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Muhammad al-Mahdi (AS)
By Syed Haider Hussain Shamsi
Name: Muhammad
Title: al-Mahdi
(also al-Hujat, al-Qaim)
Epithet: Abul
Qasim
Father: Hasan
bin All
Mother: Nargis
Khatoon
Date of Birth: Sha'ban
15, 255 AH (July 29, 869 AD)
Place of Birth: Samarah
Ghaibat us-Sughra: Rabi-ul
Awwal 8,260 AH
Ghaibat ul-Kubra: Shawwal
10, 238 AH
THE TIMES AND LIFE OF IMAM
MUHAMMAD AL-MAHDI (as)
The Birth of Imam Mahdi(as):
The intention of the Abbasid
caliphs was to prevent the
conception and birth of the
awaited Mahdi from the union of
Imam Hasan Askari (as) with
Nargis Khatoon. This was based
on the several traditions
circulating among the early days
of Islam as well as the fact
that he would be the last in the
chain of the twelve
representatives of the
Prophet. Further, it was
believed that with the coming of
the Mahdi, the tyrants will run
for refuge, and the oppressed
would be liberated. As
demonstrated by Allah in several
places in the Qur'an, His divine
Will can never be superseded. Nargis
was able to conceal her state of
gravidity, and when the birth
occurred, none other than
Hakeema, daughter of Imam
Muhammad Taqi (as), attended it.
The child was kept effectively
hidden from the searching eyes
of the tyrants. Although the
news had leaked out about the
birth of a son to Imam Hasan
Askari (as), no one could find
clues to prove it. In fact, the
Caliph ordered that the estate
of the Imam be kept under trust
for two years to see if any of
the bond women of the Imam would
file a claim for heir ship for
her offspring. When he was
satisfied that there was no
apparent heir to the Imam, he
gave up the search and closed
the case. This is probably the
reason why many historians deny
the very existence of a son born
to the eleventh Imam.
Only the most trusted devotees
of Imam Hasan
al-Askari (as) knew of the birth
and occultation. Scholars and
researchers of theology have
obtained evidence of the
existence of a "Mahdi" from
sources such as the Qur'an,
ahadith of the Prophet quoted
through respected companions as
well as quotes from Imams of the
Ahle Bait.
THE
OCCULTATION OF THE TWELFTH IMAM
There is evidence in the
literature about the time and
the types of the occultation of
the Twelfth Imam including the
controversies surrounding this
subject. This occultation
occurred in two phases as
detailed below:
Ghaibat us-Sughra (The Lesser
Occultation):
This was a period of seventy
years between 260 AH and 329
AH. The Imam was not available
to his followers in person, but
carried out his mission of
guidance through four of his
most trusted emissaries. During
this period, the actual personal
contact with Mm was kept to an
extremely limited
number. However, the followers
of Ahle Bait and his devotees
kept constant communication with
him for guidance. They wrote
letters to him, and he sent back
written replies to them.
Ghaibat al-Kubra (the Greater
Occultation):
At his deathbed in 329 AH, the
last emissary of the Imam read
the contents of his last letter
to him. In it he said that the
Imam had ordained not to appoint
any new emissary to follow him
because the Imam was going into
the period of his greater
occultation. He said that the
period of his greater
occultation would be as long a
period of time as Willed by
Allah. From then on, there
would cease to be any physical
contact with him until the time
Allah would ordain his
re-appearance. Throughout the
ages, there would be others
making false claims to be the
Awaited One, but beware of the
falsehood, and seek the Truth
that had already been revealed.
The Twelfth Imam (as) warned the
believers to remain steadfast
and not succumb to the false
claims by others to be the
Awaited Imam (as). He also
warned that there would be
considerable doubt among the
misguided regarding the very
belief of his occultation. The
author considers this to be
beyond the scope of this book to
indulge in further discussion on
the subject here because of its
length as well as the attended
controversies.
THE TRADITION OF WRITING LETTERS
TO IMAM-E ZAMAN (as)
Up to the end of the lesser
occultation, the followers and
the devotees used to communicate
with the Twelfth
Imam (as) through his safer
(emissary). However, from the
time of the death of his last
safir, the tradition of written
communications with the Imam has
continued to this day, and there
are believers who testify that
they still get replies from him
in some unusual ways.
GUIDANCE FROM IMAM AL-MAHDI (as)
1. The
Imam considers them his rightly
guided brothers who fight in way
of Allah and serve Islam.
2. The Imam remains in touch
with his followers, but whatever
he does has to be with Allah's
permission.
3. The Imam keeps away from the
tyrant and is near to his
devotee.
4. The ills of the Ummah
result from the hypocrites and
those who profess only to lip
service. They arc the ones who
have forsaken the Kingdom of
Allah, and abandoned the Path of
Righteousness.
