When will Deliverance Take Place?

It has been narrated by Jabir Jaufi that: I asked Imam Muhammad Baqir (as) about Imam Mehdi (as)’s reappearance that when will ‘Faraj’ deliverance take place?   Our fifth Holy Imam (as) replied: “Alas! Alas! There shall be no Faraj until you all become a mesh (he repeated the sentence three times), the impure believers are exterminated and only the pure believers remain!”   Almighty Allah (s.w.t) says in the Holy Quran: “Do men think they will be left alone on saying – we believe; and not be tried?”   Sheikh Saduq (May Allah elevate his position) has recorded this event in the book – ‘Kamaluddin’ from Sadir Sairafi who was bestowed with the honor of visiting our 6th Imam (as) along with Mufazzal bin Umeir and Abu Baseer. We asked the son of the Messenger of Allah about Qaem (as). Imam Jaffer Sadiq (as) replied: “The characteristics Allah assigned for his Prophets have been assigned for our Qaem (as) too. Just as Prophet Isa (as) went away into occultation from his people, similarly Allah Almighty has ordained that our Qaem (as) shall also go away into occultation from his people. His occultation shall be lengthy such that the deviators shall deny him.   The delay of our Qaem (as) is like the delay of Prophet Nuh (as). Nuh (as) had asked Allah to punish the disbelievers and requested salvation for the believers.   Allah informed Nuh (as): “Plant these seeds because you will attain salvation and deliverance after they become trees and bear fruit. Give glad tidings about this matter to your followers.” Prophet Nuh (as)  followed the orders of Almighty Allah.   When after a long time the seeds turned into strong trees possessing branches, leaves and dates; Prophet Nuh (as) asked Allah to fulfill his promise. For the second time Allah ordered Nuh (as) to sow fresh date seeds yet again. Allah ordered Nuh (as) to adopt patience and inform his believers. When Prophet Nuh (as) informed his people - three hundred of his believers turned apostates; doubting the Prophet Hood of Nuh (as) and Allah’s promise. Once again the seeds turned into strong trees bearing dates Prophet Nuh (as) asked Allah for deliverance. And yet for the third time Nuh (as) was ordered to follow the same instructions as before; and on informing his followers a greater number of his believers turned away from him. They turned away from Allah’s representative and Allah’s promise.   Now the number of Nuh (as)’s true believers remained seventy in number. And here Allah revealed to Nuh (as): “The brightness of dawn has obviated the darkness of night since truth has been established and faith has been purified. My promise was salvation and deliverance for the believers. I was aware of the shaky faith and evil nature of those among your followers who later turned apostates. Now by our command, you may start building the ship; for those who remain are the ones whose monotheistic belief is based on sincerity and they have clung to the rope of your Prophet Hood. My promise is to make them vicegerents over the earth, give strength to their religion and turn their fears into tranquility.”   Imam Sadiq (as) said: “The same condition shall prevail for our Qaem (as). The period of occultation will be a long one until absolute truth appears and faith gets clearly distinguished from the evils of discord; so that any of the Shia who are evil in nature and have feelings of discord will exit from religion. “ These are the ones about whom our Masumin (as) have foretold that faith shall depart from them just as a knife slices easily through butter.   Conclusion   Al Imam Mahdi (as) is the Imam through whose obedience we should be upright. Imam e Zamana (as)  is the channel between us and Allah. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w) repeatedly emphasized to hold on to the Holy Quran and the Holy Ahlul Bayt (as). Holding on to them does not mean we have to catch hold of their hands; rather it means we have to act upon their sayings and follow their path. This is feasible and possible for each and every person. Therefore there cannot remain any excuse and none can say: “The Twelfth Imam (as) was hidden so we could not hold on to him.” It is not obligatory on Imam (as) to approach us; rather it is obligatory upon us to approach His Excellency. And the best way to do this is by sincerely following the commands of Allah and Ahlul Bayt (as); protecting the Ahlul Bayt (as); warding off their enemies; increasing our love for the Masumin (as) and deeply hating their enemies.