This article is part of a series on:
Islam
Beliefs Oneness of God Prophets · Revealed books Angels · Predestination Day of Resurrection
Practices Profession of faith · Prayer Fasting · Alms · Pilgrimage
Texts & laws Quran · Sunnah · Hadith Fiqh · Sharia · Kalam
History & leaders Timeline · Muhammad Ahl al-Bayt · Sahaba Rashidun · Imamate Caliphate · Spread of Islam
Denominations Sunni · Shia Sufi · Ibadi · Ahmadiyya · Quraniyoon · NOI · Liberal
Culture & society Academics · Animals · Art Calendar · Children Dawah · Demographics Festivals · Mosques Philosophy · Politics Science · Women
See also Other religions · Glossary Islam portal This box: view talk edit

In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi (Arabic: مهدي‎ / ISO 233: mahdī / English: Guided One) is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years- (according to various interpretations)^[1] before the Day of Judgment (yawm al-qiyamah / literally, the Day of Resurrection)^[2] and will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.^[3]

In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious idea" and closely related as the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, whose return from occultation is deemed analogous with the coming of the Mahdi.^[4]

In Sunni traditions, there are several hadith referring to the Mahdi.^[5]

See Islamic eschatology.

Mahdism in Sunni Islam[link]

The Sunnis view the Mahdi as the successor of Prophet Mohammad, the Mahdi is expected to arrive to rule the world and he is to reestablish uprightness, harmony, and correct religion.^[6]
The definite term mahdi, means “the rightly-guided one”. The Mahdi is not mentioned in the Qurʾān, but rather in the Sunnah. Some hypothesise he came about when the Arabian tribes were settling in Syria under Mo’awiya. “They anticipated ‘the Mahdi who will lead the rising people of the Yemen back to their country’ in order to restore the glory of their lost Himyarite kingdom. It was believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.”^[7]

The Kaysāniya extented two other notions that became thoroughly related with the belief in the Mahdi. The first was the notion of return of the dead, particularly of the Imams. The second was the indication of occultation. “When Moḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiya died in 700, the Kaysāniya maintained that he was in occultation in the Raẓwā mountains west of Medina, and would one day return as the Mahdi and the Qāʾem.”^[8]

The appearance of the Prophet was also proposed unto the Mahdi. “An enormously influential tradition attributed to ʿAbd-Allāh b. Masʿud has Moḥammad predict the coming of a Mahdi coined in his own image: ‘His name will be my name, and his father’s name my father’s name’” ^[9]

First school of thought[link]

The mahdi is frequently mentioned in Sunni hadith as establishing the caliphate. Among Sunnis, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman.

• 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.^[10]

• 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

I heard the Messenger of God say: "The Mahdi is of my lineage and family [...]".^[13]

• Abu Sa`id al-Khudri said:

The Messenger of God said: "He is one of us [...]"^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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.^[17]

Second school of thought[link]

Among those modernist Islamic scholars who wholly reject the Mahdi doctrine are Allama Tamanna Imadi (1888–1972),^[18] Allama Habibur Rahman Kandhalvi,^[19] Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (1951- ),^[20].^[21]

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.

Mahdism in Twelver Shi'ism[link]

Mahdism is more prevalent in the Shiism. The Twelver Shiʿites believe him to be the Twelfth Imam who is in occultation until he returns at the end of time. Mahdism in Twelver Shiʿism innate many of its essentials from previous sacred trends. According to the customary date most often taken, Imam Ḥasan ʿAskari, the eleventh Imam, died in 874. His death, like that of preceding Imams, gave rise to an age of commotion among the faithful, but this phase the calamity appeared even more solemn and the Imamis did not themselves waver to plea the eras that were to trail “the period of perplexity” or “confusion”. ^[22]
The cryptic destiny of the assumed son of the eleventh Imam led to numerous rifts with prominent doctrinal adjustments. Some groups claimed that his son died at a very early age, others that he had survived until a certain age and then died, and still others solely denied his very reality, considering that Ḥasan ʿAskari never had a son. Only a small minority sustained the notion that the son of the eleventh imam was alive, that he was in “occultation”, and that he was to recur as mahdi at the end of time. This idea was progressively accepted by all Imamis, who accordingly became known as “Twelvers”. Sources from this era replicate, in their specific method, the hesitation and crisis believers experienced. A close study of these sources definitely seems to display that thoughtful hesitations and serious gaps occurred concerning a significant number of vital doctrinal fundamentals that became articles of faith. ^[22]
There are many theories to about the twelve Imam. There are sources that attribute two dissimilar formations of the occultation to Mahdi. According to the first, mentioned by Ebn Bābuya, the Hidden Imam “exists in the world by his spiritual substance thanks to a subsisting essence” ^[22]
According to an another theory stated by Ebn Nadim, Abu Sahl is said to have kept that the twelfth Imam died, but covertly left behind a son as a descendant to him; the heredity of Imams would therefore be preserved in occultation from father to son until the last Imam reveals himself publicly as the Mahdi. Ultimately, none of the theories were continued, but here one distinguishes uncertain struggles to justify the notion of occultation. ^[22] Everything of this inclines to show that through this stage of development, the Imami community experienced what one might deliberate a attentive identity predicament. This “time of confusion” is one of exploratory in the dark, of study, improvement, and the more or less tender formation of dogmas related to the power and legitimacy of the twelfth Imam. These doctrines were faced with, and overpowered, much confrontation before finally standing as articles of faith.^[22]

