In Sunni and Shia eschatology, the Mahdi ( / ISO 233: / ) is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years (according to various interpretations) before the Day of Judgment ( / literally, ''the Day of Resurrection'') and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.

In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "powerful and central religious idea" and closely related to the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, whose return from occultation is deemed analogous with the coming of the Mahdi.

In Sunni traditions, there are several hadiths referring to the Mahdi.

Mahdi doctrine common to both Sunni and Shia Muslims

The following beliefs concerning the Mahdi are shared by both Sunni and Shia Muslims according to scholar Moojan Momen:

The Mahdi will be a descendant of Muhammad of the line of Fatimah, He will be descendent by one side (by one of the parents) by Hassan and by another by Hussain.

He will have the same name as Muhammad.

He will be a fore-runner to Jesus' Islamic Rule.

His coming will be accompanied by the raising of a Black Standard.

His coming will be accompanied by the appearance of the Masih ad-Dajjal (Antichrist).

A star with a luminous tail will rise from the East before the coming of the Mahdi.

He will establish the Caliphate.

He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression, which is war and calamities.

He will have a broad forehead, a prominent nose, and a natural mascara will ring his eyes.

His face shall shine upon the surface of the Moon. The name of the Mahdi's representative will begin with the first-letter of a prophet's name and a verse of the Qur'an: ().

Shia doctrine

In Shia Islam "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea." Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, who was born in 869 CE and was hidden by God at the age of five (874 CE). He is still alive but has been in occultation, "awaiting the time that God has decreed for his return".

According to Moojan Momen, Shia traditions state that the Mahdi be "a young man of medium stature with a handsome face" and black hair and beard. "He will not come in an odd year [...] will appear in Mecca between the corner of the Kaaba and the station of Abraham and people will witness him there.

The Twelfth Imam will return as the Mahdi with "a company of his chosen ones," and his enemies will be led by the one-eyed Antichrist and the Sufyani. The two armies will fight "one final apocalyptic battle" where the Mahdi and his forces will prevail over evil. After the Mahdi has ruled Earth for a number of years, Isa will return.

The Prophet Muhammad said:

The Mahdi is the protector of the knowledge, the heir to the knowledge of all the prophets, and is aware of all things.

The dominion (authority) of the Mahdi is one of the proofs that God has created all things; these are so numerous that his [the Mahdi's] proofs will overcome (will be influential, will be dominant) everyone and nobody will have any counter-proposition against him.

People will flee from him [the Mahdi] as sheep flee from the shepherd. Later, people will begin to look for a purifier. But since they can find none to help them but him, they will begin to run to him.

When matters are entrusted to competent [the Mahdi], Almighty God will raise the lowest part of the world for him, and lower the highest places. So much that he will see the whole world as if in the palm of his hand. Which of you cannot see even a single hair in the palm of his hand?

In the time of the Mahdi, a Muslim in the East will be able to see his Muslim brother in the West, and he in the West will see him in the East.

Sadir al-Sayrafi says: I heard from Imam Abu Abdullah Jafar al-Sadiq that: ... He whose rights have been taken away and who is denied (hazrat mahdi (as)) will walk among them, move through their markets and walk where they walk. but they will not recognize hazraz mahdi (as) until Allah gives them leave to recognize him, just as He did with the Prophet Yusuf (as).

Muhammad al-Baqir, the Fourth (Isma'ili) or Fifth (Twelver) Imam said of the Mahdi:

The Master of the Command was named as the Mahdi because he will dig out the Torah and other heavenly books from the cave in Antioch. He will judge among the people of the Torah according to the Torah; among the people of the Gospel according to the Gospel; among the people of the Psalms in accordance with the Psalms; among the people of the Qur'an in accordance with the Qur'an.

Ja'far al-Sadiq, the Sixth Imam, made the following prophecies:

Abu Bashir says: When I asked Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, "O son of the Messenger of God! Who is the Mahdi (''qa'im'') of your clan (''ahl al-bayt'')?", he replied: "The Mahdi will conquer the world; at that time the world will be illuminated by the light of God, and everywere in which those other than God are worshipped will become places where God is worshiped; and even if the polytheists do not wish it, the only faith on that day will be the religion of God.

