|
Who Is Imam
Mahdi?
Note:
Please do not confuse Imam Mahdi
with Isa (Jesus) . They are two different persons,
and both will come during the last days. According to Hadith, Imam Mahdi
will appear first, and Isa (A.S.) will appear during Imam Mahdi's
lifetime. Furthermore, only Isa (A.S.) will be able to kill Dajjal
(the "anti-Christ").
The term "MAHDI" is a title meaning "The
Guided one".
Abdullah bin Mas'ood (R.A.) says
that Prophet Mohammed
said, "This world will not come to an end until one person from my
progeny does not rule over the Arabs, and his name will be the same as
my name."
(Tirmidhi)
Ali (R.A.) narrates that
Prophet Mohammed said, "Even if only a day remains
for Qiyamah (day of judgment) to come, yet Allah will surely send a man from my family
who will fill this world with such justice and fairness, just as it
initally was filled with oppression."
(Abu Dawood)
His Features
Abu Saeed Khudri (R.A.)
relates that Mohammed said, "Al Mahdi will
be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high.
He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world
will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven
years."
Other
Hadith inform us
that:
* He will be tall
* He will be fair
complexioned
* His facial features will be similar to those of
Mohammed
* His character will be
exactly like that of Mohammed
* His
father's name will be Abdullah
* His mother's name will be
Aamina
* He will speak with a slight stutter and occasionally this
stutter will frustrate him causing him to hit his hand upon his
thigh.
* His age at the time of his emergence will be forty
years
* He will receive Knowledge from
Allah.
His Emergence and Rule
Umme Salmah (R.A.) narrates that
Mohammed said, " After the death of a Ruler
there will be some dispute between the people. At that time a citizen of
Medina will flee (from Medina) and go to Makkah. While in Makkah, certain
people will approach him between Hajrul Aswad (black stone in corner of
the kabah) and Maqaame Ibraheem (point of Ibrahim), and
forcefully pledge their allegiance to him.
Thereafter a huge army will proceed from
Syria to attack him but when they will be at Baida, which is between
Makkah and Madina, they will be swallowed into the
ground.
On seeing this, the Abdaals of Shaam as well as
large numbers of people from Iraq will come to him and pledge their
allegiance to him. Then a person from the Quraish, whose uncle will be
from the Bani Kalb tribe will send an army to attack him, only to be
overpowered, by the will of Allah. This (defeated) army will be that of
the Bani Kalb. Unfortunate indeed is he who does not receive a share from
the booty of the Kalb. This person (Imam Mahdi) will distribute the spoils
of war after the battle. He will lead the people according to the Sunnah
and during his reign Islam will spread throughout the world. He will
remain till seven years (since his emergence). He will pass away and the
Muslims will perform his Janazah salaat."
(Abu Dawood)
According to a Hadeeth,
Isa
(A.S.) will lead the Janaazah (funeral) of Imam Mahdi (A.S.).
While the people will be pledging their
allegiance to Imaam Mahdi, a voice from the unseen will call
out:
"This is the representative of Allah,
The
Mahdi, listen to him and obey him"
This announcement which will be heard by all
those present will establish his authenticity. Another sign which will
indicate the authenticity of Imaam Mahdi will be that in the Ramadan
prior to his emergence an eclipse of the sun and moon will
occur.
Abu Umamah (R.A.) says that
Mohammed said: "There will be four peace
agreements between you and the Romans. The fourth agreement will be
mediated through a person who will be from the progeny of Haroon
(A.S.) and will be upheld for seven years."
The people asked: "O
Mohammed, who will be the Imaam of the people at the
time?"
Mohammed
said: "He will be from my progeny and will be forty years of age. His face
will shine like a star and he will have a black spot on his left cheek. He
will don two "Qutwaani" cloaks and will appear exactly as a person from
the Bani Israel..."
(Tabrani)
According to
Hadith narrated by Abu Saeed
Khudri (R.A.) Mohammed
said: "...(regarding
the rule of Imaam Mahdi) the skies will rain down in abundance and the
earth will yield forth its crop in abundance, and those alive will desire
that those who have already passed away should have been alive to enjoy
this prosperity..."
Buraidah (R.A.) says that
Mohammed said: "There will be many armies
after me. You must join that army which will come from Khurasaan." (Ibn
Adi)
Abu Hurairah (R.A.) says that
Mohammed said: "(Armies carrying) black flags will
come from Khurasaan. No power will be able to stop them and they will
finally reach Eela (Baitul Maqdas) where they will erect their
flags."
from: "Signs of Qiyamah"
by Mohammed
Ali Ibn Zubair Ali
More Hadeeth (with references)
(contributed by Bradley Bilal).
1) The
Prophet Mohammed said: "Even if the
entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and
only one day is left (before the day of judgment), Allah will expand that
day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person
from my Ahlul-Bayt (family of the Prophet) who will be called by my name. He will fill out the
earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and
tyranny (by then)."
References:
Sahih al-Tirmidhi, v2, p86, v9, pp
74-75
Sunan Abu Dawud, v2, p7
Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, pp
84,376; V3, p63
2) The
Prophet Mohammed
said: "al-Mahdi is
one of us, the members of the household (Ahlul-Bayt)."
Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition
#4085
3) The
Prophet Mohammed said: The Mahdi
will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah (the daughter of the
Prophet).
References:
Sunan Abu Dawud, English version, Ch. 36,
Tradition #4271 (narrated by Umm Salama, the wife of the
Prophet)
Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4086
4) The
Prophet Mohammed said: "We (I and
my family) are members of a household that Allah (SWT) has chosen for them
the life of the Hereafter over the life of this world; and the members of
my household (Ahlul-Bayt) shall suffer a great affliction and they shall
be forcefully expelled from their homes after my death; then there will
come people from the East carrying black flags, and they will ask for some
good to be given to them, but they shall be refused service; as such, they
will wage war and emerge victorious, and will be offered that which they
desired in the first place, but they will refuse to accept it till they
pass it to a man from my family (Ahlul-Bayt) appears to fill the Earth
with justice as it has been filled with corruption. So whoever reaches
that (time) ought to come to them even if crawling on the ice/snow since
among them is the Vice-regent of Allah (Khalifatullah)
al-Mahdi."
References:
Sunan Ibn Majah, v2, Tradition #4082,
The
History Tabari
al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section
1, pp 250-251
5) Abu Nadra reported: We were with the company
of Jabir Ibn Abdillah... Jabir Ibn Abdillah kept quite for a while and
then reported Allah's Messenger having said:
"There would be a Caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah who would freely
give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it." I said to Abu Nadra and Abu al-Ala: Do you mean Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz? They said: NO, (he
would be Imam Mahdi).
References:
Sahih Muslim, English version, v4, chapter
MCCV, p1508, Tradition #6961
Sahih Muslim, Arabic version, Kitab
al-Fitan, v4, p2234, Tradition #67
6) "al-Mahdi is from our Ahlul-Bayt, no doubt
Allah will enforce his appearance within a night (i.e., his coming is very
unpredictable and is very sudden)."
References: Sunan Ibn Majah, v2,
p269 | 