Birth and occultation of the Mahdi

The eschatological Redeemer of Imamism is presented as Abu’l-Qāsem Moḥammad b. Ḥasan al-ʿAskari, twelfth and final among the Imams. He thus bears the identical title and konya as the Prophet, therefore satisfying the hadith that perhaps go back to ʿAṣem b. Bahdala from Kufa. It certainly owes its beginning to Moḵtār’s revolt in service of Moḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiya, son of ʿAli, who, once when he was called as Mahdi, stated that his honor entailed in bearing the same forename and konya as the Prophet . Nonetheless, it was imprudent to call the Mahdi by his title, according to a prohibition attributed to several among the imams, the intention of which was to defend the Protector from the danger modeled by the ʿAbbasid. This also mirrored doubts that evaluated upon the personality of the Mahdi. ^[22]
According to particular explanations, Mahdi’s mother, to whom numerous names are specified (Narjis, Rayḥāna, Sawsan, Maryam), was a black slave of Nubian origin; according to other interpretations, undeniably well-known and hagiographic, she was the grand-daughter of the Byzantine ruler, himself adherent of the Apostle Simon. According to this account, the Byzantine princess was taken by Muslim troops and traded as a slave in Baghdad to a man belonging to the entourage of the tenth Imam, ʿAli al-Naqi who then came to Sāmarrāʾ and presented the girl to Ḥakima, the latter’s sister. Even before her confinement, the princess had a vision of Mary, mother of Jesus, as well as of Faṭima, daughter of the Prophet Moḥammad, both of whom had requested her to convert to Islam and let herself be seized by the Muslim masses as she was intended for a magnificent life.^[22]. In Samarraʾ, the tenth Imam, having by prophecy acknowledged in her the future mother of the Mahdi, offered her in marriage to his son Ḥasan, the future eleventh Imam. Signs of the mother’s pregnancy as well as the birth of the child were astoundingly covered, since the ʿAbbasids wanted to abolish an anticipated child whom persistent gossips labeled as a Savior. The father revealed the baby to some forty close disciples, and then the child was concealed. According to numerous versions, the eleventh imam is said to have adopted a two-fold method to promise the child’s refuge. First, apart from his close circle, the Imam retained the birth of the child undisclosed, going so far as to entitle his mother, Ḥodayṯ, as his sole heir. Now, it is well-known that according to Imami law, under some circumstances the legacy belongs to the mother of the deceased when the final does not leave behind a child. Secondly, Imam Ḥasan al-ʿAskari had alternative to a trick to cloud the matter and divert attention. Sometime beforehand his death in 874, he allowed a report to spread that his servant Ṣaqil was expecting with his child. Informants of the caliph al-Moʿtamed carefully observed the activities of the Imam, who was kept under surveillance in the military camp at Sāmarrāʾ.^[22]< The Cave in Sāmarrāʾ is where the Hidden Imam is said to have arisen his occultation. Typologically, one can differentiate three groupings of stories of encounters, based on the prime dimension endorsed: a altruistic dimension in which the great kindness of the Hidden Imam towards his advocates and his worry for their comfort are stressed; an initiatory aspect in which the Imam demonstrates his followers prayers, conveys divine knowledge, and endures secrets; and lastly, an eschatological element, presented primarily by late spiritual sources, in which the happenstance encourages a believer’s specific spiritual revivification. ^[22].

The end of time and rising of the Mahdi- The “end of time” or the date of the ultimate arrival of the Hidden Imam, is unknown and followers are insisted to anticipate liberation tolerantly and virtuously. The future approaching of the Savior is the most recurrently quoted topic in prophecies made by the Prophet, Faṭima, and the Imams: complete extensive chapters are devoted to the subject in the sources. This future is foreshadowed by a number of signs. The widespread signs are the prevalent invasion of the earth by Wicked, the overpowering of knowledge by unawareness, and the loss of a intelligence of the blessed and all that associates man to God and his neighbors. These, in some degree, require the demonstration and the rising of the Qāʾem, or else mortality will be astounded by obscurity. cite “Furthermore, there are certain specific signs among which five recur more regularly and are hence justifiably called the “five signs”: (1) the coming of Sofyāni, the enemy of the Qāʾem, who will command an army in battle against the latter (2) the advent of Yamāni, who appears in the Yemen to preach support for the Qāʾem; (3) the Cry/Scream of supernatural origin, coming from the sky and calling man to defend the Imam’s cause; (4) the swallowing of an army composed of the Imam’s enemies in a desert often located between Mecca and Medina, according to a hadith most likely propagated by ʿAbd-Allāh b. Zobayr during his war propaganda against the Umayyad caliph Yazid , during the latter’s campaign against Mecca and Medina, popularized by the traditionist of Basra, Qatāda and (5) the assassination by the Meccans of the messenger to the Qāʾem, often called Nafs or al-Nafs al-Zakiya (echoing the messianic rebellion and death in 762 of the Hasanid Moḥammad b. ʿAbd-Allāh, surnamed al-Nafs al-Zakiya).” ^[22]

The Mahdi accordingly becomes visible, all the while having inexplicably kept his youth. He combats and ultimately deracinates Evil, re-establishing the world to its novel wholesome state. For this to happen, he must first retaliate the slaying of Imam Ḥosayn in order that the common of Muslims be removed of the wicked corruption that it ever committed. Furthermore, according to the eschatological guideline of rajʿa, a definite number of previous saints, fatalities of their society’s prejudice, and their oppressors originate back to life in order that the moral may take retaliation on the malicious ones. The Redeemer will so not only re-establish Islam, but all faiths, to their wholesomeness and new veracity, creating “submission to God” the worldwide religion. He will also convey knowledge to manhood by enlightening the obscure secrets of Holy Scriptures..^[22]
The whole world will be taken to submission. Powers of inequality and obliviousness will be all eliminated, the earth will be inflated with justice and wisdom, and mortality revitalized by knowledge. The Mahdi accordingly formulates the world for the last trial of the ultimate reappearance of the Last Judgment. According to some traditions, the Mahdi will be in control upon the earth for certain time , seven, nine or nineteen 7, 9, 19 years, after which ensues the death of all civilization just preceding the Judgment. Other traditions state subsequently the demise of the Qāʾem, the régime of the world will continue in the influences of the initiated for a definite period before the Day of Resurrection. .^[22]

