What Intizar means: Intizar means "waiting" — waiting for the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf). In Shia teaching, this waiting is not sitting idle. It is active waiting.
What active waiting means: Active waiting means:
- We keep ourselves good: we pray, we are honest, we help others, and we avoid wrongdoing.
- We improve our society: we stand against injustice in small, lawful, peaceful ways, and we help the oppressed.
- We learn: we study the Quran and the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt (as), so we are ready to follow the Imam (ajtf) when he comes.
- We pray for him: we make Dua for his reappearance and his safety.
Waiting is worship: A famous Shia teaching says that waiting for the reappearance is itself a form of worship. The believer who waits with good deeds is like a soldier who stays ready at his post, even before the commander arrives.
Example
Waiting like a student: A student waiting for the exam does not sleep all day. He studies, revises, and prepares — so that when the exam comes, he is ready. Intizar is the same: prepare yourself now, so you are ready then.
Key Terms
- Intizar (انتظار) — waiting for the reappearance, as active preparation
- Dua al-Ahd (دعائے عہد) — the daily supplication of the covenant with Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf)
- Dua al-Nudba (دعائے ندبہ) — the supplication of lament, read especially on Fridays, remembering the Imam (ajtf)
Quran or Hadith
Hadith attributed to Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (as): "Waiting for the relief is worship." (Meaning: intizar itself is an act of worship.) — to be checked; wording and source to be verified.
Fresh diagram to be drawn: Four boxes — Pray, Learn, Help Others, Stand Against Injustice — under the heading "Active Intizar".
- Intizar is active waiting, not idle sitting.
- Keep yourself good, help others, learn, and pray for the Imam (ajtf).
- Waiting with good deeds is itself a form of worship.