Как пишется махди на арабском

This article is about the concept of an eschatological messianic savior in Islam. For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ‘the Guided’) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad who will appear shortly before the prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus) and lead Muslims to rule the world.

Though the Mahdi is not referenced in the Quran, and is absent from several canonical compilations of hadith – including the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – he is mentioned in other hadith literature. The doctrine of the mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Among the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd (c. 622–687) declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661), to be the Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. It has been a part of the ʿaqīdah (creed) of Muslims for 1,400 years. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants.

The Mahdi features in both Shi’a and Sunni branches of Islam, though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shi’as, the Mahdi is believed to be Muhammad al-Mahdi, son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will. This is rejected by most Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet.

Etymology[edit]

The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y (ه-د-ي), commonly used to mean «divine guidance».^[1] Although the root appears in the Qur’an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in the book.^[2]
The associated verb is hada, which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided.^[3]
In the doctrinal sense, Mahdi is the title of the end-times eschatological redeemer in most Islamic sects.^{[citation needed]}

Historical development[edit]

Pre-Islamic ideas[edit]

Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish the Himyarite Kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.^[2] It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs.^[4][5] Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments.^[5] These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in ḥadīth collections such as Jami’ at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawud, but are absent from the early works of Bukhari and Muslim.^[6]

Origin[edit]

The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet («the guide») and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), Abraham, al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs (هداة مهديون, hudat mahdiyyun). During the Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu’awiya I (r. 661–680), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept.^[1] A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler.^[7][a]

There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will … An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up … in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men … of Syria and … Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them … He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on the ground … He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.^[10]

Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I (r. 680–683), after Mu’awiya’s death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for the public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina, the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid’s sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid’s son and successor Mu’awiya II (r. 683–684) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to the hadith’s prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer.^[7][2]

Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense.^[1] The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.^[11] Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717) encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar II (r. 717–720), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir (d. 728) and al-Farazdaq (d. 728–730).^[1]

Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions (hadith) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether the Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib (d. 715) is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II.^[12]

By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept.^[13] Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph Saffah (r. 750–754) assumed the title of «the Mahdi» for himself.^[14]

Shi’a Islam[edit]

In Shi’a Islam, the eschatological Mahdi was commonly given the epithet al-Qa’im (القائم),^[15][16] which can be translated as ‘he who will rise,’^[17] signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time.^[18] Distinctively Shi’a is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi,^[15] whose life has been prolonged by divine will.^[19][20] An intimately related Shi’a notion is that of raj’a (lit. ‘return’),^[17][21] which often means the return to life of (some) Shi’a Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali, to exact their revenge on their oppressors.^[17][22]

Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE),^[23][17] and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE.^[17] These traditions were appropriated by various Shi’a sects in different periods,^[24] including the now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites. ^[25] For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites, who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya,^[15][26] and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina.^[2] This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq, who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj’a.^[2] Later on, these traditions were also employed by the Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation.^[23]

In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shi’a, who later formed the Twelvers.^[24][15] Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century,^[27] in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 919), Ya’qub al-Kulayni (d. 941), and Ibn Babawayh (d. 991), among others.^[28] This period also saw a transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. ^[29][5]

The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shi’a view of the Mahdi,^[15][30] including the Shafi’i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji.^[15] Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers’ view of Mahdi. ^[30] There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles,^[30] for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha’rani.^[15]

Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, as a major Isma’ili Shi’a dynasty,^[31] the terms Mahdi and Qa’im were used interchangeably for the messianic imam anticipated in Shi’a traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu’man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa’im (instead of Mahdi).^[15] In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal.^[15][32] One exception is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen, who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return.^[15]

In Islamic doctrine[edit]

Sunni Islam[edit]

In Sunni Islam, the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead.^[33][34] Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, only three—Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi—contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of Bukhari and Muslim—considered the most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does Nasai.^[35][36] Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered a title for Jesus when he returns.^[37][2] Others, like the historian and the Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times.^[38]

The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness.^[2] He is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world.^[39] He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad’s descendants, as opposed to the Shi’a belief that he is of the Husaynid line.^[40] The Mahdi’s name would be Muhammad and his father’s name would be Abd Allah.^[41] Abu Dawood quotes Muhammad as saying: «The Mahdi will be from my family, from the descendants of Fatimah».^[42] Another hadith states:

Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father’s name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression.^[42]

Before the arrival of the Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world.^[43] In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka’ba. Against his will, would the Mahdi be recognized as ruler by the people.^[10] The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world.^[2][44] With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would confront the Dajjal, but would be unable to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal.^[45][44] The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani, another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before the appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God’s command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years,^[46] whereas Jesus after 40 years.^[47] Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before the final end of the world.^[46]

Shia Islam[edit]

Twelver[edit]

In Twelver Shi’ism, the largest Shi’i branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot.^[48] For the Twelver Shi’a, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation. This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad, son of the eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari.^[49] According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868,^[50] though his birth was kept hidden from the public.^[30] He lived under his father’s care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids.^[51]

Minor Occultation[edit]

When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids,^[51] the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life was in danger from the Abbasids.^[52] Only a few of the elite among the Shi’a, known as the deputies (سفراء, sufara; sing. سفير safir) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation (ghayba al-sughra).^[53]

The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Amri, a trusted companion and confidant of the eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shi’a. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari, abolished the office on the orders of the imam just a few days before his death in 941.^[54][55]

Major Occultation[edit]

With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation (الغيبة الكبرى, ghayba al-kubra), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed.^[54] The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists.^[56][57] During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of the time (صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān) and does not age.^[58] Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shi’a if he wishes.^[58] The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community.^[59][30][60] Shi’a scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr, Jesus, and the Dajjal, as well as secular reports about long-lived men.^[15] Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible.^[61] He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state.^[62]

Reappearance[edit]

Before his reappearance (ظهور, zuhur), the world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur’an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned.^[58] There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death.^[63] The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali (dhu’l-fiqar) in his hand,^[58] between the corner of the Ka’ba and the station of Abraham.

By some accounts, he will reappear on the day of ashura (tenth of Muharram), the day the third Shi’a imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be «a young man of medium stature with a handsome face,» with black hair and beard.^[64] A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid,^[17] after which the angels, jinns, and humans will flock to the Mahdi.^[65] This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join the enemies of the Mahdi,^[17][66] and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites.^[66]

The Mahdi will then go to Kufa, which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj’a (lit. ‘return’).^[65][22] The episode of Jesus’ return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to the Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal.^[67] Those who hold enmity towards Ali ibn Abi Talib (ناصبيّ, nasibis) will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shi’ism.^[68]

The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam,^[15] and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment.^[17] He establishes the kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world.^[69] In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as «submission to God.»^[17][30] It is in this sense, according to Amir-Moezzi, that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone.^[17] His rule will be paradise on earth,^[70] which will last for seventy years until his death,^[58] though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years.^[71]

Isma’ilism[edit]

In Isma’ilism a distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma’ili imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa’im at various times.^{[citation needed]} When the sixth Shi’a imam Ja’far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma’il ibn Ja’far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi.^[72] Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma’il as the imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma’ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria,^[73] and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who would overthrow the Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate.^[b][75][76] The propaganda of the Mahdi’s return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shi’is, who were in a state of confusion (hayra) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions.^[77]

In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn, declared himself the Mahdi.^[78] This brought about schism in the unified Isma’ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat, still held that Muhammad ibn Isma’il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism.^[79][80] In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia) and bring forth a new message.^[68] In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu’l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire. Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed.^[79][80]

Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn’s partisans took control of the central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the «Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful, the Mahdi». Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids.^[81][82] This forced Sa’id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909.^[78] There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah;^[83][84] as the historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, ‘the Imam rightly guided by God’ (al-imam al-mahdi bi’llah): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima.^[85]

Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to the expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders.^[78] Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma’il’s return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja’far al-Sadiq.^[86] In a bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa’im: by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it hand been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it.^[87] The Fatimids eventually dropped the millenarian rhetoric.^[78]

Zaydism[edit]

In Zaydism, the concept of imamate is different from the Isma’ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such, the Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries.^[c][89][90]

Ahmadiyya belief[edit]

In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the movement;^[91] he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus.^[92][93] However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities.^[94][95] Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but a peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with «heavenly signs and arguments».^[91]

Mahdi claimants[edit]

Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri, the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the founder of Bábism; Muhammad Ahmad, who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in the late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, also claimed to be a ‘representative’ of the Mahdi.^[96] The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi.^[97] Adnan Oktar, a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi.^[98]

Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing a Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited,^[99] as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies – winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day – which (so far) none have.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

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• Leirvik, Oddbjørn (2010). Images of Jesus Christ in Islam (2nd ed.). London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4411-7739-1.
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• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi’i Islam: the history and doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300034998.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1978). «A Treatise on the Occultation of the Twelfth Imāmite Imam». Studia Islamica (48): 109–124. doi:10.2307/1595355. JSTOR 1595355.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdi in Twelver Shi’ism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780873954426.
• Sonn, Tamarra (2004). A Brief History of Islam. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-2174-3.
• Valentine, Simon Ross (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama’at: History, Belief, Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2007). «ISLAM IN IRAN vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 136–143.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (1998). «ESCHATOLOGY iii. Imami Shiʿism». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. VIII/6. pp. 575–581.
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background. Routledge Kegan & Paul. ISBN 9780710301581.
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• Hussain, Jassim M. (1989). «Messianism and the Mahdi». In Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dabashi, Hamid; Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza (eds.). Expectation of the Millennium: Shi’ism in History. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780887068447.
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• Modarressi, Hossein (1993). Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’ite Islam: Abū Ja’far Ibn Qiba Al-Rāzī and His Contribution to Imāmite Shī’ite Thought (PDF). Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878500956.
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This article is about the concept of an eschatological messianic savior in Islam. For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ‘the Guided’) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad who will appear shortly before the prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus) and lead Muslims to rule the world.

Though the Mahdi is not referenced in the Quran, and is absent from several canonical compilations of hadith – including the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – he is mentioned in other hadith literature. The doctrine of the mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Among the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd (c. 622–687) declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661), to be the Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. It has been a part of the ʿaqīdah (creed) of Muslims for 1,400 years. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants.

The Mahdi features in both Shi’a and Sunni branches of Islam, though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shi’as, the Mahdi is believed to be Muhammad al-Mahdi, son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will. This is rejected by most Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet.

Etymology[edit]

The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y (ه-د-ي), commonly used to mean «divine guidance».^[1] Although the root appears in the Qur’an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in the book.^[2]
The associated verb is hada, which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided.^[3]
In the doctrinal sense, Mahdi is the title of the end-times eschatological redeemer in most Islamic sects.^{[citation needed]}

Historical development[edit]

Pre-Islamic ideas[edit]

Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish the Himyarite Kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.^[2] It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs.^[4][5] Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments.^[5] These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in ḥadīth collections such as Jami’ at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawud, but are absent from the early works of Bukhari and Muslim.^[6]

Origin[edit]

The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet («the guide») and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), Abraham, al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs (هداة مهديون, hudat mahdiyyun). During the Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu’awiya I (r. 661–680), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept.^[1] A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler.^[7][a]

There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will … An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up … in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men … of Syria and … Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them … He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on the ground … He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.^[10]

Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I (r. 680–683), after Mu’awiya’s death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for the public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina, the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid’s sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid’s son and successor Mu’awiya II (r. 683–684) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to the hadith’s prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer.^[7][2]

Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense.^[1] The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.^[11] Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717) encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar II (r. 717–720), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir (d. 728) and al-Farazdaq (d. 728–730).^[1]

Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions (hadith) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether the Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib (d. 715) is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II.^[12]

By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept.^[13] Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph Saffah (r. 750–754) assumed the title of «the Mahdi» for himself.^[14]

Shi’a Islam[edit]

In Shi’a Islam, the eschatological Mahdi was commonly given the epithet al-Qa’im (القائم),^[15][16] which can be translated as ‘he who will rise,’^[17] signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time.^[18] Distinctively Shi’a is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi,^[15] whose life has been prolonged by divine will.^[19][20] An intimately related Shi’a notion is that of raj’a (lit. ‘return’),^[17][21] which often means the return to life of (some) Shi’a Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali, to exact their revenge on their oppressors.^[17][22]

Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE),^[23][17] and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE.^[17] These traditions were appropriated by various Shi’a sects in different periods,^[24] including the now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites. ^[25] For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites, who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya,^[15][26] and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina.^[2] This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq, who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj’a.^[2] Later on, these traditions were also employed by the Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation.^[23]

In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shi’a, who later formed the Twelvers.^[24][15] Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century,^[27] in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 919), Ya’qub al-Kulayni (d. 941), and Ibn Babawayh (d. 991), among others.^[28] This period also saw a transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. ^[29][5]

The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shi’a view of the Mahdi,^[15][30] including the Shafi’i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji.^[15] Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers’ view of Mahdi. ^[30] There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles,^[30] for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha’rani.^[15]

Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, as a major Isma’ili Shi’a dynasty,^[31] the terms Mahdi and Qa’im were used interchangeably for the messianic imam anticipated in Shi’a traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu’man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa’im (instead of Mahdi).^[15] In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal.^[15][32] One exception is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen, who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return.^[15]

In Islamic doctrine[edit]

Sunni Islam[edit]

In Sunni Islam, the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead.^[33][34] Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, only three—Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi—contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of Bukhari and Muslim—considered the most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does Nasai.^[35][36] Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered a title for Jesus when he returns.^[37][2] Others, like the historian and the Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times.^[38]

The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness.^[2] He is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world.^[39] He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad’s descendants, as opposed to the Shi’a belief that he is of the Husaynid line.^[40] The Mahdi’s name would be Muhammad and his father’s name would be Abd Allah.^[41] Abu Dawood quotes Muhammad as saying: «The Mahdi will be from my family, from the descendants of Fatimah».^[42] Another hadith states:

Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father’s name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression.^[42]

Before the arrival of the Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world.^[43] In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka’ba. Against his will, would the Mahdi be recognized as ruler by the people.^[10] The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world.^[2][44] With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would confront the Dajjal, but would be unable to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal.^[45][44] The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani, another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before the appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God’s command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years,^[46] whereas Jesus after 40 years.^[47] Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before the final end of the world.^[46]

Shia Islam[edit]

Twelver[edit]

In Twelver Shi’ism, the largest Shi’i branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot.^[48] For the Twelver Shi’a, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation. This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad, son of the eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari.^[49] According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868,^[50] though his birth was kept hidden from the public.^[30] He lived under his father’s care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids.^[51]

Minor Occultation[edit]

When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids,^[51] the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life was in danger from the Abbasids.^[52] Only a few of the elite among the Shi’a, known as the deputies (سفراء, sufara; sing. سفير safir) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation (ghayba al-sughra).^[53]

The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Amri, a trusted companion and confidant of the eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shi’a. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari, abolished the office on the orders of the imam just a few days before his death in 941.^[54][55]

Major Occultation[edit]

With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation (الغيبة الكبرى, ghayba al-kubra), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed.^[54] The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists.^[56][57] During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of the time (صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān) and does not age.^[58] Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shi’a if he wishes.^[58] The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community.^[59][30][60] Shi’a scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr, Jesus, and the Dajjal, as well as secular reports about long-lived men.^[15] Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible.^[61] He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state.^[62]

Reappearance[edit]

Before his reappearance (ظهور, zuhur), the world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur’an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned.^[58] There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death.^[63] The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali (dhu’l-fiqar) in his hand,^[58] between the corner of the Ka’ba and the station of Abraham.

