We believe that these three criteria apply to every divinely appointed prophet, messenger, judge, king, and imam from the time of Adam (PBUH) until today. We believe that Adam (PBUH) wrote his will mentioning the names of all the divinely appointed successors until Noah (PBUH). This is because Adam (PBUH) came with the first covenant from God, the first jurisprudence and law from God, and the first set of commands. All the successors from Adam until Noah followed the law and way of Adam (PBUT). At some point human beings break the covenant established by Adam (PBUH) and they incur God’s wrath and are eliminated by the flood. Noah (PBUH) established a second covenant after that, and brought down a new jurisprudence and law and he writes a will before his death, mentioning the names of all his successors up until Abraham (PBUH). The same thing occurs, all those between Noah (PBUH) and Abraham (PBUH) follow the law and ways of Noah (PBUH) until humans break the second covenant and a punishment befalls them, this time being the confusion of languages. Abraham ( PBUH) establishes a third covenant, and comes with a new law and set of jurisprudence and mentions his successors up until Moses (PBUH). The same thing occurs, and history repeats itself, and mankind break their covenant with God and a punishment comes down. Moses (PBUH) establishes a fourth covenant and before his death, writes a will in which he dictates the names of all his successors from Joshua until Jesus (PBUT). And the same occurs and Jesus (PBUH) comes with the fifth covenant and a new set of laws, and the same occurs and he writes his will and mentions all the successors between himself and Mohammed (PBUH & His Family). And the same occurs, and Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) is sent forth with a sixth covenant and a new set of laws and rules. And the same occurs, and the Muslim nation breaks the sixth covenant through the slaughtering of the Family of Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) and the elimination, and imprisonment of all the divinely appointed leaders mentioned in his will. The muslims incurred the wrath of God and a punishment came down upon them, and there is another punishment that is yet to come down upon them for their transgression against God, through their oppression of Mohammed and his Family. And the Mahdi was sent forth with a seventh covenant and call. This is clear in the narrations that state in the time of the Mahdi, Islam would be lost, and the most evil of creatures would be the scholars and jurisprudents, and the Mahdi or the Qa’im would call to a new book and a new matter.22 Like all previous covenants, it comes with a new jurisprudence and law, and being a member of this covenant defines if a person is a believer or not, and determines if the person is to be saved or not. Believing in the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) is now irrelevant if one does not accept this seventh covenant and pledge allegiance to the Qa’im and his successors in the will of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family). We believe that the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) pointed out who his successors were very clearly. He stated in his will which we previously supplied the names of twelve Imams, starting with Imam Ali (PBUH) and ending with Imam Mahdi Mohammed Son of Al-Hassan Al-Askari (PBUH), and there has come to the Earth all of them, and no man claimed to be them or claimed their name was mentioned in the will of the Prophet Mohammed except for them. As such, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) mentioned the names of the first three Mahdis, Abdullah, Ahmed and the third name being Al-Mahdi. In 1400 years, from the time the will was written and until now, no one has claimed to be Abdullah in the will except for me, Abdullah Hashem. No one has claimed to be Ahmed in the will except for Ahmed Al-Hassan. Both Abdullah and Ahmed have displayed divine knowledge which was attested to by thousands of people, both of us were the only people in this day and age to call towards the idea and notion of the supremacy of Allah. Every other so-called Muslim scholar and representative or leader, whether Sunni or Shia, have called towards elections or obedience to the tyrant king of their country or region, or have called to something else other than the will of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family). This makes us unique and truthful in our claim, and makes us the divinely appointed successors of our time, and the only rightful heirs to the prophets and messengers and imams, for we came with the exact same proofs and in the exact same sunnah or way as they have. We are to the Muslims what the twelve Imams are to Shia Islam, we are to the Muslim nation what the Pope is to Catholics and what the Dalai Lama is to Tibetan Buddhists and what the Messiah is to the Jews. Furthermore, because we believe that Jesus (PBUH) named his successors up until Mohammed (PBUH & His Family), we believe that the current Pope is illegitimate and the only true successor of the Prophets and Messengers are Abdullah, Ahmed, and Al-Mahdi. We believe that from the time of Adam (PBUH) and until now, the divinely appointed rulers and successors have continuously been pushed away from power and authority and have been replaced by imposters and usurpers, such as the Umayyads and Abbasids whom usurped the authority of Mohammed and the Family of Mohammed (PBUH & His Family). The ultimate goal of the Prophets and Messengers and Imams was to establish a Divine Just State on Earth, one in which the authority returns to the Divinely appointed King or ruler. Abi Abdullah (PBUH) said, “Verily God made religion two states, the state of Adam and it is the state of Allah, and the state of Iblis, and if God wants to be worshipped in public, it is the state of Adam, and if God wants to be worshipped in secret, it is the state of Iblis.”23 He also said, “Our Shiites in the state of falsehood will have nothing but sustenance. Go east if you wish or west, you will not be provided with anything but sustenance.”24 Imam Ali (PBUH) said, “The state of the wicked is the trial of the good.”25 Thus, there is a state of God, which existed in the garden of Eden, and it will be brought back into existence, as it is the promise of God that the state of Adam returns one day, and that is what the prophets and messengers worked for, a return to the garden of Eden at the hands of the Qa’im. A state where God can be worshipped openly through obedience and acceptance of the divinely appointed leader and representative of God. That is in fact why all the righteous return to this Earth, to support him in this goal. And the narrations are many which speak about the reincarnation of the different companions and prophets and messengers in the time of the Qa’im, to help him in the final battle against Satan and his companions, and in order to establish a new Eden or a Divine Just State. But in order to establish a Divine Just State, we had to first find a leader, and second, we have to enter into a new covenant with God, and entering into a new covenant with God requires that we find the Imam of the time, pledge allegiance to him, and then obey him in all things, and accept from him religion and the new jurisprudence and law from God. As the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) said, “Whoever dies and doesn’t have a pledge of allegiance in their neck dies the death of ignorance, and whoever dies and doesn’t know the Imam of his time dies the death of ignorance.”26 So religion is a man, and entering into a covenant with God or being in the Wilaya of God means that you are obedient to that man. As Imam Al-Ridha (PBUH) said, “Allah said; ‘The words ‘there is no God but Allah’ is a fortified fortress, whoever says those words are protected from My punishment, but it has conditions and I am from those conditions.”27 As such, every divinely appointed successor is a condition from the conditions of faith, in order for your faith to be accepted, you must accept God’s authority which He appoints on Earth. Abdullah, Ahmed and Imam Mahdi are the conditions for this time and age. No one is a believer except if they pledge allegiance to them and believe in them, and religion is received through them and them alone. Now once the believers unite around a common leader and a common religion with its own unique jurisprudence, yet it is still the same original religion from the time of Adam until now, the believing body and future citizens of the divine just state have a common culture. The believers are now part of one family, one tribe, the family of the Mahdi (Aal Al-Mahdi).
“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
22 Al-Kafi, Al-Shaikh Al-Kulayni, Vol. 8, p. 308; Kitab Al-Ghayba (Book of Occultation), Al-Numani, Vol. 1, p. 236
23 Al-Kafi, Al-Shaikh Al-Kulayni, Vol. 2, p. 372
24 Al-Kafi, Al-Shaikh Al-Kulayni, Vol. 2, p. 261
25 Mizan Al-Hikma (Scale of Wisdom), Mohammed Al-Reyshahri, Vol. 2, p. 936
26 Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 23, p. 94
27 Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 49, p. 123