty reliable and trustworthy narrators and distinguished Ulema in over fifty books, are not Mutawatir (successively narrated), then, what kind of hadith is Mutawatir? (Majlisi: 123/53). He mentioned over fifty Shiite Ulema who accepted the principle of Raj at, and who include hadiths related to Raj at in their books; a number of them are: Salim Ibn Qeis Hilali (d. 708), Hassan Ibn Saffar (d. 902), Ali Ibn Ibrahim Qomi (Kulayni s teacher), Thiqat al-islam Kulayni (d. 939), Muhammad Bin Masud Ayyashi (contemporary of Kulayni), Abu Amr Al- Koshi (contemporary of Kulayni), Shaykh Saduq (d. 991), Shaykh Mofid (d. 1022), Sayyid Razi (d. 1044), Abulfath Karajaki (d. 1057), Abulabbas Ahmad Ibn Abbas Najjashi (d. 1058), Shaykh Tusi (d. 1067), Sayyid Razi Al-Din Ibn Tawus (d. 1071), etc. Shaykh Al-Hurr al-aamili also cited over 600 hadith and over 60 verses as proof of Raj at, and then said, Undoubtedly, these hadiths are Mutawatir in meaning, because AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

3 they absolutely convince anybody whose heart is free of doubt and misgivings (Aamili: 33 & 428). Allamah Tabatabai, the contemporary Quran interpreter also said, Hadiths on Raj at are indeed Mutawatir in meaning, and opponents have considered from the beginning of Islam the belief in Raj at as the essential specifications of Shiites and their Imams. Even if some of these traditions are challengeable and questionable, this will not challenge the fact that they are Mutawatir. Besides, some of the traditions on Raj at are explicit and reliable (Tabatabai: 107/2). RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RAJ AT AND ADVENT There is an inviolable relationship between Raj at and advent of savior; in other words, theistic and nontheistic religions which have observations on the future of the earth point to both Raj at and advent of savior in future. Although these two issues are connected, and advent of savior is in fact an introduction to Raj at and return of a number of believers and misbelievers to the world, we are focused on Raj at in this paper, and only occasionally make brief references to the topic of advent when describing the proof of Raj at under different religions. FUTURE OF THE EARTH FROM VIEW OF RELIGIONS AND HOLY BOOKS In this section, we consider Raj at from perspective of nontheistic religions, which currently have limited adherents; then, we study the quality of Raj at from perspective of theistic religions. Hinduism In sacred religious books which are known as holy books, and whose deliverers are known as prophets by Hindus, many references are made to the advent of a person who will establish the rule of justice and will completely ruin every and all evils. These books include Upanishads, Bask (Beshaarat-eh Ahdein: 246), Patikel (ibid: 246), Vishnu Yog, Deid (ibid, 245), Dad Teg, Rigveda, Shakyamuni, etc.; we provide a brief description of some of these books below. Upanishads This incarnation of Vishnu (tenth incarnation) appears upon expiration of Iron Age, while carrying a sword which shines like a blazing star, and kills all wicked people, and renews creation and brings virtue back to the world [ ] this tenth incarnation upon tenth expiration upon expiration of the world (Upanishads: 637/2). Vishnu Yog In The end of the world, the one who loves god, and is among his special servants, and his names are Farkhondeh and Khojasteh, will return to the world, and he will resurrect and burn those who fabricated religions, and violated the rights of god and his prophet, and he renew the world, and punish every and all evils, and his rule will last four thousand years, during which him and his family will rule (Beshaarat-eh Ahdein: 272). The Arabic equivalents of Farkhondeh and Khojasteh are Mahmud and Muhammad, both of which are the names of Imam Mahdi (a.s.); they may also refer to Muhammad and Ahmad, because according to Islamic traditions, Imam Mahdi (a.s.) has two name, Muhammad is his overt name and Ahmad the concealed one. AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

