As the year sixty, the year that witnessed the birth of the
promised Revelation, had just dawned upon the world, it would not seem
inappropriate, at this juncture, to digress from our theme, and to mention Imám
Ja’far, son of Muhammad, when questioned concerning the year in which the Qá’im was to be made manifest,
replied as follows: “Verily,
in the year sixty His Cause shall be revealed, and His name shall be noised
abroad.” In the works of the
learned and far-famed Muhyi’d-Dín-i-‘Arabí, many references are to be found
regarding both the year of the advent and the name of the promised
Manifestation. Among them are the following: “The ministers and upholders of
His Faith shall be of the people of Persia.” “In His name, the name of the
Guardian [‘Alí] precedeth that of the Prophet [Muhammad].” “The year of His Revelation is identical with half of that
number which is divisible by nine [2520].” Mírzá Muhammad-i-Akhbarí, in his
poems relating to the year of the Manifestation, makes
the following prediction: “In the year Ghars [the numerical value of the
letters of which is 1260] the earth shall be illumined by His light, and in Gharásih
[1265] the world shall be suffused with its glory. If thou livest until the
year Gharasí [1270], thou shalt witness how the nations, the rulers, the
peoples, and the Faith of God shall all have been renewed.” In a tradition
ascribed to the Imám ‘Alí, the Commander of the Faithful, it is likewise
recorded: “In Ghars the Tree of Divine guidance shall be planted.”
- Shoghi
Effendi (‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
