Abstract
The advent of the Promised One is among the most fundamental beliefs of the Shiites. In the middle of the Qajar period, the Waiting for the Advent in the face of the 'idea of the nearness of the Advent,' rose to the top of the ideological discourse. However, since Waiting is generally examined in its external manifestation, the mentality of the Advent during the Qajar period has received less attention. The external manifestation of Waiting is also often reduced to the narrative of the events of the Babis. As if there was only a single mentality of the Advent. Therefore, the general problem of messianic studies in the Qajar period is at the level of narrative-centricity, and it deals with the analysis of documents concerning how the events of the Babi Waiting occurred. However, the problem of the present research is not the examination of the events of Waiting, but rather the different mentalities of Waiting that have formed the events. This is because the hypothesis is that the form-finding of Waiting as a situation or event is related to the mentality of the awaiters towards the Advent. And different mentalities of the Advent construct different forms of Waiting. Therefore, the question is: what different forms did the Waiting for the Advent take during the Qajar period? The goal of this research is to demonstrate the different mentalities of the Advent and to examine their differences in confronting the idea of the nearness of the Advent. The research hypothesis was tested using the theories of Georg Simmel. The research was conducted through the historical research method with a qualitative approach. The case studies are the Usuli, Shaykhi, and Babi forms of Waiting, and each of them was examined based on their own primary sources. The findings of the research show that although different forms of Waiting for the Advent were formed in the Qajar period, the Waiting for the Advent, as an inherent essence, remained intact in this period. A single essence that was perceived differently in the diversity of mentalities and, in each perception, found a renewed concrete essentiality.
Keywords: Mentality of the Advent, Form of Waiting, Nearness of the Advent, Qajar.
Introduction
In studies on Mahdism during the Qajar period, the focus is generally on the “narrative of events” related to the Babis. However, the issue is that such an interpretation -whether for or against- by remaining event-centric, overlooks the Babi mentality of the Advent, which shapes those very events. It is as if the object were separate from the subject, as if the materialization of Babi events could be understood without considering their connection to the Babi mentality of the Advent. But if we remove the Babi mentality of the Advent, or any other mentality, there would no longer be a state of Waiting for the Advent. Thus, the other issue is this: In a reading that focuses solely on narrating the events of the Babis, it is as if there were no other Waiting groups in the Qajar period with different mentalities of the Advent. Thus, although belief in the Advent of the Mahdi was shared, this belief did not take on a singular form across different mentalities. And it was precisely this difference in mentalities of the Advent that constructed distinct forms of Waiting. This study examines these differences through the theoretical framework of Georg Simmel. Simmel contends that analyzing historical events necessitates incorporating mental processes into the inquiry. He maintains that these mental processes construct historical forms, and that life perpetually takes on form. The clash of forms, in turn, propels life forward. Thus, in this study, belief in the Advent is treated as the unitary essence of Qajar-era Waiting life, which -when confronted with divergent mentalities- gave rise to distinct forms of Waiting.
Materials & Methods
In the present research, Simmel's pattern of form and content was used, which is his main methodological pattern. In the Simmelian pattern, contents take on form. The forms themselves are the product of different perspectives on a single content. Contents, whether artistic, philosophical, religious, etc., attain real existence only when they are perceived through mental processes. Therefore, in a plurality of mental processes, the reality of life's contents also differs.
Discussion and Results
In the years leading up to 1260 AH (1844 CE), the idea of the imminent Advent of the Mahdi emerged. The three mentalities of the Usuli, Shaykhi, and Babi traditions encountered this idea differently, thereby forming three distinct forms of Waiting for the Mahdi. As Simmel points out, humans are multifaceted beings. From the human perspective, an object is not merely a desired object; it is also an object of theoretical understanding, aesthetic appreciation, and religious meaning. Thus, the receptivity of the Qajar-era Waiting believers is what matters, not the idea of the Advent itself. The idea of the Advent possesses no purity in itself. The Waiting believers, through their own mentalities, added concreteness to the idea of the Advent. The Usuli mentality held that only God knows the time of the Mahdi's Advent. They prioritized rational criteria over religious narratives, and consequently rejected as incorrect those narratives that claimed the Advent was imminent. Their response to the idea of the imminent Advent was to continue Waiting. Yet they did not understand Waiting as mere passive expectation. They elevated Waiting into the form of 'the general deputyship of jurists' (niyābat-e ʿāmm-e fuqahā). This form articulated and regulated believers' interactions and social relations within the state of Waiting. The concretization of this form added structure to Waiting- it became an organized system. Usuli scholars maintained this form would remain functional until the Mahdi’s Advent. But as Simmel observes, every form- at the very moment of its formation- faces opposition through another form. For life's forms are shaped by the mentalities of individuals, and these mentalities know no end. The Shaykhi mentality of the Advent, like the Usuli one, upheld the continuation of Waiting. Yet unlike the Usulis, this group emphasized the agency of wāsita (mediation) during this situation. Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i taught that in every era, one individual possesses the capacity to communicate with the Imam (AS). Thus, the Shaykhis incorporated the form of wāsita into their Waiting. Within this framework, while the Mahdi's Advent might at times be considered imminent- unlike the Usuli form- they were not without awareness of the Mahdi. Rather, they maintained a connection with him. Simmel argues that every idea undergoes concretization in diverse ways, with inevitable additions and omissions. He suggests religion is not a singular melody within life's symphony, but rather a tonality within which the entire composition unfolds. By this logic, belief in the Mahdi's Advent during the Qajar period functioned as a tonality- a shared harmonic framework within which distinct symphonies were performed, with each mentality tuning its own instrument. The Babi mentality, unlike the two previous ones, believed the Advent had occurred. For the Babis, the period of Waiting had ended- the Bab was the Mahdi who had appeared. Thus, within the Babi framework, the central concern became the post-Advent condition rather than the state of anticipation. And yet, as life continually takes on new forms, here too the Babi form branched into two subsequent forms: the Baha’i and Azali expressions.
Conclusion
In both the Shaykhi and Babi forms, the agency responding to the idea of the imminent Advent was individual, whereas in the Usuli form, this responding agency was collective. The key difference lay in the individual agent's role: in the Shaykhi form, this individual agency perpetuated Waiting, while in the Babi form, it terminated Waiting. On the other hand, neither the Usuli nor Babi forms offered passive responses- their actions were shaped by their respective mentalities. In contrast, the Shaykhi form, bound by its theological outlook, resorted solely to perpetuating Waiting in its pure form. Thus, despite all formal differences, Waiting for the Advent endured as an essential dimension of the faithful anticipatory life throughout the Qajar years