4 Zoroastrianism The sacred book of Zoroastrians, Jamasp Nameh, reads: Saoshyant (the great savior of the world) will propagate the religion in the world; he will eliminate poverty; he will rescue gods from evils; he will make the people one in thought, speech and conduct (Jamap Nameh: 121). Another passage of this book reads: An Arab man will rise from the earth, who is a descendant of Hashim; he is a huge head, huge limb, and huge cruses; he follows the religions of his ancestor; he will depart for Iran, accompanied with a huge army, and he will bring development and justice to the world (ibid: 107). Judaism In the books of prophets adhering to Old Testament, there are also promises of the victory of righteous people and establishment of one global government, and integration of all of different religions and faith into one firm, immortal and straightforward religions. Here, we will cite some of these books, and describe their contents in brief. These include the Book of Psalms, the prophet Isaiah (Old Testament, book of Isaiah, Chapter 11, maxims 1-10, p 1548), the Book of Joel, the Book of Zechariah, the Book of Ezekiel (Bible, the Book of Ezekiel, p. 1365, Chapter 39), the Book of Zephaniah (ibid, the Book of Zephaniah, p. 1363, chapter 3, Paras. 5-9), and the Book of Daniel. Book of Daniel reads, And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever (Bible, the Book of Daniel, 12:1-12:3). Here, we encountered this remarkable sentence, Those who are sleeping in the earth will wake up. This sentence is consistent with Shiite belief in Raj at. Also, the Book of Psalms reads, For those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. The Book of Zechariah also reads, The day of God will come, when your trophy will be distributed among you (ibid, the Book of Zechariah, p. 1382, chapter 14, paras. 1-10). The remarkable point in the Book of Zechariah is the expression day of god, which is translated Yawm Allah in Arabic, this expression is employed in Quran when God says to Moses (a.s.), Remind them of the days of God (Ibrahim: 5). Musa Al-Hanat narrated that he asked Imam Sadeq (a.s.) to explain this verse, and he answered, there are three days of God, that is, the day of the rise of Imam Mahdi (a.s.), the day of Raj at, and the day of last judgment (Al-Hilli: 89). So, one of the days of god which Imam Sadeq (a.s.) mentioned was the day of Raj at. AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

5 The Book of Joel: There will then be gathered from all nations (Bible, the Book of Joel, p. 1327, chapter 3, paras. 2 & 3). This passage of the Book of Joel refers to the Quran s verse And on the day when we will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected our communications, then they shall be formed into groups (Al-Naml: 83), and this is the verse which Shiites believe, based on the hadiths related to it, refers to Raj at; as the Aba Basir s hadith reads, "Imam Sadeq (a.s.) asked me, Do people of Iraq deny Raj at? and I answered, Yes, and he answered, Haven t they read this verse of Quran that says, And on the day when we will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected our communications, then they shall be formed into groups. (Majlisi: 40/53, Bahrani: 231/4). The inerrant Imam (a.s.) produced this verse the positive proof of Raj at. Christianity Christians are also waiting for a savior of the world. However, they believe the savior is Jesus Christ, who will ascend from the heaven and bring justice to the whole world. Based on many glad tidings produced in the New Testament, Jesus Christ (a.s.) will return to the world, and will assist and contribute to just government. He will convert to the dominant religion of that time so that his followers find themselves bound to convert to the true religion which will dominate the world at that time. Accordingly, he made advices to his pupils and apostles about his resurrection and instructed them to wait for him while being alert, and prepared. Here, we provide a passage of the New Testament, which both indicates the global government which will be established in future, and is somehow the proof Raj at under Christianity. The Gospel of Matthew reads, Apostles of Jesus who had referred to him in private asked him, Say to us what the signs of your coming at the end of the world are, Jesus answered, Make sure that nobody mislead you, because many will introduce themselves as being Christ, who will mislead many people [ ] The time when the son of human appears in the sky with huge magnificence and power [ ] However nobody, not even heaven angles, knows what day and what hour this happens, but my father. However, the days of coming son of human will be much the same as days of Noah [ ] However, the magnificent son of human will come with his sacred angels, and then, all nations will gather before him [ ] Then, the king will say to the parties who are on his right hand side, You who are blessed by my father, come and inherit the heaven which has been prepared for you since the beginning of the world (the Bible, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, paras. 28 & 29). This is also referred to in the Gospel of Mark (ibid, p. 77, chapter 13, paras. 1-9, 32 & 37) and the Gospel of Luke (ibid, p. 116, chapter 12, paras. 35 & 36, 37-40). The remarkable point the above said text is that not only return of Jesus (a.s.) is mentioned, but also, inheritance of the earth by the bless people, who are the very righteous people, is also explicitly referred to. And also, The Gospel of John reads, He was authorized and empowered to judge, because his is the son of human, and don t be surprised, because the time will come when all people who are in their graves will hear his song, and will go out of their graves, whoever has done good will rise from the grave to live and whoever has done bad will rise from the grave to be judged (ibid, the Gospel of John, p. 417, chapter 19, paras ). There are two important points to note about this section; one is that the expression son AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

