Mahdi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Beliefs |
|
Allah – Oneness of God |
| Practices |
| History & Leaders |
|
Muslim history |
| Texts & Laws |
| Major branches |
| Culture & Society |
|
Academics • Art • Philosophy |
| See also |
In Islamic eschatology the Mahdi (مهدي transliteration: Mahdī, also Mehdi; "Guided One") is the prophesied redeemer of Islam. The advent of Mahdi is a universally accepted concept in Islam, though there are basic differences among different sects of Muslims about the timing and nature of his advent and guidance. Muslims believe that the Mahdi will change the world into a perfect and just Islamic society alongside Jesus before Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection" or "Day of the Standing"). The "hdi" of "Mahdi" refers to the Arabic root "هدی" which means "to guide".
The exact nature of the Mahdi differs according to Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. For a more in-depth Shi'a account of the Mahdi, see Muhammad al-Mahdi.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The idea of a man who would arise to right the injustices in the world of Islam has been widely held and collections of hadiths include ample references to the Mahdi.
The Shia Muslims seem to claim better knowledge of who the Mahdi is - as they believe he is their 12th Imam appointed by Allah, and mentioned many times by the Prophet of Islam. One hadith from the famous Shia book (Kitab Al-Kafi) it contains a conversation between the first Shia Imam; Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata.
"Once I went to see Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (peace be upon him and his family) and found him thinking and drawing lines on the ground. I then said, "O Amir al-Mu’minin (commander of the faithful) I can see you thinking and drawing lines on the ground. Have you become interested in the worldly things?" He (peace be upon him) replied: "No, by Allah, I have not become interested in it and the whole world not even for a day; but I thought about a baby from my descendants, the eleventh generation (i.e. 11 Imams after himself - being the 12th Imam). He will be Imam Al-Mahdi who will fill the earth with justice and fairness after it has been filled with suffering and injustice. He will disappear from the public sight and in confusing conditions. Certain people will deviate and others find the path of guidance." al-Asbagh then asked, "O Amir al-Mu’minin (commander of the faithful), how long will the duration of confusion and the disappearance be?" Imam Ali replied, "Six days or six months or six years." al-Asbagh then asked: "Will this really come to pass?" Imam Ali replied: "Yes, just as his (Al-Mahdi's) creation will be necessary (so will his disappearance be necessary). However, O Asbagh, this is not your concern. Those people will be of the best in this nation, with the best virtuous ones of this family (of the Prophet)." al-Asbagh then asked: "What then will happen afterwards?" Imam Ali replied: "Allah will do whatever He wills or decides. He possesses change of plan (Bada’s), wills, goals and ends."
( Reference: [1] - see also: [2] - and - [3] )
In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,[citation needed],
Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God (Arabic:Allah) will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.
― Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74 – 75.
The Mahdi, according to majority Sunni and Shi'ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Jesus against the Dajjal, the Antichrist.
However, like most religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi. Also, as Mahdiism is closely related to the leadership of the whole Muslims (Ummah) and widely accepted by them, it has had the potential to be abused as some leaders of secularly focused politico-religious movements in the name of Islam who have claimed to be the Mahdi.
According to Sunni beliefs, the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman.
The Shi'a belief is that Mahdi has been alive and in occultation for 1200 years and is eleven generations down from Muhammad - i.e. the twelfth Shi'a Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.
All Sunni and Shi'as believe that Isa (Jesus) will also come when Mahdi does and that Mahdi will lead the people and Isa in prayer.
[edit] Characteristics of the Mahdi
[edit] Shia sources
- His name is generally accepted to be ???, just like Muhammad's full name. Muhammad is just a title. Muhammad literally means "praised one".
- Some Muslims claim that his name can be an accepted variant of Muhammad such as Ahmed or Mahmoud; Supporters of this idea quote a passage from Muhammad in the Hadith which is interpreted: "If there remains only a day for the world to come to an end, Allah will prolong this day till He raises a man from my nation and my progeny. His name will be my name. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it would have fraught with injustice and oppression." (Muntakhabul Asar by Lutfullah Safi Gulpaygani, p. 153)
- His appearance is similar to that of Muhammad.
- His character is like that of Muhammad, he would follow him perfectly and shall err not.
