Assalmu Alaykum Wr Wb
Al-Mahdi Al-Muntathar
INTRODUCTION:
After the Lesser Signs of the Hour appear and increase, mankind will have reached a stage of great suffering. Then the awaited Mahdi will appear; he is the first of the greater and clear signs of the Hour. There will be no doubt about his existence, but this will only be clear to the knowledgeable people. The Mahdi will rule until the False Messiah (Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal) appears, who will spread oppression and corruption. The only ones who will know him well and avoid his evil will be those who have great knowledge and Eemaan (faith). The false Messiah will remain for a while, destroying mankind completely, and the earth will witness the greatest Fitnah (tribulation) in its history. Then the Messiah 'Eesa ( Jesus, 'alaihi salaam) will descend, bringing justice from heaven. He will kill the Dajjal, and there will be years of safety and security.
Then the appearance of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) will take mankind by surprise, and corruption will overtake them again. In answer to 'Eesa's faithful prayer to Allah, they will die and safety, security, justice and stability will return. This state of affairs will continue for some years, until the death of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam).
The 'Ulama' differ concerning the order in which the other greater signs of the Hour will come about. They are:
· The destruction of the Ka'bah and the recovery of its treasure.
· The rising of the sun from the West.
· The emergence of the Beast from the earth.
· The smoke.
· A wind will take the souls of the believers.
· The Qur'aan will be taken up into heaven.
Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) commented on the order of the signs. Most probably the appearance of the Dajjal will be the first major portent that signals the changing conditions on earth, and the last sign will be the death of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam). The rising of the sun from the west will be the first major portent that signals the changing conditions of the upper world, and the coming of the Hour will be the last. The appearance of the beast may occur on the day the sun rises from the west. On that day no repentance will be accepted, so the beast will come to distinguish the believers from the unbelievers. The first sign of the Last Hour will be the fire which will drive people to their assembly from the east to the west. (Fathul-Bari, Vol. 2, pp.296-297)
Abu Hurayrah (radiallahu 'anhu) said, "The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam)said, 'Hasten to do good deeds before six things happen: the rising of the sun from the West, the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the (death) of one of you, or general tribulation.'" (Muslim, Kitaab al-Fitan, 8/207, Ahmad, 2/237,372)
Hudhayfah Ibn 'Usayd Al-Ghifari (radiallahu 'anhu) said, "The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) came upon us whilst we were busy in discussion. He asked, us, 'What are you talking about?' We said, 'We are discussing thc Hour.' He said, 'It will not come until) you see ten signs: the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast, the sun rising from the West, the descent of Jesus son of Mary, Gog and Magog, and three land-slides - one in the East, one in the West, and one in Arabia, at the end of which fire will burst forth from the direction of,'Aden (Yemen) and drive people to the place of their final assembly.'" (Ahmad, Muslim, Kitaab al-Fitan 8/179).
THE MAHDI
The Mahdi will come at the end of time; he is one of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and Imaams. He is not the "Mahdi" who is expected by the Shi'ah, who they claim will appear from a tunnel in Samarra'. This claim of theirs has no basis in reality nor in any reliable source. They allege that his name is Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan Ibn al-'Askari, and that he went into the tunnel when he was five years old.
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ood (radiallahu 'anhu) reported: "The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, 'If there were only one day left for the world, that day would be lengthened until a man from among my descendants or from among the people of my household, was sent; his name will be the same as my name, and his father's name will be the same as my father's name. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness, just as it will have been filled with injustice and oppression. The world will not end until a man of my household, whose name is the same as mine, holds sway." (Abu Dawud, Kitaab al-Mahdi)
Thawbaan (radiallahu 'anhu) said, "The Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, 'Three men will be killed at the place where your treasure is. Each of them will be the son of a Khalifah, and none of them will get hold of the treasure. Then the black banners will come out of the East, and they will slaughter you in a way which has never been seen before.' Then he said something which I do not remember; then, 'If you see him, go and give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice, because he is the Khalifah of Allah, the Mahdi."' (Ibn Majah, Kitaab al-Fitan, Hadeeth 4084).
The treasure referred to in this text is the treasure of the Ka'bah. Towards the end of time, three of the sons of the Khalifahs will fight to get hold of it, until the Mahdi appears. He will appear from the East, not from the tunnel of Samarra', as the Shi'ah claim; they believe that he is in this tunnel now, and they are waiting for him to emerge at the end of time. There is no evidence for it in any book or Saheeh tradition, and there is no benefit in believing this.
The truth of the matter is that the Mahdi whose coming is promised at the end of time will appear from the East, and people will swear allegiance to him at the Ka'bah, as some Ahadith indicate. Therefore, Al-Mahdi is from the descendants of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam), from his family, and his name is Muhammad Ibn Abdullah. However it is not entirely clear if he will be a descendant of Al-Hasan or Al-Husain (radiallahu 'anhumaa). This is because the narrations which mention the matter are all weak. Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah suggested that Al-Mahdi is a descendant of Al-Hasan Ibn Ali (radiallahu 'anhumaa) because he accepted a saying that was attributed to Ali Ibn Abi Talib (radiallahu 'anhu). However the muhaddith Muhammad Nasirud-din Al-Albaani rendered this narration weak in his edition of Mishkaatul Masaabeeh.