Sadir al-Sayrafi says: I heard from Imam Abu Abdullah Ja'far al-Sadiq that: Our modest Imam, to whom this occultation belongs [the Mahdi], who is deprived of and denied his rights, will move among them and wander through their markets and walk where they walk, but they will not recognize him.

Abu Bashir says: I heard Imam Muhammad al-Baqr say: "He said: When the Mahdi appears he will follow in the path of the Messenger of God. Only he [the Mahdi] can explain the works of the Messenger of God.

The face of the Mahdi shall shine upon the surface of the Moon.

Portents

According to Moojan Momen, among the most commonly reported signs that presage the advent of the Mahdi in Shia Islam are the following:

Before his coming will come the red death and the white death. The red death is the sword and the white death is plague.

Several figures will appear: the one-eyed Antichrist (''Masih ad-Dajjal''), the Sufyani and the Yamani.

The Muslims will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the authority of the foreigners.

There will be a great conflict in the land of Syria, until it is destroyed.

Death and fear will afflict the people of Baghdad and Iraq. A fire will appear in the sky and a redness will cover them.

Characteristics

Ali Ibn Abi Talib quoted the Prophet as saying:

The Mahdi is one of us, the clan of the Prophet. God will reform him in one night.(Reported by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Maqah)

At-Tirmidhi reported that the Prophet said:

The Mahdi is from my Ummah; he will be born and live to rule five or seven or nine years. (If) one goes to him and says, "Give me (a charity)", he will fill one’s garment with what one needs.

Abu Dawud also reported a ''hadith'' about the Mahdi that the Prophet Muhammed said:

The Mahdi will be of my stock, and will have a broad forehead, a prominent nose. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.

Sunni doctrine

First school of thought

Of those Sunnis that hold to the existence of the Mahdi, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman.

The Prophet Muhammad said:

The world will not come to an end until the Arabs are ruled by a man from my family whose name is the same as mine and whose father’s name is the same as my father’s.

Umm Salama said:

His [the Mahdi's] aim is to establish a moral system from which all superstitious faiths have been eliminated. In the same way that students enter Islam, so unbelievers will come to believe.

When the Mahdi appears, God will cause such power of vision and hearing to be manifested in believers that the Mahdi will call to the whole world from where he is, with no postman involved, and they will hear and even see him.

I heard the Messenger of God say: "The Mahdi is of my lineage and family […]".

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri said:

The Messenger of God said: "He is one of us […]"

The Messenger of God said: "The Mahdi is of my lineage, with a high forehead and a long, thin, curved nose. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice as it was filled with oppression and injustice, and he will rule for seven years.

The Messenger of God said: "At the end of the time of my ummah, the Mahdi will appear. God will grant him rain, the earth will bring forth its fruits, he will give a lot of money, cattle will increase and the ummah will become great. He will rule for seven or eight years.

A typical modernist in his views on the Mahdi, Abul Ala Maududi (1903–1979), the Pakistani Islamic revivalist, stated that the Mahdi will be a modern Islamic reformer/statesman, who will unite the Ummah and revolutionise the world according to the ideology of Islam, but will never claim to be the Mahdi, instead receiving posthumous recognition as such.

Second school of thought

Among those Islamic scholars who wholly reject the Mahdi doctrine are Allama Tamanna Imadi (1888–1972), Allama Habibur Rahman Kandhalvi, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (1951- ), and Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938).

Sir Muhammad Iqbal wrote:

As I think, the concept of the Mahdi, ''Masih'' and ''Mujaddad'' is a completely Iranian and ''Ajmi'' perception. This concept has no link to the Qur'an, Islam and Arabic perceptions.

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi writes in his ''Mizan'':

Besides these, the coming of the Mahdi and that of Jesus from the heavens are also regarded as signs of the Day of Judgment. I have not mentioned them. The reason is that the narratives of the coming of the Mahdi do not conform to the standards of ''hadith'' criticism set forth by the ''muhaddithun''. Some of them are weak and some fabricated; no doubt, some narratives, which are acceptable with regard to their chain of narration, inform us of the coming of a generous caliph; (Muslim, No: 7318) however, if they are deeply deliberated upon, it becomes evident that the caliph they refer to is Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz who was the last caliph of the early history of the Muslims. This prediction of the Prophet has thus materialized in his personality, word for word. One need not wait for any other Mahdi now.

