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In Islamic eschatology the Mahdi (مهدي transliteration: Mahdī, also Mehdi; "Guided One") is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will appear either seven, nine, or nineteen years, depending on the interpretation,^[1] before Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection" or "Day of the Standing").^[2] Most, or many, Muslims believe the Mahdi will restore righteousness and change the world into a perfect and just Islamic society alongside Jesus. The concept of Mahdi is not explicitly mentioned in the Qu'ran, but there are many hadith (traditional sayings of Muhammad) on the Mahdi.

The advent of Mahdi is not a universally accepted concept in Islam^[3] 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 in Muhammad al-Mahdi. However, among Sunni, it has "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.^[4]

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

Contents 1 Shia and Mahdi 2 Divergent views among Sunnis 3 Claims of being the Mahdi 4 Bibliography (English) 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links

Among Shi‘ites "the Mahdi symbol has developed into a powerful and central religious idea"^[5] Shia claim the Mahdi is their 12th Imam, that he is alive and in occultation for 1200 years and is eleven generations down from Muhammad. This is evidenced in a hadith from the Shia text (Kitab Al-Kafi) containing a conversation between the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib and a man named al-Asbagh ibn Nubata.

In a hadith widely regarded as authentic^{[citation needed]}, 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. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.

—Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74–75.

The Mahdi, according to Shi'ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Jesus against the Dajjal, the Antichrist.

However, like most religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi. Also, as Mahdiism is closely related to the leadership of the Ummah, it has had the potential to be abused as some leaders of secularly focused politico-religious movements in the name of Islam who have claimed to be the Mahdi.

The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis. The concept is reported in neither 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", ^[6] It is also reported to be denied by the Ahle Quran and Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama clerics.^{[citation needed]}

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." ^[7]

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"^[8] 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 Medina. He would protect the Muslims from destruction and would restore the religion to its original position.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[9] His remains currently reside in the Shrine of the Báb at the Bahá'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel. He is considered to be the forerunner of the Prophet Bahá'u'lláh (ba-haa-ol-laa Arabic: بهاء الله "Glory of God") by Bahá'is.^[10]

Perhaps the most well-known claim to Mahdi in the West is that of Sudanese Sufi Muhammad Ahmad, who 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.

Probably 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.

• 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

• Mahdaviat
• Dajjal
• People claiming to be the Mahdi
• Traditions about Mahdi
• Al-Qa'im (the Shi'a expectations)
• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• Islamic eschatology
• Mahdi Army

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. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
4. ^ Mortimer, Edward, Faith and Power: The Politics of Islam, Vintage Books, 1982 , p.54
5. ^ Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Thompson Gale, (2004), p.421
6. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
7. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
8. ^ Glasse, Cyril, The New Encyclopedia of Islam, Altamira, 2001, p.280
9. ^ Cite error 8; No text given.
10. ^ Cite error 8; No text given.

• 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. 

• Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background. Routledge. ISBN 0710301588. 
• Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Hamid Dabashi (1989). Expectation of the Millennium: Shiʻism in History. SUNY Press. ISBN 088706843X. 
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein (1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdī in Twelver Shīʻism. Suny press. ISBN 0873954424. 
• Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn; Seyyed Hossein Nasr (translator) (1979). Shi'ite Islam. Suny press. ISBN 0-87395-272-3. 

• Mahdi an article by Encyclopedia Britannica Online
• Armageddon and the Mahdi
• A supportive view of the belief of the Mahdi at Sunni-oriented islam-qa.com
• A critical look at the belief in the Mahdi at Qurannic-oriented understanding-islam.com
• Imam Mahdi, Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH(Sunni)