- Walī al-‘Aṣr (Arabic: ولي العصر), meaning 'Guardian of the Era', is a title for the Mahdi.
[edit] Sunni sources
- He has a fair complexion.
- He has a broad forehead and a prominent nose.
- He will be from Ahl-ul-bayt (people of the household of Muhammad)* Muhammad said: "al-Mahdi is one of us, the members of the household (Ahlul-Bayt)."
- He will come from the East (i.e East of Arabian Peninsula).
- His majority followers will be from a poor Nation from the East.
- His majority followers will be from the Muslims belonging to the Lost Tribes of Israel or the family of Prophet Ishaq living in the East.
[edit] Signs indicating the emergence of the Mahdi
[edit] Shi'a sources
- According to Shia sources no one can detemine the time of Imam Mahdi's emergence (Not even himself). Only Allah knows the exact time and whoever determines any specific time is a liar (Kamal ul-din, p 484, Hadith #4). Nevertheless, there are some signs for his emergence, most of which are not necessary conditions for his reappearance.
- The 6th Shi'a Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, is reported to have said:
- "Before the appearance of the one who will rise, peace be upon him, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky. It will swallow up Baghdad, and will swallow up Kufa. Their blood will be shed and houses destroyed. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they shall have no rest."
- There will be an insurgence by the Sufyani, a descendant of Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan is considered by Shias to have been one of Muhammad's worst enemies, along with his son, Muawiya I and Muawiya's son, Yazid. According to Shia narrations, the Sufyani's revolution will start from Palestine/Jordan, and his reign of tyranny will span the Middle East from Iraq to Egypt.
- A loud call from the sky signals the Mahdi's appearance.
[edit] Emergence of the Mahdi
[edit] Sunni sources
- A prophetic tradition says that he is born between Mecca and Medina
- He emerges during the last days of the world from Mecca
- He comes with Divine Power that no mortal can oppose
- He and Isa (ie. Jesus) are two different individuals; This so accepted by consensus of earlier scholars, although it counters the prophetic tradition presented by famous Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun. He quotes Anas ibn Malik that Muhammad said, "لا مهدي إلا عيسى بن مريم," literally meaning, "There is no Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary."
- He precedes the second appearance of Jesus
- He establishes justice, peace and truth throughout the land (or World: the Arabic word "الأرض", pronounced al-ardh, does not necessarily refer to the World, but from its basic meaning, 'land', could mean one country or even just a region.)
- Jesus defeats the Deceiving Messiah or Antichrist, known as al-Masih ad-Dajjal, and then destroy the crucifix and kill the pig (destroying the symbols of prodigality).
- Once the Deceiving Messiah is defeated, Jesus and the Mahdi live on Earth to live out their natural life
- The Mahdi will correct the false or corrupted practices in Islam and through him all Muslims will agree and come together. Jesus will likewise correct false practices done in his name (i.e. Christianity).
- Some scholars also established Jesus would be praying behind the Mahdi.
- Before his coming, a third of the world will die in a war, another third will die in famine and sickness caused by this great war and only a third will survive.
[edit] Shi'a sources
- He was born in Samarra in the year 255 AH at the dawn of 15th Shaban.
- Upon his emergence, the young among his followers, without any prior appointment, reach Mecca that very night
- Each of his soldiers has the power of forty strong men
- Sinful opposers call their own followers to fight
- A large number of non-believers will revert to Islam once they see that the signs in the reports have occurred
[edit] Battles of the Mahdi
1. The Mahdi will be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. It is said he will have appearance and clothes like the Bani-Israel (Children of Israel) but will have the complexion of an Arab. He will be from the Hejaz region.
2. His army will come from the East of Arabia in the lands of Ancient Khurasan with black flags.
3. Muslims from the East from the family of Prophet Ishaq (Isaq) will unite under him.(The Muslims from the Lost Tribes of Israel will be his main followers as Ishaq is father of Israel)
4. Will come under attack from Iraq, Syria, and Rome.
5. The attackers will be swallowed in the desert in the land between Mecca and Medina.
6. The gates of Constantinople will open and the land will surrender to him by his army of seventy thousand people from the Bani Ishaq (i.e Children of Prophet Ishaq )
7. Will establish a just rule in the land of Israel and will give wealth away freely without counting it.
[edit] Claims of being the Mahdi
There have been several personalities over time who have considered themselves the Mahdi prophesied in Islam. Similar to the notion of a Messiah in the Judeo-Christian religions, the notion of a Mahdi as a redeemer to establish a society has lent itself to various interpretations leading to different claims within minorities or by individuals within Islam.