Sufi doctrine

As all orthodox "Sufi" scholars are followers of the 4 schools of Sunni jurisprudence and are Sunni contributors to Sunni Islam and accepted as such, as well as rejecting the shia "Mahdi doctrine" mentioned above, hence the term "sufi-view" is the Sunni view as the source is the same i.e. the 6 canonical hadith books. Also the scholars mentioned Ibn Hajar Al Haythami and Al Suyuti are both classical Sunni Scholars whose biographies are well established within Suni Islam and are known sufi's.

Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (1503–1566), in his fatwa entitled ''The Brief Discourse on the Portents of the Awaited Mahdi'', said that denial of the Mahdi is disbelief.

Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti, in his ''The Rose Fragrance Concerning the Reports of the Mahdi'', wrote: "This is the belief of Ahl al-sunnah, this is the belief of the Sufis, this is the belief of our sheikhs, and this is the belief of the true Shadhili sheikhs, whose path both Al-Suyuti and Al-Haytami followed. Whoever differs with them is a liar and an innovator."

Ahmadiyya doctrine

In Ahmadiyya Islam, the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person. Like the term Messiah which, among other meanings, in essence means being ''anointed'' by God or ''appointed'' by God the term "Mahdi" means ''guided'' by God, thus both imply a direct ordainment and a spiritual nurturing by God of a divinely chosen individual. According to Ahmadiyya thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon, through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering suffering for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge). Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad among others.

Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of various religions, the coming of the Messiah and Mahdi in fact were to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets. The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the second coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical, in that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus of Nazareth, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name. As the beliefs of all Muslims seems to be fulfilled yet in one person. Numerous Hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah which says:

Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835–1908) the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Contrary to mainstream Islam the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated toward the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.

Possible Biblical interpretations

In their book, ''Al Mahdi and the End of Time'', Muhammad ibn Izzat and Muhammad Arif, two well-known Egyptian authors, identify the Mahdi in the Book of Revelation, quoting the hadith narrator Ka'ab al-Ahbar.

In one place, they write,

Ibn Izzat and Arif then go on to say:

People claiming to be the Mahdi

Various individuals have claimed to be the Mahdi. 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.

The first historical reference to a movement using the name of Mahdi is al-Mukhtar's rebellion against the Umayyad caliphate in 686 CE, almost 50 years after Muhammad's death. Al-Mukhtar claimed that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, a son of the fourth caliph and first Shia imam, Ali, was the Mahdi and would save the Muslim people from the rule of the Umayyads. Ibn al-Hanifiyyah himself was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyads successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.

Muhammad Jaunpuri (1443–1505), founder of the Mahdavi sect, was born in Jaunpur in northeastern India (in the modern-day state of Uttar Pradesh), a descendant of the imam Husayn through Musa al-Kadhim. He claimed to be the Mahdi on three occasions, first in Mecca and then in two places in India, attracting a large following, although opposed by the ulema. He died at the age of 63 in the year 1505 at Farah, Afghanistan, and is buried in a sanctuary there. He ruled for seven years before his death

(Siyyid Ali Muhammad) The Báb ( / ) claimed to be the Mahdi in 1844 A.D (in the year 1260 A.H), thereby founding the religion of Bábism. He was later executed by firing squad in the town of Tabriz. His remains are currently kept in a tomb at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. The Báb is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh (pronounced ''ba-haa-ol-laa'' / / ), and both are considered prophets of the Bahá'í Faith. The declaration by the Báb to be the Mahdi is considered by Baha'is to be the beginning of the Bahá'í calendar.

Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli (1559–1613), from the south of Morocco, was a cadi and religious scholar who proclaimed himself mahdi and lead a revolution (1610–13) against the reigning Saadi dynasty.

Muhammad Ahmad, a Sudanese sufi sheikh of the Samaniyya order, declared himself Mahdi in June 1881 and went on to lead a successful military campaign against the Turko-Egyptian government of Sudan. Although he died shortly after capturing the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in 1885, the Mahdist state continued under his successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, until 1898, when it fell to the British army following the Battle of Omdurman.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be both the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus in the late nineteenth century in British India. He founded the Ahmadiyya religious movement in 1889, which, although considered by its followers to be their Islam in its pure form, is not recognized as such by the majority of mainstream Muslims. In 1974, the Pakistani parliament adopted a law declaring the Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. Since Ghulam Ahmad's death, the Ahmadiyya community has been led by his successors and has grown considerably.

