The Promised Savior Across Religions: Exploring Commonalities between Religions and the Future of the World in the Quran
All divine and non-divine religions address the human being, so all religions share some common teachings. These teachings include concepts such as the essence of human creation, the origin of his creation, the purpose of his creation, the best way of living, and the subject of human future. Looking towards the future is one of the most important and serious common topics discussed in various religions. All religions have predicted a bright future for the Earth and have promised that goodness, virtues, light, and righteousness will prevail over all evils and ugliness of the world.
All religions have talked about the advent of a savior in their teachings and messages. This promised savior is expected to fill the Earth with peace, purity, justice, and well-being. There is no disagreement among different religions regarding the concept of the savior, and all believe in the salvation of the world by the savior.
The savior has been mentioned with about three hundred names in different religions, with the most common name being the “Qa’im,” that is, the one who will rise. While there may be differences in ideas about the savior’s personality, overall, all believe in his coming. Most religions have acknowledged the coming of a man from the progeny of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) who will come and make the true religion promised by the Quran rule the world.
The future of the world in the Quran is also intertwined with the advent of the Promised Savior. The Quran has talked in many verses about a person who is destined to come and establish truth all over the world and stated that this promise will definitely be fulfilled. God sent the Prophet (PBUH) with a perfect religion to make Islam or the perfect religion rule over all distorted religions. From the perspective of God, there is just one religion which has been perfected at various historical periods until it ultimately reached its culmination after the designation of Prophet Muhammad’s successor.
In ancient texts that have survived from other religions, there are verses supporting this claim and foretelling the coming of the son of the Prophet of Islam, known as Imam Mahdi (AJ), as the awaited savior of humanity: He will come and establish the true religion over the whole world.
The Quran and other Islamic texts have dedicated a substantial portion of their content to exploring the topic of the future of the world. Approximately six thousand hadiths about the future of the world and the Promised Savior have been narrated from the Prophet of Islam and his successors, known as the Ahl al-Bay (PBUT).
Unveiling the Savior’s Advent: Insights from the Quran
The Holy Quran describes the advent of the Savior with sweet expressions like “Days of Allah” and “Day of Victory,” each of which conceals profound concepts. The Day of Allah signifies a day when God manifests Himself perfectly. On that day, the manifestation of God is very clear, and people encounter the highest and most sublime manifestations of God. His power, mercy, and wisdom are not as clear and apparent on any other day in the world. The greatest manifestation of the Days of Allah[1] in this world is the day of the advent of the Promised Savior. God asks the Prophet (PBUH) to continually remind people of this day and emphasize its importance. This repetition and emphasis serve as reminders for believers to cultivate patience and gratitude as they remember and hope for that day. God tells us that this promise will certainly be fulfilled, but He expects believers to persevere and remain steadfast until that day arrives.
God gives an important instruction to believers regarding this matter. He states that believers should not be too hard on sins, crimes, and the injustice of oppressors for the time being. The reign of oppressors is not enduring; they will face the severest punishment, and their defeat is inevitable. The future of the world in the Quran is depicted in a way that urges believers to be patient and move forward with the prospect of the Day of God, until the day of revenge. The day of the victory of truth will come; victory belongs to believers. This promise and the urge to patience until the coming of the bright future have been mentioned in many verses. According to the Quran, the path to realizing this promising future lies in maintaining and strengthening one’s patience and faith until the arrival of the Savior.[2] The Quran refers to the era of the Savior’s advent as the “Day of Victory.”[3] On that day, the truth will become victorious on Earth. It is a day when the Earth opens up for the Qa’im, and the Savior of the End Times becomes triumphant and victorious on Earth.
The Quran believes that what deprives human life and existence of vitality is corruption and oppression. God promises in the Quran to surely revive the Earth after its death; the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) have introduced Imam Mahdi (AJ) as the reviver of the dead Earth and the Savior of the End Times, through whom God will revive the dead Earth.[4]
Division and Separation of People Before the Advent
The Quran explicitly mentions God’s will for a certain inevitable event. God is the creator and manager of the world, and when He decides on something, its occurrence is certain. Now, God has willed to make the truth victorious and dry up the root of disbelievers on Earth.[5] The Quran states that God intends to execute this goal through His “words,” and the loftiest interpretation of the “word” in the Quran is the divine leaders.
Quranic verses tell us about the final clash between the fronts of truth and falsehood. The struggle is destined to happen between monotheists and polytheists. However, the resistance of the people of falsehood is futile, as they will be losers on the battlefield. That is because the Front of Truth will become powerful at that time, guided by divine leaders.
