Imam Mehdi
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam
Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
My question is with regards to the believe in Islam that as part
of the signs of the day of judgement,
and after the appearance of "al awar al
dajal" and after the coming of "jesus christ", a muslim man will
appear who will set everything
straight, and who will reunite all believer
christians under the banner of Islam since jesus christ will pray behind him.
In the shia sect we believe that this
man is the "Mehdi", the 12th Imam.
Do you believe in appearance of such a "person", and whom do you
think it is ?
Thank you.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Imam Mehdi
In
the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His
forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to
fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one
(no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Question: Do you
believe in appearance of such a "person", and whom do you think it
is?
Regarding all the
advents of events of the past,
present, and the future, we believe with certainty only in what is said by Allah Subhanah in
the Glorious Quran, and what is
recorded in the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
Although
the Holy Quran is silent on this issue,
there are several authentic hadiths where the Messenger of Allah (saws)
has prophesized the advent of a Righteous Ruler near the end of time, who will unite the believers and rule the
world according to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah. If we combine the hadiths, they reveal that this righteous person will
be from the ‘ahle-bayt’ or descendants of the Prophet (saws), and his name will be similar to the Last
Messenger of Allah (saws) and he will be known as Al-Mahdi or the Rightly
Guided. The scholars have opined that
his name will be either Mohamed ibn Abdulla,
or Abdulla ibn Mohamed. The
era of the anti-Christ and Liar Ad-Dajjal,
and the descent of Prophet Isa (a.s.) from the heavens, will also take
place during the time of Imam Mahdi.
We
absolutely and positively believe in the advent of this Righteous Ruler near
the end of time called Imam Mahdi;
because the Prophet of Allah (saws) told the believers about his coming
and reign; and we believe with
certainty in every word of Allah and
His Messenger (saws).
There are
several hadiths recorded regarding the era of Imam Mahdi, and if you are interested, I can collect all of them and send them to
you.
The
current situation and position of the believers must be to strive to obey each
and every command of Allah and His Messenger (saws), and strive to make the word of Allah Supreme in the world. Imam Mahdi will come exactly at the time
Allah has Decreed, and the events will
unfold exactly as prophesized by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Allah has not made it our duty to search
for the Mahdi; he will come when he
comes. On the Day of Judgment, Allah Subhanah will judge us according to
our deeds; neither will Allah question
us why we did not appoint a Mahdi, nor
will He ask us why we did not wait for Mahdi’s
coming! Thus, instead of waiting for Imam Mahdi to come
and put things aright in this world;
we must strive to do whatever we can to be better muslims, and declare the Message of Allah to all
those who care to listen to good caution.
And
besides, Imam Mahdi is not a Prophet of
Allah, but is a righteous slave of
Allah Subhanah. He will not come to
mankind and declare that he is the Mahdi,
like a Prophet of Allah comes to mankind and declares his appointment to
Prophethood. Imam Mahdi will be a
political and religious leader of the believers, and from his actions of righteousness the believers will
recognize him to be the Mahdi.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,