In the twentieth century, Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani was proclaimed the Mahdi by his brother-in-law, Juhayman al-Otaibi, who led over 200 militants to seize the Grand Mosque in Mecca in November 1979. The uprising was defeated after a two-week siege in which at least 300 people were killed.

A number of people have been claimed to be the Mahdi by their followers or supporters, including:

Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya

Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Aftah ibn Ja'far al-Sadiq

Ja'far al-Sadiq (according to the Tawussite Shia)

Musa al-Kadhim (according to the Waqifite Shia)

Muhammad ibn Qasim (al-Alawi)

Yahya ibn Umar

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi

Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (according to Messiah Foundation International)

Emperor Haile Selassie due to his direct lineage to The Prophet

Diponegoro, Javanese prince during the Java War.

Mahdi coauthorship controversy

In 2011, an academic paper on polymers appeared in the journal ''Macromolecular Research'' (co-published with Springer), claiming to be written by Mahdi Moeud Ajjalallah (literally, "The promised Mahdi, may God hasten [his appearance]", as the first author, and Mohammad Reza Rostami Daronkola, as the second author. Another paper with the same two authors was published online by ''Journal of Polymer Research'', published by Springer Netherlands. Mr Rostami Daronkola, a former Assistant Professor at Tarbiat Modares University, when asked about the inserted coauthor, said "Why shouldn't the Imam of the Time, who is omnipresent , be present at chemistry labs?" Tarbiat Modares University has protested the publication of the article, calling the act "offensive". The faculty members of the university have also asked for a retraction of the article, saying that the name of the university has been "abused".

Recently, Springer Publisher has responded as following:

"The result of our inquiry is that the corresponding author indeed used the name of the 12th imam, which is incorrect and not acceptable.

The editor-in-chief decided to withdraw the paper. At the moment they are preparing a retraction paper, which will be published and linked with the original paper. Additionally a grey watermark will be added on the PDF of the original article, which says that the paper is retracted. And the title of the paper will be updated. It will take a little bit of time until everyting is done. (For scientific reasons, e.g. if someone has quoted the paper already, it’s not possible to remove it completely.)" Philipp Kammerer

See also

Masih ad-Dajjal

People claiming to be the Mahdi

Al-Qa'im (the Shi'a expectations)

Mahdaviat

Islamic eschatology

Moshiach

Parousia

List of Islamic terms in Arabic

References

Bibliography

Historical sources

''Bihar al-Anwar''

Modern sources

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 0275983838

Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina, ''Islamic Messianism: The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver Shi'ism'' (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981) ISBN 0-87395-458-0

Syaikh Hisyam Kabbani, ''The Approach of Armageddon'' (Islamic Supreme Council of America, 2002) ISBN 1930409206

External links

Mahdi an article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

A supportive view of the belief of the Mahdi at Sunni-oriented islam-qa.com

A critical look at the belief in the Mahdi at Qurannic-oriented understanding-islam.com

Followers of Imam Mahdi

Imam Mahdi's Birthday Celebration - Part I Part II (Free PressTV documentary)

Category:Islamic eschatology Category:Messianism Category:Religious leadership roles

ar:محمد المهدي az:Mehdi ca:Mahdí cs:Mahdí da:Mahdi de:Mahdi es:Mahdi fa:مهدی fr:Mahdi ko:마흐디 id:Imam Mahdi it:Mahdi he:מהדי sw:Mahdi lt:Mahdis ms:Imam Mahdi nl:Mahdi no:Mahdi pl:Mahdi pt:Mahdi ro:Mahdi ru:Махди simple:Mahdi fi:Mahdi sv:Mahdi tr:Mehdi uk:Махді zh:马赫迪

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī () (born c. July 29, 869; 15 Sha‘bān 255 AH) is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams. Twelver Shī‘a believe that al-Mahdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God (this is referred to as ''the Occultation'') and will later emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world. He assumed the Imamate at 5 years of age. Some Shi‘īte schools do not consider ibn-al-Hasan to be the Mahdī, although the mainstream sect Twelvers do.

Birth and early life according to Twelver Shi'a

In the biographies of Mahdi written by Shia's themselves, it is hard to draw a line between hagiographical and historical works. In Shia sources even in historical works of Ibn Babuya the birth of Imam was miraculous which must be considered as hagiography.