By some accounts, he will reappear on the day of ashura (tenth of Muharram), the day the third Shi’a imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be «a young man of medium stature with a handsome face,» with black hair and beard.^[64] A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid,^[17] after which the angels, jinns, and humans will flock to the Mahdi.^[65] This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join the enemies of the Mahdi,^[17][66] and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites.^[66]

The Mahdi will then go to Kufa, which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj’a (lit. ‘return’).^[65][22] The episode of Jesus’ return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to the Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal.^[67] Those who hold enmity towards Ali ibn Abi Talib (ناصبيّ, nasibis) will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shi’ism.^[68]

The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam,^[15] and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment.^[17] He establishes the kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world.^[69] In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as «submission to God.»^[17][30] It is in this sense, according to Amir-Moezzi, that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone.^[17] His rule will be paradise on earth,^[70] which will last for seventy years until his death,^[58] though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years.^[71]

Isma’ilism[edit]

In Isma’ilism a distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma’ili imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa’im at various times.^{[citation needed]} When the sixth Shi’a imam Ja’far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma’il ibn Ja’far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi.^[72] Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma’il as the imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma’ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria,^[73] and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who would overthrow the Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate.^[b][75][76] The propaganda of the Mahdi’s return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shi’is, who were in a state of confusion (hayra) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions.^[77]

In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn, declared himself the Mahdi.^[78] This brought about schism in the unified Isma’ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat, still held that Muhammad ibn Isma’il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism.^[79][80] In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia) and bring forth a new message.^[68] In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu’l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire. Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed.^[79][80]

Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn’s partisans took control of the central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the «Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful, the Mahdi». Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids.^[81][82] This forced Sa’id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909.^[78] There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah;^[83][84] as the historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, ‘the Imam rightly guided by God’ (al-imam al-mahdi bi’llah): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima.^[85]

Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to the expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders.^[78] Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma’il’s return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja’far al-Sadiq.^[86] In a bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa’im: by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it hand been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it.^[87] The Fatimids eventually dropped the millenarian rhetoric.^[78]

Zaydism[edit]

In Zaydism, the concept of imamate is different from the Isma’ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such, the Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries.^[c][89][90]

Ahmadiyya belief[edit]

In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the movement;^[91] he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus.^[92][93] However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities.^[94][95] Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but a peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with «heavenly signs and arguments».^[91]

Mahdi claimants[edit]

Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri, the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the founder of Bábism; Muhammad Ahmad, who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in the late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, also claimed to be a ‘representative’ of the Mahdi.^[96] The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi.^[97] Adnan Oktar, a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi.^[98]

Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing a Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited,^[99] as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies – winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day – which (so far) none have.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Arjomand, Saïd Amir (2000). «Origins and Development of Apocalypticism and Messianism in Early Islam: 610-750 CE». Oslo: Congress of the International Committee of the Historical Sciences.
• Arjomand, Saïd Amir (2007). «The Concept of Mahdi in Sunni Islam». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 14, Fasc. 2. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
• Bashir, Shahzad (2003). Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions: The Nūrbakhshīya Between Medieval and Modern Islam. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-495-8.
• Bentlage, Björn; Eggert, Marion; Krämer, Hans-Martin; Reichmuth, Stefan (2016). Religious Dynamics under the Impact of Imperialism and Colonialism: A Sourcebook. Brill. ISBN 9789004329003.
• Blichfeldt, Jan-Olaf (1985). Early Mahdism: Politics and Religion in the Formative Period of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07643-3.
• Cook, David (2002a). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Princeton: The Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878501427.
• Cook, David (2002b). «Ḥadīth, Authority and the End of the World: Traditions in Modern Muslim Apocalyptic Literature». Oriente Moderno. 82 (1): 31–53. doi:10.1163/22138617-08201004. hdl:1911/70538. JSTOR 25817811.
• Cook, Michael (2016). «Eschatology and the Dating of Traditions». In Motzki, Harald (ed.). Ḥadīth: Origins and Developments. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781138247796.
• Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
• Daftary, Farhad (2013). A History of Shi’i Islam. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-841-0.
• Doi, A. R. I. (1971). «The Yoruba Mahdī». Journal of Religion in Africa. 4 (2): 119–136. doi:10.1163/157006671×00070. JSTOR 1594738.
• Esposito, John L. (1998). Islam and Politics (4th ed.). Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2774-2.
• Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2009). «The Return of Political Mahdism». Current Trends in Islamist Ideology. 8: 26–38. ISSN 1940-834X.
• Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2011). Apocalypse in Islam. Translated by DeBevoise, M. B. Berkely: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26431-1.
• Fishman, Jason Eric; Soage, Ana Belén (2013). «The Nation of Islam and the Muslim World: Theologically Divorced and Politically United». Religion Compass. 7 (2): 59–68. doi:10.1111/rec3.12032.
• Friedmann, Yohanan (1989). Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and its Medieval Background. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05772-4.
• Furnish, Timothy R. (2005). Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Jihad and Osama Bin Laden. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-98383-8.
• Goldziher, Ignaz (2021). Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400843510.
• Halm, Heinz (1991). Das Reich des Mahdi: Der Aufstieg der Fatimiden [The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-35497-7.
• Halm, Heinz (1997). Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution. Translated by Brown, Allison. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 1-55876-134-9.
• Halm, Heinz (2004). Shi’ism. Translated by Watson, Janet; Hill, Marian (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-1888-0.
• Halverson, Jeffry R.; Goodall, H. L. Jr.; Corman, Steven R. (2011). Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-10896-7.
• Klemm, Verena (1984). «Die vier sufarā’ des Zwölften Imām: Zur formativen Periode der Zwölferšīʽa». Die Welt des Orients. 15: 126–143. JSTOR 25683146.
• Klemm, Verena (2007). «ISLAM IN IRAN ix. THE DEPUTIES OF MAHDI». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 143–6.
• Leirvik, Oddbjørn (2010). Images of Jesus Christ in Islam (2nd ed.). London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4411-7739-1.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1981). «ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr and the Mahdi». Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 40 (4): 291–305. doi:10.1086/372899. S2CID 161061748.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1986). «Al–Mahdi». In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1230–1238. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi’i Islam: the history and doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300034998.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1978). «A Treatise on the Occultation of the Twelfth Imāmite Imam». Studia Islamica (48): 109–124. doi:10.2307/1595355. JSTOR 1595355.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdi in Twelver Shi’ism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780873954426.
• Sonn, Tamarra (2004). A Brief History of Islam. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-2174-3.
• Valentine, Simon Ross (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama’at: History, Belief, Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2007). «ISLAM IN IRAN vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 136–143.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (1998). «ESCHATOLOGY iii. Imami Shiʿism». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. VIII/6. pp. 575–581.
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background. Routledge Kegan & Paul. ISBN 9780710301581.
• Tabatabai, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn (1975). Shi’ite Islam. Translated by Sayyid Hossein Nasr. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-390-8.
• Kohlberg, E. (2022). «Rad̲j̲ʿa». In Bearman, P. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Reference Online.
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1989). «Messianism and the Mahdi». In Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dabashi, Hamid; Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza (eds.). Expectation of the Millennium: Shi’ism in History. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780887068447.
• Sobhani, Ja’far (2001). Doctrines of Shi’i Islam (PDF). Translated by Shah-Kazemi, Reza. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 01860647804.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
• Modarressi, Hossein (1993). Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’ite Islam: Abū Ja’far Ibn Qiba Al-Rāzī and His Contribution to Imāmite Shī’ite Thought (PDF). Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878500956.
• Nanji, Azim; Daftary, Farhad (2006). «What is Shiite Islam?». In Cornell, Vincent J. (ed.). Voices of Islam. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275987329.

This article is about the concept of an eschatological messianic savior in Islam. For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ‘the Guided’) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad who will appear shortly before the prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus) and lead Muslims to rule the world.