5 . The Imam keeps his watch
over the Ummah, for if he did
not do so, the tyranny would
have overtaken it and wiped it
out of
existence.
6. Dissimulation is useful for
self-preservation, but should
not be a deterrent for the
preservation and propagation of
the Faith. 7. The rulers of Iraq
would be the cause of
faithlessness and limitation of
the provisions of Allah.
8. Only with the grace of
Allah, the tyranny would end in
Iraq and bring peace and plenty
to the believers.
9. The difficulties for
performing Hajj would be
eliminated, and the Imam would
provide assistance and guidance
for it.
10. It is incumbent on the
believers to obey the ordinances
of Islam to gain nearness and
pleasure of the Imam.
Some of these ordinances are:
-performance of the ritual
obligations,
-adherence to acts of the Faith,
-act to prevent defamation of
the Faith,
-be truthful by word and action,
-not to evade one's commitment,
-not to sell one's conscience,
and prevent a split in the
unity,
-harm not one's benefactor, and
-always remember that we are
accountable for all our deeds.
THE RETURN OF THE TWELFRH IMAM
AL-MAHDI (as)
THE TRUE CLAIM:
From the early days of Islam,
there had been in circulation, a
popular belief that al-Mahdi (as) (the
rightly guided Imam) will make
his appearance, (a Second
Coming), towards the end of the
era of human life on earth and
will fill the world with
justice. Although
there is no specific reference
in al-Qur’an on the word Mahdi
(guided), there are many
references to "imam of guidance"
who would lead the believers to
their salvation. This
belief is further authenticated
with ahadith quoted from the
Prophet. He
is reported to have said, "If no
more than one day remained (on
earth), Allah would lengthen it
until He sent a man of mine (my
Ahle Bait) whose name will be
like mine, and whose father's
name will be like my father's
name." There are numerous
traditions that form the basis
this belief. This
Mahdi is to be identified as the
Qaim al-Muhammad, the Tweylh
Imam from the Ahle Bait. He
is presently in his Ghaibat
ul-Kubra and is the awaited
one. He
will make his appearance only
when it is Willed by Allah.
It is quoted from the Sixth Imam
(Ja'far as-Sadiq (as))
that the awaited Mahdi (as) will
make his appearance in the holy
mosque in Makkah on a Saturday
between Rukn and Maqaam. This
date will coincide with the
tenth of Muharram. He
will then move to Kufa and send
his forces to other directions
to spread the Truth. He
will uphold justice and Islam
would be the preferred religion
of all human beings on earth. He
will lead the Ummah toward the
path of piety and purity.
As to when the Mahdi (as) will
make his appearance, it is said
that a tyrant called Dajal (one
who does everything in
contrariety) would be ruling the
world with tyranny, terror and
injustice. Isa
(Jesus), the son of Mary, will
also have made his appearance,
and together with the Mahdi (as),
the Dajal will be defeated and
killed. The
Mahdi will be the Imam of the
congregation. Isa
will pray behind the Mahdi.
THE PRETENDERS AND FALSE
CLAIMANTS:
Muslim history is full of
claimants who have called
themselves the Mahdi in
practically all Muslim lands
from the west to the east. In
al-maghrib (the Muslim west),
the claimants took to military
insurgences against decadent
regimes, and against external
(non-Muslim) colonial
aggression. In this regard, the
middle of the nineteenth century
AD was a particularly stressful
time for the Muslim
Ummah. Several European
countries were actively
competing against each other in
acquiring foreign lands as well
as aggressive missionary
efforts. Many Muslim countries
had become their targets, which
caused several brave, as well as
painful episodes of history
pertaining to this era. There
was an uprising unsuccessful
against the British in India
(1847 AD), however there was no
Mahdiist claim attached to this
effort. An unsuccessful
Mahdiist uprising took place in
Somalia against the Italian and
British encroachment. A
Mahdiist claimant was executed
in Egypt when he rose against
the Turko-Egyptian regime who,
for their own political
survival, were flirting with the
West and causing the Muslim
Ummah to an unworthy
exposure. Similar risings
occurred in Tunisia (1860 AD),
Morocco and West Africa against
the French encroachments, but
they also met their careers by
execution.
A powerful and prolonged jihad
was carried out by Sayyid
al-Mahdi al-Sanusi in central
Sahara against the Italians in
the Libyan territory, and
against the French in the Chad
territory. He was the second
head of the Sanusi tarika
(1859-1902 AD). Although he
never claimed to be the awaited
Mahdi, people believed that he
was. Ultimately, his son Sayyid
ldris bin alMahdi was installed
as the first king of independent
Libya in 1951.