Twelver Shi'as believe that Mahdi was born in 869 AD as Abu'l Qasim Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī. His mother name has been recorded as Rayhana, Narjis, Ssyqal or Sawsan in Shia's books. There are a couple of narrations regarding the origin of his mother. One is that his mother, Narjis was a Byzantine slave. Another narration says she was a black slave from Africa. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi states that names like Sawsan, Narjis or Rayhana were common names for slaves at that times and his mother name supports this narration. Other narration says that she was a Byzantine Prince who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, in Encyclopedia of Iranica, suggests that the last version is "undoubtedly legendary and hagiographic".

To support Imam Mahdi's claim, Twelver Shi'as along with some other Muslim sects quote the following Hadith: "I and `Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from `Ali's descendants are my grandsons al-Hasan and al-Husayn, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-Husayn's descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa'im and Mahdi."

The eleventh Shi'a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi' al-awwal, 260 AH) and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi'as to be the Imam, appointed by Allah, to lead the believers of the era. The most popular account of al-Mahdi in Shi'a literature is taken from his father's funeral. It is reported that as the funeral prayer was about to begin, al-Mahdi's uncle, Jafar ibn Ali approached to lead the prayers. However, al-Mahdi approached and commanded, ''"Move aside, uncle; only an Imam can lead the funeral prayer of an Imam."'' Jafar moved aside, and the five-year-old child led the funeral prayer for his father. It is reported that it was at this very moment that al-Mahdi disappeared and went into ''ghaybat'', or occultation.

Significance of the Twelfth Imam

Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of Muhammad.

A hadith from the Shi'a text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, as well as a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in which Muhammad speaks of Twelve Successors.

From Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, "Islam will continue to be strong to twelve Muslim rulers." He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, "All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish."

In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad 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 out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name and my father's name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.

The Occultation

Shi'as believe that, for various reasons, Allah concealed the twelfth and current Shi'a Imam, al-Mahdi, from mankind.

Period

The period of occultation (''ghaybat'') is divided into two parts:

''Ghaybat al-Sughra'' or Minor Occultation (874–941), consists of the first few decades after the Imam's disappearance when communication with him was maintained through deputies of the Imam.

''Ghaybat al-Kubra'' or Major Occultation began 941 and is believed to continue until a time decided by God, when the Mahdi will reappear to bring absolute justice to the world.

Minor Occultation

During the Minor Occultation (''Ghaybat al-Sughra''), it is believed that al-Mahdi maintained contact with his followers via deputies (Arab. ''an-nuwāb al-arbaʻa'' literal: the four leaders). They represented him and acted as agents between him and his followers.

Whenever the believers faced a problem, they would write their concerns and send them to his deputy. The deputy would ascertain his verdict, endorse it with his seal and signature and return it to the relevant parties. The deputies also collected zakat and khums on his behalf. For the Shia, the idea of consulting a hidden Imam was not something new because the two prior Shia Imams had, on occasion, met with their followers from behind a curtain. Also, during the oppressive rule of the later Abbasid caliphs, the Shia Imams were heavily persecuted and held prisoners, thus their followers were forced to consult their Imams via messengers or secretly.

Shia Tradition hold that four deputies acted in succession to one another:

# Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Asadi # Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Uthman # Abul Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti # Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri

In 941 (329 AH), the fourth deputy announced an order by al-Mahdi, that the deputy would soon die and that the deputyship would end and the period of the Major Occultation would begin.

The fourth deputy died six days later and the Shi'a Muslims continue to await the reappearance of the Mahdi. In the same year, many notable Shi'a scholars such as Ali ibn Babwayh Qummi and Muhammad ibn Yaqub Kulayni, the learned compiler of al-Kafi also died.

Major Occultation

According to the last letter of al-Mahdi to Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri "from the day of your death [the last deputy] the period of my major occultation (al ghaybatul kubra) will begin. Hence forth, no one will see me, unless and until Allah makes me appear." Another view is that the Hidden Imam is on earth "among the body of the Shia" but "incognito." "Numerous stories" exist of the Hidden Imam "manifesting himself to prominent members of the ulama."

Reappearance

Twelver Shi'as cite various references from the Qur'an and reports, or Hadith, from Imam Mahdi and the twelve Shi'a Imams with regard to the reappearance of al-Mahdi who would, in accordance with Allah's command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world.