Though the Mahdi is not referenced in the Quran, and is absent from several canonical compilations of hadith – including the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – he is mentioned in other hadith literature. The doctrine of the mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Among the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd (c. 622–687) declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661), to be the Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. It has been a part of the ʿaqīdah (creed) of Muslims for 1,400 years. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants.

The Mahdi features in both Shi’a and Sunni branches of Islam, though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shi’as, the Mahdi is believed to be Muhammad al-Mahdi, son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will. This is rejected by most Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet.

Etymology[edit]

The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y (ه-د-ي), commonly used to mean «divine guidance».^[1] Although the root appears in the Qur’an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in the book.^[2]
The associated verb is hada, which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided.^[3]
In the doctrinal sense, Mahdi is the title of the end-times eschatological redeemer in most Islamic sects.^{[citation needed]}

Historical development[edit]

Pre-Islamic ideas[edit]

Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish the Himyarite Kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.^[2] It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs.^[4][5] Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments.^[5] These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in ḥadīth collections such as Jami’ at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawud, but are absent from the early works of Bukhari and Muslim.^[6]

Origin[edit]

The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet («the guide») and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), Abraham, al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs (هداة مهديون, hudat mahdiyyun). During the Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu’awiya I (r. 661–680), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept.^[1] A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler.^[7][a]

There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will … An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up … in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men … of Syria and … Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them … He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on the ground … He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.^[10]

Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I (r. 680–683), after Mu’awiya’s death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for the public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina, the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid’s sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid’s son and successor Mu’awiya II (r. 683–684) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to the hadith’s prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer.^[7][2]

Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense.^[1] The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.^[11] Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717) encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar II (r. 717–720), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir (d. 728) and al-Farazdaq (d. 728–730).^[1]

Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions (hadith) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether the Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib (d. 715) is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II.^[12]

By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept.^[13] Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph Saffah (r. 750–754) assumed the title of «the Mahdi» for himself.^[14]

Shi’a Islam[edit]

In Shi’a Islam, the eschatological Mahdi was commonly given the epithet al-Qa’im (القائم),^[15][16] which can be translated as ‘he who will rise,’^[17] signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time.^[18] Distinctively Shi’a is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi,^[15] whose life has been prolonged by divine will.^[19][20] An intimately related Shi’a notion is that of raj’a (lit. ‘return’),^[17][21] which often means the return to life of (some) Shi’a Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali, to exact their revenge on their oppressors.^[17][22]

Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE),^[23][17] and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE.^[17] These traditions were appropriated by various Shi’a sects in different periods,^[24] including the now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites. ^[25] For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites, who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya,^[15][26] and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina.^[2] This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq, who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj’a.^[2] Later on, these traditions were also employed by the Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation.^[23]

In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shi’a, who later formed the Twelvers.^[24][15] Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century,^[27] in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 919), Ya’qub al-Kulayni (d. 941), and Ibn Babawayh (d. 991), among others.^[28] This period also saw a transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. ^[29][5]

The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shi’a view of the Mahdi,^[15][30] including the Shafi’i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji.^[15] Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers’ view of Mahdi. ^[30] There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles,^[30] for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha’rani.^[15]

Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, as a major Isma’ili Shi’a dynasty,^[31] the terms Mahdi and Qa’im were used interchangeably for the messianic imam anticipated in Shi’a traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu’man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa’im (instead of Mahdi).^[15] In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal.^[15][32] One exception is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen, who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return.^[15]

In Islamic doctrine[edit]

Sunni Islam[edit]

In Sunni Islam, the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead.^[33][34] Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, only three—Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi—contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of Bukhari and Muslim—considered the most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does Nasai.^[35][36] Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered a title for Jesus when he returns.^[37][2] Others, like the historian and the Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times.^[38]

The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness.^[2] He is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world.^[39] He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad’s descendants, as opposed to the Shi’a belief that he is of the Husaynid line.^[40] The Mahdi’s name would be Muhammad and his father’s name would be Abd Allah.^[41] Abu Dawood quotes Muhammad as saying: «The Mahdi will be from my family, from the descendants of Fatimah».^[42] Another hadith states:

Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father’s name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression.^[42]

Before the arrival of the Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world.^[43] In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka’ba. Against his will, would the Mahdi be recognized as ruler by the people.^[10] The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world.^[2][44] With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would confront the Dajjal, but would be unable to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal.^[45][44] The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani, another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before the appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God’s command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years,^[46] whereas Jesus after 40 years.^[47] Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before the final end of the world.^[46]

Shia Islam[edit]

Twelver[edit]

In Twelver Shi’ism, the largest Shi’i branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot.^[48] For the Twelver Shi’a, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation. This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad, son of the eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari.^[49] According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868,^[50] though his birth was kept hidden from the public.^[30] He lived under his father’s care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids.^[51]

Minor Occultation[edit]

When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids,^[51] the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life was in danger from the Abbasids.^[52] Only a few of the elite among the Shi’a, known as the deputies (سفراء, sufara; sing. سفير safir) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation (ghayba al-sughra).^[53]

The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Amri, a trusted companion and confidant of the eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shi’a. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari, abolished the office on the orders of the imam just a few days before his death in 941.^[54][55]

Major Occultation[edit]

With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation (الغيبة الكبرى, ghayba al-kubra), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed.^[54] The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists.^[56][57] During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of the time (صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān) and does not age.^[58] Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shi’a if he wishes.^[58] The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community.^[59][30][60] Shi’a scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr, Jesus, and the Dajjal, as well as secular reports about long-lived men.^[15] Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible.^[61] He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state.^[62]

Reappearance[edit]

Before his reappearance (ظهور, zuhur), the world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur’an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned.^[58] There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death.^[63] The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali (dhu’l-fiqar) in his hand,^[58] between the corner of the Ka’ba and the station of Abraham.

By some accounts, he will reappear on the day of ashura (tenth of Muharram), the day the third Shi’a imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be «a young man of medium stature with a handsome face,» with black hair and beard.^[64] A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid,^[17] after which the angels, jinns, and humans will flock to the Mahdi.^[65] This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join the enemies of the Mahdi,^[17][66] and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites.^[66]

The Mahdi will then go to Kufa, which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj’a (lit. ‘return’).^[65][22] The episode of Jesus’ return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to the Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal.^[67] Those who hold enmity towards Ali ibn Abi Talib (ناصبيّ, nasibis) will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shi’ism.^[68]

The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam,^[15] and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment.^[17] He establishes the kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world.^[69] In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as «submission to God.»^[17][30] It is in this sense, according to Amir-Moezzi, that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone.^[17] His rule will be paradise on earth,^[70] which will last for seventy years until his death,^[58] though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years.^[71]

Isma’ilism[edit]

In Isma’ilism a distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma’ili imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa’im at various times.^{[citation needed]} When the sixth Shi’a imam Ja’far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma’il ibn Ja’far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi.^[72] Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma’il as the imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma’ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria,^[73] and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who would overthrow the Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate.^[b][75][76] The propaganda of the Mahdi’s return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shi’is, who were in a state of confusion (hayra) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions.^[77]

In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn, declared himself the Mahdi.^[78] This brought about schism in the unified Isma’ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat, still held that Muhammad ibn Isma’il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism.^[79][80] In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia) and bring forth a new message.^[68] In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu’l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire. Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed.^[79][80]

Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn’s partisans took control of the central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the «Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful, the Mahdi». Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids.^[81][82] This forced Sa’id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909.^[78] There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah;^[83][84] as the historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, ‘the Imam rightly guided by God’ (al-imam al-mahdi bi’llah): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima.^[85]

Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to the expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders.^[78] Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma’il’s return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja’far al-Sadiq.^[86] In a bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa’im: by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it hand been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it.^[87] The Fatimids eventually dropped the millenarian rhetoric.^[78]

Zaydism[edit]

