Mahdi

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For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

In Islamic eschatology the Mahdi (مهدي transliteration: Mahdī, also Mehdi; "Guided One") is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on earth seven, nine, or nineteen years (depending on the interpretation[1]) before the coming of the day, Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection" or "Day of the Standing").[2] Muslims believe the Mahdi will rid the world of error, injustice and tyranny alongside Jesus.[3] The concept of Mahdi is not explicitly mentioned in the Qu'ran, but there are many hadith (traditional sayings of Muhammad) on the Mahdi.

According to scholar Cyril Glasse, the advent of Mahdi is not a universally accepted concept in Islam[4] 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 the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi who will return from occulation. 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.[5] 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.[6]

The "hdi" of "Mahdi" refers to the Arabic root "هدی" which means "to guide". "Mahdi" is also an Arabic name.

Contents

[edit] Common Sunni and Shia beliefs

According to scholar Moojan Momen, signs that Sunni and Shi'a are agreed upon include that

  1. The Mahdi will be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad of the line of Fatima
  2. He will bear the name Muhammad
  3. He will rule for either seven, nine or nineteen years
  4. His coming will be accompanied by the raising of a Black Stadard in Khurasan.
  5. His coming will be accompanied by the appearance of Dajjal (the anti-Christ) in the East.[7]

[edit] Shia and Mahdi

Further information: Muhammad al-Mahdi

Among Shi'a Muslims "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea"[8] Shi'a Muslims believe that the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, the Twelfth and last Imam, who was born in 868 AD and was hidden by God at the age of five. He is still alive but has been in occulation "awaiting the time that God has decreed for his return."

According to scholar Moojan Momen, traditions report 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 announce himself in Mecca between the corner of the Ka'ba and the station of Abraham and will call on the people to pay allegiance to him. He will then go to Kufa.[9]

The Hidden Imam will return as the Mahdi with "a company of his chosen ones." Also part of the return (or Raj'a) will be his enemies led by the one-eyed Dajjal and the Sufyani. The two forces will fight "one final apocalyptic battle" where the Mahdi and his forces will prevail over these forces of evil. After ruling earth for a number of years, Isa Al-Maseeh (Jesus Christ), Imam Husayn and other Imams, prophets and saints will return to earth.[10]

[edit] Signs of the Mahdi

According to Moojan Momen, among the most commonly reported signs of the that preasge the advent of the Madhdi in Shia hadith are

  1. Before his coming will come the red death and the white death. The red death is the sword and white death is the plague.
  2. Several figures will appear: the one-eyed Dajjal, the Sufyani and the Yamani. Another figrue, the Pure Soul (an-Nafs az-Zakiyya), will be assassinated.
  3. The sun will rise from the West and a star will appear in the East giving out as much light as the moon.
  4. The Arabs will throw off the reins and take possession of their land, throwing out the authority of the foreigners.
  5. A caller will call out from heaven.
  6. There will be a great conflict in the land of Syria until it is destroyed.
  7. Death and fear will afflict the people of Baghdad and Iraq. A fire will apppear in the sky and a redness will cover them.[11]

[edit] Divergent views among Sunnis

The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis. The concept is not mentioned directly 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", [12] It is also reported to be denied by the Ahle Quran.

On the other hand it is found in Sunan Abi Dawud, Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi[citation needed] and "some non-Shiite Muslims believe that the Mahdi will come in addition to the Second Coming of Jesus." [13]

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."[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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."[citation needed]

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:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him) say: ‘The Mahdi is of my lineage and family…’

— Sunan Abu Dawud, 11/373; Sunan Ibn Maajah, 2/1368.

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:

The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon Him) said: "He is one of us…"

— Reported by Abi Na’eem in Akhbaar al-Mahdi, see al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 5/219, hadith 5796.

The 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"[14] 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 would appear in Mecca. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.[citation needed]

[edit] Claims of being the Mahdi

Main article: People claiming to be the Mahdi

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 was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.

Another claim was that of the Báb (Arabic: الباب "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 Arabic: بهاء الله "Glory of God") Both are considered Prophets by Bahá'is.[15]

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 is not 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.[citation needed]

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.

[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) ISBN 1930409206

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Thompson Gale, (2004), p.421
  2. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
  3. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.166-8
  4. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
  5. ^ Mortimer, Edward, Faith and Power: The Politics of Islam, Vintage Books, 1982 , p.54
  6. ^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, 2006, p.68
  7. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.168
  8. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Thompson Gale, (2004), p.421
  9. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.169
  10. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.166
  11. ^ Momen, Moojan, An Introduction to Shi'i Islam, Yale University Press, 1985, p.168-9
  12. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
  13. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
  14. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
  15. ^ Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications, pp. 55-59 & 229-230. ISBN 1851681841. 

[edit] Further reading

  • al-Qarashi, Baqir Sharif (2006). The Life of Imam Al-Mahdi, translated by Syed Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi. Ansariyan Publications. ISBN 9644388062. 
  • al-Sadr, Muhammad Baqir (1983). Awaited Saviour. Imam Al Khoei Islamic. ISBN 0686903986. 
  • Amini, Ibrahim (1996). Al-Imam Al-Mahdi: The Just Leader of Humanity, translated by Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina. Islamic Education and Information Center. ISBN 0968071708. 
  • 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 0710304161. 

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