Mahdi is reported to have said:

Shi'as believe that Imam al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Makkah, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Makkah. At this time, Imam al-Mahdi will come wielding Allah's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار, ðū l-fiqār), the Double-Bladed Sword. He will also come and reveal the texts in his possession, such as al-Jafr and al-Jamia.

Shi'as believe that Jesus will also come (after Imam Mahdi's re-appearance) and follow the Imam Mahdi to destroy tyranny and falsehood and to bring justice and peace to the world.

Titles

The 12th Imam is known by many titles in Shia Islam, including:

Al-Mahdi (the Guided one)

Al-Muntathar (the Awaited one)

Al-Qa'im (the Rising one)

Sahab az-Zaman (the Master of the Age)

Imam az-Zaman (the Leader of the Age)

Wali al-'Asr (the Guardian of the Era or alternatively, the Guardian in the Twilight [of man])

Al-Hujjah (the Proof [of Allah's justice])

Ahmadiyya view

In Ahmadiyya Islam, the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person. Like the term Messiah which, among other meanings, in essence means being ''anointed'' by God or ''appointed'' by God the term "Mahdi" means ''guided'' by God, thus both imply a direct ordainment and a spiritual nurturing by God of a divinely chosen individual. According to Ahmadiyya thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon, through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering suffering for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge). Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad among others.

Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of various religions, the coming of the Messiah and Mahdi in fact were to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets. The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the second coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical, in that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus of Nazareth, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name.

Numerous Hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah which says:

Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835–1908) the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Contrary to mainstream Islam the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.

Sunni view

The majority of Sunni Muslims do not consider the son of Hasan al-Askari to be the Mahdi nor to be in occultation. However, they do believe that the Mahdi will come from Muhammad's family, more specifically from Al-Hasan's descendants. Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born, and therefore his exact identity is only known to Allah. Aside from the Mahdi's precise, genealogy, Sunnis accept many of the same hadiths Shias accept about the predictions regarding the Mahdi's emergence, his acts, and his universal Khilafat. Sunnis also have a few more Mahdi hadiths which are not present in Shia collections, such as the following:

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated that Muhammad said:

Shia books do not explicitly mention the Mahdi having a pointed (prominent) nose.

However, the Shi'a traditions do state (about Imam Medhi's nose): "His Nose; Abu Sa‘īd al-Khidri narrates from the Messenger of Allah (a.s) that he said, 'The Mahdi is from us the Ahl al-Bait, a man from my Ummah. He has a high nose. He will fill the earth with equity as it will be full of corruption.'"

Other Sunni hadith regarding the Mahdi are virtually identical to their counterparts in Shia books:

Umm Salamah said:

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:

In the light of traditions and interpretations, the personality of the Promised Mahdi would be as such:

It is said "predictions and lore concerning the Mahdi abound"[9] Among them are that the promised Mahdi would be a Caliph of God and that to make a covenant with him is obligatory. He would belong to the House of Muhammad and would be in the line of Imam Hasan. His name would be Muhammad and his family name would be Abul Qasim, his father's name would be ‘Abdu’llah [rather than Hasan], and he would appear in Mecca. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.

Sunnis also believe that Jesus will return alongside the Mahdi, with the only difference being that they disagree with the Shia regarding exactly who the Mahdi is.

Scholarly observations

Some scholars, including Bernard Lewis also point out, that the idea of an Imam in occultation was not new in 873 but that it was a recurring factor in Shia history. Examples of this include the cases of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (according to the Kaysanites Shia), Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya, Musa al-Kadhim (according to the Waqifite Shia), Muhammad ibn Qasim (al-Alawi), Yahya ibn Umar and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi (according to the Muhammadite Shia).

Consequence of occultation of Twelfth Imam

The occulation of 12th Imam left a considerable gap in leadership of Shia's. According to Shia' beliefs the Imam was both the spiritual and political head of the community. Although during the lesser occultation the network of Imam deputies (wokala) claimed to have right to handle Shia communities issues, this system was not continued during the Greater Occultation. After the greater occultation, the role of Imam as the head of community left vacant, which did not theoretically matter at the beginning of Occultation because Shia`s had no political power at that time. However, when Shia' states arose in later centuries, since the hidden Imam was alive and was the leader of Muslims, the role of Shia' state among Shia' communities were in question. This problem have caused continuing tension between government and religion throughout the Shia's history.

