Kamangir (Archer)

The Saviour

Kamangir | September 7, 2006 | Category Iran

The midst of the lunar month Shaban (Arabic: شعبان) is a great event in the Shia calendar. Shias believe that Allah hid the last Imam, the twelfth one called Mahdi, for the future. According to this belief, Mahdi will return, and no one except for Allah knows when, and that would be the end to all suffering in the world. Shaban 15th, which is these days, is Mahdi’s birthday.

Mahdi has been living among people before he left for a long hidden life. There are places which he is assumed to have been staying for a short time. Also, there are places which are assumed to be the point from which he disappeared. People believe that he will return from one of these places. One such place is the Jamkaran (Persian: جمکران) mosque in the suburbs of Qom. The mosque and the surroundings are decorated with lights at every anniversary.

This is where the saviour is supposed to arrive from.