Influence and consequences
Contrasting to Sunnism, where certainty in the Mahdi, although existing, never developed a vital article of faith, in Shiʿism in overall, and Twelver Imamism in specific, it is made a constitutive doctrine of its spiritual dogma, its dualist image of the world and more exactly, its commencement of, “place of return” or the henceforth. Throughout the course of period, Imami panegyric as well as hagiographic works devoted to the Hidden Imam tried hard to validate that the figure of the Mahdi, contemporary in Sunni hadith, mentioned to the twelfth Imam Imami urgings increased drive through the 13th century when certain great Sunni intellectuals subsidized their sustenance to the Imami doctrine of categorizing the Mahdi with the twelfth Imam: ^[22]. “the two Syrian Shafiʿite scholars Moḥammad b. Yusof Ganji in his Bayān fi aḵbār ṣāḥeb al-zamān, composed in 1250-51, and Kamāl-al-Din Moḥammad ʿAdawi Naṣibini in his Maṭāleb al-soʾul, completed in 1252, and the renowned Sebṭ Ebn al-Jawzi in his Taḏkerat al-ḵawāṣṣ. Given the dates of these authors and their works, coinciding with the arrival of the Mongols, the end of Sunni caliphal power and the increasing political influence of the Imamis, one wonders if this doctrinal reversal was not dictated by a certain opportunism. One might note in this respect that Moḥammad b. Yusof Ganji was assassinated in Damascus in 1260 for having collaborated with the Mongol conquerors. In any case, it is from this period onward that one notices, from time to time, some learned Sunnis rallying to Imami Mahdism.” .^[22]. The sensation is also manifest among Sunni sages. Already in the 11th century, Abu Bakr Bayhaqi had criticized the agreement of some Sufis regarding the documentation of the Mahdi with the last Imam of the Twelvers . Setting apart the effect of Imamism upon the eschatological hagiology of Ebn al-ʿArabi one can quote the devotee of the latter, Saʿd-al-Din Ḥammuya in his Farāʾed al-semṭayn, the Egyptian ʿAbd-al-Wahhāb Šaʿrāni in al-Yawāqit wa’l-jawāher or, more newly, the Naqšbandi master from Balkh, Solaymān Qonduzi in his Yanābiʾ al-mawadda . .^[22]

The name of Muhammad al-Mahdi as it appears in the Prophet's Mosque, Medina

The Kaaba, Mecca

In Shia Islam "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea."^[1] Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, who was born in 869 and was hidden by God at the age of five (874). He is still alive but has been in occultation, "awaiting the time that God has decreed for his return," When it comes he promised that no one who wanted happiness would be denied and no one who had believed will be left behind.

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.^[23]

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.^[24]

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.^[25][26]

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.^[27]

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.^[28]

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?^[29]

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.^[30]

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 hazrat mahdi (as) until Allah gives them leave to recognize him, just as He did with the Prophet Yusuf (as).^[31]

• Hazrat means "(His)Excellency" or His Eminence. Also AS or (as) means "To Him Peace" (Peace Upon Him)''

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.^[32]

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.^[33]

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.^[34]

The face of the Mahdi shall shine upon the surface of the Moon.^[35]

Portents[link]

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

• The vast majority of people who profess to be Muslim will be so only in name despite their practice of Islamic rites and it will be they who make war with the Mahdi.
• Before his coming will come the red death and the white death, killing two thirds of the world's population. The red death signifies violence and the white death is plague. One third of the world's population will die from the red death and the other third from the white death.
• Several figures will appear: the one-eyed Antichrist (Masih ad-Dajjal), the Sufyani and the Yamani.
• 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 from Sunni sources[link]

• Ali Ibn Abi Talib quoted Muhammad 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 Muhammad 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 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.

Hadiths on Mahdi[link]

Linage of Mahdi-

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has said: “Al-Mahdi is from my progeny; his face is like the brightly illuminated moon.” ^[36]

Biharul Anwar, Volume 51, Page 85; Kashful Ghammah

The City of Qum and the Helpers of the Imam

Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon them both) has said: “The city of Qum has been named so because its inhabitants will gather with the Qa’im from Ale Muhammad [lit. one who will rise up from the progeny of Muhammad] and will stand alongside him, will strive to be hold firm to (their belief and assistance) of him and will assist him.” ^[36]

Safinatul Bihar, Volume 2, Page 446

Women in the Imam’s Army- Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon them both) has said: “There will be thirteen women alongside al-Qa’im [when he makes his advent].”

Al-Mufadhal [the narrator of this tradition] asked the Imam: “And what will their role be?” The Imam replied: “They will treat the injured and look after the sick just as the [women did] at the time of the Messenger of Allah [during the battles].” ^[36]

Ithbatul Hudat, Volume 7, Page 150

The Most Beloved to the Prophet (‘s) The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has said: “Congratulations to the person who meets the Qa’im [one who will rise] from my Ahlul Bayt and has firm belief in him before his advent. He will have love for his friends, and will distance himself from his enemies and will have love for the leaders of guidance (the Imams) who came before him. Indeed these are my true friends, those whom I have love and affection for and (they) are the noblest of people from my nation.” ^[36]

Biharul Anwar, Volume 52, Page 129; al-Ghaybah of Shaykh Tusi

Greeting Imam al-Mahdi

A man once asked Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon both of them) how he should send his salutations upon Imam al-Qa’im (may Allah hasten his advent) and the Imam replied:

”Say: Greetings be upon you, O’ Remnants of Allah [As-Salamu ‘Alaykum Ya Baqiyatullah]!” ^[36]

Biharul Anwar, Volume 52, Page 373, Tafsir Furat ibn Ibrahim Anticipate the Advent of the Imam

Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon both of them) said: “ ... During that time (the period of the occultation), await the advent (of the Imam) every morning and evening ... ” Usul al-Kafi, Volume 1, Page 323

When Will the Time Come?

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) has said: “The appointed time (of the Day of Resurrection) will not come until the one from among us (the Ahlul Bayt) will rise with the truth and make his advent [Imam al-Mahdi], and this will take place when Allah, the Noble and Grand permits. So whoever obeys him shall be saved, and whoever goes against him will be destroyed...” ^[36]
Wasa’il ash-Shi’a, Volume 7, Page 325, hadith 6

Prepare for the Imam

Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon both of them) said: “Each one of you must prepare (your weapons) for the advent of al-Qa’im (peace be upon him), even if it be (as little as) an arrow, because when Allah the High, knows that a person has this intention, then He will give him a longer life.” ^[36]

Biharul Anwar, Volume 52, Page 366; al-Ghaybah of al-Nu’mani

How to Die while on the Path of the Imam
Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (peace be upon both of them) said: “The person from amongst you who dies while awaiting this command [the advent of Imam al-Mahdi] is like a person who was with al-Qa’im in his tent ... no rather, he would be like a person who was fighting along-side him with his sword ... no rather, by Allah, he would be like the person who attained martyrdom along-side the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).” ^[36]
Biharul Anwar, Volume 52, Page 126; al-Mahasin

The First Ranked Soldiers of the Imam Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Ali al-Baqir (peace be upon both of them) said: “ ... Indeed he (al-Mahdi) will come and I swear by Allah that there will be three hundred and ten and some odd number of men with him and among them there will be fifty women who will all gather together in Makkah (to help him) ... ” ^[36]
Biharul Anwar, Volume 52, Page 223; Tafsir of al-’Ayyashi

Islam Ahmadiyya Viewpoint[link]

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, accepted as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi in Ahmadiyya

In Islam Ahmadiyya, 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). Ahmadi Muslims believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ^[37] among others.

