How Long Will the Hidden Imam Live?
part 8
Those Who Lived a Long Life in History
Engineer Madani: How can one explain that God endowed only the twelfth Imam with a uniquely long life span that was not given to others?
Mr. Hoshyar: Incidentally, the world has seen the likes of this rare individual. Among them one should mention the name of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him). Some historians have attributed 2,500 years of age to him. In the Torah 950 years are mentioned. The Qur'an clearly states that he struggled to spread the message of God among his people for 950 years. In the Sura `Ankabut God says:
Indeed, We sent Noah to his people, and he tarried among them a thousand years, all but fifty; so the flood seized them, while they were evildoers. (19:14)
Even when we doubt the historians, we cannot doubt the Qur'an. That heavenly book describes the days of Noah's preaching to his people, namely, 950 years. Now this age is utterly unusual.
Engineer Madani: I have heard that this verse from the Qur'an is among the ambiguous passages that is open to interpretation.
Mr. Hoshyar: Where is the ambiguity in it? Is the ambiguity because of the meaning and the intention which is obscure or brief? Anyone who is minimally familiar with the rules of the Arabic language can explain the verse without any difficulty. If this is regarded as an ambiguous verse in the Qur'an, then there is no clear verse in the Book of God! I cannot agree with the assessment of these people except that I think they are fundamentally opposed to the information contained in the Qur'an, but are afraid to say so.
Mas`udi has mentioned a number of historical figures who lived a long life. Among them are:
Adam, who lived for 930 years; Seth, 912 years; Anush, 960 years; Lot, 732 years; Idris, 300 years; Noah, 950 years; Abraham, 195 years; Jamshid 600 years; `Umar b. `Amir, 800 years; `Ad, 1,200 years.
If you refer to the books on history, hadith, and the Torah you will find numerous persons of this kind mentioned there. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that the main sources for these examples of long age are either the Torah and its histories, whose reliability is not faultless; the 'single' traditions, which do not establish certainty in what they inform; or the books on history that have not been regarded as authentic and which are not free from exaggeration. Since their authenticity was not clear to me I did not produce them as proofs in my discussion and, in fact, I limited myself only to the long age of Noah, as stated in the Qur'an. If you are interested in investigating the matter further you might read a book on persons who lived long lives, by Abi Hatim Sijistani, al-Mu'ammarun wa al-wasaya. Another book that treats the subject is Abu Rayhan Biruni's al-Athar al-baqiya. In addition, there are other historical sources that discuss the matter of the longevity of certain famous people in history.
Source: imamalmahdi.com
Other Links:
A brief look at Imam Hussein (A.S)-part 4
The Beauties of Ashura: The Most Beautiful Choice
The Beauties of Ashura: The Most Beautiful Words
The Beauties of Ashura: The Most Beautiful Respect
Karbala, the Scale of Love
