ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā 1, narration 78

Translation

6-36 Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamadani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abdul Salam ibn Salih al-Harawi , on the authority of Wakee’, on the authority of Ar-Rabee’ ibn Sa’d, on the authority of Abdurrahman ibn Saleet that Al-Hussein ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (s) said, “There are twelve Mahdi’s (Divinely Guided Ones) among us. The first one is the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (s). The last one is my ninth descendant who is the Riser for the Right. The Sublime God will revive the Earth by him after it perishes, and will make the Right Religion victorious over all religions by him, even though the atheists may not like this. There will be a period of absence for him during which some people will turn away from him while others remain steadfast in the religion and suffer. They will be told, “When is the promise fulfilled if you speak the truth?” Whoever perseveres and withstands the bothering and the denial of the people during his absence, it is as if he has fought in a holy war along with God’s Prophet (s).

Translation: Dr. Ali Peiravi — published with the edition, reproduced verbatim.