Another responsibility is to send prayers and salutations upon Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf).
In order to fulfill this responsibility, a true believer may for example, say something like the following line:
أَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلـىٰ مَوْلاَنَا صَاحِبِ الزَّمَانِ
“O’Allah! Send your blessings upon our Master, the Master of the Time.”
In the books of Du’a, many different greetings (1) have been mentioned in regards to Imam al-’Asr (ajtf) and the other Infallibles (as) and we must only use these greetings when saluting him since these have been taught to us by the Ahlul Bayt (as) and thus, what better greeting can there be than these?
Sending salutations upon the Imam (ajtf) is a form of Du’a a complete and comprehensive supplication. In this form of a petition and request from the true believer (the salutations to the Imam), we see the desire for the Imam to be protected and the prayer for the protection of his helpers and friends all forms of grief and anguish to be removed from the Imam’s heart, prayer for his advent to be hastened the desire that he is granted a victory and many other subtle points.
In reality, the greetings and salutations which we send to the Imam are actually us praying and seeking His mercy in all areas related to the Imam, whether these are the affairs of this world or the next life.
Thus, we affirm that the key to the rectification of all issues is in the hands of Allah alone.
- 1.Such as those mentioned in Mafatih al-Jinan, sec. on Ziyarat, right after Ziyarat Jami’a under the heading of: “Greetings upon the Righteous Proofs of Allah”