Mahdi Totally Explained

Everything about Mahdi totally explained

In Islamic eschatology the Mahdi (also Mehdi; "Guided One") is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on earth seven, nine, or nineteen years (depending on the interpretation) before the coming of the day, Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection" or "Day of the Standing"). Muslims believe the Mahdi will restore righteousness and change the world into a perfect and just Islamic society alongside Jesus. The concept of Mahdi isn't explicitly mentioned in the Qu'ran, but there are many hadith (traditional sayings of Muhammad) on the Mahdi. The advent of Mahdi isn't a universally accepted concept in Islam and among those that accept the Mahdi there are basic differences among different sects of Muslims about the timing and nature of his advent and guidance. The idea of the Mahdi has been described as important to Sufi Muslims and a "powerful and central religious idea" for Shia Muslims who believe in Muhammad al-Mahdi. However, among Sunni, it "never became a formal doctrine" and is neither endorsed, nor condemned "by the consensus of Sunni Ulama." It has "gained a strong hold on the imagination of many ordinary" self-described orthodox Sunni though, thanks to Sufi preaching. Another source distinguishes between Sunni and Shia beliefs on the Mahdi saying the Sunni believe the Mahdi will be a descendant of the Prophet named Muhammad who will revive the faith, but not necessarily be connected with the end of the world, Jesus or perfection. The "hdi" of "Mahdi" refers to the Arabic root "هدی" which means "to guide". "Mahdi" is also an Arabic name.

Shia and Mahdi

Among Shi‘ites "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea" Shia claim the Mahdi is their 12th Imam, that he's alive and in occultation for 1200 years and is eleven generations down from Muhammad. This is evidenced in a hadith from the Shia text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata.
In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,
The Mahdi, according to 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 Isa Al-Maseeh (Jesus) against the Dajjal, the Antichrist of Islam.
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 Ummah, 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.

Divergent views among Sunnis

The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis. The concept is never mentioned in the Quran, and neither is it mentioned in the Sahih al-Bukhari nor Sahih Muslim collection of ahadith. According to scholar Cyril Glasse, "Belief in the Mahdi has been rejected by noted Sunni authorities as being a Messianism .... various Hadith about the Mahdi appear to be inventions to support political causes", It is also reported to be denied by the Ahle Quran.
   On the other hand it's found in Sunan Abi Dawud, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi and "some non-Shiite Muslims believe that the Mahdi will come in addition to the Second Coming of Jesus."
   Al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ja’far al-Katani said: "The conclusion is that the hadiths narrated concerning the Mahdi are mutawatir, as are the hadith concerning the Dajjal and the descent of Jesus the son of Mary, upon whom be peace." Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami in his fatwa titled The Brief Discourse on the Portents of the Awaited Mahdi, said that denial of the Mahdi is disbelief. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his book The Rose Fragrance Concerning the Reports on al-Mahdi, wrote, "This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, this is the belief of the Sufis, this is the belief of our Shaykhs, and this is the belief of the true Shadhili Shaykhs, whose path both al-Suyuti and al-Haytami followed. Whoever differs with them is a liar and an innovator."
Of those Sunnis that hold to the existence of the Mahdi, some believe the Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman. Umm Salamah said:
Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order, under the leadership of Shaikh Hisham Kabbani of Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA), is among the Sufis who strongly believe 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 according to Sunni doctrine and beliefs.
   In the light of traditions and interpretations, the personality of the Promised Mahdi would be as such:
It is said "predictions and lore conscerning the Mahdi abound" 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 Hussein. His name would be Muhammad and his family name would be Abul Qasim, his father's name would be ‘Abdu’llah, and he'd appear in Mecca. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.

Claims of being the Imam Mahdi (Akhir Uz Zaman)

Over the course of history, there have been several individuals who have declared themselves to be 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 wasn't actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.
   Another claim was that of the Báb ("the Gate") in 1844, founding the religion of Bábism. He was later executed in the town of Tabriz by a firing squad. His remains currently reside in a tomb at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. He is considered to be the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh. (ba-haa-ol-laa "Glory of God") Both are considered Prophets by Bahá'is.
   The late nineteenth century saw another person, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who appeared in British india and claimed to be the promised Mahdi as well as the Promised Messiah (second coming of Jesus) being the only person in Islamic history to have claimed to be both. He founded the Ahmadiyya religious community in 1889 which, though claims to be Muslim in every sense of the word isn't recognised as such by a majority of mainstream Muslims.
   Sudanese Sufi Muhammad Ahmad, declared himself Mahdi in 1882 and defeated Ottoman-Egyptian forces to set up his own state. The Mahdi died in 1885 but his Mahdist state lasted until 1899 when a British army destroyed it.
The most recent notable claim to Mahdiism was by Mohammad Abdullah al Querishi whose brother-in-law, Juhayman ibn-Muhammad ibn-Sayf al-Otaibi, led several hundred men to take over the Grand Mosque in Mecca in November of 1979. This uprising was defeated after a two week siege with at least 250 rebels, soldiers and pilgrims killed.

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) ISBN 1930409206

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