In Zaydism, the concept of imamate is different from the Isma’ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such, the Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries.^[c][89][90]

Ahmadiyya belief[edit]

In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the movement;^[91] he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus.^[92][93] However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities.^[94][95] Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but a peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with «heavenly signs and arguments».^[91]

Mahdi claimants[edit]

Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri, the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the founder of Bábism; Muhammad Ahmad, who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in the late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, also claimed to be a ‘representative’ of the Mahdi.^[96] The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi.^[97] Adnan Oktar, a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi.^[98]

Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing a Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited,^[99] as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies – winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day – which (so far) none have.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Arjomand, Saïd Amir (2000). «Origins and Development of Apocalypticism and Messianism in Early Islam: 610-750 CE». Oslo: Congress of the International Committee of the Historical Sciences.
• Arjomand, Saïd Amir (2007). «The Concept of Mahdi in Sunni Islam». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. 14, Fasc. 2. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
• Bashir, Shahzad (2003). Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions: The Nūrbakhshīya Between Medieval and Modern Islam. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-495-8.
• Bentlage, Björn; Eggert, Marion; Krämer, Hans-Martin; Reichmuth, Stefan (2016). Religious Dynamics under the Impact of Imperialism and Colonialism: A Sourcebook. Brill. ISBN 9789004329003.
• Blichfeldt, Jan-Olaf (1985). Early Mahdism: Politics and Religion in the Formative Period of Islam. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07643-3.
• Cook, David (2002a). Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic. Princeton: The Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878501427.
• Cook, David (2002b). «Ḥadīth, Authority and the End of the World: Traditions in Modern Muslim Apocalyptic Literature». Oriente Moderno. 82 (1): 31–53. doi:10.1163/22138617-08201004. hdl:1911/70538. JSTOR 25817811.
• Cook, Michael (2016). «Eschatology and the Dating of Traditions». In Motzki, Harald (ed.). Ḥadīth: Origins and Developments. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781138247796.
• Daftary, Farhad (2007). The Ismāʿı̄lı̄s: Their History and Doctrines (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-61636-2.
• Daftary, Farhad (2013). A History of Shi’i Islam. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-841-0.
• Doi, A. R. I. (1971). «The Yoruba Mahdī». Journal of Religion in Africa. 4 (2): 119–136. doi:10.1163/157006671×00070. JSTOR 1594738.
• Esposito, John L. (1998). Islam and Politics (4th ed.). Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2774-2.
• Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2009). «The Return of Political Mahdism». Current Trends in Islamist Ideology. 8: 26–38. ISSN 1940-834X.
• Filiu, Jean-Pierre (2011). Apocalypse in Islam. Translated by DeBevoise, M. B. Berkely: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26431-1.
• Fishman, Jason Eric; Soage, Ana Belén (2013). «The Nation of Islam and the Muslim World: Theologically Divorced and Politically United». Religion Compass. 7 (2): 59–68. doi:10.1111/rec3.12032.
• Friedmann, Yohanan (1989). Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and its Medieval Background. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05772-4.
• Furnish, Timothy R. (2005). Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Jihad and Osama Bin Laden. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-98383-8.
• Goldziher, Ignaz (2021). Introduction to Islamic Theology and Law. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400843510.
• Halm, Heinz (1991). Das Reich des Mahdi: Der Aufstieg der Fatimiden [The Empire of the Mahdi: The Rise of the Fatimids] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-35497-7.
• Halm, Heinz (1997). Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution. Translated by Brown, Allison. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 1-55876-134-9.
• Halm, Heinz (2004). Shi’ism. Translated by Watson, Janet; Hill, Marian (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-1888-0.
• Halverson, Jeffry R.; Goodall, H. L. Jr.; Corman, Steven R. (2011). Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-10896-7.
• Klemm, Verena (1984). «Die vier sufarā’ des Zwölften Imām: Zur formativen Periode der Zwölferšīʽa». Die Welt des Orients. 15: 126–143. JSTOR 25683146.
• Klemm, Verena (2007). «ISLAM IN IRAN ix. THE DEPUTIES OF MAHDI». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 143–6.
• Leirvik, Oddbjørn (2010). Images of Jesus Christ in Islam (2nd ed.). London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4411-7739-1.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1981). «ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Zubayr and the Mahdi». Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 40 (4): 291–305. doi:10.1086/372899. S2CID 161061748.
• Madelung, Wilferd (1986). «Al–Mahdi». In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume V: Khe–Mahi. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1230–1238. ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
• Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi’i Islam: the history and doctrines of Twelver Shiʻism. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300034998.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1978). «A Treatise on the Occultation of the Twelfth Imāmite Imam». Studia Islamica (48): 109–124. doi:10.2307/1595355. JSTOR 1595355.
• Sachedina, Abdulaziz A. (1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdi in Twelver Shi’ism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780873954426.
• Sonn, Tamarra (2004). A Brief History of Islam. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4051-2174-3.
• Valentine, Simon Ross (2008). Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama’at: History, Belief, Practice. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-70094-8.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2007). «ISLAM IN IRAN vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 136–143.
• Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (1998). «ESCHATOLOGY iii. Imami Shiʿism». Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. VIII/6. pp. 575–581.
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background. Routledge Kegan & Paul. ISBN 9780710301581.
• Tabatabai, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn (1975). Shi’ite Islam. Translated by Sayyid Hossein Nasr. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-390-8.
• Kohlberg, E. (2022). «Rad̲j̲ʿa». In Bearman, P. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Reference Online.
• Hussain, Jassim M. (1989). «Messianism and the Mahdi». In Nasr, Seyyed Hossein; Dabashi, Hamid; Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza (eds.). Expectation of the Millennium: Shi’ism in History. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780887068447.
• Sobhani, Ja’far (2001). Doctrines of Shi’i Islam (PDF). Translated by Shah-Kazemi, Reza. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 01860647804.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
• Modarressi, Hossein (1993). Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi’ite Islam: Abū Ja’far Ibn Qiba Al-Rāzī and His Contribution to Imāmite Shī’ite Thought (PDF). Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878500956.
• Nanji, Azim; Daftary, Farhad (2006). «What is Shiite Islam?». In Cornell, Vincent J. (ed.). Voices of Islam. Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275987329.

This article is about the concept of an eschatological messianic savior in Islam. For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. ‘the Guided’) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad who will appear shortly before the prophet ʿĪsā (Jesus) and lead Muslims to rule the world.

Though the Mahdi is not referenced in the Quran, and is absent from several canonical compilations of hadith – including the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim – he is mentioned in other hadith literature. The doctrine of the mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Among the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd (c. 622–687) declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661), to be the Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. It has been a part of the ʿaqīdah (creed) of Muslims for 1,400 years. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants.

The Mahdi features in both Shi’a and Sunni branches of Islam, though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shi’as, the Mahdi is believed to be Muhammad al-Mahdi, son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will. This is rejected by most Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet.

