The Mahdi Explained

The Mahdi: Explained

Introduction

In the name of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and his family and all his companions. Our lecture today is about a topic that a lot of people discuss and comes in the news every few years or every few decades when something of an incident happens where this topic once again is brought into the limelight.

Historical Incident: The 1979 Mecca Siege

I typically begin my lectures about the Mahdi by talking about an incident that most of the Muslims are not familiar with. And this year marks the 40th anniversary of that incident. Those of you that are above the age of 50 remember this incident. I was too young to know it when it happened and I only found about it when I was a teenager.

In the year 1979, 40 years ago, and the date was the first of Muharram in the year 1400 of the Hijrah. The date was intentional. First Muharram, 1400 Hijrah. A group of overzealous fanatics stormed the Kaaba with submachine guns and held the Kaaba hostage. These were not non-Muslims. These were overzealous fanatics from within our faith.

This group was an overzealous fanatical group that felt that the end of times was close by. The judgment was going to come and that they had discovered who the Mahdi was. And so they held the Kaaba hostage after Salatul Fajr. And they announced on the microphone, they took the microphone after the end of Fajr. And they announced that we now have the Mahdi. And everybody has to give the oath of allegiance to the Mahdi.

And they took forward a man by the name of Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Qahtani. And they said, this is the Mahdi that has been predicted in the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). And at the end of a gun, they forced the hujjaj to give the oath of allegiance.

The Government Response and International Reactions

And then they locked shut the doors of the Haram. And they barricaded with machine guns. And they took snipers to the very minarets that we know. Almost two weeks later, the Saudi military, with the help of French commandos, was brought in. And after a grim battle, with hundreds of people dying, in the course of two weeks, finally the last bastion of this group surrendered. Over 70 plus of them were caught alive. And every one of them except for 4 or 5 who were below the age of 15, they were executed by chopping off of their heads around the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Pakistani Embassy Incident

Rumors spread because of a translation error. A Pakistani translator, instead of saying that the source of the news was America, he said, an American group has held the Kaaba hostage. Our people reacted by attacking the American consulate in Islamabad. They held the American embassy hostage in Islamabad and surrounded it, attempting to storm it. A person lost his life in this incident.

What is the Mahdi?

Now, the concept of the Mahdi is one of the signs of Judgment Day. What exactly is this concept of the Mahdi? Is it true or is it superstition? Do we really believe in it? Are there authentic evidences? Or is it something that people have just invented to misguide humanity?

The word Mahdi comes from Hidayah or Huda, which means guidance. And Mahdi means the one who is rightly guided. So Mahdi is a name. Maybe one of you is called Mahdi. It's a name. And some of the Khulafa were called Mahdi. But in this case, Mahdi is a title, not a name. And it means the one whom Allah has rightly guided.

Sources of Information About the Mahdi

Where do we get the information of the Mahdi? The Quran has nothing, directly or indirectly about the Mahdi. There is no verse that even indirectly references the Mahdi himself. But we have over 20 ahadith about the Mahdi that are authentic. Some of them in Bukhari and Muslim, but listen to this carefully. The ahadith about the Mahdi in Bukhari and Muslim do not mention the word Mahdi. They mention a leader of the Muslims. Imam of the Muslimin. This is the term in Bukhari and Muslim.

As for other books of hadith, without exception almost, the Sunan of Abu Dawood, the Jami' of al-Tirmidhi, the Sunan of Ibn Majah, the Sunan of al-Nasa'i, the Mustadrak of al-Hakim, the Musnad of Ahmad, and on and on and on. You find dozens of ahadith, not two, not three, over 20. Some of them are Hasan. Hasan is grade B, B+. None of them by the way are sahih.

Classification of Hadith Evidence

Because we should know that hadith is divided into number of categories. Acceptable are two categories, sahih and Hasan. Sahih is grade A, Hasan is grade B. It's acceptable, but it's not the level of grade A. It is correct to say, there is no sahih hadith, bi dhatihi, that mentions the word Mahdi by name. But we have sahih hadith that mentions the concept in Bukhari and Muslim. And we have over 12 authentic Hasan hadith, B level hadith, that mention the word Mahdi with different isnads, from different sahaba.

Therefore, the concept of the Mahdi, by and large, has been affirmed in Sunni Islam. Because we have the books of the Sunnah that mention the word Mahdi. And the most famous book of hadith after Bukhari and Muslim, and that is Sunan Abu Dawood. The most famous book of hadith after Bukhari and Muslim, which is Abu Dawood, it has an entire chapter called the chapter of the Mahdi.

Authentic Hadith About the Mahdi

Let us now mention at least ten or so of these ahadith. And from them let us derive some of the characteristics of the Mahdi.