Some of the historical events
cited below, manifest the same
reaction of the Ummah towards
pressure for survival, and
looking for the awaited Mahdi
for salvation. Most of these
movements failed because they
did not meet the criteria set
forth in the ahadith quoted from
the Prophet. Consequently their
effects were short-lived. Only
a few of them have survived to
this day. It is beyond the
scope of this book to name them
all or to describe the
circumstances in which they laid
their claims. Some of these
movements were considered
heretic, and their followers
were severely persecuted. The
proponents of these movements
founded new sects, and are
described briefly here.
The Fatimid Dynasty, and
of the Ismailia Sect
Ubaid Allah Muhammad, claiming
to be from the chain of hidden
Imams descending from Muhammad
bin Ismail bin of Imam Ja'far
as-Saadiq migrated from Yemen,
and made his way to the far west
in Morocco. There he declared
himself to be the awaited
Mahdi. He laid the foundations
of the Fatimid dynasty initially
in Morocco, but then moved to
Egypt. He was the first Fatimid
caliph (934-946 AD). There were
a total of fourteen caliphs in
this dynasty.
The Ismailia evolved their own
theology, which is totally
different from that of the
mainstream Islarn, both from the
Shiite and the Sunni point of
view.
About fifty years before the
final demise of the dynasty,
Nizar was nominated by the
Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir as
his successor. However, after
the death of al-Mustansir, Nizar
was ousted by the powerful
vizier alAfdhal in favor of al-Musta'li. This
led to a revolt by Nizar (I 043
AD) that was crushed, but led to
serious consequences for the
dynasty. Nizar teamed up with
Hasan bin Sabah, who had founded
the dreaded movement called Fida
e’yyen (the assassins), with
their head quarters in the Far
East (Central Asia.) The progeny
of Nizar did not give up their
aims for the high post of the
caliphate, but their rebellions
were also unsuccessful.
At the end of the rule of
al-Abid ( 1160-1171), the
Fatimid rule ended, and with
that the hopes of the Nizari
princes. The present Agha Khan
traces his direct lineage to
Nizar, the ousted prince of the
Fatimids, and continues to use
the tide Prince (the political
leader), as well as the Intam
(the spiritual leader) of his
adherents.
The Muwahids of Morocco
Muhammad bin Abdallah bin Tumart
was a native of Sus, Morocco. He
was born in the village of
Ijilis, in the tribe of Hargha. As
a yotmg man, he decided to learn
religion, and journeyed to
Baghdad for it. By the time he
completed his studies, he had
become an acknowledged master
and a teacher. On his way back,
he preached to the locals at
each of his stops, and attracted
followers. Abd al-Mu'min was
one such'adherent, who later,
played a key role on
overthrowing the rule of al-Muravids
and replacing it with the al-Muwahids.
Ibne Tumart proceeded westward
to Fez where the Maliki fuqaha
(jurists of the Malild School)
resisted his teaching. They
asked the governor for a debate
with him, at which they
lost. Threatened by his
success, they prevailed on the
governor and had him exiled from
Fez. He moved on to the city of
Marakah, but again met with
resistance from the jurists in
the court of the al-Muravid
ruler. With a threat of death
or fife imprisonment, he finally
decided to migrate back to his
home district of Sus, and
settled among the Masmuda people
in Timnal.
He taught religion to the people
and grew strong as a leader. He
then declared himself to be the
awaited Mahdi, and launched his
assault on the regime of the al-Muravids
under the leadership of Abd al-Mu'min. Their
first attempt was unsuccessful,
with heavy loss of life, but Abd
al-Mu'min escaped. After the
death of Ibne Tumart (1130 AD),
Abd al-Mu'min led successful
raids and finally vanquished the
al-Muravids.
The Mahdawi Sect:
Syed Muhanunad Mahdi (1443-1505
AD) of Jawnpur, India,
proclaimed himself to be the
awaited Mahdi, and attracted
some adherents in Ahmadabad,
Gujrat. He was forced to leave
India, and found home in north
western Afghanistan. Upon his
death, he was buried there. His
followers claimed that he could
do miracles including the
ability to heal the sick and
raise the dead. They were
actively persecuted by sultan
Muzaffar II of Gujrat
(1511-1526AD), and many were put
to death. They continued to be
pursued after by Aurangzeb when
he was the governor of Ahmadabad
(1645 AD). As a result, they
began the practice of takiyya
(dissimulation). The number of
surviving adherents of this sect
is uncertain. However, in
India, they are found in small
groups in Bombay, Deccan, and
Utter Pradesh. In Pakistan,
they are found in the province
of Sindh where they are known as
Zilais.
The Babi Sect:
The concept of 'the Bab', (the
gateway) to knowledge of the
Divine Truth (the Hidden Imam:
al-Mahdi), was originated by
Ahmad al-Ahsai in Iran. He
claimed to be under special
guidance from the Imam, and
gathered followers. He then
evolved a totally separate set
of beliefs and ritual
practices. He exalted the
Twelve Imams and their role in
creation beyond the claims of
the mainstream Shiites, to the
point of polytheism. His
successor, Syed Karim Reshti (d.
