The Reviver of the Fifth Century

Al-Zulaf:
45 – And he followed in the footsteps of the descendants of Muhammad… Abu Talib; the branch follows the root
Al-Tuhaf: In this poem:
Imam Abu Talib the Last (as)
Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah Abu Talib al-Akhir, Yahya ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hussein ibn the Great Imam al-Mu’ayyad bi-Allah Ahmad ibn al-Hussein ibn Harun ibn al-Hussein ibn Muhammad ibn Harun ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn al-Hasan ibn Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Sibt ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib—peace be upon them all.
He called for guidance in the year 502 AH, and his entourage consisted of twelve thousand scholars adhering to the school of thought of al-Hadi ila al-Haqq (peace be upon him).
Imam al-Mansur bi-Allah Abdullah ibn Hamza (peace be upon him) said in al-Shafi: He rose to prominence in Jil and Daylam after possessing the qualities of the Imamate and mastering the arts of leadership. The scholars and notables unanimously acknowledged him as such after debating with him for a month and finding him to possess all the qualities of the Imamate; moreover, he possessed knowledge of medicine, mathematics, and other sciences beyond the scope of the Imamate. End quote.
And Allah bestowed upon this Imam a majesty and grandeur unlike that of anyone else, and his library contained twelve thousand volumes, and most of his battles were against the Batiniyyah; he killed one thousand four hundred of them in a single day. He remained engaged in war against the atheists, waging campaigns on land and sea; the hearts of the oppressors trembled before him, and he was feared throughout the lands. During his era, a great red phenomenon occurred, filling the horizon in the sky, and the scholars said: “This is a sign from the time of Abraham, peace be upon him, indicating that no event will befall his descendants that elevates them without this sign appearing.” A similar phenomenon occurred during the days of Imam al-Mansur bi-Allah Abdullah ibn Hamza, peace be upon him.
Yes, and this Imam is the Renewer of the Fifth Century.
During his lifetime, the following was killed: Sayyid al-Muhsin ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Nasir ibn al-Hasan ibn Abdullah ibn al-Muntasir bi-Allah ibn al-Mukhtar ibn al-Nasir ibn al-Hadi. He was killed by the Haddadun in Sa’da, and they also killed his son. He had sent a force of five hundred twenty thousand men into the land of Yemen via the route through Oman.
Avenge was taken for Sayyid al-Muhsin ibn al-Hasan al-Sharif al-Wasil on behalf of the Imam by Abu Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn al-Mahdi ibn Abdullah ibn Imam al-Murtada li-Din Allah Muhammad ibn Imam al-Hadi al-Haqq, peace be upon them all. He set out from Daylam, and the last Imam, Abu Talib, appointed him governor over the region stretching from Mecca to Aden, Abyan, and all the far reaches of Yemen. He entrusted him with a governorship in which the lights of prophethood and guardianship shone from every corner, and the fruits of knowledge and guidance blossomed within his realm; his streams overflowed with the flow of knowledge, and his springs gushed forth with the pearls of unique insights—both explicit and implicit—encompassing divine rulings and divine proofs regarding both branches and fundamentals. He elucidated the highlights of the Prophetic biography, and the Imami methodology with evidence derived from both the heard and the reasoned, using the eloquent and rhetorical language of the Alids, interwoven with figures of speech. Here is a breath of his breath and a glimpse of his insights, presented briefly. He, peace be upon him, said:
This is what the True Imam, Abu Talib Yahya ibn Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Haruni, entrusted to the most exalted scholar, Sayyid Abi Abdullah al-Husayn ibn al-Hadi ibn the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family; may Allah exalt his banner when He tested him, examined him, and witnessed his character and conduct.
Until he said: He appointed him and entrusted to him the caliphate and the administration of justice from Mecca to Aden, and all
regions of the farthest reaches of Yemen, and commanded him to seek obedience to Allah and piety, and to prioritize His will and pleasure, in both what he made public and what he kept private, and to use the shield of obedience as the essence of his power and ability, and to judge by what Allah has revealed, {And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed—it is those who are the wrongdoers. 45} [Al-Ma’idah], and to know that He is the Knower of the unseen, and that in His hand are the reins of the hearts, {He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal 19} [Ghafir].
And He commands him to present conclusive arguments and clear proofs regarding that from which knowledge is derived and rulings are extracted, beginning with that which is of the highest rank, the most exalted degree, and the earliest in wisdom—which is the Truth of certainty, the manifest Light, the Book of Allah, the Exalted, His secure refuge, the savior from ruin, the guide leading toward Him, the radiant lamp, the brightest dawn, the clearest guide, the most life-giving source of light, the firm foundation that never crumbles, and the unshakable pillar that never wavers. In it one finds security and comfort; neither jinn nor humans can fathom it; blindness and confusion are absent from it, a healing for what lies in the hearts, and a mercy for the believers. So whenever a problem troubles him, or a difficult ruling confronts him, he turns to its texts, examines the meaning of its general and specific provisions, and obeyed its commands, refrained from its prohibitions, upheld its limits, fulfilled its covenants, and did not go beyond what it prescribed—whenever he found a text or its implied meaning therein.
