Heartiest congratulations to you all on the blessed birth anniversary of the Saviour of Mankind, Imam Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance to end corruption and oppression on earth by establishing the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice). Stay with us for a special programme on the auspicious 15th of Sha'ban.

“Certainly, We had written in the Psalms, after the Torah, Indeed My righteous servants shall inherit the earth."

That was ayah 105 of Surah Anbiya of the Holy Qur’an that we recited to you. God's words are crystal clear. He has promised mankind that the virtuous will eventually triumph and establish peace, prosperity and justice on earth. A close scrutiny of the Divine Words shows that the righteous will not be left to grope in the dark as is the case of most of humanity in today's world because of the violation of the laws of God.

In other words, the Planet will have a meaningful end, and human beings will no longer be confounded by such fallacious creations of the fallible mind, as democracy, secularism, despotism, and all other absurdities including elections, selections, nominations, designations, voting, referendum, etc. To be precise, He, the Almighty, has created the universe and all that it contains, and it is He, Who provides the correct form of guidance for the human race, as is evident by His sending of the unbroken chain of Prophets all over the world and in every age.

There was Noah, there was Abraham, there was Moses, there was Jesus, and there were many others scattered around the face of the earth – all appointees of God who confronted oppressors and the oppressive systems – until the dawn of the universal message of Islam entrusted to the Last and Final Messenger, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).The Seal of Prophets during his 23-year mission suffered at the hands of the despots, the democrats, the oligarchs, and the aristocrats, in order to establish the Laws of God in society.

Since Islam had yet to enlighten the rest of the globe – as promised by God that the true religion will prevail over all other creeds even if the disbelievers are averse – the Prophet bequeathed the most dynamic code, and to ensure its proper implementation left behind the Book of God (the Holy Qur'an) and his progeny, the Ahl al-Bayt. He specified without mincing words that the Imam is that Righteous Leader who is appointed by God and is not elected, selected, or nominated by the creatures of God. The first one, said the Prophet, is the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), whom he proclaimed as Imam as per God's command at Ghadir Khum, and the last of 12 divinely-decreed leaders is Imam Mahdi (AS), who will usher in the global government of peace and justice.

A hadith from the Prophet mentioned in Isbaat al-Huda of the great scholar Moqaddas Ardabeli, reads:

"َThe Mahdi from among my descendants, from my family, will rise at the End of Time, while the heavens will pour rain and the earth will bring forth green grass for him. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with tyranny and injustice."

Ibn Maaja, the famous Sunni compiler of hadith quotes the Prophet as saying: “The promised Mahdi will be among my family. God will make the provisions for his emergence within a single night.”

Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) knew the havoc that would be played with Islamic teachings after him by pretenders claiming to be caliphs but savagely persecuting his progeny and confounding the fate of Muslims. He was informed by God of the courting of martyrdom by his divinely-decreed successors at the hands of those that had usurped political rule of the Islamic realm. That is among the reasons God deferred the advent of Imam Mahdi (AS) until humanity comes of age and is ready to grasp the wisdom of Divine Laws. Imam Mahdi (AS) thus needs no introduction. He is the 12th and last successor of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA). He is the son of Imam Hasan al-Askari (AS) – a fact that even Sunni scholars admit, such as Ibn Sabbagh al-Maleki.

He was born on the 15th of Sha'ban in the year 255 AH in the city of Samarra in Iraq. His mother was the pure and pious Greek Byzantine lady, Narjes, descended on her mother’s side from Simeon, the prominent disciple and testamentary legatee of Prophet Jesus (AS), who will also reappear, as all Muslims believe. He went into occultation, as a form of divine trial to rest humanity, and by the Will of God, Who had saved Jesus (AS) from crucifixion and kept him alive till this day, the 12th Infallible Successor of the Greatest Prophet, will reappear to cleanse the world of all vestiges of oppression and corruption.

He will reappear at the holy Ka'ba in Mecca from where the whole world will be informed of his advance. He will root out superstitions and distortions by reviving the pure and pristine message of Islam as taught by Prophet MOhammad (SAWA). He will proceed toward Iraq, where he will chose the city of Kufa as the seat of power of his global government of peace, prosperity and justice. Imam Mahdi (AS) will defeat all evil forces and all deviant creeds and political systems throughout the world, and lead humanity towards progress that is beyond imagination.

For instance, the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) has narrated: “At the time of advent of our Qa’em, God, may He be exalted and glorified, will develop the hearing and sight of our faithful in such a manner that, without there being a messenger between the Qa’em and themselves, He will speak with them and they hear Him and see Him without Him having left the place where He is.”

No wonder, the blessed 15th of Sha'ban is celebrated as the Day of the Oppressed in the Islamic Republic of Iran, in order to enlighten humanity of the eventual advent of the Promised Saviour of mankind.