See also

Holiest sites in Islam (Shia)

Mahdi

Ismaili

Fatimid Empire

Narjis

People claiming to be the Mahdi

Notes

References

Kitab al-Irshad, Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Nu'man (al-Shaikh al-Mufid), 4th A.H./10 A.D.

Review of 'Kitab al-Irshad' by Al-Mufid , by Dr. I. K. A. Howard

Further reading

External links

Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Hujjah an article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

ghaybah an article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

Mahdi an article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

ghaybah(The Occultation) an article by Encyclopædia Britannica Online

MAHDI'S DEPUTIES by Verena Klemm, an article by encyclopedia Iranica

List of sites about Imam Mahdi

Guide to the 12 Imams - Inc. Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi (www.shiacode.com)

Information and Biography of Imam Mohammed Al Mahdi

''The Awaited Saviour'' by Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr & Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari

''A Discussion concerning the Mahdi'', by Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr

''Imam Mahdi's Biography''

- Iran prepares people for 'messiah miracles'

Unravelling lies from people about Imam Muhammad Mahdi

MISC. Information on Sunni & Shia Documentation about Imam Mehdi

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Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Yasir Qadhi
residence	Memphis, TN
birth place	Houston, Texas
nationality	American
education	Associate's degree in ArabicB.A. in Islamic SciencesMaster of Arts in Islamic Theology(Islamic University of Madinah)B.Sc in Chemical Engineering(University of Houston)
alma mater	Islamic University of MadinahUniversity of Houston
occupation	Instructor
title	Dean of Academic Affairs, AlMaghrib Institute
religion	Islam
website	MuslimMatters.org
footnotes	}}

Yasir Qadhi (ياسر قاضي) is an American Muslim writer and Islamic instructor for the Al-Maghrib Institute. He has written a number of books and spoken in lectures about Islam and contemporary issues on Muslims.

Biography

Qadhi was born in Houston, TX, to parents of Pakistani origin,however; he completed his primary secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, graduating as a valedictorian of his class. Afterwards, he returned to Houston to complete a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Houston. When asked why he chose a secular degree instead of an Islamic one first, he remarked:

:"As a Muslim child growing up in America, you are expected to become an engineer or a doctor. It is just understood."

Shortly after working for Dow Chemical for a short stint, he went to the Islamic University of Madinah in Madinah, Saudi Arabia to attain both a bachelor's and master's degree in specific disciplines within Islamic studies.. Initially, he completed a second bachelor's degree in Arabic from the university's College of Hadith and Islamic Sciences, and went on to complete an master's degree in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah.

He returned to the United States in 2005, after nearly 10 years in Saudi Arabia. At the present time, he is teaching in the Religious Studies Department of Rhodes College, in Memphis, TN. Additionally, he is completing a doctoral in theology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Qadhi describes himself as a revivalist in the Islamic sense, and likens some of the practices he endorses similar to those practiced by conservative Christian groups and Orthodox Jews in America, particularly with regard to dietary laws, family values, and modest dress for women.

Activities

Qadhi was recently featured in a front-page NY Times Magazine article by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott shedding light on Qadhi's activities and biography.

He is the Dean of Academic Affairs and instructor for the AlMaghrib Institute, a double-weekend based seminar that he and other American Muslims instructors run, where instructors travel to designated locations in the U.S., UK and Canada (and more recently, Malaysia) to teach Islamic studies in English. He gives regular sermons and lectures, and also appears on a number of Islamic satellite channels: (Islam Channel in England; Huda TV in Egypt; Al-Fajr Channel in Egypt; and Peace TV in India, the U.K., and the U.S), where he teaches theology, ''Seerah'', ''Tajweed'', and other topics. He is also one of the founding members and Islamic specialists at MuslimMatters.org, a blogzine for American Muslims.

Holocaust Remarks and Subsequent Revisionism

''The Daily Telegraph'' reported that, in 2001, Qadhi (whom the newspaper characterized as a "hard-line conservative preacher") described the Holocaust as a hoax, and claimed that "Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews", and "All this [the Holocaust] is false propaganda". The telegraph also reported that Qadhi later retracted his statements, stating that he had been misled. Qadhi, acknowledging that he made negative remarks about Jews and that he had reformed since then, said that even in the 2001 lecture he never denied "the actual occurrence of the Holocaust, or express any support or admiration for Hitler, or claim that all Jews were worthy of being despised or hated", directly disputing the Telegraph's assertion of Qadhi believing the holocaust to be a hoax. He called it a "one-time mistake", stating that "I firmly believe that the Holocaust was one of the worst crimes against humanity that the 20th century has witnessed."