The first historical recorded reference to a movement using the name of Mahdi is al-Mukhtar's rebellion against the Umayyid Caliphate in 686, almost 50 years after Muhammad's death. Al-Mukhtar claimed that Ibn al-Hanifiya, a son of the fourth Caliph Ali (the first Imam of Shi'ite), was the Mahdi who would save the Muslim people from the unjust rule of the Umayyids. Ibn al-Hanifiya was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.
A list and a summary of known claimants is given on its own page.
[edit] Divergent views among Sunnis
The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis, with the claim being denied notably by both the Ahle Quran and notable Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama clerics. The Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order, under the leadership of Shaikh Hisham Kabbani of Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), is among the Sunnis who strongly believes the coming of Imam Mahdi in this 21st Century is imminent. Shaikh Hisham has written a book "The Approach of Armageddon" that touches much on this subject. Most Sunni-Sufi Orders, if not all, do not dispute the coming of Imam Mahdi.
[edit] The Mahdi in fiction
Many authors have used the concept of the Mahdi in fictional stories. Perhaps the best known is Frank Herbert, whose Dune science fiction novels centered on the character of Paul Atreides, who was proclaimed by his followers, the Fremen, to be the Mahdi. Paul's Fremen name, "Muad'Dib", means "teacher of adāb (manners and respect)" in Arabic, although within the novel it is a word in the Fremen language of Chakobsa, and is the name of a kind of desert mouse.
In The Wheel of Time fictional world, the Tinker people are divided into travelling bands each led by a mahdi, which is translated as "seeker". The Tinkers are of the same ethnicity as the Aiel, a Fremen-like desert-dwelling people. One of the Aiel warrior societies is the Duadhe Mahdi'in, meaning "Water Seekers."
The Mahdi claimant Muhammad Ahmad plays a central role in Wilbur Smith's book The Triumph of the Sun, a story of an English family during the Mahdi's siege of Khartoum in 1884.
[edit] See also
- [[4]]
- Hadith of Jesus praying behind Mahdi
- Mahdaviat
- Dajjal
- People claiming to be the Mahdi
- Traditions about Mahdi
- Al-Qa'im (the Shi'a expectations)
- List of Islamic terms in Arabic
- Islamic eschatology
- Mahdi Army
- return of mahdi and iran
[edit] External links
[edit] Sunni view
- Six Signs of the Army of Mahdi
- Mahdi,Jesus and The Lost tribes of Israel
- Coming of Imam Mehdi and the Return of Hadhrat `Isaa
- Jesus Christ the Son of Mary and His Most Blessed Mother
- The Mahdi and the End Times
- Imam Mahdi
- THE COMING OUT OF THE AWAITED DESCENDENT OF FATIMA, AL-MAHDI
[edit] Shia view
- INQUIRY ABOUT AL-MAHDI BY Muhammad Baqir As-Sadr Translated by Sadiq Al-Mussawi
- Al-Imam al-Mahdi: The Just Leader of Humanity by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini
- The Awaited Saviour by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari
- The Awaited Saviour by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari - Downloadable version!
- A Discussion Concerning the Mahdi by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
- Mouood Portal (Persian) Mouood (Arabic: موعود). The largest portal and one of the original sources about Imam Mahdi and related articles and news.
- Helpers Of The Mahdi
- Information about the 12th Imam
- Bright Future Newsagency: publishing Imam mahdi news
- AhlulBayt Discussion Forum (ShiaChat.com)
[edit] Mahdavi view
- Imam Mahdi (Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH)
- The advent of Imam MahdiAS
- Who are Mahdavis?
- The Promised Mehdi
- Syed MohammadAS Al-Mahdi Al-Mow'ood
[edit] Others
[edit] Bibliography (English)
- 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