6 of human cannot refer to Jesus (a.s.), because according to Haks, this expression is repeated in Gospels and their annexes (the whole New Testament), and only thirty of them match Jesus (a.s.), while the remaining fifty speak of a savior which will appear in the end of the world, and will be accompanied with Jesus (a.s.), and will bring magnificence to Jesus; another is the resurrection of people who are in graves, which refers to Raj at, because in this case judgment is assigned to a human, while the judgment on the day of last judgment is carried out by God. Based on the proof from theistic and nontheistic religions, it was found out that the said writings refer in addition to global government to another issue called Raj at which is in fact one of the specific beliefs of Shiites. Now, we proceed to study of Raj at in verses of Holy Quran with reference to hadiths of inerrant Imams (a.s.). RAJ AT ACCORDING TO QURAN AND SHIITE HADITHS Shiites believe that Quran addresses the topic of Raj at on several occasions, and there are many Quran s verses which state proof of belief in Raj at among pre-islamic nations and occurrence of Raj at on the Apocalypse. We provide some examples of such verses below. Gathering And on the day when we will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected our communications, then they shall be formed into groups. (Al-Naml: 83). In the day referred to in this verse, a group from each nation is gathered, while in the verse, And the day on which We will cause the mountains to pass away and you will see the earth a levelled plain and We will gather them and leave not any one of them behind (Al-Kahf: 47), all people are gathered. Now, from these two verses, we find out that the day is the first mentioned verse is different from the day referred to in the second mentioned verse, and even the word gathering has different meanings in the two verses. In the first mentioned verses, only some individuals are gathers, while in the second mentioned verse, all people are gather, it can thus be concluded that these are two different days, with the first speaking about Raj at and the second about the day of last judgment. However, this claim is based on proof from the hadiths which are delivered to us through reliable and genuine Quran exegetists, for instance: Hamad Ibn Abdollah (a.s.) said, Imam (a.s.) asked, what does people about the verse, And on the day when we will gather from every nation a party from among those who rejected our communications, then they shall be formed into groups? and I answered, They say this verse is about Raj at; almighty God will not gather only a party from each nation on the day of last judgment, leaving the rest of the nation behind, will he? ; the verse about the day of last judgment is indeed this one, We will gather them and leave not any one of them behind. (Qomi: 25/1, Al-Hawizi: 366/7, Qomi Mashhadi: 595/9). Taking covenant And [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him." (Al Imran: 81). The hadiths related to this verse well show when and in which regard the almighty God took covenant of the prophets. In his exegesis, Ali Ibn Qomi from Abdollah Ibn Meskan who narrated that Imam Sadeq (a.s.) said in interpretation of the verse, And [recall] when God took covenant of AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

