Muhammad al-Mahdi


Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Muhammad al-Māhdī
Imams of Twelver Shi'a Islam
The name of Imām as it appears in Masjid Nabawi
A modern depiction by a Shi'a artist
Rank Twelfth Twelver Imām
Name Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī
Kunya Abū al-Qāsim[1]
Birth 15th Sha‘bān 255 AH
≈ 29 July 869 C.E.
Death n/a - in Occultation
Birthplace Sāmarrā'[1]
Buried n/a - in Occultation
Life Duration Before Imāmate: 5 years
(255 - 260 AH)
Imāmate: Occultation
(260 AH - present)
- Minor Occultation: 70 years
(260 - 329 AH)
- Major Occultaion: ???
(329 AH - present)
Titles *al-Māhdī[1]
(Arabic for Guided One)
*al-Qā'im[1]
(Arabic for One who Rises)
*al-Hujjah[1]
(Arabic for The Proof)
*Sāhib al-Zamān[1]
(Arabic for Master of the Era)
*al-Muntadhar[2]
(Arabic for The Awaited One)
*Hujjatullāh
(Arabic for Proof of Allah)
*al-Ghā'ib[1]
(Arabic for The Unseen One)
*Sāhib al-Amr[1]
(Arabic for Master of Command)
*Imām al-‘Asr[3]
(Arabic for Imām of the Age)
Father Hasan al-‘Askarī
Mother Narjis[1]
Children none
Almahdi.png
Ali · Hasan · Husayn

al-Sajjad · al-Baqir · al-Sadiq
al-Kadhim · al-Rida · al-Taqi
al-Hadi · al-Askari · al-Mahdi

According to Twelver Shī‘as Muhammad al-Māhdī (الإمام محمد بن الحسن المهدى) also known as Hujjat ibn al-Hasan (15th Sha‘bān 255 AH - present[1] ; approximately July 29 869 - present) is the final Imām of the Twelve Imams and the Māhdī, the ultimate savior of humankind. Other Shī‘ah schools, along with Sunnīs, do not consider ibn-al-Hasan as the Māhdī. Twelver Shī‘as believe that al-Māhdī was born in 869 and has been hidden by God (referred to as the Occultation) to later emerge with Jesus in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world.

Contents

Birth and early life according to Twelver Shi'a

Twelver Shi'as believe that Mahdi was born in 869 AD as Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī. His mother, Her Greatness Narjis (Melika), was a Byzantine princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia. [4] [5] His father, Hasan al-Askari, is believed to have been the eleventh and penultimate Shi'a Imam. Shi'as believe that his birth was kept a secret due to the persecution that the Shi'a were facing during this time at the hands of Al-Mu'tamid, the Abbasid Caliph.[6][7]

To support Imam Mahdi's claim, Twelver Shi'as quote the following Hadith: "I and `Ali are the fathers of this nation; whoever knows us very well also knows Allah, and whoever denies us also denies Allah, the Unique, the Mighty. And from `Ali's descendants are my grandsons al­-Hasan and al-­Husayn, who are the masters of the youths of Paradise, and from al-­Husayn's descendants shall be nine: whoever obeys them obeys me, and whoever disobeys them also disobeys me; the ninth among them is their Qa'im and Mahdi." [8] (These Hadiths recognized as authentic only by some Sunnis)

The eleventh Shi'a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi' al-awwal, 260 AH)[9] and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi'as to be the Imam, appointed by God, to lead the believers of the era. The most popular account of al-Mahdi in Shi'a literature is taken from his father's funeral. It is reported that as the funeral prayer was about to begin, al-Mahdi's uncle, Jafar ibn Ali approached to lead the prayers. However, al-Mahdi approached and commanded, "Move aside, uncle; only an Imam can lead the funeral prayer of an Imam." Jafar moved aside, and the five-year-old child led the funeral prayer for his father. It is reported that it was at this very moment that al-Mahdi disappeared and went into ghaybat, or occultation.

Significance of the Twelfth Imam

Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of the prophet Muhammad.

A hadith from the Shi'a text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, as well as a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim in which Muhammad speaks of Twelve Successors. (see Hadith of the Twelve Successors)

From Sahih Bukhari:

Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, "Islam will continue to be strong to twelve Muslim rulers (who will rule all the Islamic world)." He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, "All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish." [10]

In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said,

Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name and my father's name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.[11]

The Occultation

Main article: The Occultation

Shi'as believe that, for various reasons, God concealed the twelfth and current Shi'a Imam, al-Mahdi, from humankind.

