Mahdi
The
Mahdi ( , also
Mehdi; "Guided One"), in
Islamic eschatology, is the prophesied redeemer of
Islam, who will change the world into a perfect Islamic society before
Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally
"Day of the Resurrection").
The exact nature of the Mahdi differs according to
Sunni and
Shi'a Muslims. For a more in-depth Shi'a account of the Mahdi, see
Muhammad al-Mahdi.
The Quran has prophesied about Imam Mahdi and implied this concept in many different places. e.g., Anbiyaa: 105, A'raaf: 128, Noor: 55. However, like salah (prayer of Muslims) or many other authentic concepts of Islam, its details are to be found in the explanations of the messanger of Allah. This concept along with its details are mentioned in the earliest and most reliable collections of Muhammad's sayings-the '
hadith' collection of Muslim. First historical recorded reference to a movement using the name of Mahdi returns to
al-Mukhtar's rebellion against the Umayyid Caliphate in 686 CE (almost 50 years after Islamic prophet). Al-Mukhtar claimed that
Ibn al-Hanifiya, a son of the fourth Caliph Ali (the first Imam of Shi'ite), was the Mahdi who would save the Muslim people from the unjust rule of the Umayyids. Ibn al-Hanifiya was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.
The idea of a man who would arise to right the injustices in the world of Islam has been widely held and collections of hadiths included ample references to the Mahdi.
For example, in a
hadith widely regarded as authentic, the
Islamic prophet Muhammad stated:
"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, God (Arabic:Allah) will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then."Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74-75.
The Mahdi, according to majority Sunni and Shi'ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned
Jesus against the
Dajjal (Antichrist or false Messiah).
However, like most of religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi. Besides, since Mahdiism is closely related to the leadership of the whole Muslims(Ummah) and widely accepted by them, has had this potential to be abused as some leaders of politico-religious revival movements in Islam have claimed to be the Mahdi.
The following sections list a few of the characteristics of the Mahdi, according to various traditions of Islam:
Sunni, and Shi'a sources
* He is a descendant of
Muhammad, from the offspring of Muhammad's daughter,
FatimahSunni sources
* He will be born in
Medina,
Saudi Arabia. Some generalize the word 'medina' to be any city as the word literally means "city", and cite the discrepancies in various reports regarding the subject.
* His father's name will be Abdullah (same name as Muhammad's father). Abdullah means "Servant of God" and can also be widely interpreted to mean that his father will be a virtuous and holy person.
Ithna Ashari Shia sources
*
Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is the 12th and last of the
Shi'a Imams.
* He was born in 255 or 256 AH and is still alive.
* He has been in 'occultation' since the age of five years, that is, he has been living anonymously and unknown to public but nevertheless in the physical world.
* His father is the 11th Shi'a
Imam,
Hasan al-Askari* His mother is Narjis, a
Byzantine princess
* Imam mahdi is living among people but people don't know him, like the prophet
Yusuf (Joseph) that remain unknown to his brothers until he introduced himself.
* He looks young although he is over 1000 years old.
* He has many similarities to other prophets:- His face is like
Yusuf- He has a long life like
Nuh (Noah)- He is patient as was Ayyub (
Job)- His birth was hidden for security like Musa (
Moses)
Sunni and Shi'a sources
* His name is generally accepted to be Mohammad, Mahdi is just a title.
* Some Muslims claim that his name can be an accepted variant of Muhammad such as Ahmed or Mahmoud; similarly, accepted variants of his father Abdullah's name include Abdul Rahman, Abdul Magid, and Abdul Hamid. Supporters of this idea quote a passage from the prophet
Muhammad in the
Hadith which is interpreted: "His name is like my name, and his father's name is like my father's name."
* He is tall.
* His facial features are similar to those of Muhammad.
* His character is like that of Muhammad, he would follow him perfectly and shall err not.
Sunni sources
* He has a fair complexion.
* He has a broad forehead and a prominent nose.
Shi'a sources
* According to Shia sources no one can detemine the time of Imam Mahdi's emergence and whoever determines any specific time is a liar (Kamal ul-din, p 484, Hadith #4). Nevertheless, there are some signs for his emergence, most of which are not necessary conditions for his reappearance.
* The 6th
Shi'a Imam,
Jafar al-Sadiq, is reported to have said:
"Before the appearance of the one who will rise, peace be upon him, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky. It will swallow up Baghdad, and will swallow up Kufa. Their blood will be shed and houses destroyed. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they shall have no rest."* There will be an insurgence by the Sufyani, a descendant of
Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan is considered by Shias to have been one of
Muhammad's worst enemies, along with his son,
Muawiya I and Muawiya's son,
Yazid. According to Shia narrations, the Sufyani's revolution will start from
Palestine/
Jordan, and his reign of tyranny will span the
Middle East from
Iraq to
Egypt.