Ahmadi Muslims 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.^[38] 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:

Ahmadi Muslims 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 Muslim 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[link]

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,

“I find the Mahdi recorded in the books of the Prophets... For instance, the Book of Revelation says: “And I saw and behold a white horse. He that sat on him [...] went forth conquering and to conquer.”

Ibn Izzat and Arif then go on to say:

“It is clear that this man is the Mahdi who will ride the white horse and judge by the Qur’an (with justice) and with whom will be men with marks of prostration (zabiba) on their foreheads.”^[39]

People claiming to be the Mahdi[link]

Muhammad Ahmad, a Sudanese sufi sheikh, created a state, the Mahdiyah, on the basis of his claim 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 (Arabic: الباب‎ / English: the Gate) (1819–1850) from Shiraz in Iran claimed to be the Gate to Mahdi 1844. July 1848 The Báb is moved from the prison in fortress Chiriq to the Tabriz fortress as a prisoner. Last week in July 1848 he publicly declared that he is the Qa'im and Mahdi before a panel of which the 17-year-old Crown Prince Násiri'd-Din Mirzá was the president. At the same time the bábí disciples got the information about Bábs higher and messianic claims.,^[40][41] The Báb was bastioned; this was the first formal punishment He received.,^[42][43] The clergy issued a fatwa or legal pronouncement against the Báb condemning him to death for heresy, but to no purpose as the civil authorities was unwilling to take action against Him.^[44] Later he declared that he was the First Point –, 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 / Arabic: بهاء الله‎ / English: Glory of God), but also a creator of an independent religion separated from the Bahá'í faith and Islam. Both are considered creators of the Bahá'í Faith, because the Bahá'í Faith would not have occurred without the previous Babi Faith. Báb could certainly be seen as the Mahdi of the followers and Bahá'u'lláh as the returning Christ in the Glory of His Father, according to various prophecies, but the oneness of humanity, pacifism, unity of mankind world peace and world citizenship are the heart of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'u'lláh has explicitly forbidden his followers to engage in religious disputes in which a person or a group belonging to another faith become upset, insulted, or at the situation where a risk of spiritual damage exists. His son and successor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921, impressed this even more.^[45]

• 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 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.^[46]
• 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^{[dubious – discuss]}
• Diponegoro, Javanese prince during the Java War.

Mahdi coauthorship controversy[link]

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.^[47] Another paper with the same two authors was published online by Journal of Polymer Research, published by Springer Netherlands.^[48] Mr Rostami Daronkola, a former^[49] 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?"^[50] Tarbiat Modares University has protested the publication of the article, calling the act "offensive".^[49] 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".^[49]

See also[link]

Islam portal

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Historical sources[link]

• "Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salah", Sahih al-Bukhari, Dar al-Ma’aarif, pp. 160–169 
• Ja'far al-Sadiq, Al-Ghaybah (The occultation): narrations from the prophecies of al-Mahdi by Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, Mihrab Publishers 
• Bihar al-Anwar

Modern sources[link]

• Baqr al-Majlisi, Muhammad, ed. (2003), Kitab al-Ghaybat, Qom: Ansariyan Publications 
• Doi, A. R. I., "The Yoruba Mahdī", Journal of Religion in Africa 4 (2): 119–136, JSTOR 1594738 
• Glassé, Cyril, ed. (2001), "Mahdi", The new encyclopedia of Islam, Rowman Altamira, ISBN 0-7591-0190-6 
• Martin, Richard C., ed. (2004), "Mahdi", Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world, Thompson Gale 
• Momen, Moojan (1985), An introduction to Shi'i Islam, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-03531-4 
• 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 0-275-98383-8
• 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 1-930409-20-6
• "mahdī", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/358096/mahdi, retrieved 2010-07-04 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mahdi

Look up mahdi in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• 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)

Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi (ياسر قاضي), formerly known as Yasir Kazi, is an American Muslim writer and Islamic instructor for the Al-Maghrib Institute. He has written a number of books and has lectured on Islam and contemporary Muslim issues.^[2][3]

Biography[link]

Qadhi was born in Houston, Texas, to parents of Pakistani origin,^[2][4] but Qadhi has also stated that he hails from Lucknow, India.^{[citation needed]} He completed his primary and secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, graduating as valedictorian of his class. 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."^[4]

After a short stint at Dow Chemical, he went to the Islamic University of Madinah in Madinah, Saudi Arabia to attain a bachelor's degree in Arabic from the university's College of Hadith and Islamic Sciences and a master's degree in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah.^[4][3][2]

He returned to the United States in 2005 after nearly ten years in Saudi Arabia.^[4] As of April 2012, he teaches 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.^[2][3]

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.^[4]

Activities[link]

Qadhi was recently featured in a front-page NY Times Magazine article by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott^[5] shedding light on Qadhi's activities and biography.

He is the Dean of Academic Affairs and an instructor for the AlMaghrib Institute,^[3] a double weekend-based seminar that he and other American Muslims instructors run. The instructors travel to designated locations in the US, UK and Canada (and more recently, Malaysia) to teach Islamic studies in English.^[4] 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 UK, 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. Qadhi appeared on PBS' TV series "Finding Your Roots" in an episode that premiered on April 15, 2012. The episode highlighted his family's migration to America, his geneological history, and the presence of Muslims in America. During the episode, it was revealed to Qadhi that he shares a common ancestor with Barbara Walters and that he is related to Ashkenazi Jews.^[1]

Holocaust remarks and subsequent revisionism[link]

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".^[6] The telegraph also reported that Qadhi later retracted his statements, stating that he had been misled.^[6] Faced with the charges, Qadhi, acknowledging that he had briefly held mistaken beliefs about the Holocaust, wrote that even in the 2001 lecture he did not deny "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". 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."^[7]

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.^[8]

Controversy[link]

