Al-Mahdī Imam of Twelver Shi'a Islam |
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A modern depiction by a Shi'a artist |
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| Rank | Twelfth Twelver Imām |
| Name | Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī |
| Kunya | Abū al-Qāsim[1] |
| Birth | 15 Sha‘bān 255 AH ≈ 29 July 869 C.E. |
| Death | n/a - in Occultation[1] |
| Birthplace | Sāmarrā', Iraq.[1] |
| Buried | n/a - in Occultation[1] |
| 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 |
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| Father | Hasan al-‘Askarī |
| Mother | Rayhana, Narjis, Sayqal or Sawsan in Shia's books.[4] |
| Children | none |
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al-Sajjad · al-Baqir · al-Sadiq |
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Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī (محمد ابن الحسن المهدى) (born c. July 29, 869; 15 Sha‘bān 255 AH) is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams. Twelver Shī‘a believe that al-Mahdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God (this is referred to as the Occultation) and will later emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world. He assumed the Imamate at 5 years of age. Some Shi‘īte schools do not consider ibn-al-Hasan to be the Mahdī, although the mainstream sect Twelvers do.
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In the biographies of Mahdi written by Shias themselves, it is hard to draw a line between hagiographical and historical works. In Shia sources even in historical works of Ibn Babuya the birth of Imam was miraculous which must be considered as hagiography.[5] Aside from Shi'as works almost nothing is known about the life of this Imam.[6] According to Yaan Richard some even cast doubt on his actual existence.[6]
Twelver Shi'as believe that Mahdi was born in 869 AD as Abu'l Qasim Hujjat ibn Hasan ibn ‘Alī. His mother name has been recorded as Rayhana, Narjis, Ssyqal or Sawsan in Shia's books.[4] There are a couple of narrations regarding the origin of his mother. One is that his mother, Narjis was a Byzantine slave.[4] Another narration says she was a black slave from Africa. Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi states that names like Sawsan, Narjis or Rayhana were common names for slaves at that times and his mother name supports this narration.[7] Other narration says that she was a Byzantine Princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia.[8][9] Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, in Encyclopedia of Iranica, suggests that the last version is "undoubtedly legendary and hagiographic".[7]
To support Imam Mahdi's claim, Twelver Shi'as along with some other Muslim sects 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."[10]
The eleventh Shi'a Imam Hasan al-Askari died on 1 January 874 AD (8th Rabi' al-awwal, 260 AH)[11] and since that day, his son Mahdi is believed by Shi'as to be the Imam, appointed by Allah, 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.
Some hadith indicate significance to the twelfth generation of descendants of 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.
From Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Jabir bin Samura: I heard Muhammad saying, "Islam will continue to be strong to twelve Muslim rulers." He then said a sentence which I did not hear. My father said, "All of them (those rulers) will be from Quraish."[12]
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, Allah 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.[13]
Shi'as believe that, for various reasons, Allah concealed the twelfth and current Shi'a Imam, al-Mahdi, from mankind.
The period of occultation (ghaybat) is divided into two parts:
During the Minor Occultation (Ghaybat al-Sughra), it is believed that al-Mahdi maintained contact with his followers via deputies (Arab. an-nuwāb al-arbaʻa literal: the four leaders). 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. Also, during the oppressive rule of the later Abbasid caliphs, the Shia Imams were heavily persecuted and held prisoners, thus their followers were forced to consult their Imams via messengers or secretly.
Shia Tradition hold that four deputies acted in succession to one another:
In 941 (329 AH), the fourth 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 fourth 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.
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." Another view is that the Hidden Imam is on earth "among the body of the Shia" but "incognito." "Numerous stories" exist of the Hidden Imam "manifesting himself to prominent members of the ulama."[14]
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 Allah's command, bring justice and peace to the world by establishing Islam throughout the world.
Mahdi is reported to have said:
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 Makkah, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Makkah. At this time, Imam al-Mahdi will come wielding Allah's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار, ðū l-fiqār), the Double-Bladed Sword. He will also come and reveal the texts in his possession, such as al-Jafr and al-Jamia.
Shi'as believe that Jesus will also come (after Imam Mahdi's re-appearance) and follow the Imam Mahdi to destroy tyranny and falsehood and to bring justice and peace to the world.[15]
The 12th Imam is known by many titles in Shia Islam, including:
In Ahmadiyya Islam, the terms "Messiah" and "Mahdi" are synonymous terms for one and the same person. Like the term Messiah which, among other meanings, in essence means being anointed by God or appointed by God the term "Mahdi" means guided by God, thus both imply a direct ordainment and a spiritual nurturing by God of a divinely chosen individual. According to Ahmadiyya thought, Messiahship is a phenomenon, through which a special emphasis is given on the transformation of a people by way of offering suffering for the sake of God instead of giving suffering (i.e. refraining from revenge). Ahmadis believe that this special emphasis was given through the person of Jesus and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad[16] among others.