* A loud call from the sky signals the Mahdi's appearance.
Sunni and Shi'a sources
* He emerges during the last days of the world from
Makkah* He and
Isa (ie.
Jesus) are two different individuals; This so accepted by consensus of earlier scholars, although it counters the prophetic tradition presented by famous Muslim historian
Ibn Khuldun. He quotes
Anas ibn Malik that the prophet said,
"لا مهدي إلا عيسى بن مريم", literally meaning:
No Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary.* He precedes the second appearance of Jesus
* He establishes justice, peace and truth throughout the world (or land, the Arabic word
"الأرض" pronounced
al-ardh does not necessarily translates to whole world or Planet Earth only, it basically means 'land' and could thus address to some nation or part thereof.)
* Jesus defeats the false Messiah or
Antichrist, known as the ad-
Dajjal* Once the
Dajjal is defeated, Jesus and the Mahdi live on Earth to live out their natural life
* According to some traditions, Jesus gets married, has a family, and dies. There is a grave reserved for him next to
Muhammad's grave in
Masjid al-Nabawi in
Medina.
* The Mahdi will correct the false or corrupted practices in Islam, and Jesus will likewise correct false practices done in his name (i.e. Christianity)
* Some scholars also established
Jesus could be praying behind Mahdi.
* Jesus will destroy all the crucifixes and churches
Shi'a sources
* Upon his emergence, the young among his followers, without any prior appointment, reach Mecca that very night
* Each of his soldiers has the power of forty strong men
* Sinful opposers call their own followers to fight
* A large number of non-believers will convert to Islam once they see that the signs in the reports have occurred
There have been several personalities over time who have considered themselves the Mahdi prophesied in Islam. Similar to the notion of a
Messiah in the Judeo-Christian religions, the notion of a Mahdi as a redeemer to establish a society has lent itself to various interpretations leading to different claims within minorities or by individuals within Islam.
One claimant to the title of Mahdi,
Muhammad Ahmad, emerged in the
Sudan in 1880, and was able to amass a large army known as the
Ansar, or followers. The Mahdi established an independent Sudanese state under
sharia that lasted in the face of Egyptian and British opposition until 1898.
Several authors have used the concept of the Mahdi in fictional stories. Perhaps the best known is
Frank Herbert, whose
Dune science fiction novels centered on the character of
Paul Atreides, who was proclaimed by his followers, the Fremen, to be the Mahdi. Paul's Fremen name, "Muad'Dib", means "teacher of
adāb (manners and respect)" in
Arabic, although within the novel it is a word in the
Fremen language of
Chakobsa, and is the name of a kind of desert mouse.
In
The Wheel of Time fictional world, the Tinker people are divided into travelling bands each led by a
mahdi, which is translated as "seeker". The Tinkers are of the same ethnicity as the
Aiel, a Fremen-like desert-dwelling people.
The Mahdi plays a central role in
Wilbur Smith's
The Triumph of the Sun. It's about an English family during the Mahdi's siege of Khartoum in 1884.
*
Hadith of Jesus praying behind Mahdi*
Mahdaviat*
Dajjal*
People claiming to be the Mahdi*
Traditions about Mahdi*
Al-Qa'im (the Shi'a expectations)
Sunni view
*
Coming of Imam Mehdi and the Return of Hadhrat `Isaa*
Jesus Christ the Son of Mary and His Most Blessed Mother*
The Mahdi and the End Times*
Imam Mahdi*
THE COMING OUT OF THE AWAITED DESCENDENT OF FATIMA, AL-MAHDIShia view
*
Al-Imam al-Mahdi: The Just Leader of Humanity by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini*
The Awaited Saviour by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari*
A Discussion Concerning the Mahdi by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr*
Helpers Of The MahdiMouood (Arabic: موعود)
The largest portal about Imam Mahdi and related articles and news, in Persian language.
*Mouood Online''
Mehdavi view
*
Who are Mahdavis?*
The Promised Mehdi*
Syed Mohammad AlMahdi AlMow'ood*Shauhat Ali:
Millenarian and Messianic Tendencies in Islamic Thought: Lahore: Publishers United: 1993.
*Timothy Furnish:
Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Jihad and Osama Bin Laden: Westport: Praeger: 2005: ISBN 0279833838
*Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina:
Islamic Messianism: The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver Shi'ism: Albany: State University of New York Press: 1981: ISBN 0873954580