Qadhi attempted to unite various Muslim groups in North America via a document entitled Pledge of Mutual Respect and Cooperation. This was met with censure by erstwhile professors at the Islamic University of Madinah, who criticized his methodology.^[9] He faced criticism for collaborating with the members of mystical sufi sects, though Qadhi considered the collaboration to be for the greater good of Muslims in North America. Qadhi has promulgated the notion of re-interpreting aspects of Islamic law to fit the current times.^[10] Qadhi has been criticized by conservative Muslim scholars such as Muhammad al Madkhalee for taking a pluralistic and accommodating stance.^[11] In an apparent nod to liberal Islam, Qadhi has allegedly shaken CNN journalist Mona Eltahawy's hand.^[12]

Views on Jihad[link]

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 an early militant movement in modern Saudi Arabia headed by Juhayman al-Otaibi. The movement had gained international attention when it held the Grand Mosque of Mecca hostage in 1979.^[13] 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.^[14] The paper has been critiqued, however, by Salafi commentators.^[15] Qadhi has been involved in de-radicalization efforts in the US, and was a participant in the U.S. Counter-Radicalization Strategy conference organized by the National Counterterrorism Center in the summer of 2008.^[16]

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.^[17] 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.".^[16] Qadhi recalled speaking to Abdulmutallab, and remembered that he was "very reserved in his responses."^[16] Abdulmutallab also attended two seminars organized by the AlMaghrib Institute in London in the months before the event in Houston. After the Houston event, Qadhi added, Abdulmutallab did not sign up for further AlMaghrib events, perhaps an indication that extremist ideas were beginning to influence him.^[16]

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.^[18] His name has since been cleared from that list.

Works[link]

Books authored or co-authored[link]

• 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[link]

• Islam in the United States
• List of Da'ees
• Dawah

References[link]

External links[link]

• 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

Abu Usamah at-Thahabi (born March 10, 1964) is an Imam at Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham, England.

History[link]

Abu Usamah, Khalifah At-Thahabi, born Frankie Lipscomb, was born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey, the third eldest of four children. His siblings names include Kimberly, Sylvia, and also Daryl.

He reverted to Islam in 1986, and applied to attend the University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia, an Islamic school popular with reverts and international students. He attended the university for eight years where he graduated from the College of Da'wah and Usool-ad-Din. There he completed his BSc in Usool-Ul-Deen(theology) and learned the Arabic language. After his graduation from the University, Abu Usamah went to teach in the UK before returning to the US in 1996 in order to pursue his first position of Imam in Orlando, Florida. He was an imam at mosques in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Peoria. Abu Usamah is very engaged in the Islamic community. He has also be immensely active in the giving of da'wah within the Islamic community.

References[link]

Muhammad Al-Mahdī Imam of Twelver Shi'a Islam
The name of the current Imām as it appears in Masjid Nabawi A modern depiction by a Shi'a artist
Rank	12th Twelver Imām
Name	Muhammad ibn Hasan
Kunya	Abū al-Qāsim[1]
Birth	15 Sha‘bān 255 AH ≈ 29 July 869 C.E.[1]
Death	n/a - in Occultation (941 C.E.)
Birthplace	Sāmarrā', Iraq.[1]
Buried	n/a - in Occultation[1]
Life Duration	Before Imāmate: 5 years (255 - 260 AH) Imāmate: Occultation (260 AH - present) - Minor Occultation: 70 years (260 - 329 AH) - Major Occultaion: ??? (329 AH - present)
Titles	al-Mahdī[1] (Arabic for Guided One) al-Qā'im[1] (Arabic for One who Rises) al-Hujjah[1] (Arabic for The Proof) Sāhib az-Zamān[1] (Arabic for Master of the Era) al-Muntadhar[2] (Arabic for The Awaited One) Hujjatullāh (Arabic for Proof of Allah) al-Ghā'ib[1] (Arabic for The Unseen One) Sāhib al-Amr[1] (Arabic for Master of Command) Imām al-‘Asr[3] (Arabic for Imām of the Age) Onikinci Ali (Turkish for Twelfth Ali)
Father	Hasan al-‘Askarī
Mother	Narjis[4]
Ali · Hasan · Husayn al-Sajjad · al-Baqir · al-Sadiq al-Kadhim · al-Rida · al-Taqi al-Hadi · al-Askari · al-Mahdi

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī (Arabic:محمد بن الحسن المهدي) (born c. July 29, 869 (15 Sha‘bān 255 AH), in Occultation since 941) 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 in 941 (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.

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.

Birth and early life according to Twelver Shi'a[link]

In the biographies of Mahdi written by Shias 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.^[5] Aside from Shi'as works almost nothing is known about the life of this Imam.^[6] According to Yaan Richard some even cast doubt on his actual existence.^[6]

Even though, most scholars say Al Mahdi was born in 869 AD. His mother is Narjis.^[4] There are a couple of narrations regarding the origin of his mother. One is that his mother, Narjis was a Byzantine slave.^[4] 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.^[7] Other narration says that she was a Byzantine Princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia.^[8][9] Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, in Encyclopedia of Iranica, suggests that the last version is "undoubtedly legendary and hagiographic".^[7]

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."^[10]

The eleventh Imam of the Twelve Imams Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi' al-awwal, 260 AH)^[11] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Significance of the Twelfth Imam[link]

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.

In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,

The Occultation[link]

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

Period[link]

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 ALLAH, when the Mahdi will reappear to bring absolute justice to the world.

Minor Occultation[link]

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 Imams of the Twelve 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:

1. Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Asadi
2. Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Uthman
3. Abul Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti
4. 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[link]

The name of Imam as it appears in Masjid Nabawi

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."^{[citation needed]} 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."^[14]

Reappearance[link]

Twelver Shi'as cite various references from the Qur'an and reports, or Hadith, from Imam Mahdi and the Twelve 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.^[15]

Titles[link]

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])

Sunni view[link]

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.^[16] 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:

Our Mahdi will have a broad forehead and a pointed (prominent) nose. He will fill the earth with justice as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will rule for seven years

—Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, ^[17]

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.'"^[18]

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

Umm Salamah said:

I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "The Mahdi is of my lineage and family"

—Umm Salamah, ^[19]

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:

The Messenger of Allah said: "He is one of us"

—Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, ^[20]

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[link]

Some scholars, including Bernard Lewis^[21] 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).