Ahmadis hold that the prophesied eschatological figures of various religions, the coming of the Messiah and Mahdi in fact were to be fulfilled in one person who was to represent all previous prophets.[17] The prophecies concerning the Mahdi or the second coming of Jesus are seen by Ahmadis as metaphorical, in that one was to be born and rise within the dispensation of Muhammad, who by virtue of his similarity and affinity with Jesus of Nazareth, and the similarity in nature, temperament and disposition of the people of Jesus' time and the people of the time of the promised one (the Mahdi) is called by the same name.
Numerous Hadith are presented by the Ahmadis in support of their view such as one from Sunan Ibn Majah which says:
| “ | There is No Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary | ” |
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—Ibn Majah, Bab, Shahadatu-Zaman |
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Ahmadis believe that the prophecies concerning the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus have been fulfilled in the person of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1835–1908) the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement. Contrary to mainstream Islam the Ahmadis do not believe that Jesus is alive in heaven, but that he survived the crucifixion and migrated towards the east where he died a natural death and that Ghulam Ahmad was only the promised spiritual second coming and likeness of Jesus, the promised Messiah and Mahdi.
The majority of Sunni Muslims do not consider the son of Hasan al-Askari to be the Mahdi nor to be in occultation. However, they do believe that the Mahdi will come from Muhammad's family, more specifically from Al-Hasan's descendants.[18] Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born, and therefore his exact identity is only known to Allah. Aside from the Mahdi's precise, genealogy, Sunnis accept many of the same hadiths Shias accept about the predictions regarding the Mahdi's emergence, his acts, and his universal Khilafat. Sunnis also have a few more Mahdi hadiths which are not present in Shia collections, such as the following:
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated that Muhammad said:
Our Mahdi will have a broad forehead and a pointed (prominent) nose. He will fill the earth with justice as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will rule for seven years
Shia books do not explicitly mention the Mahdi having a pointed (prominent) nose.
However, the Shi'a traditions do state (about Imam Medhi's nose): "His Nose; Abu Sa‘īd al-Khidri narrates from the Messenger of Allah (a.s) that he said, 'The Mahdi is from us the Ahl al-Bait, a man from my Ummah. He has a high nose. He will fill the earth with equity as it will be full of corruption.'"[20]
Other Sunni hadith regarding the Mahdi are virtually identical to their counterparts in Shia books:
Umm Salamah said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah say: "The Mahdi is of my lineage and family"
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:
The Messenger of Allah said: "He is one of us"—Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, [22]
In the light of traditions and interpretations, the personality of the Promised Mahdi would be as such:
It is said "predictions and lore concerning 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 Hasan. His name would be Muhammad and his family name would be Abul Qasim, his father's name would be ‘Abdu’llah [rather than Hasan], and he would appear in Mecca. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.
Sunnis also believe that Jesus will return alongside the Mahdi, with the only difference being that they disagree with the Shia regarding exactly who the Mahdi is.
Some scholars, including Bernard Lewis[23] 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. Examples of this include the cases of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (according to the Kaysanites Shia), Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya, Musa al-Kadhim (according to the Waqifite Shia), Muhammad ibn Qasim (al-Alawi), Yahya ibn Umar and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi (according to the Muhammadite Shia).
On causes of development occultation doctrine among Shi'as, Yaan Richard suggests, "the last Imams were confronted a difficult situation: theoretical claimants to power, politically important, backed by discontented supporters of Omayyad and Abbasid caliphs, taking refuge in an esoteric justification of their quietism, the Immam were embarrassment to everyone. When they were physically present, they gave the lie to certain of the allegations made about them by Shiites. When they were absent, their eschatological "efficacy" could no longer be questioned and the desire for a return of their reign of justice became almost at reality. The occultation is therefore a convenient solution".[6]
The occulation of 12th Imam left a considerable gap in leadership of Shia's. According to Shia' beliefs the Imam was both the spiritual and political head of the community. Although during the lesser occultation the network of Imam deputies (wokala) claimed to have right to handle Shia communities issues, this system was not continued during the Greater Occultation.[24] After the greater occultation, the role of Imam as the head of community left vacant, which did not theoretically matter at the beginning of Occultation because Shia`s had no political power at that time. However, when Shia' states arose in later centuries, since the hidden Imam was alive and was the leader of Muslims, the role of Shia' state among Shia' communities were in question.[24] This problem has caused continuing tension between government and religion throughout the Shia's history.[24]
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Clan of the Banu Quraish
Born: 15th Sha‘bān 255 AH ≈ 2 August 869 CE Died: n/a in Occultation |
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| Preceded by Hasan al-Askari |
12th Imam of Twelver Shi'a Islam 874 – present |
Succeeded by none |