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Question No. 2874 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

Is the Hadith About Believers Seeing One Another from Afar at the Time of the Reappearance Authentic, and Is It Related to Technology?

Primary reference: See the answer text 34 views 23 explanatory notes and annotations
Verified answer Documented and evidence-based
Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei
Tracking code: #Q-2874

Greetings to the esteemed teacher,

I came across a hadith attributed to Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (AS):

«إن المؤمن فی‏ زمان‏ القائم‏ و هو بالمشرق لیرى أخاه الذی فی المغرب و کذا الذی فی المغرب یرى أخاه الذی فی المشرق.»

1. In your view, is this hadith genuinely from him?
2. If it is from Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq (AS), could it be connected to video-call technology—as though he had predicted it?
3. Is it possible that the Hereafter took place in the distant past, and that life then began anew and repeated itself in some way? Perhaps, for supernatural reasons, the Imams remember it, and matters of this kind are not predictions at all, but things that happened in the past and are somehow being copied and repeated?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

The hadith «إن المؤمن فی زمان القائم... لیری أخاه الذی فی المغرب» may plausibly be attributed to Imam al-Sadiq (AS), but it is not sound to link it to video-call technology. The Resurrection is not a repetition of the past; it is promised by God.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

In light of the corroborating evidence and documentary examination, attributing the hadith to His Holiness would not be far from the truth.

Mobile technology is one form of communication; communication can also be developed without relying on technology as a tool.

In view of the noble verses and divine texts, the Resurrection has not yet taken place. Its fulfilment has been promised by the Almighty Creator.

الأعراف : 187 یسئلونک عن الساعه أیان مرساها قل إنما علمها عند ربی لا یجلیها لوقتها إلا هو ثقلت فی السماوات و الأرض لا تأتیکم إلا بغته یسئلونک کأنک حفی عنها قل إنما علمها عند الله و لکن أکثر الناس لا یعلمون
They ask you about the Hour: “When will it come to pass?” Say: “Knowledge of it rests only with my Lord. None but He can reveal its time. It weighs heavily upon the heavens and the earth; it will come upon you only suddenly.” They ask you as though you were well informed about it. Say: “Knowledge of it rests only with God, but most people do not know.”

الحجر : 85 و ما خلقنا السماوات و الأرض و ما بینهما إلا بالحق و إن الساعه لآتیه فاصفح الصفح الجمیل
We created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them for no other purpose than in truth. The Hour is surely coming, and everyone will receive their due. So turn away from them graciously, and do not reproach them for their ignorance.

طه : 15 إن الساعه آتیه أکاد أخفیها لتجزى‏ کل نفس بما تسعى‏
The Hour is certainly coming. I will keep its time hidden, so that every soul may be requited for what it strives to do.

الجاثیه : 32 و إذا قیل إن وعد الله حق و الساعه لا ریب فیها قلتم ما ندری ما الساعه إن نظن إلا ظنا و ما نحن بمستیقنین
When it was said, “God’s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Hour,” you said, “We do not know what the Hour is. We can only speculate about it; we are by no means certain.”

النازعات : 42 یسئلونک عن الساعه أیان مرساها
They ask you about the Hour: “When will it come to pass?”

یس : 52 قالوا یا ویلنا من بعثنا من مرقدنا هذا ما وعد الرحمن و صدق المرسلون
They will say, “Woe to us! Who has roused us from our resting place?” This is what the Most Compassionate promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.

When the Resurrection takes place, the heavens and the earth will be rolled up; it cannot happen again.

الأنبیاء : 104 یوم نطوی السماء کطی السجل للکتب کما بدأنا أول خلق نعیده وعدا علینا إنا کنا فاعلین
On that day, We shall roll up the heavens as a scroll is rolled up for writing. Just as We began the first creation, so shall We bring it back. This is a promise binding upon Us, and We shall surely fulfil it.

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