On causes of development occultation doctrine among Shi'as, Yaan Richard suggests, "the last Imams were confronted a difficult situation: theoretical claimants to power, politically important, backed by discontented supporters of Omayyad and Abbasid caliphs, taking refuge in an esoteric justification of their quietism, the Immam were embarrassment to everyone. When they were physically present, they gave the lie to certain of the allegations made about them by Shiites. When they were absent, their eschatological "efficacy" could no longer be questioned and the desire for a return of their reign of justice became almost at reality. The occultation is therefore a convenient solution".^[6]

Consequence of occultation of Twelfth Imam[link]

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 the right to handle Shia communities issues, this system was not continued during the Greater Occultation.^[22] 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.^[22] This problem has caused continuing tension between government and religion throughout the Shia's history.^[22]

See also[link]

Notes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 2004. pp. 159. 
2. ^ al-Qurashi, Baqir Shareef (2006). The Life of Imam al-Mahdi. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. pp. 40. 
3. ^ A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 2004. pp. 160. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Sachedina, Abdulaziz (1981). Islamic Messianism. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press. pp. 72–74, 78. ISBN 87395-485-0. 
5. ^ (Sachedina 1981, p. 70)
6. ^ ^{a b c} Richard, Yaan (1995). Shi'ite Islam. Oxford UK, Cambridge USA: Blackwell. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali. "ISLAM IN IRAN vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM". Encyclopedia iranica. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/islam-in-iran-vii-the-concept-of-mahdi-in-twelver-shiism. Retrieved 2011-07-24. 
8. ^ The Expected Mahdi
9. ^ Online Islamic Courses
10. ^ Ikmal of Al­Saduq
11. ^ The Imams
12. ^ Sahih Bukhari 89.329
13. ^ |Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74–75.
14. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.199
15. ^ Sahih Muslim, bab nuzul 'isa, Vol. 2; Sahih Bukhari, kitab bad' al-khalq wa nuzul 'isa, Vol. 4
16. ^ Al-Mahdi
17. ^ Abu Dawud, Sahih, Vol. 2, p. 208; Fusul al-muhimma, p. 275
18. ^ Muhammad Baqir Al-Majlisi (2003). Hassan Allahyari. ed. The book of occultation (Kitab Al-Ghaibah; Bihar Al-Anwar, Volume 51) (1st ed.). Qum: Ansariyan Publication. p. 140 (Tradition XI). ISBN 964-438-478-4. http://maaref-foundation.com/english/index.htm. 
19. ^ Sunan Abu Dawud, 11/373; Sunan Ibn Maajah, 2/1368
20. ^ Reported by Abi Na’eem in Akhbaar al-Mahdi, see al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 5/219, hadith 5796
21. ^ The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam, Bernard Lewis, pp. 23, 35, 49.
22. ^ ^{a b c} Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press. pp. 170. ISBN 978-0-300-03531-5. 

References[link]

• 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[link]

• al-Qarashi, Baqir Sharif (2006). The Life of Imam Al-Mahdi, translated by Syed Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi. Ansariyan Publications. ISBN 964-438-806-2. 
• al-Sadr, Muhammad Baqir (1983). Awaited Saviour. Imam Al Khoei Islamic. ISBN 0-686-90398-6. 
• Amini, Ibrahim (1996). Al-Imam Al-Mahdi: The Just Leader of Humanity, translated by Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina. Islamic Education and Information Center. ISBN 0-9680717-0-8. 
• Corbin, Henry (1993). History of Islamic Philosophy, translated by Liadain Sherrard and Philip Sherrard. Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 0-7103-0416-1. 
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background. Routledge. ISBN 0-7103-0158-8. 
• Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Hamid Dabashi (1989). Expectation of the Millennium: Shiʻism in History. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-88706-843-X. 
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdī in Twelver Shīʻism. Suny press. ISBN 0-87395-442-4. 
• Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn; Seyyed Hossein Nasr (translator) (1979). Shi'ite Islam. Suny press. ISBN 0-87395-272-3. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Muhammad al-Mahdī

• 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'
• [1] Unravelling lies from people about Imam Muhammad Mahdi
• MISC. Information on Sunni & Shia Documentation about Imam Mehdi

Adnan Oktar
Born	Adnan Oktar 1956 (age 55–56) Ankara, Turkey
Residence	Turkey
Other names	Harun Yahya, Adnan Hoca
Occupation	Author
Known for	Islamic creationism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-Masonry
Religion	Sunni Muslim
Website
www.harunyahya.com

Adnan Oktar (born 1956), also known as Harun Yahya,^[1] is an author and Islamic creationist.^[2] In 2007, he sent thousands of unsolicited copies of his book, Atlas of Creation^[3], which advocates Islamic creationism, to American scientists, members of Congress, and science museums.^[4] Oktar runs two organizations of which he is also the Honorary President: Bilim Araştırma Vakfı ("Science Research Foundation", BAV, established 1990), which promotes creationism and Milli Değerleri Koruma Vakfı ("Foundation to Protect National Values", established 1995) which claimed to promote Turkish nationalism.^[5] In the last two decades, Oktar has been involved in a number of legal cases, both as defendant and plaintiff.

Biography[link]

Adnan Oktar was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1956. He grew up in Ankara, and lived there through his high school years where he studied the works of Islamic scholars like Said Nursi,^[6][7] a Muslim Kurdish scholar who wrote Risale-i Nur, an extensive Qur'anic commentary which includes a comprehensive political and religious ideology.^[8]

In 1979, Adnan Oktar came to Istanbul and entered Mimar Sinan University.^[9] These years were marked with violence and repression which led to the installation of a military junta following the coup of September 1980. The environment in Turkey was one of political and cultural instability, threatened by Cold War politics, and a clash between Kemalist secular modernisers and a rising tide of Islamic militancy.^[7] In this environment he regularly went to the Molla Mosque in Fındıklı locality, close to the academy of fine arts where he studied interior architecture,^[10][11] to pray regardless of threats.^[9] Edip Yuksel, who knew him during those years, described him as a "Sunni zealot."^[6]

In the early 1980s, he gathered young students around him to share his views of Islam. These students belonged to socially-active and prosperous families of Istanbul.^[6] From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20 to 30 was formed. They were joined by private high school students who were from socially active and well-known families with a high economic status who had become newly religious.^[9] Edip Yüksel said he presented his teachings "gently and in a modern fashion to the children of the privileged class, without intimidating them... a refined and urbanized version of Said Nursi."^[6]