First Hadith: Name and Mission

(Sunan Abu Dawood)

If there was only one day left in this world, Allah would make it longer so that a person from my family will come whose name is the same as mine and whose father's name is the same as my father's. And he will fill the world with justice like it had been filled with injustice. (Sunan Abu Dawood)

From this hadith we learn:

1. The name of the Mahdi will be Muhammad
2. His father's name will be Abdullah
3. He will fill the world with justice as it had been filled with injustice
4. This will happen towards the end of times

Second Hadith: Lineage from Fatima

(Sunan Abu Dawood)

The Mahdi is from my family, from the children of Fatima. (Sunan Abu Dawood)

How many children did Fatima have in terms of sons? Two, Hasan and Hussein. So the Mahdi will be from Hasan and Hussein. Which of these two? There is nothing authentic from the Prophet (peace be upon him), but Abu Dawood said through an isnad that he takes to Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), that Ali looked to his son Hasan and said this son of mine Hasan is a leader because the Prophet (peace be upon him) called him a leader. And from his children shall come a person whose name will be the name of your Prophet and he will resemble your Prophet in mannerisms but not in appearance.

Third Hadith: Physical Characteristics

(Sunan Abu Dawood)

Also in the Sunan of Abu Dawood that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The Mahdi is from my progeny. And his forehead shall be large and wide. And his nose will be aquiline. (Sunan Abu Dawood)

Fourth Hadith: Sudden Transformation

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

In Sunan Ibn Majah, we learn that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The Mahdi is from us, Ahlul Bayt. Allah will rectify him and make him righteous in one night. (Sunan Ibn Majah)

What does this mean? Our scholars mentioned that this means the Mahdi will grow up and people will not assume that he is a very religious person. He might be an average Muslim, maybe even below average. But something will happen and in one night, the Mahdi will become a righteous person.

The State of the World Before the Mahdi

The hadith mentioned, hadith is in Abu Dawood, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said the earth will be full of injustice. The earth will be full of injustice and tyranny. And the Mahdi will come and fill it with justice and with truth. Which means, the world will be a very very depressing place before the Mahdi.

The Great War and Black Banners

There is one other hadith which is also cryptic, and it is also reported in Sahih Muslim. And this hadith mentions:

(Sahih Muslim)

Judgment will not happen until the Romans encamp at a land called Dabiq, and an army will come from Medina, who are the best of the people in the earth. (Sahih Muslim)

The Mahdi's Refuge in Mecca

Another concept that is mentioned about the Mahdi, is that the Mahdi is from Medina. And that the Mahdi will flee from Medina to Makkah. This hadith is also mentioned in Abu Dawood, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Sunan Abu Dawood)

A man shall flee from Medina, rushing towards Makkah. And the people will come to him, even though he does not want them to come. And they shall force him to accept the bay'ah, between the rukn and the maqam. (Sunan Abu Dawood)

The Divine Protection

We also have the hadith, the hadith is in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. That the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Musnad Ahmad)

A man shall be given the oath of allegiance between the Rukn and the Maqam. And no one shall attack the Kaaba except its own people. (Musnad Ahmad)

The Mahdi and Isa (Jesus)

In another hadith, and this is one of those ahadith that is in Sahih Muslim, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Sahih Muslim)

How will you be when Isa ibn Maryam will come down from the heavens? And your Imam is from amongst you. (Sahih Muslim)

(Sahih Muslim)

As an honor to this Ummah. (Sahih Muslim)

This hadith mentions that when Isa comes down at Fajr time, he will be asked by the Imam to lead Salah. And Isa will say, No, the Iqama was called for you. So he will be led by one of you. Who will have the honor that Isa will come down and he is the Imam? That person is none other than the Mahdi.

Duration of the Mahdi's Rule

In another hadith, also in Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad, we learned that the Mahdi shall rule for 7 years. In the authentic hadith it says, he shall rule for 7 years. So we have a time frame as well. That the Mahdi will be powerful and he will rule for 7 years.

The White Minaret in Damascus

We also learned, and this hadith as well is in Sahih Muslim, that this army will be in Damascus. And they will be praying in the mosque:

(Sahih Muslim)

At the white minaret. (Sahih Muslim)

And pretty much by unanimous consensus, the white minaret is the minaret of the Umayyad mosque built by Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. The hadith mentions that the Muslims will pray in Damascus in front of the white minaret. And as the iqama is given for Salatul Fajr, lo and behold, they will see Isa coming down, holding on to two angels.

Historical Misuse of the Mahdi Concept

The Abbasid Dynasty

The concept of the Mahdi has been misused and abused for the last 14 centuries. Not just by ISIS. Not just by Juhayman in 1979. From the beginning of times, there were people who took this concept and they wanted to pretend they are the Mahdi. Some of them were politically successful but religiously they were not. Of them is the Abbasids. The Abbasids, they thought they will enact the hadith of the Mahdi. And that's why they started their armies in Khorasan and they took as their banners the black flag.

Modern Misinterpretations

One of the reasons why the term Mahdi has reappeared in modern times, is of course because of this group known as ISIS. This group ISIS, it elected its chieftain or leader, and it basically gave him the title of khilafa, khalifa. And they were hoping that the Mahdi will come from amongst their group as well.

