What Are The Qualities Of The 313?

We are in "al-Ghaybat al-Kubra". What do the Ahl-ul-Bayt say about what we should be doing during the Ghayba? At least what should our mindset be? They say, “fa tawwaqul faraja sabahan wa masa’a”. Ahl-ul-Bayt, they say, anticipate the reappearance, day and night. Why day and night? Because the absence of your Imam should be something that should bother you so much that you can't stop thinking about it.

When you have a problem, when you can't pay your bills, don't you think about it day or night? When your car breaks down, it's a problem. You think about it day and night because you're in a very uncomfortable situation.

You know, brothers and sisters, there's a tradition where one of the companions of Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, salawatu allah alay. He says: "One day I saw Ali Ibn Abi Talib sitting on the ground, and he was in deep thought, and he was playing with some dirt with his hands". He said, "I went to the Imam and I told him: “Ya Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, what are you doing? Just sitting on the ground?” The Imam said, “I'm thinking.” The companion says, “Ya Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, what are you thinking about?” Ali Ibn Abi Talib, he says, “I'm thinking about my 11th son, and I'm thinking about his great occultation, his Ghayba, and the condition of the ummah during his Ghayba”". The absence of the 12th Imam is so significant that Ali Ibn Abi Talib is thinking about it even before it happens. We are living it, and we don't even think about it.

I'll conclude here, my dear brothers and sisters, with a tradition from Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, where he describes the community of the 12th Imam, specifically the 313 that you and I and our forefathers all aspire to be. Imam Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, he says, “Inna asḥāba al‑Qā’im shabāb.” Imam, he has "ānsar", helpers, and then he has "ashāb", companions. The companions are 313. Imam Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, he says, “The companions are 313, and they are youth. They are shabāb.” Because let's face it, brothers and sisters, when you get old, you start to think that, “I can't do this, I can't do that, I need insurance”. But youth, they have this fire in them. They don't see the boundaries that other people place.

The Imam says, in describing them, he says, “ka'annahum liyūthun qad kharajū min ghabattihim mithla zūbari l‑ḥadīd“ He says, those 313, they are like lions who will come out of the jungle when the Imam reappears.

“Law annahum hammū bi‑izālati l‑jibāli r‑rawāsī la ‑azālūhā ʿan mawāḍiʿihā“. Imam says, “these 313, they're so determined that if they wanted to move mountains, they would be able to move mountains.” You know, what's the slogan, the motto of, what is it, Adidas or something? Impossible is nothing. The 313, in their minds, impossible is nothing. If they want, they can move mountains.

“Fa-humu alladhīna waḥdu‑llāhi ḥaqquhu t‑tawḥīd“. Imam Amīr al‑Muʾminīn, he says, “these 313, they are the true monotheists.” Everyone says, “La ilaha illa Allah“, but these individuals, they live, la ilaha illa Allah.

“Lahum fi-l-layl aṣwātun ka‑aṣwāti l‑thawākil.” At night, when everybody else is sleeping, they're standing and they're whispering to Allah ʿazza-wa-jal, and they are crying out of love for Allah, in the same way, a mother cries when she loses her only child.

“Qawwāmu al‑layl ṣawāmu al‑nahār“, they worship at night. They have a love relationship. They can't sleep the entire night. They always want to be speaking to their beloved. They fast during the day.

“Anā wa innī aʿrifu asmāʾakum wa anṣārakum“, Imam Amīr al‑Muʾminīn he says, “even though they are not born yet, I know all of their names, and I know what cities they come from. In the heavens, they are well known. In the Earth, they're not well known because they're not flashy people. They don't publicise their good deeds. On Earth, they are unknown.”