Etymology[edit]

The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y (ه-د-ي), commonly used to mean «divine guidance».^[1] Although the root appears in the Qur’an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in the book.^[2]
The associated verb is hada, which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided.^[3]
In the doctrinal sense, Mahdi is the title of the end-times eschatological redeemer in most Islamic sects.^{[citation needed]}

Historical development[edit]

Pre-Islamic ideas[edit]

Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish the Himyarite Kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.^[2] It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Judeo-Christian beliefs.^[4][5] Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments.^[5] These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in ḥadīth collections such as Jami’ at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawud, but are absent from the early works of Bukhari and Muslim.^[6]

Origin[edit]

The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet («the guide») and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), Abraham, al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs (هداة مهديون, hudat mahdiyyun). During the Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu’awiya I (r. 661–680), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept.^[1] A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler.^[7][a]

There will arise a difference after the death of a caliph, and a man of the people of Medina will go forth fleeing to Mecca. Then some of the people of Mecca will come to him and will make him rise in revolt against his will … An expedition will be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up … in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see this, the righteous men … of Syria and … Iraq will come to him and pledge allegiance to him. Thereafter a man of the Quraysh will arise whose maternal uncles are of Kalb. He will send an expedition against them, but they will defeat them … He will then divide the wealth and act among them according to the Sunna of their Prophet. Islam will settle down firmly on the ground … He will stay seven years and then die, and the Muslims will pray over him.^[10]

Refusing to recognize the new caliph, Yazid I (r. 680–683), after Mu’awiya’s death in 680, Ibn al-Zubayr had fled to the Meccan sanctuary. From there he launched anti-Umayyad propaganda, calling for a shura of the Quraysh to elect a new caliph. Those opposed to the Umayyads were paying him homage and asking for the public proclamation of his caliphate, forcing Yazid to send an army to dislodge him in 683. After defeating rebels in the nearby Medina, the army besieged Mecca but was forced to withdraw as a result of Yazid’s sudden death shortly afterward. Ibn al-Zubayr was recognized caliph in Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria, where Yazid’s son and successor Mu’awiya II (r. 683–684) held power in Damascus and adjoining areas. The hadith hoped to enlist support against an expected Umayyad campaign from Syria. The Umayyads did indeed send another army to Mecca in 692, but contrary to the hadith’s prediction was successful in removing Ibn al-Zubayr. The hadith lost relevance soon afterward, but resurfaced in the Basran hadith circles a generation later, this time removed from its original context and understood as referring to a future restorer.^[7][2]

Around the time when Ibn al-Zubayr was trying to expand his dominion, the pro-Alid revolutionary al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi took control of the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa in the name of Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, whom he proclaimed as the Mahdi in the messianic sense.^[1] The association of the name Muhammad with the Mahdi seems to have originated with Ibn al-Hanafiyya, who also shared the epithet Abu al-Qasim with Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.^[11] Among the Umayyads, the caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715–717) encouraged the belief that he was the Mahdi, and other Umayyad rulers, like Umar II (r. 717–720), have been addressed as such in the panegyrics of Jarir (d. 728) and al-Farazdaq (d. 728–730).^[1]

Early discussions about the identity of the Mahdi by religious scholars can be traced back to the time after the Second Fitna. These discussions developed in different directions and were influenced by traditions (hadith) attributed to Muhammad. In Umayyad times, scholars and traditionists not only differed on which caliph or rebel leader should be designated as Mahdi but also on whether the Mahdi is a messianic figure and if signs and predictions of his time had been satisfied. In Medina, among the conservative religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib (d. 715) is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II.^[12]

By the time of the Abbasid Revolution in 750, Mahdi was already a known concept.^[13] Evidence shows that the first Abbasid caliph Saffah (r. 750–754) assumed the title of «the Mahdi» for himself.^[14]

Shi’a Islam[edit]

In Shi’a Islam, the eschatological Mahdi was commonly given the epithet al-Qa’im (القائم),^[15][16] which can be translated as ‘he who will rise,’^[17] signifying his rise against tyranny in the end of time.^[18] Distinctively Shi’a is the notion of temporary absence or occultation of the Mahdi,^[15] whose life has been prolonged by divine will.^[19][20] An intimately related Shi’a notion is that of raj’a (lit. ‘return’),^[17][21] which often means the return to life of (some) Shi’a Imams, particularly Husayn ibn Ali, to exact their revenge on their oppressors.^[17][22]

Traditions that predicted the occultation and rise of a future imam were already in circulation for a century before the death of the eleventh Imam in 260 (874 CE),^[23][17] and possibly as early as the seventh-century CE.^[17] These traditions were appropriated by various Shi’a sects in different periods,^[24] including the now-extinct sects of Nawusites and Waqifites. ^[25] For instance, these traditions were cited by the now-extinct Kaysanites, who denied the death of Ibn al-Hanafiyya,^[15][26] and held that he was in hiding in the Razwa mountains near Medina.^[2] This likely originated with two groups of his supporters, namely, southern Arabian settlers and local recent converts in Iraq, who seem to have spread the notions now known as occultation and raj’a.^[2] Later on, these traditions were also employed by the Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation.^[23]

In parallel, traditions predicting the occultation of a future imam also persisted in the writings of the mainstream Shi’a, who later formed the Twelvers.^[24][15] Based on this material, the Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century,^[27] in the works of Ibrahim al-Qummi (d. 919), Ya’qub al-Kulayni (d. 941), and Ibn Babawayh (d. 991), among others.^[28] This period also saw a transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of the twelfth Imam. ^[29][5]

The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when some notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shi’a view of the Mahdi,^[15][30] including the Shafi’i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji.^[15] Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers’ view of Mahdi. ^[30] There has also been some support for the mahdiship of the twelfth Imam in Sufi circles,^[30] for instance, by the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha’rani.^[15]

Before the rise of the Fatimid Caliphate, as a major Isma’ili Shi’a dynasty,^[31] the terms Mahdi and Qa’im were used interchangeably for the messianic imam anticipated in Shi’a traditions. With the rise of the Fatimids in the tenth century CE, however, al-Qadi al-Nu’man argued that some of these predictions had materialized by the first Fatimid caliph, Abdallah al-Mahdi Billah, while the rest would be fulfilled by his successors. Henceforth, their literature referred to the awaited eschatological imam only as Qa’im (instead of Mahdi).^[15] In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal.^[15][32] One exception is the now-extinct Husaynites in Yemen, who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return.^[15]

In Islamic doctrine[edit]

Sunni Islam[edit]

In Sunni Islam, the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead.^[33][34] Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, only three—Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi—contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of Bukhari and Muslim—considered the most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does Nasai.^[35][36] Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered a title for Jesus when he returns.^[37][2] Others, like the historian and the Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times.^[38]

The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness.^[2] He is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world.^[39] He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad’s descendants, as opposed to the Shi’a belief that he is of the Husaynid line.^[40] The Mahdi’s name would be Muhammad and his father’s name would be Abd Allah.^[41] Abu Dawood quotes Muhammad as saying: «The Mahdi will be from my family, from the descendants of Fatimah».^[42] Another hadith states:

Even if only one day remains [until the doomsday], God will lengthen this day until He calls forth a man from me, or from the family of my house, his name matching mine and his father’s name matching that of my father. He will fill the Earth with equity and justice just as it had previously been filled with injustice and oppression.^[42]

Before the arrival of the Mahdi, the earth would be filled with anarchy and chaos. Divisions and civil wars, moral degradation, and worldliness would be prevalent among the Muslims. Injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world.^[43] In the aftermath of the death of a king, the people would quarrel among themselves, and the as yet unrecognized Mahdi would flee from Medina to Mecca to take refuge in the Ka’ba. Against his will, would the Mahdi be recognized as ruler by the people.^[10] The Dajjal would appear and will spread corruption in the world.^[2][44] With an army bearing black banners, which would come to his aid from the east, the Mahdi would confront the Dajjal, but would be unable to defeat him. Dressed in saffron robes with his head anointed, Jesus would descend at the point of a white minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in eastern Damascus and join the Mahdi. Jesus would pray behind the Mahdi and then kill the Dajjal.^[45][44] The Gog and Magog would also appear wreaking havoc before their final defeat by the forces of Jesus. Although not as significant as the Dajjal and the Gog and Magog, the Sufyani, another representative of the forces of dark, also features in the Sunni traditions. He will rise in Syria before the appearance of Mahdi. When the latter appears, the Sufyani, along with his army, will either be swallowed up en route to Mecca by the earth with God’s command or defeated by the Mahdi. Jesus and the Mahdi will then conquer the world and establish caliphate. The Mahdi will die after 7 to 13 years,^[46] whereas Jesus after 40 years.^[47] Their deaths would be followed by reappearance of corruption before the final end of the world.^[46]

Shia Islam[edit]

Twelver[edit]