Take it as a rule of thumb, my dear brothers and sisters. Historically speaking, anytime somebody attempted to expedite the Mahdi, they ended up becoming worse fanatics than the people they thought they were fighting against. Anytime somebody thought, we will bring the Mahdi to fill the world with justice, they ended up doing more injustice than the injustice that caused them to go stand up and fight.

Differences with Non-Sunni Groups

We respectfully disagree with the non-Sunni group. And the non-Sunni group says that the Mahdi is from the children of Hussein. And they have their twelfth Imam that they're waiting for and they call him the Mahdi. This is one of the differences between us and them.

Ibn Al-Qayyim also mentions that it is befitting that the Mahdi be from the progeny of Hasan because Hasan gave up the Khilafah for the unity of the Muslims. So Allah will bless him with his progeny to get the position back.

Key Characteristics of the True Mahdi

From the authentic hadith, we learn several important characteristics:

He Will Not Claim to Be the Mahdi

The Mahdi will not claim to be the Mahdi. And anyone who says he's the Mahdi, you know he's lying. The Mahdi will not want to be the Mahdi. The people will force it on him. The people will say, we don't have a choice. You are our leader. We want you to be. And he will not want to accept it.

He Will Be From Medina

The Mahdi is from Medina, born and raised. One day he shall overcome a change. He'll become a righteous person. And most likely, certain political calamities will be taking place. And the rulers of their times will know that this person is a threat to us. So the man will become scared, flee for his life to Makkah.

Divine Protection Will Be Evident

According to our shari'ah, once you enter Makkah:

And whoever enters it shall be safe.

When the army is sent to capture him and is destroyed by Allah, this is the sign. Everybody now knows this is the Mahdi. Until that happens, don't be fooled by the sweet talk of the sweet talkers.

He Will Unite the Muslim Ummah

The Mahdi shall be the leader of the entire Muslim ummah. And this is an amazing phenomenon the likes of which we have not seen since the times of early Islam. The ummah has never been united politically since the time of the Khulafa ar-Rashidun. But there shall come one time when it will be united again under the Mahdi.

He Will Be Generous and Just

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

(Sahih Muslim)

Towards the end of times, there shall be a Khalifa who shall give money to the poor and he won't even count it.

Other Historical Claimants

The Sudanese Mahdi

Last century, there was a Sudanese Mahdi who established a dynasty in the 1880s. And he fought against the British colonialists. And he established an entire political region for 30 or 40 years. And he was calling himself the Mahdi.

Ibn Tumart

There was Ibn Tumart in the time of Imam Al-Ghazali. There was a person by the name of Ibn Tumart who established a land and a dynasty in North Africa and even in parts of Andalus. And he called himself the Mahdi as well.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

In 1850s India, somebody by the name of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad from a province called Qadian began preaching a very different theology from mainstream Islam. He started off as being a Mujaddid, then upgraded himself to Mahdi, then to Masih, claiming to be Isa, and finally claimed to be a Nabi.

Many of the famous ulema of the time refuted him. One of the most famous was Shaykh Thanaullah Al- Amritsari. Shaykh Thanaullah made a public mula'ana with Mirza Ghulam on the 15th of April 1907. Each one of them cursed the other, saying may Allah's curse be on the liar. Not even a year after the curse, Mirza Ghulam fell sick and died.

Anyone who says there is a Rasul or a Nabi after our Rasul and our Nabi (peace be upon him), that person cannot be a Muslim.

There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Important Guidelines and Warnings

Do Not Try to Expedite the Mahdi

We do not write a Hollywood script from the hadith. When it happens, it happens. We do not become actors and write a movie that we think we're gonna play in. Allah will bring it about. We do not do it ourselves and expedite the process.

The Mahdi is Not Supernatural

In these ahadith, did we ever come across any narration that says that the Mahdi will fly in the air, the Mahdi will walk on water, the Mahdi will know ilm al-ghayb? No! The Mahdi is not supernatural. The Mahdi is not Superman flying around in the air. The Mahdi is mortal, made of flesh and blood. But his piety will unite the ummah.

Continue Working Until He Comes

Don't use the concept of the Mahdi as a crutch. The Mahdi, when he comes, there's going to be a lot of work. Until the Mahdi comes, we all have to do as much as we can. Allah is not going to excuse us if we say, I did nothing because I'm waiting for the Mahdi.

Conclusion

The concept of the Mahdi is very explicit in the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). And we have many affirmations from our classical scholars as well. If the Mahdi happens to pass you in the street, do not give him your oath of allegiance until the ummah has done so, and you are certain he is the Mahdi. Don't follow the claim of anybody until the sign comes from Allah.

The Mahdi will not be a super human figure. The Mahdi is not going to be a cure for everything that we just sit back and say, Oh, until the Mahdi comes, we do nothing. No, the Mahdi will just be a unifying factor. But the Muslims will still have to be behind him. We'll have to help him. We'll have to fight against the enemies.

Yes, we believe in the Mahdi. Yes, the Mahdi will come. But until he comes, there's a lot of work that we need to do. And Allah will not excuse us from doing that work just because we believe in the concept of the Mahdi.