1843 AD) claimed that the Hidden
Imam was guiding him through his
dreams. This deviant belief was
regarded with suspicion by the
ruling authorities. After the
death of Syed Karim, his
followers took another leader
known as Mirza Ali Muhammad of
Shiraz (1820-1850 AD). Mirza
Ali Muhammad had become
disenchanted with the fanaticism
of the mullahs (clergy) and was
already preaching his
revolutionary ideas in
public. He was thus perfectly
suited to be the successor to
Syed Karim.
By the year 1844 AD, a popular
belief was circulating that the
reappearance of the Twelfth Imam
was imminent. Mirza Ali
Muhammad claimed that he was the
Bab and in 1848 AD, he declared
himself to be the awaited
Mahdi. Soon afterwards, he
declared himself the revealer of
a new religion, and laid down a
totally new set of rules of
belief and the practice of their
faith. He further expanded his
role into prophethood and
beyond. He also predicted a
"promised one" who would follow
him and fulfill his teachings.
The authorities arrested him and
sequestered him in the fortress
of Maku in Azerbaijan. He
was finally transferred to
Tabriz where he was condemned
and executed by bullets of a
Christian firing squad.
The followers of the Bab are
known as the Babi or the Ahle
Bayan (the followers of Bayan,
the writings of the Bab). After
attempts by three Babis to
assassinate Shah Nasir ud-Din,
the king of Iran (I 852 AD),
their sect was banned and
actively persecuted as
heretics. At that time,
authorities also arrested and
interned Mirza Husain Ali Nuri,
a young convert to the Babi
doctrine. His half brother
Mirza Yaha, at age thirty years,
was recognized by Babis as the
successor to the Bab and called
him Subhe Azal (the Eternal
Dawn).
To escape persecutior4 Mirza
Yahya left Iran and moved to
Baghdad. He maintained the pure
form of the teachings of his
master. His followers are known
as the Azali Babis. However,
the Turkish government took him
from Baghdad and detained him in
Famagusta (Cyprus). Only a few
members of this sect have
survived.
The Bahai Sect:
Mirza Husain Ali Nuri (c.
1817-1892 AD) was -imprisoned in
Tehran and later exiled. He came
to settle in Baghdad in 1852
AD.In 1863 AD he declared that
he was the man yuzhiruhu-Ilah,
(the one whom Allah shall
manifest) predicted by the
Bab. Durmg the few months that
followed, he modified the Babi
faith to give it a more
universal appeal, and thus laid
the foundation of a new religion
named after his epithet Baha
Ullah (die Splendor of
Allah). He was imprisoned
initially in Adrianople in 1863
AD, and later moved to Acre in
1868 AD where he died in 1892
AD.
The followers of his doctrines
are known as the Bahais and are
spread throughout the
world. Besides the Middle East,
the Bahai doctrine has found
acceptance in Europe and
Americas.
The Ahmadiya Sect:
This was originated by Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, district
Gurdaspur, Punjab, British
India, (1843-1908 AD). In the
year 1900 AD, they got
themselves registered with the
Imperial Indian government as a
separate modem Muslim Sect.
Reacting to the challenges of
the West and zealous efforts of
the Christian missionaries in
British India, Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad first declared himself to
be a mujaddid (a renewal of the
faith) in 1882 AD. Soon
afterwards started claiming to
be the awaited Mahdi as well as
the promised Messiah (Second
Coming of Jesus Christ). He
even claimed to be the buniz
(re-appearance) of Prophet
Muhammad, and the avtar (die
returning) of Lord Krishna of
the Hindus. He claimed to
receive Divine Revelations, and
the ability to perform
miracles. In 1889 AD, he
announced that he had received
orders from Allah to start
accepting bayat (fealty) from
his believers.
Not unexpectedly, there was
uproar over these claims by the
Christians, Muslims and Hindus
of India. This led to fatwas
(Muslim juristic decrees),
debates, contests as well as a
few law suites against these
claims. However Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad continued Ms office till
his retirement due to old
age. Thus, until his death in
1908 AD, his affairs were run by
the Sadr Anjtunane Ahmadiya. He
was succeeded by Khalifa Nur ud-Din.
After the partition of British
India (1947 AD), many adherents
of this sect migrated to
Pakistan and built their
headquarters in Rabwa. They
have spread to many Muslim
countries and elsewhere in the
world by their active propaganda
and missionary efforts. The sect split into two groups. The Qadiani faction considers Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a Nabi (prophet) and the Lahori Party who consider him only as a mujaddid (the renewer of the faith). |
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