In July 2010, he was selected to participate in an official delegation of US Imams and religious leaders to visit the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Dachau. The Imams subsequently released a joint statement condemning anti-Semitism and labelling Holocaust denial as against the ethics of Islam.

Views on Jihad

Yasir Qadhi has presented papers on ''jihad'' movements. In 2006, at a conference at Harvard Law School, Qadhi presented a 15-minute analysis of the theological underpinnings of one of the first militant movements of modern Saudi Arabia, headed by Juhayman al-Otaibi, which gained international attention when it held the Grand Mosque of Mecca hostage in 1979. In another paper, presented in September 2009 at an international conference at University of Edinburgh on understanding ''jihad'' in the modern world, he discussed how a specific legal ruling (''fatwā'') of the medieval theologian Ibn Taymiyya was used both by ''jihadist'' and pacifist groups to justify their positions. The paper has been critiqued however by Salafi commentators. Qadhi has been involved in de-radicalization efforts in the U.S., and was a participant in the U.S. Counter-Radicalization Strategy conference organized by the National Counterterrorism Center in the summer of 2008.

Umar Abdulmutallab, the al-Qaeda member who attempted to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009, was a student at "Ilm Summit", a 16-day AlMaghrib Institute Islamic education conference in August 2008 at which Qadhi was an instructor. Qadhi said of Abdulmutallab, who attended some of the classes that he taught, "He was a very quiet individual, tight-lipped and shy, and he did not ask a single question during the discussions. He barely interacted with the other students at the conference." Qadhi recalled speaking to Abdulmutallab, and remembered that he was "very reserved in his responses." Abdulmutallab also attended two seminars organized by the AlMaghrib Institute in London in the months before the event in Houston, Qadhi said.

In 2006 Qadhi, noting that Muslims are routinely detained and questioned at airports and other ports of entry, said that the main problem the Muslim community has "is the presumption of guilt. It is the singling out of people just because of their looks or their identity." Qadhi said he himself was on a secret watch list, but had no idea how he got on the list. His name has since been cleared from that list.

Works

Books authored or co-authored

''Riyaa: Hidden Shirk'', 103 pages, Abu Ammaar Yasir Al-Qathi, Dar-al-Fatah, 1996, ISBN 8172317530

''An introduction to the sciences of the Qura̓an'', Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, Al-Hidaayah Pub., 1999, ISBN 1-898649-32-4

''An Explanation of the Four Principles of Shirk'', 60 pages, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb, Yasir Qadhi, Al-Hidaayah, 2000, ISBN 1-898649-52-9

''Du’a : The Weapon of the Believer'', Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, Al Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution, 2001, ISBN 1-898649-51-0

''15 Ways to Increase Your Earnings from the Quran and Sunnah'', Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, Al Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution, 2002, ISBN 1-898649-56-1

''An explanation of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Kashf al-Shubuhat: a critical analysis of shirk'', Abū Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd al-Wahhāb, Al-Hidaayah, 2003, ISBN 1-898649-62-6

See also

Islam in the United States

List of Da'ees

Dawah

References

External links

MuslimMatters bio (where Qadhi blogs)

Qadhi Audio and Books

Qadhi Video and Audio Lectures from Halal Tube

Qadhi on the Deen Show

Qadhi on the Doha Debates

Doha Debates participant

Video of Qadhi's talk "Perfect Justice: Debunking the Male Bias Myth", April 22, 2006

Video of Qadhi's talk at Global Peace and Unity Conference, 2006

Video of Qadhi's talk at Global Peace and Unity Conference, 2008

Kilday, Anne Marie, "'For the benefit of all mankind'; Local conference highlights Quran's teachings about the importance of honoring animals", ''Houston Chronicle'', December 23, 2006

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Islamic studies scholars Category:American Muslims Category:University of Houston alumni Category:Islamic University of Madinah alumni Category:Yale University alumni Category:American people of Pakistani descent Category:American people of Indian descent Category:Muslim theologians

ar:ياسر قاضي