These prophecies and the fulfillment of these promises occur during the era of the advent of the Promised Savior. The key and decisive point here is that at the time of the advent of the Savior, these events do not happen suddenly and all at once. Instead, the groundwork is established long before the advent. Among the inevitable events prior to his coming is the division of the two fronts of truth and falsehood; each person’s position is clearly defined in either of these two fronts. Throughout history, the fronts of truth and falsehood have always existed, and each individual has secured his position in one of these two fronts based on his lifestyle, actions, choices, beliefs, and intentions. His name is recorded in the preserved tablet forever. However, in the end times, boundaries will be clearly set, and every person’s affiliation with one of these two sides will be revealed.
The world is moving towards a direction where there is no middle ground, and everyone chooses for themselves which front to belong to. This membership is not just about outward proclamations, but the true criterion for evaluating a person’s position is the sincerity of his heart. A person’s heart determines whether he belongs to the Front of Truth and Monotheism or the Front of Polytheism and Falsehood. The sincerity of one’s heart is reflected in his beliefs, actions, lifestyle, thoughts, and decisions. Therefore, it is not the case that everyone lives according to his own desires and hopes to be a member of the Imam’s army and his agent after the advent. After the advent, everyone reaps what they have sown based on their actions before his coming.
The Manifestation of God’s Signs on Earth with the Advent of the Promised Savior
God has promised in the Quran that in a destined future, His signs will become evident both in the outer world and within ourselves.[6] It is destined that in the promised future, everyone will witness the truth, know it, understand what truth means, and ultimately, who the truth belongs to. The Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), who are the most knowledgeable interpreters of the Quran in the world and are themselves the ‘speaking Quran,’ have identified this manifestation of the future of the world in the Quran as the advent of Imam Mahdi (AJ). It will be a day when the whole truth will be revealed, the truth will overcome all falsehood, and people worldwide will know the truth of creation.
On that say, hypocrites and disbelievers have no way back. God has left open the opportunity for repentance and return for all the opponents of truth before the advent of the Savior. However, after his arrival, when the truth and essence of each front becomes clear, believing will no longer be beneficial.[7] The period before the advent is the golden time; it can lead to our downfall or act as a launching pad for our flying high. In fact, God has provided these conditions to give his final warning to people around the world.
Regarding the issue of the future of the world in the Quran, a significant secret has been unveiled, and it has been stated that the true power and number of the supporters of the Savior will only be revealed at the time of his advent; these forces will be so powerful that the forces of oppression will be weak and insignificant in comparison.[8] The outward manifestation and essential preliminaries of this goal are clearly expressed in the following examples.
- The Global Movement of Arbaeen:
One of the beautiful and amazing manifestations of God’s signs on Earth and in people’s hearts is the global movement of Arbaeen. Millions of Muslims and non-Muslims participate in this global gathering for two main reasons: the truth imprinted in the hearts and fitrah of individuals and the love for the perfect human being or the infallible Imam. Therefore, God’s signs are observed in both the external world and the internal world; unparalleled manifestations of love, service, kindness, respect, and security are displayed during this time. There are some people who cannot still understand how it is possible that millions of people from different nationalities and religions gather in a small area near a tomb in a deprived country. In truth, it is the purified soul and grand spirit of a perfect human named Hussain (PBUH), whose body was buried centuries ago, that has created such a noble culture.
The culture of Arbaeen is a great model for demonstrating love, unity, peace and tranquility in the world around the axis of a perfect human. This culture proves that the earth is moving towards collective maturity, growth, and cultivation under the guidance of the Imam and preparing itself for the advent of the Savior. Of course, the Arbaeen walk with all its fascinating features was a prelude and a training ground for a greater event called the Al-Aqsa Storm.
- The Global Movement of the Al-Aqsa Storm:
We stated that the division of the fronts of truth and falsehood occurs before the advent of the Savior, and each individual takes his place in one of these fronts. The point is that, in addition to lifestyle, beliefs, decisions, and thoughts, our stance in supporting and participating in global battles between truth and falsehood that occur before the advent directly determines our position in the post-advent era.
The Al-Aqsa Storm suddenly united all free people worldwide, regardless of their religion, nationality, or language, and they all called for the truth. The Earth, filled with oppression and injustice and getting close to its death, has regained life. The promise regarding the future of the world in the Quran makes it clear that the day of the fulfillment of all these promises is the day of the Savior’s advent. But this great event cannot happen all of a sudden, and it certainly requires preliminaries. Incidents like the Arbaeen Walk and the Al-Aqsa storm are all great preliminaries to the greatest event of the world.
Tragic events and tribulations happen before the advent to draw boundaries between right and wrong, separating them from each other, just like the Al-Aqsa Storm that separated the polytheists and monotheists regardless of nationality and religion.