And he was instructed that, if he found himself in need of guidance in this matter, he should seek it in the Sunnah that follows it, and use it as a definitive ruling, whether established through a statement or an action, for it is the second source of authority after the Qur’an, the next source of guidance after the Furqan, and its equal in authority—though the Qur’an surpasses it in beauty, and it is comparable to it in brevity, even if it does not reach the level of miraculous eloquence, {Nor does he speak out of personal desire. 3 It is nothing but a revelation that is revealed. 4} [An-Najm],
If it is transmitted through a continuous chain of narrators, knowledge and action are obligatory; if the chain is interrupted and it is narrated through a single chain, action is still required; and if the two reports conflict, or the two narrators contradict one another, then the path of the scholar striving to reach a ruling is to investigate the historical context; if it is found, well and good; otherwise, he must act based on weighing the evidence, proceeding with verification and applying the method of reconciliation between them, if he is forced into a dilemma by them, or he turns to other evidence if interpretation is not possible; for in the Sunnah, the solution lies in departing from the Sunnah: {Indeed, you have in the Messenger of Allah a good example} [Al-Ahzab: 21]. Thus, the path of those who strive in religious scholarship is to be mindful: {And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it} [Al-Hashr: 7].
And he instructed them that if they lacked sufficient evidence from these two sources—the Qur’an and the Sunnah—to rely on, they should seek the evidence of consensus, for consensus follows the Qur’an and Sunnah; for those who adhere to it, it is the path to Paradise and the guiding way to Paradise, as indicated by the first two [sources] and pointed to by the two most exemplary figures. So whatever he finds in the consensus of the Ahl al-Bayt that contradicts anything else, he directs his inquiry toward it and follows it; and if he finds them in agreement with the rest of the ummah, then the matter is settled by them to dispel any confusion.
Until he said: He sought the truth in the sayings of the infallible Imams; for those take the place of the words of the Prophet of Mercy—namely, the Commander of the Faithful and the two Sibat—upon whom be the blessings of the King, the Judge. And this is what the Messenger referred to for those who heard him when he said: “Ali is with the Truth, and the Truth is with him.”
And he instructed them that if they found no solace for their hearts in these foundational principles, they should turn to deduction and analogy, and be meticulous in applying the branches to the roots, so that they might attain the desired outcome, using his intellect as a means of attainment. Whenever he found no firm principle, no solid pillar, and no well-established
foundation, he applied the ruling of the branch to it, He established the validity of the Sharia’s evidence, formulated a rationale for it, and provided evidence for that rationale; then he relied upon it as a basis. Thus, every situation must have a proof, even if it may at times plunge into the depths of obscurity.
He went on to say: And He commanded him to lift the veil, to suppress desire and self-admiration, to be steadfast in his response, and to distinguish error from truth, after having said: “And incline toward the truth wherever it may lead, and do not abandon fairness and moderation; for injustice is his sustenance and his dwelling, and his abode is vile:
وكلُّ كسوفٍ في الدَّرَارِي شَنْعَةٌ … ولكنَّه في الشمس والبدرِ أَشْنَعُ
Any slip, mistake or shortcoming on the part of the general public is an abhorrent and heinous thing, as hideous as an eclipse obscuring one of the bright stars; but this very same slip, when committed by those who, like the sun and the moon, are held in high esteem as role models and figures of prominence, is even more hideous and far more abhorrent.

, and he ordered him to uphold the rulings of the Muslim judges who came before him, and not to alter or abrogate any of them, or alter or abrogate them, unless they clearly contradict a text from the Qur’an or Sunnah, or a consensus that they have individually or collectively contravened; for ijtihad is not nullified by ijtihad, and conjecture does not override conjecture established by testimony {Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned, 38 except for the People of the Right, 39} [Al-Muddaththir], and let one fear Allah, Exalted be His Praise, in refraining from justice: {Indeed, Allah commands justice and kindness and the giving of support to relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed. 90} [An-Nahl]. Let him seek help from Allah, and Allah will help him; let him seek His protection, and Allah will protect him and keep him safe; let him put his trust in Allah, and Allah will increase him in blessings; and let him seek guidance from Him, and Allah will guide him {And whoever places his trust in Allah—He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already assigned a measure for all things. 3} [At-Talaq].
And the way for our followers is to obey His command and not disobey Him, and to support and assist Him.
O people, whoever obeys Him has obeyed us; whoever obeys us has obeyed Allah and His Messenger; whoever disobeys Him has disobeyed us; and whoever disobeys us has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger, {And it is not for a believer—neither a man nor
believing woman, once Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have any choice in their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed strayed into clear misguidance. 36} [Al-Ahzab], … and so on.
He, peace be upon him, passed away in the year 520 AH, and he bequeathed that he be buried in secret, out of fear of the atheists—may Allah, the Exalted, curse them.
As for the people of this Prophetic Household, to whom Allah has entrusted the stored knowledge and the hidden secret, the observer is bewildered by their qualities, for whenever one contemplates the virtues and merits of one Imam, it occurs to him that he is the best of them; but when he turns to another, it is the same. They are, as has been said in likening the condition of distinct individuals to the restricted aspects of a hidden, general concept, like a vicious circle whose ends cannot be discerned.