In his religious teachings, he argued against Marxism, communism and materialistic philosophy. He attached special importance to refuting the Theory of Evolution and Darwinism^[12] because he felt that it had been turned into an ideology used to promote materialism and atheism, and numerous derivative ideologies. He personally funded a pamphlet entitled the Theory of Evolution^[9] which combined "mysticism with scientific rhetoric."^[6][7]

In 1986 he enrolled in the Philosophy Department of Istanbul University. Adnan Oktar appeared as the cover story of Nokta (The Point) magazine, reporting how he gathered with his friends and held lectures in a mosque. Many university students, mostly from Bosphorus University, one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, started to participate. Adnan Oktar's name began to appear regularly in the press, sometimes in the headlines. Later that year he published a book titled Judaism and Freemasonry based on conspiracy theories that state offices, universities, political groups and media were influenced by a "hidden group".^[9] Adnan Oktar later qualified those remarks. (see "Conspiracy Theories" below)

Oktar was arrested, charged with promoting a theocratic revolution for which he served 19 months, though he was never formally charged.^[6][7] In 1986, Oktar spent 10 months in a mental hospital, but he complains that he was not mentally ill but a political "prisoner" who was punished because of the publication of his book, Freemasonry and Judaism.^[11][13]

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Oktar built up his community. His followers were especially active recruiting in the summer resorts along the shore of the Sea of Marmara. The social organization within the group become more hierarchical and took on a Messianic nature.^[7] Oktar says that due to the anarchy and terror in those years, he was unable to continue his studies. He had already begun working on his books, so when he left school he devoted his energy to his books.^[14]

In 1990, he founded the Science Research Foundation (SRF, or, in Turkish, Bilim Araştırma Vakfı, or BAV). Oktar founded the Science Research Foundation to hold conferences and seminars for scientific activities "that target mass awareness concerning what the real underlying causes of social and political conflicts are",^[15] which he describes to be materialism and Darwinism, though some media describe the BAV as "a secretive Islamic sect"^[16] and "cult-like organization, that jealously guards the secrets of its considerable wealth".^[17] Members of the BAV are sometimes referred to as Adnan Hocacılar ("Adherents of Adnan the Hodja") by the public^[18]

In 1994 the Islamist Welfare Party (Refah Partisi), the predecessor of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), won control of the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara. The new mayors (in Istanbul this was Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, now Turkey’s Prime Minister) sought broader support. The journalist and editor Fatih Altayli claimed that Oktar made business agreements with municipalities under the control of the Welfare party. This claim was denied by Oktar, and resulted in libel suits against Fatih Altayli with various results.^[7]

In 1995, Adnan Oktar founded Foundation for Protection of National Values (FPNV or in Turkish Millî Değerleri Koruma Vakfı), through which he networks with other conservative Turkish nationalist organizations and individuals based on the ideology of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey.^[7]

In 1997, after another military intervention, the “bloodless coup” of 1997, the government of Erbakan stepped down and the Welfare Party disbanded. According to the New Humanist, the current AKP government avoids political connections with Oktar and his organization.^[7]

In September 1999 Adnan Oktar was arrested and charged with using threats for personal benefit and creating an organization with the intent to commit a crime (see "Legal issues" below).^[19] After a court case lasting two years the charges were dismissed.

After 11 September 2001 and the WTC attacks, Oktar published a book called Islam Denounces Terrorism. Oktar spoke more of interfaith dialogue, attempting to unify believers of all stripes. Muslims, Christians and Jews should unite against the corrupting influence of Darwinism, which he held responsible for fascism, anti-Semitism and the holocaust.^[7]

Between that time and present, BAV has organized hundreds of conferences on creationism in Turkey^[20][21] and worldwide.^[22][23] He built a large publishing enterprise^[24] with publications sold though Islamic bookstore worldwide.^[25] He is considered "one of the most widely distributed authors in the Muslim world".^[25] His television show is viewed by many in the Arab world.^[26] Adnan Oktar has been preaching about the “Turkish-Islamic Union”, which would bring peace to the entire Muslim world under the leadership of Turkey.^[7]

In 2007 he sent out thousands of unsolicited copies of his Atlas of Creation advocating Islam and creationism to schools and colleges in several European countries and the USA.^[4]

The next year the 1999 case was reopened by another court (see "Legal issues" below). Adnan Oktar was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.^[19] But the verdict was appealed and in May 2010 it was overturned. During these years he engaged in numerous libel suits with various results (See "Legal Issues" below). In some cases he was successful in blocking high-profile websites in Turkey for slander (See "Blocking Internet Sites" below), including that of Richard Dawkins, as well as the complete Wordpress-site.

In 2010, Adnan Oktar was selected as one of the top fifty of The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan for his dissemination of creationism in an Islamic context, and other extensively distributed publications on Islamic topics.^[27]

Writings[link]

Oktar has written numerous books under the pen name Harun Yahya. "Harun" refers to the biblical Aaron and "Yahya" refers to the New Testament John the Baptist.

Oktar's books on faith-related topics attempt to communicate the existence and oneness of God (Allah in the Qur'an) according to the Islamic faith, and are written with the main purpose of introducing Islam to those who are strangers to religion. Each of his books on science-related topics stresses his views on the might, sublimity, and majesty of God. These books attempt to display for non-Muslims what Oktar claims to be signs of the existence of God, and the excellence of his creation. A sub-group within this series are the series of "Books Demolishing the Lie of Evolution", a critique of the ideas of materialism, evolution, Darwinism, and atheism.

These publications argue against evolution. They assert that evolution denies the existence of God, abolishes moral values, and promotes materialism and communism.^[28] Oktar argues that Darwinism, by stressing the "survival of the fittest", has inspired racism, Nazism, communism and terrorism. A claim not unexpected in Turkey when during the political turmoil before a 1980 military coup, communist bookshops touted Darwin's works as a complement to Karl Marx.^[29]

Truman State University physicist Taner Edis, who was born in Turkey, says the secret to BAV's success is the huge popularity of the Harun Yahya books. "They're fairly lavishly produced, on good-quality paper with full-color illustrations all over the place," he says. "They're trying to compete with any sort of science publication you can find in the Western world. And in a place like Turkey, Yahya books look considerably better-published than most scientific publications.".^[30] Many of Oktar's books have been made into high-resolution videos which are freely downloadable on the Internet.^[31]

Creationism[link]

The spread of organized Christian creationism to Islam began in the 1980s, when the Muslim minister of education in Turkey turned to the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), a Christian institution then located near San Diego, California, for help in developing twofold curriculum that would teach evolution and creation side by side.