Period

The period of occultation (ghaybat) is believed to consist of two parts:

Minor Occultation

Main article: Minor Occultation

During the Minor Occultation (Ghaybat al-Sughra), it is believed that al-Mahdi maintained contact with his followers via deputies (Arab. an-nuwāb al-arbaʕa). They represented him and acted as agents between him and his followers.

Whenever the believers faced a problem, they would write their concerns and send them to his deputy. The deputy would ascertain his verdict, endorse it with his seal and signature and return it to the relevant parties. The deputies also collected zakat and khums on his behalf. For the Shia, the idea of consulting a hidden Imam was not something new because the two prior Shia Imams had, on occasion, met with their followers from behind a curtain.

Shia Tradition hold that four deputies acted in succession to one another:

  1. Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Asadi
  2. Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Uthman
  3. Abul Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti
  4. Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri

In 941 (329 AH), the 4th deputy announced an order by al-Mahdi, that the deputy would soon die and that the deputyship would end and the period of the Major Occultation would begin.

The 4th deputy died six days later and the Shi'a Muslims continue to await the reappearance of the Mahdi. In the same year, many notable Shi'a scholars such as Ali ibn Babwayh Qummi and Muhammad ibn Yaqub Kulayni, the learned compiler of al-Kafi also died.

Major Occultation

Main article: Major Occultation
The name of Imam as it appears in Masjid Nabawi

According to the last letter of al-Mahdi to Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri "from the day of your death [the last deputy] the period of my major occultation (al ghaybatul kubra) will begin. Hence forth, no one will see me, unless and until Allah makes me appear.

Reappearance

Twelver Shi'as cite various references from the Qur'an and reports, or Hadith, from Imam Mahdi and the twelve Shi'a Imams with regard to the reappearance of al-Mahdi who would, in accordance with God's command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world.

Shi'as believe that Imam al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Mecca, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Mecca. At this time, Imam al-Mahdi will come wielding God's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار, ðū l-fiqār), the Double-Bladed Sword.

Shi'as believe that Jesus and a Jewish Prophet will also come with the Imam Mahdi to perform miracles to show the truth of their mission to bring justice and peace to the world.

Sunni view

Sunni Muslims do not consider the son of Hasan al-Askari to be the Mahdi nor to be in occultation.

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.

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"[9] 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.

Bahá'í view

Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá considered the story of the occultation of the Twelfth Imam to have been a pious fraud conceived by a number of the leading Shí`ahs in order to maintain the coherence and continuity of the Shí`ah movement after the death of the 11th Imam, Hasan al-`Askarí [1]. Bahá'ís believe that Siyyid `Alí Muhammad-i-Shírází, known as the Báb (1819-1850), is the promised Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, who had already made his advent and fulfilled all the prophecies. The Shaykhi movement of the early 19th century claimed to have made preparations for the Mahdi. In 1848 the Báb and his followers began to teach more openly, and the Báb was publicly executed in 1850.

Scholarly observations

Some scholars, including Bernard Lewis[12] also point out, that the idea of an Imam in occultation was not new in 873 but that it was a recurring factor in Shia history.

Later, Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, the grandson of the Imam Nizar, and Taiyab abi al-Qasim were believed by their followers to have gone into occultation as well.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 2004. pp. 159. 
  2. ↑ al-Qurashi, Baqir Shareef (2006). The Life of Imam al-Mahdi. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. pp. 40. 
  3. ↑ A Brief History of The Fourteen Infallibles. Qum: Ansariyan Publications. 2004. pp. 160. 
  4. ↑ The Expected Mahdi
  5. ↑ Online Islamic Courses
  6. ↑ The Imams
  7. ↑ mahdi and the manner of his occultation
  8. ↑ Ikmal of Al­Saduq
  9. ↑ The Imams
  10. ↑ Sahih Bukhari 89.329
  11. ↑ |Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74–75.
  12. ↑ The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam, Bernard Lewis, pp. 23, 35, 49.

References

Further reading

in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 0710304161. 

External links

Muhammad al-Mahdi
Banu Hashim
Cadet branch of the Banu Quraish
Born: 15th Sha‘bān 255 AH ≈ 29thJuly 869 CE Died: n/a in Occultation
Shī‘a Islam titles
Preceded by
Hasan al-Askari		 Imam - XII
of Twelver
874 – present		 Succeeded by
none