7 the prophets", God appointed the prophets subject to the covenant they shall return to the world on the Apocalypse; and God indeed says, Believe in him, which means they will believe in him, and also says, Assist him, which means they will assist Imam Ali (a.s.). According to the above Hadith, prophets will come to believe in Muhammad (SAW) and assist Imam Ali (a.s.). However, because prophets were not alive during the primary life of Imam Ali and so could not realize the content of this verse, therefore, this must be realized before the day of last judgment. Thus, based on the above said verse and Hadith, the theistic prophets will return on the earth to fulfill the covenant God made with them. Inheritors of the Earth Since the promise of god to believers and righteous people according to the following verses is that they will rule the earth, and such promise has not realized; therefore, we should believe in an event which is referred to as Raj at in traditions. In this regard, Holy Quran says: And we have already written in the book of Psalms and then in Old Testament that the earth will be inherited by my righteous servants (Al- Anbiya: 105). Interpreting these verses, Ali Ibn Ibrahim narrated: God hereby informed the prophet that his Ahl Al-Bayt will take possession of the earth, and they will return to the earth, and kill their enemies. It was after such revelation that Prophet Muhammad informed Fatimah (s.a.) of martyrdom of Hussein, and Fatimah (s.a.) became pregnant with Hussein reluctantly (Al-Hilli: 159; Haeri: 281/2; Qomi: 281/2). Also, god says in another noble verse: Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers those before them (Al-Nur: 55). And we desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs (Al-Ghesas: 5). Regarding this verse, it was narrated that Imam Ali (a.s.) said, This revealed verse is about me (Al-Kufi: 314 and Haskani: 558/1). Difference between Murder and Death Holy Quran explicitly distinguishes between murder and death. The following are some examples: If then he dies or is killed will you turn back upon your heels? And whoever turns back upon his heels!s [ ] Al Imran: 144); it was narrated that Zarareh said, I had a question, which I didn t want to ask Imam Baqer (a.s.) instantaneously. So, I asked a fine question so that I could arrive in my intended question in the course of it. That fine question was as follows: I asked Imam Sadeq, Is the one who is killed dead? and He said, No, death is death and being killed is being killed (that is, they are considered to be different). I said, I don t know any passage of Quran in which god distinguishes between murder and death. Imam Sadeq cited these two verses: If he dies or is killed and And whether you die or are killed, unto Allah you will be gathered. He then said, Zarareh, therefore, death is death and being killed is being killed, and as god says, the difference is: god buys the soul and properties of believers from them, and in exchange, gives them the paradise. They do jihad for god, and kill the enemies of god, and so, they are killed, and this is a genuine promise from god. Zarareh said, I said, God says in another verse, every body dies, do you AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

8 mean if somebody is killed, he doesn t die?. Imam Sadeq answered, The one who is killed by sword while struggling for god is not equal to the one who dies in his bed. The one who is killed must inevitably return to the world (and live again, and then die) to die (Al-Ayyashi 202/1 and Al-Hawizi 43/1 and Majlisi 65/53). And also the verse: And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance from their Lord (Al Imran: 169); and the verse: And call not those who are slain in the way of Allah "dead." Nay, they are living, only ye perceive not (Al-Baqarah: 154). Given the said verses and other such verses like verses of Al Imran, verse 58 of Hajj, and verse 16 of surah Ahzab, etc., and given the traditions related to such verses, we find out that death and murder are in fact different. Thus, based on the traditions of Ahl Al-Bayt (a.s.), those who die due to natural causes will to experience death in form of being killed, and those who were killed in this world will return to the world to experience death in form of natural death. Even some traditions related to the said verses state that some of those who die before stated time due to their sins will return to the world to die naturally after spending their stated lifetime. Generally, given the verses and traditions mentioned in this section, it can be concluded that these verses refer to a type of return other than the one that occurs on the day of last judgment, which type of return is what is called Raj at. CONCLUSION Based on the writtings of theistic religions and some of nontheistic religions on return of human to the earth after death and before the day of last judgment, it can be claimed that the prominent religions of the world have a similarity and thematic consensus in this regard, one of which is relative consensus of religions on reappearance and return. In the traditions of Ahl Al-Bayt (a.s.), this is referred to as Raj at, and this is a certain event which will occur before the day of last judgment; and the righteous people will rule the earth after having overcome the misbelievers. REFERENCES 1. Quran, translated by Tohidi, A. 2. Upanishad. 3. Jamasp Nameh. 4. Beshaarat-eh Ahdein (Message of the Two Era); translated by Sadeghi, M; Tehran: Dar Al-Maktabah Islamiyah. 5. Bahrani, S.Y. (1988); Al-Burhan Fi Al-Quran; Taliq min al-ulama wa almohaqiqin al-akhsaeyin; Beirut: Muassasah al-ilmi lil-matbuat, 1 st Ed. 6. Haskani, O. (1990); Shavahid altanzil li qavaid al-tafzil, compiled by Mahmudi, M.A.; Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Press. 7. Hilli, H. (1991); Mokhtasar al-basair, compiled by Mozaffar, M.; Qom: Madrasah Nashr Islami. 8. Al-Raghib al-isfahani, H.; Al- Mofradat, complied by Safwan Adnan; Damascus, Beirut: Al-dar alshamiyah. 9. Shaykh Al-Hurr al-aamili; M.; Aliqaz min al-hajah bi al-burhan ala alraj at; compiled by Rasuli, H.; Tehran: Navid. AJSIH ISSN: Vol. 4 Issue 5 September

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