The Sun Rises in West

CONTENTSPREFACE—13Foreword—17Chapter 1: BirthBirth—211- ‘Ali ibn Husayn Mas‘udi—212- Shams al-Din ibn Khallikan—213- Shaykh ‘Abd Allah Shabrawi—224- Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhab Sha‘rani—225- Shaykh Sulayman Qunduzi—22Natal Star—22Like Abraham and Moses—23Meeting with Mahdi (‘a)—24Forty Shi‘as in quest of Mahdi (‘a)—25The philosopher Nawbakhti in the presence of Mahdi (‘a)—25Transient Rise—26Raid of laden clouds—27Chapter 2: AppearanceAppearance—31Rank—31Character—321- Religious character—322- Dispositional character—333- Practical character—334- Revolutionary character—335- Political character—346- Educational character—357- Social character—368- Financial Character—369- Reformative character—3610- Judicial character—37All-Encompassing Justice—38Why by the sword?—39Journey to outer space—40Chapter 3: OccultationOccultation—45Minor Occultation—45Major Occultation—46Special deputies during the Minor Occultation—46Special Deputation [niyabat khas]—46General Deputation [niyabat ‘am]—471- ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id—472- Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman—473- Husayn ibn Ruh Nawbakhti—484- ‘Ali ibn ‘Uthman Samuri—48General deputies during the Major Occultation—49Days—51Chapter 4: In the Books of the AncientsIn the Books of the Ancients (Glad Tidings)—55In Zoroastrianism—55In Hinduism—56In Buddhism—57In Judaism—57In Christianity—59Chapter 5: In Muslim Sources (1) Sunni Sources—63Types of Sources—63Selected Sources—64Specific Sources—66Some points about the sources—68Accounts of Sunni Scholars—701- Ibn Hajar Haytami—702- ÝImad al-Din Ibn Kuthayr Dimashqi—703- Ibn Abi ’l-Hadid Mada’ni—704- Sadr al-Din Quniyawi—705- Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Rumi—716- Jalal al-Din Suyuti—717- Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq Dihlawi—728- Abu al-‘Irfan Sabban—729- Abu al-Fawz Baghdadi—7210- Shaykh Mansur ‘Ali Nasif—7211- Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abduh—7312- Ahmad Amin Misri—73Excerpts from Kifayat al-Muwahhidin—79Continuity (tawatur) in the Chains of Transmission of Traditions Regarding Mahdi (‘a)Concerning Mahdi (‘a)—80Belief in Mahdi is Islamic rather than sectarian—83The School of Protestation among the Sunnis—84Chapter 6: In Muslim Sources (2) In Shi‘a Sources—89Types of Sources—90Selected Sources—90Continuity of the Promise and the Promised—93Paraclete—94Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Rida (‘a) and the citation from the Bible—96The Last Promised Saviour—98His Characteristics —99From the Book ‘Bayan al-Furqan’ —100The First Issue—101The Second Issue—101The Third Issue—102The Fourth Issue—103The Fifth Issue—103Note—104The Sixth Issue—105Reflections in the Mirror of Time—106Rapidity and Comprehensiveness—107The Sun Rising in the West—108Chapter 7: In the Holy Qur’anMahdi (‘a) in the Holy Qur’an—111The First Verse:—111The Second Verse:—112The Third Verse:—113The Fourth Verse:—113The Fifth Verse:—114The Sixth Verse:—115The Seventh Verse:—116The Eighth Verse:—116The Ninth Verse:—117The Tenth Verse:—118In Exegeses—118Chapter 8: In Surah al-QadrThe Chapter of the Night of Decree (97).—123Which Night is it?—123It is the Night of Decree and ‘the scroll of separation is folded away’—124One night each year—127The Lord of the Night of Decree—128The Holy Qur’an and the Night of Decree—133‘Ali (‘a) and the Night of Decree—135Blessed Night—136Argumentation—137Criteria of Humaness—Error! Bookmark not defined.Chapter 9: In the domain of intellectual (‘aqli) sciencesPerspectives of intellectual sciences—1471- In Qur’anic teachings—1472- In metaphysics—1483- In political philosophy—1494- In Illuminationist (ishraqi) Philosophy—1525- In the Philosophy of the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa)—1536- In Theology and Beliefs—1547- In Mysticism and Spiritual Insight—1568- Ya‘qub Kindi’s View—160Meeting with Imam Mahdi (‘a)—160The Fortunate—161...