Eschatology According Imam Ali’s Narrations

Resurrection and the Judgment Day are of a key significance in Islamic mysticism. Resurrection is the uprising and movement of all creatures especially humans toward God. From a mysticism point of view, this uprising realizes in several ways including “instant to instant resurrection” and experience of life and death in all instants of mundane life, “extroversive minor resurrection” or the natural death for the common people, “introversive minor resurrection” in this world for the seeker and the ones whose faith is incomplete, “extroversive major resurrection” in the hereafter for all human beings and finally the “introversive major resurrection” in this world for the mystic united with God. Considering the necessity of conduct and its impact on emergence of various forms of resurrection in Islamic Traditions, the present study aims to scrutinize mystic eschatology in Imam Ali’s (PBUH) perspective. It is a descriptive-analytical study aiming to refer to teachings of Imam Ali (PBUH) to corroborate emergence of these reserrections in human souls. Findings revealed that the Sincere including the holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and his household (PBUH) have reached the divine vision of enlightenment in their souls and world through utmost detachment and gained dominance over worlds of existence and the existent via complementing their vicegerency and sanctity. They envisage their inherent poverty and other behavioral symbols via their poor souls. For them, resurrection is clearly revealed and perfectly believed with all its details. However, those whose faith is imperfect experience a voluntary death via transmission from mundane ecstasy to the ecstasy of the other world based on the level of their detachment from anything but God. This in fact opens up the gates toward the truth, uncovering the secrets and uprising as a stage among all stages of resurrection. Observing stages of resurrection, uncovering the covers of soul, approaching resurrection, emergence of mind and vision of heaven and hell are the outcomes of voluntary death.