In Twelver Shi’ism, the largest Shi’i branch, the belief in the messianic imam is not merely a part of creed, but the pivot.^[48] For the Twelver Shi’a, the Mahdi was born but disappeared, and would remain hidden from humanity until he reappears to bring justice to the world in the end of time, a doctrine known as the Occultation. This imam in occultation is the twelfth imam, Muhammad, son of the eleventh imam, Hasan al-Askari.^[49] According to the Twelvers, the Mahdi was born in Samarra around 868,^[50] though his birth was kept hidden from the public.^[30] He lived under his father’s care until 874 when the latter was killed by the Abbasids.^[51]

Minor Occultation[edit]

When his father died in 874, possibly poisoned by the Abbasids,^[51] the Mahdi went into occultation by the divine command and was hidden from public view for his life was in danger from the Abbasids.^[52] Only a few of the elite among the Shi’a, known as the deputies (سفراء, sufara; sing. سفير safir) of the twelfth imam, were able to communicate with him; hence the occultation in this period is referred to as the Minor Occultation (ghayba al-sughra).^[53]

The first of the deputies is held to have been Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Amri, a trusted companion and confidant of the eleventh imam. Through him the Mahdi would answer the demands and questions of the Shi’a. He was later succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Amri, who held the office for some fifty years and died in 917. His successor Husayn ibn Rawh al-Nawbakhti was in the office until his death in 938. The next deputy, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Simari, abolished the office on the orders of the imam just a few days before his death in 941.^[54][55]

Major Occultation[edit]

With the death of the fourth agent, thus began the Major Occultation (الغيبة الكبرى, ghayba al-kubra), in which the communication between the Mahdi and the faithful was severed.^[54] The leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists.^[56][57] During the Major Occultation, the Mahdi roams the earth and is sustained by God. He is the lord of the time (صاحب الزمان sahib az-zamān) and does not age.^[58] Although his whereabouts and the exact date of his return are unknown, the Mahdi is nevertheless believed to contact some of his Shi’a if he wishes.^[58] The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community.^[59][30][60] Shi’a scholars have argued that the longevity of the Mahdi is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr, Jesus, and the Dajjal, as well as secular reports about long-lived men.^[15] Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible.^[61] He is viewed as the sole legitimate ruler of the Muslim world and the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes him as the head of the state.^[62]

Reappearance[edit]

Before his reappearance (ظهور, zuhur), the world will plunge into chaos, where immorality and ignorance will be commonplace, the Qur’an will be forgotten, and religion will be abandoned.^[58] There will be plagues, earthquakes, floods, wars and death.^[63] The Sufyani will rise and lead people astray. The Mahdi will then reappear in Mecca, with the sword of Ali (dhu’l-fiqar) in his hand,^[58] between the corner of the Ka’ba and the station of Abraham.

By some accounts, he will reappear on the day of ashura (tenth of Muharram), the day the third Shi’a imam Husayn ibn Ali was slain. He will be «a young man of medium stature with a handsome face,» with black hair and beard.^[64] A divine cry will call the people of the world to his aid,^[17] after which the angels, jinns, and humans will flock to the Mahdi.^[65] This is often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join the enemies of the Mahdi,^[17][66] and would appeal to disbelievers and hypocrites.^[66]

The Mahdi will then go to Kufa, which will become his capital, and send troops to kill the Sufyani in Damascus. Husayn and his slain partisans are expected to resurrect to avenge their deaths, known as the doctrine of raj’a (lit. ‘return’).^[65][22] The episode of Jesus’ return in the Twelver doctrine is similar to the Sunni belief, although in some Twelver traditions it is the Mahdi who would kill the Dajjal.^[67] Those who hold enmity towards Ali ibn Abi Talib (ناصبيّ, nasibis) will be subject to jizya (poll tax) or killed if they do not accept Shi’ism.^[68]

The Mahdi is also viewed as the restorer of true Islam,^[15] and the restorer of other monotheistic religions after their distortion and abandonment.^[17] He establishes the kingdom of God on earth and Islamizes the whole world.^[69] In their true form, it is believed, all monotheistic religions are essentially identical to Islam as «submission to God.»^[17][30] It is in this sense, according to Amir-Moezzi, that one should understand the claims that al-Mahdi will impose Islam on everyone.^[17] His rule will be paradise on earth,^[70] which will last for seventy years until his death,^[58] though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years.^[71]

Isma’ilism[edit]

In Isma’ilism a distinct concept of the Mahdi developed, with select Isma’ili imams representing the Mahdi or al-Qa’im at various times.^{[citation needed]} When the sixth Shi’a imam Ja’far al-Sadiq died, some of his followers held his already dead son Isma’il ibn Ja’far to be the imam asserting that he was alive and will return as the Mahdi.^[72] Another group accepted his death and acknowledged his son Muhammad ibn Isma’il as the imam instead. When he died, his followers too denied his death and believed that he was the last imam and the Mahdi. By the mid-9th century, Isma’ili groups of different persuasions had coalesced into a unified movement centered in Salamiyya in central Syria,^[73] and a network of activists was working to collect funds and amass weapons for the return of the Mahdi Muhammad ibn Isma’il, who would overthrow the Abbasids and establish his righteous caliphate.^[b][75][76] The propaganda of the Mahdi’s return had a special appeal to peasants, Bedouins, and many of the later-to-be Twelver Shi’is, who were in a state of confusion (hayra) in the aftermath of the death of their 11th imam Hasan al-Askari, and resulted in many conversions.^[77]

In 899, the leader of the movement, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn, declared himself the Mahdi.^[78] This brought about schism in the unified Isma’ili community as not all adherents of the movement accepted his Mahdist claims. Those in Iraq and Arabia, known as Qarmatians after their leader Hamdan Qarmat, still held that Muhammad ibn Isma’il was the awaited Mahdi and denounced the Salamiyya-based Mahdism.^[79][80] In the Qarmati doctrine, the Mahdi was to abrogate the Islamic law (the Sharia) and bring forth a new message.^[68] In 931, the then Qarmati leader Abu Tahir al-Jannabi declared a Persian prisoner named Abu’l-Fadl al-Isfahani as the awaited Mahdi. The Mahdi went on to denounce Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as liars, abolished Islam, and instituted the cult of fire. Abu Tahir had to depose him as imposter and had him executed.^[79][80]

Meanwhile, in Syria, Sa’id ibn al-Husayn’s partisans took control of the central Syria in 903, and for a time the Friday sermon was read in the name of the «Successor, the rightly-guided Heir, the Lord of the Age, the Commander of the Faithful, the Mahdi». Eventually, the uprising was routed by the Abbasids.^[81][82] This forced Sa’id to flee from Syria to North Africa, where he founded the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya in 909.^[78] There he assumed the regnal name al-Mahdi Billah;^[83][84] as the historian Heinz Halm comments, the singular, semi-divine figure of the Mahdi was thus reduced to an adjective in a caliphal title, ‘the Imam rightly guided by God’ (al-imam al-mahdi bi’llah): instead of the promised messiah, al-Mahdi presented himself merely as one in a long sequence of imams descending from Ali and Fatima.^[85]

Messianic expectations associated with the Mahdi nevertheless did not materialize, contrary to the expectations of his propagandists and followers who expected him to do wonders.^[78] Al-Mahdi attempted to downplay messianism and asserted that the propaganda of Muhammad ibn Isma’il’s return as the Mahdi had only been a ruse to avoid Abbasid persecution and protect the real imam predecessors of his. The Mahdi was actually a collective title of the true imams from the progeny of Ja’far al-Sadiq.^[86] In a bid to gain time, al-Mahdi also sought to shift the messianic expectations on his son, al-Qa’im: by renaming himself as Abdallah Abu Muhammad, and his son as Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad rather than his original name, Abd al-Rahman, the latter would bear the name Abu’l-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abdallah. This was the name of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and it hand been prophesied that the Mahdi would also bear it.^[87] The Fatimids eventually dropped the millenarian rhetoric.^[78]

Zaydism[edit]