God plans these events so that every single individual knows what to do in this final division, and is given the opportunity for gaining knowledge and ma’rifa as well as the chance for repentance and return. Indeed, these events beautifully show God’s compassion and mercy, as He wants to save His servants in a particular manner and through a specific strategy. These events happen before the advent so that many people understand the truth and change their way of life. But this opportunity will not last forever and will end upon the advent of the savior.
The Rebirth of the Earth
There is a verse that is often quoted, but we neglect to recite the rest of this verse and do not comprehend the philosophical wisdom behind this divine unveiling. We have recited this verse many times: “Or [ask them,] ‘Who responds to the distressed when they cry to Him, relieving [their] affliction,’” but we do not pay attention to the rest of the verse which says: “And makes you successors on earth?”[9]
A distressed and desperate person is one whose helplessness has reached its peak, and only God can save him. The most distressed individual in the world is the Imam of the time (Mahdi (AJ)), who sees the demise of human beings, and although he has the power to save the world, he cannot come and save us. Today, the depth of distress and hopelessness among the people of this world has reached its peak. The Earth is moving towards a point where it cannot continue its previous course. One of the primary indications promising the arrival of the Savior is the profound desperation people feel regarding the present state of affairs. Without this deep-seated distress, the coming of the Savior would not come to pass.
These unfolding events bring tidings of good news, and the more acute the level of desperation becomes, the nearer the arrival of the Savior will draw. It is an established pattern woven into the fabric of existence- the first ray of light shines after the darkest moment. We are in the moments before the dawn- dwelling in the precious minutes just prior to the break of morning that will usher in the long-awaited advent of the Savior; therefore, it is necessary for us to endure more pressure so that we can see the arrival of the morning and enjoy its light and freshness.
Of course, Satan does not remain idle and employs all his powers, helpers, and supporters to mislead more people and separate them from the army of the Promised Savior.
When Iblis[10] was expelled from the presence of God, he asked for an opportunity to deceive humans, and God accepted his request, but only until a certain time, not forever. This appointed time is the day when falsehood is to be destroyed, and disbelief eradicated. On the day of the advent of Imam Mahdi (AJ), the most important element of all wickedness, disbelief, and falsehood (Iblis) will also be destroyed. God has promised to make the righteous inherit the earth and appoint them as His deputies. The righteous are those who come to faith before the advent, do good deeds, and withstand the attacks and temptations of the devils and the ego self. In the Noble Rule of the Righteous, the righteous, along with their Imam, will spread the true religion of Islam throughout the world and will bring to fruition what the jinn and human devils prevented in Ghadir Khum.[11]
The future of the world in the Quran and other Islamic texts is described as follows: During the rule of Imam Mahdi (AJ), people will return to the essence of their creation, which is love for God, and become sincerely devoted lovers of their beloved, i.e., Allah. They will no longer obey religious commands with boredom or out of obligation; instead, they will passionately and diligently seek ma’rifa to reach the status of God’s deputy and the perfect human being. The Imam will become the mentor of the people, and the people his students. Everyone will embrace religion whole-heartedly; “There is no deity but Allah” will become manifest; and polytheism, hypocrisy, and other vices will be cleansed from the human heart. Under the guidance and mentorship of the individual who is most similar to God, the opportunity for all of humanity to fully actualize their human potential and capabilities, and to resemble God becomes available.
[1]. “[O Prophet] say to the believers to forgive those [i.e., leave them to God] who hope not for the Days of Allah, that He may recompense people, according to what they have earned.” (Quran, 45:14)
[2]. “That who is spared by Allah (on the earth) is better for you if you are believers.” (Quran, 11:86)
[3]. “Say, ‘On the Day of Victory, it will not benefit the disbelievers to believe then, nor will they be delayed [from punishment].'” (Quran, 32:29)
[4]. “Know that Allah revives the earth after its death.” (Quran, 57:17)
[5]. “But it was Allah’s Will to establish the truth by His Words and uproot the disbelievers.” (Quran, 8:7)
[6]. “We will show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this is the truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a Witness over all things?” (Quran, 41:53)
[7]. “On the Day your Lord’s signs arrive, belief will not benefit those who did not believe earlier or those who did no good through their faith.” (Quran: 6:158)
[8]. “Then they will know who is weaker in helpers and inferior in manpower.” (Quran, 72:24)
[9]. Quran, 27:62
[10]. Iblis (also called Eblis or Ibris) is a character often mentioned in the Quran. He is connected to the creation of Adam and the instruction to bow down before him. Iblis refused to do this, so he was banished from heaven. Many traditional scholars believe Iblis was an angel, but most modern experts consider him to be a jinn.
[11]. For information on Ghadir Khum, see Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project Team. “Ghadir Khum.” A Shi’ite Encyclopedia.