As for his physical description, Abu Said (radiallahu 'anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: The earth will be filled with inequity and injustice. When it is full of inequity and injustice, Allah will raise up a man from me, his name is like mine and his father's name is like my father's. He will fill it (the earth) with justice and equity. He will stay with you seven or eight (years). If he stays longer, it will be nine. (Saheeh Al-Jaami' As-Sagheer No. 5073) Ahlus-Sunnah believe that Al-Mahdi will be an ordinary man, born to an ordinary woman, raised by ordinary men and living an ordinary life with the people of his time. He will not live in caves, as the Shiites believe. They are waiting for their Mahdi to appear from an alleged cave, where they claim he has been hiding for over ten centuries!
Upon His Second Coming 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam) Will Pray Behind Al-Mahdi
Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah (radiallahu 'anhu) said that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: How will you be when the son of Mary descends to you and your Imaam is from among you? [Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim No. 2060] Also, Abu Na'im recorded an authentic sanad to Abu Sa'id (radiallahu 'anhu) that said that: Among us is the one whom 'Eesa son of Mary will pray behind. [saheeh Al-Jaami' As-Sagheer No 5290] Imaam Muslim recorded that Jabir Ibn Abdullah (radiallahu 'anhu) said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say: A group of my nation will fight while holding fast to the truth, remaining victorious till Yaum Al-Qiyaamah. Then the Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: Then 'Eesa Ibn Maryum will descend. Their leader will say, 'Come lead us in the prayer.' He will say, 'No. Some of you are leaders of others as an honor from Allah for this nation.' [Mukhtasar Saheeh Muslim No. 2061]
Al-Mahdi is the one whom we believe the following hadeeth refers to: Among the last of my nation there will be a khaleefah who will give away money by the handful and will not count it. This is part of a hadeeth that Imaam Muslim recorded in his Saheeh. These ahadeeth only serve to show that wars between the Muslims and their enemies will be many. Also these ahadeeth show that Muslim victories over the disbelievers and as a consequence, war possessions, will be in abundance during that time. [see Saheeh Sunan Ibn Majaah No. 3299]
Al-Mahdi is among us, Ahlul-Bait (the family of the Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Allah will prepare him for leadership overnight. [Ahmed and Ibn Majaah. Saheeh Sunan Ibn Majaah No. 3300] This hadeeth means that Allah prepare Al-Mahdi to lead this nation overnight, and Allah has the perfect knowledge.
The Sinking Of A Great Army
After Allah prepares Al-Mahdi for leadership, leaders of that time will try to kill him. Al-Mahdi will escape and take refuge in Makkah along with some of his loyalists, having no credible force,neither in terms of numbers or arms. An army will be sent after him to kill him. This fact was reported by Imaam Muslim when he narrated that Umm Salamah (radiallahu 'anhaa) said: The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: A refugee will seek refuge in Al-Bayt (the Grand Mosque in Makkah). An army will be sent after him until they reach Al-Baydaa (a flat land just outside Madinah to the south on the road to Makkah) when the earth will collapse underneath of them. I said "O Messenger of Allah! How about he who disliked (going after him)?' He said: The earth will collapse underneath them, but he will be resurrected on Yaum-Al-Qiyaamah according to his real intention. [sharh An-Nawawi 'Ala Saheeh Muslim Vol. 18, pp. 5]
Also Imaam Muslim reported that Hafsah (radiallahu 'anhaa) heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saying: An invading army will head towards Al-Bayt. When they reach Al-Baydaa, the earth will collapse underneath their mid-line forces. Their front lines will call to those in the rear. Then the earth will collapse underneath of them. None will remain except some survivors who will tell about their fate.
After all this, Al-Mahdi will be given a pledge of allegiance as the khaleefah for all Muslims. He will lead Muslims to many battles in jihaad. His reign will be a khilaafah that will follow the guidance of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and many battles will ensue between Muslims and the disbelievers during his time, until Allah sends down 'Eesa Ibn Maryam ('alaihi salaam). It is during Al-Mahdi's reign that the second conquering of Constantinople (Istanbul) will occur, just before the appearance of Al-Maseeh Ad-Dajjal and the second coming of 'Eesa ('alaihi salaam).
Umm Salamah (radiallahu 'anhaa) reported that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: People will begin to differ after the death of a khaleefah. A man from the people of Madinah will flee to Makkah. Some of the people of Makkah will come to him and drag him out against his will. They will swear allegiance to him between Al-Rukn and Al-Maqaam (two corners of the Ka'bah). An army will be sent against him from Syria; it will be swallowed up in the desert between Makkah and Madinah. When the people see this, groups of people from Syria and Iraq will come and swear allegiance to him. Then a man from Quraysh whose mother is Kalb will appear and send an army against them; this will be known as the Battle of Kalb. Whoever does not witness the spoils of this battle will miss much! He Mahdi will distribute wealth, and will rule he people according to the sunnah of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam). Then he will die, and the Muslims will pray for him. [Abu Dawud]
Source: alharamain.org
Wa Alaykumu Salaam
