Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah (, ), according to Shia Islamic eschatology, is one of the apocalyptic characters that

Mahdi The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...

will send as his envoy to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

before his reappearance which will end the

Major Occultation In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation (, ', 329 AH-present, 941 CE-present) is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise at the end of time to establish peace and justice ...

. He will be killed in Mecca and his death is one of the signs of the Mahdi in Shia Islam.

Appellation

Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is a person by the name of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. He is a descendant of

Husayn ibn Ali Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...

. He is named Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah because he is very pious and devout and another reason for his nickname is that he will be slain without any sin and crime.

Duty of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah

The duty of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is mentioned in a

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

that was narrated by Abu-Basir from

Muhammad al-Baqir Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (; ) was a descendant of the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and the fifth of the Twelve Imams, twelve Shia imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Sajjad, and succeeded by his son, Ja'far al-Sad ...

. According to the hadith, when Muhammad al-Mahdi realizes, the people of Mecca won't accept his reappearance. Therefore, he will send Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah as an envoy to convey his oral message to people of Mecca.

Certain sign of reappearance

According to narrations, the murder of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is one of the certain signs of reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi. The hadith of

Ja'far al-Sadiq Ja'far al-Sadiq (; –765) was a Muslim hadith transmitter and the last agreed-upon Shia Imam between the Twelvers and Isma'ilis. Known by the title al-Sadiq ("The Truthful"), Ja'far was the eponymous founder of the Ja'fari school of Isla ...

mentions these signs: "there are five signs for our Dhuhur (the reappearance of the twelfth Imam), the appearance of

Sufyani The Sufyani () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is usually portrayed in hadiths as a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief. According to Shia Hadith, the Sufyani will rise in the month of Rajab. Reports about the Sufyani are found ...

and Yamani, the loud cry in the sky, the martyr of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah, and the earth swallowing (a group of people) in the land of Beyda." 1 Loud Cry in the Sky. 2 Appearance of Sufyani. 3 Appearance of Yamani. 4 The murder of Nafs al-Zakiyyah. 5 Earth sinking in the land of Bayda.

Place and time of murder

He will be slain by the people of Mecca around the

Ka'ba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is consi ...

after imparting the Imam's message to them.

Ibn Babawayh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Babawayh al-Qummi ( Persian: ; –991), commonly referred to as Ibn Babawayh (Persian: ) or al-Shaykh al-Saduq (Persian: ), was a Persian Shia Islamic scholar whose work, entitled '' Man La Yahduruhu al-Faq ...

in his work mentions a hadith of Ja'far al-Sadiq that says the uprising of Muhammad al-Mahdi will occur 5 days after the murder of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah. According to

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

beliefs, Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah is a sign that will occur before Muhammad al-Mahdi's appearance, who will be killed between Rukn and Maqame Abraham in Islam Ibrahim (Position of Ibrahim) in the ambit of Ka’ba. ''Al-Irshad'' contains biographies of each of

the fourteen infallibles The Fourteen Infallibles (, '; , ') in Twelver, Twelver Shia Islam are the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima Zahra, Fatima, and Twelve Imams, the Twelve Imams. All are considered to be ismah, infallible under the theological conce ...

and says the reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi will occur at an interval of 5 days after this event.

References

{{Reflist Shia eschatology Shia imams Islamic terminology Mahdism

Appellation

Duty of Al-Nafs al-Zakiyyah

Certain sign of reappearance

Place and time of murder

See also

References