In 1990, the Science Research Foundation (BAV in Turkish) was formed in Istanbul, headed by Oktar.^[32]

Oktar for many years drew on the writings of young earth Christian creationists to develop his case against evolution. However, Islam does not require belief in Young Earth creationism, and making use of the fact that earth may have existed for billions of years, Oktar later produced material which was more similar to Intelligent Design. So similar in fact, that Harun Yahya's website was listed as an 'Islamic intelligent design' website by the Discovery Institute.^[32] However Oktar does not embrace use of the term 'Intelligent Design' due to its lack of specific mention of God, calling it 'another of Satan's snares'.^{[32] [33]}

In early 1998, the BAV launched its first campaign against evolution and Darwinism.^[7] Thousands of free copies of Adnan Oktar's book, The Evolution Deceit, and the booklets based on this book were distributed throughout Turkey.^[34] They regularly ran full-page ads against evolution in daily Turkish newspapers and even ran an ad in the U.S. magazine TIME.^[5] The funding of the campaigns is unknown.^[11] BAV spearheaded an effort to confront Turkish academics who taught evolutionary biology^[35] A number of faculty members were harassed, threatened and slandered in fliers, leading to legal action against BAV (see "Legal Issues" below).

In 2005, Professor Ümit Sayın summed up the effect of the BAV's campaign when he said to The Pitch:^[30]

In 1998, I was able to motivate six members of the Turkish Academy of Sciences to speak out against the creationist movement. Today, it's impossible to motivate anyone. They're afraid they'll be attacked by the radical Islamists and the BAV.

In September 2008 Oktar issued a challenge offering "10 trillion Turkish lira to anyone who produces a single intermediate-form fossil demonstrating evolution". He has claimed, "Not one [fossil] belongs to strange-looking creatures in the course of development of the kind supposed by evolutionists." Dr Kevin Padian at the University of California has criticized the notion that such fossils do not exist, stating that Oktar "does not have any sense of what we know about how things change through time. If he sees a fossil crab, he says, 'It looks just like a regular crab, there's no evolution.'"^[36]

However, the reaction of scientific community is negative and dismissive.

Taner Edis has said "there is nothing new in the Yahya material: scientifically negligible arguments and outright distortions often copied from Christian anti-evolution literature, presented with a conservative Muslim emphasis" concluding it "has no scholarly standing whatsoever".^[37] According to Richard Dawkins, Oktar "doesn't know anything about zoology, doesn't know anything about biology. He knows nothing about what he is attempting to refute".^[11]

In France, scientists spoke out against the book, and American scientists are unimpressed.^[38]

The Atlas of Creation[link]

Cover of the English edition of volume 1 of The Atlas of Creation (Global Publishing, Istanbul, 2006)

Oktar published volume 1 of his Yaratılış Atlası (The Atlas of Creation), with Global Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey in October 2006.^[39] Volumes 2 and 3 followed in 2007. A dedicated website (yaratilisatlasi.com, English atlasofcreation.com) registered to Global Yayıncılık (Global Publishing), Istanbul, went online also in 2007.

At 11 x 17 inches and 12 pounds, with a bright red cover and almost 800 glossy pages, most of them lavishly illustrated, “Atlas of Creation” is according the New York Times "probably the largest and most beautiful creationist challenge yet to Darwin’s theory, which Mr. Yahya calls a feeble and perverted ideology contradicted by the Koran".^[4] Tens of thousands of copies of the book have been delivered, on an unsolicited basis, to schools, prominent researchers and research institutes throughout Europe and the United States.^[4][40]

Biologist Kevin Padian from University of California, Berkeley, said that people who had received copies were “just astounded at its size and production values and equally astonished at what a load of crap it is." adding that "[Oktar] does not really have any sense of what we know about how things change through time.”^[4]

Gerdien de Jong, one of five biologists at Utrecht University who received a copy of the book, has described its reasoning as "absurdly ridiculous".^[41]

Biologist PZ Myers wrote: "The general pattern of the book is repetitious and predictable: the book shows a picture of a fossil and a photo of a living animal, and declares that they haven't changed a bit, therefore evolution is false. Over and over. It gets old fast, and it's usually wrong (they have changed!) and the photography, while lovely, is entirely stolen."^[42]

The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wrote in a report that "None of the arguments in this work are based on any scientific evidence, and the book appears more like a primitive theological treatise than the scientific refutation of the theory of evolution."^[43]

Conspiracy theories[link]

Oktar propagates a number of conspiracy theories, beginning with his 1986 Yahudilik ve Masonluk (Judaism and Freemasonry). The book suggests that the principal mission of Jews and Freemasons in Turkey was to erode the spiritual, religious, and moral values of the Turkish people and, thus, make them like animals, as stated in what Oktar refers to as their use of "Distorted Torah."^[9][44] Oktar asserts that "the materialist standpoint, evolution theory, anti-religious and immoral lifestyles were indoctrinated to the society as a whole" by Jews and Freemasons.^[9]

Oktar's theory of a global conspiracy of Freemasonry is expounded in his book Global Masonluk (English Global Freemasonry) and on his websites Masonluk^[45] and Global Freemasonry.^[46] According to Oktar, Freemasonry is "the main architect of the world system based on materialist philosophy, but which keeps that true identity concealed."^[46] Oktar claims that the theory of evolution is a Masonic conspiracy initiated by the Rosicrucians.

Oktar's recent publications declare Darwinism and Materialism to be conspiracies responsible for anti-semitism and terrorism.^[7][47] In recent publications and interviews (since 2004^[48]), Oktar qualifies his condemnations of Zionism and Freemasonry by adding the word atheist before them, as in atheist Zionists^[49] and atheist Freemasons.^[50]

Holocaust Denial and Affirmation[link]

In 1996, BAV distributed its first book, originally published the previous year, entitled Soykırım Yalanı (The Holocaust Lie).^[51][52] The publication of Soykırım Yalanı sparked much public debate.^[53] This book claims that "what is presented as Holocaust is the death of some Jews due to the typhus plague during the war and the famine towards the end of the war caused by the defeat of the Germans."^[54]