Is there any narration in which the reappearance of the Imam of Time (atf) may have been promised following the death of a king called Abdullah? - Questions Archive - IslamQuest is a reference for Islamic questions on the internet

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Summary of question

Is there any narration in which the reappearance of the Imam of Time (atf) may have been promised following the death of a king called Abdullah?

question

I have come across a hadith which I need to know if it exists in our books. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: "A man named after an animal will rule over Al-Hijaz. He will seem to you from far as if he is squint-eyed but as you get close to him, you will find his sight is sound. His successor will be a brother of his called Abdullah. Woe unto our fellow Shi’a from him – he repeated it thrice – announce his death to me and I shall announce the Appearance of the Hujjat (the proof and authority of Allah) to you."
I have read a similar narration in Behar al-Anwar ascribed to Abu Basir from Imam Sadiq (a.s) where mention is made of Abdullah only but the above hadith is a lot more comprehensive and I wish to know if it at all exists in Shia sources.

Concise answer

As you have rightly mentioned in your message to us, there is hadith narrated by Abu Basir from Imam Sadiq (a.s) in which the disintegration of a dynasty following the death of an individual called "Abdullah" has been prophesied and there is also a glad-tiding in the narration as per which there is not so much time gap between the disintegration of that government and the reappearance of Hazrat Mahdi (a.s.).[1]

Considering the object of your question, two points should be taken into account:

1- It is not known for sure whether Abdullah in the question refers to the same existing individual who is now being considered by some individuals and media as the manifestation of this narration.

2. The narration which you have mentioned in your message does not exist in trustworthy Shiite or Sunni sources. As a general principle, if some comes to you with a hadith, you should try to verify the chain of its transmission (sanad) and if the Arabic text of the hadith is available, you can easily trace it in reliable hadith books by using special hadith software. May Allah grant you success.

[1] - Shaykh Tusi, Muhammad bin al-Hassan, Al-Ghaybah, pg.447, Maaref Islami Institute, Qom, 1411 A.H.

Detailed Answer

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