In Zaydism, the concept of imamate is different from the Isma’ili and Twelver branches; a Zaydi Imam is any respectable person from the descendants of Ali and Fatima who lays claim to political leadership and struggles for its acquisition. As such, the Zaydi imamate doctrine lacks eschatological characteristics and there is no end-times redeemer in Zaydism. The title of mahdi has been applied to several Zaydi imams as an honorific over the centuries.^[c][89][90]

Ahmadiyya belief[edit]

In the Ahmadiyya belief, the prophesied eschatological figures of Christianity and Islam, the Messiah and Mahdi, actually refer to the same person. These prophecies were fulfilled in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), the founder of the movement;^[91] he is held to be the Mahdi and the manifestation of Jesus.^[92][93] However, the historical Jesus in their view, although escaped crucifixion, nevertheless died and will not be coming back. Instead, God made Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the exact alike of Jesus in character and qualities.^[94][95] Similarly, the Mahdi is not an apocalyptic figure to launch global jihad and conquer the world, but a peaceful mujaddid (renewer of religion), who spreads Islam with «heavenly signs and arguments».^[91]

Mahdi claimants[edit]

Throughout history, various individuals have claimed to be or were proclaimed to be the Mahdi. Claimants have included Muhammad Jaunpuri, the founder of the Mahdavia sect; Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the founder of Bábism; Muhammad Ahmad, who established the Mahdist State in Sudan in the late 19th century. The Iranian dissident Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the MEK, also claimed to be a ‘representative’ of the Mahdi.^[96] The adherents of the Nation of Islam hold Wallace Fard Muhammad, the founder of the movement, to be the Messiah and the Mahdi.^[97] Adnan Oktar, a Turkish cult leader, is considered by his followers as the Mahdi.^[98]

Ibn Khaldun noted a pattern where embracing a Mahdi claimant enabled unity among tribes and/or a region, often enabled them to forcibly seize power, but the lifespan of such a force was usually limited,^[99] as their Mahdi had to conform to hadith prophesies – winning their battles and bringing peace and justice to the world before Judgement Day – which (so far) none have.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

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• Halm, Heinz (1997). Shi’a Islam: From Religion to Revolution. Translated by Brown, Allison. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 1-55876-134-9.
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Махди

Синонимы:

Полезное

предсказанный искупитель ислама

Каллиграфическое представление имени Мухаммада аль-Махди как он появляется в мечети Пророка в Медине

. Махди (арабский : ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, ISO 233 : al -mahdīy, что означает «Праведный», — эсхатологическая мессианская фигура, которая, согласно исламской вере, появится в конце времен, чтобы избавить мир от зла ​​и несправедливости. мусульманских традиций сказано, что он явится вместе с Иисусом Христом и установит Божественное царство Бога. Его правление продлится 6, 7 или 9 лет по разным источникам.

В Коране нет прямые ссылки на Махди, только в хадисе (отчеты и предания из учений Мухаммада, собранных после его смерти). В большинстве традиций Махди прибудет с Иса (Иисус ), чтобы победить Аль-Масих ад-Даджал («ложный Мессия», или Антихрист ). Хотя концепция Махди не является основной доктриной суннитского ислама, она популярна как среди суннитов, так и шиитов мусульман. Оба соглашаются, что он будет править мусульманами и справедливость; однако они сильно различаются по его атрибутам и статусу.

На всей истории люди заявляли или были провозглашены Махди. К ним креп Мухаммад Джаунпури, основатель секты Махдавиа ; Баб (сиййид Али Мухаммад), основатель бабизма ; Мухаммад Ахмад, основавший государство махдистов в Судане в конце 19 века; Мирза Гулам Ахмад, основатель движения Ахмадия ; Масуд Раджави, лидер MEK, Риаз Ахмед Гохар Шахи и Уоллес Фард Мухаммад, основатель Нации Ислам.

у шиитов есть альтернативные взгляды, по которому потомок исламского Наби (пророк ) Мухаммад является Махди. Двенадцать, составляющие сегодня большинство шиитов, считают, что Мухаммад аль-Махди, который является сыном 11-го имама аль- Хасана ал-Аскари пребывает в затмении и является ожидаемым Махди. Тайиби Исмаили шииты, включая Давуди Бора, считают, что Имам из потомков Ат-Тайиб Абу’л-Касима — текущий скрытый имам и Махди. Вера бахаи считает, что Баб был Махди, духовным возвращением двенадцатого шиитского имама.

Содержание

• 1 Историческое развитие
• 2 Суннитский ислам
  • 2.1 Ссылки, интерпретируемые в хадисах
  • 2.2 Исторические взгляды
  • 2.3 Современные взгляды
• 3 Шиитский ислам
  • 3.1 Двенадцатиперстный
    • 3.1.1 Хадисы
    • 3.1.2 Доктрина о долголетии
    • 3.1.3 Коран
    • 3.1.4 Махди и Христос
    • 3.1.5 Мир до его пришествия
  • 3.2 Исмаилизм
• 4 Другие секты
  • 4.1 Ахмадия
  • 4.2 Махдавия
• 5 Лица, называющие себя Махди
• 6 См.
• 7 Ссылки
• 8 Дополнительная литература
  • 8.1 Исторические источники
  • 8.2 Современные источники
• 9 Внешние ссылки

Историческое развитие

Термин Махди не встречается в Коране. Оно происходит от арабского корня h-d-y (ه-د-ي), который обычно означает «божественное руководство». Термин аль-Махди использовался с самого начала ислама, но только как почетный эпитет и не имел никакого мессианского значения. В качестве почетного знака он использовался в некоторых случаях для описания Мухаммада (Хасаном ибн Сабитом ), а также Авраамом, ал-Хусейном и различные Омейяды правители (худат махдийун). Во время второй гражданской войны (680–692), после смерти Мулавии, этот термин приобрел новое значение правителя, который вернет ислам в его совершенную форму и восстановит справедливость после угнетение. В Куфе во время восстания 680-х гг. аль-Мухтар провозгласил Мухаммада аль-Ханафию Махди в этом повышенном смысле. Среди Омядов халиф Сулейман ибн Абд аль-Малик верл веру в то, что он был Махди, и другие правители Омейядей, такие как Умар II, названы таковыми в панегирики из Джарира и аль-Фараздака.

Ранние дискуссии религиозных ученых о личности Аль-Махди восходят к временам после Второй Фитны. Эти дискуссии развивались в разных направлениях и находились под преданиями (хадисов ), приписываемых Мухаммеду. Во времена Омейядов ученые и приверженцы традиций расходуются во мнениях не только о том, каком халифа или лидера повстанцев следует назначать Махди, но и о том, является ли Махди мессианской фигурой и оправдались ли признаки и предсказания его времени. Ко времени революции Аббасидов в 750 году Махди уже был известной концепцией. Свидетельства показывают, что первый аббасидский халиф Ас-Саффах присвоил себе титул «Махди».

В шиитском исламе кажется вероятным, что приписывание мессианских качеств Махди исходили от двух групп, поддерживающих Аль-Ханафию: южных арабских поселенцев и местных новообращенных в Ираке. Они стали как известны кайсаниты и представили то, что позже стало двумя ключевыми аспектами шиитской концепции Махди. Первой была идея возвращения мертвых, особенно имамов. Вторая заключалась в том, что после смерти аль-Ханафийи, по их мнению, он действительно скрывался в горах Разва около Медины. Позже это развилось в доктрину, известную как оккультизация. Махди появился в древней личности шиитских повествованиях, широко распространился среди шиитских групп и отделился от своей исторической личности, Мухаммада аль-Ханафийи. В течение 10 века, доктрина махдизма была широко расширена Аль-Кулайни, Ибрагимом аль-Кумми и Ибн Бабавайхом. В частности, в начале 10 века была изложена доктрина оккультизма, которая провозглашает, что Двенадцатый имам не умер, а был скрыт Богом от глаз людей. Махди стал синонимом «Скрытого имама», который считался, находился в затмении, ожидая времени, которое Бог приказал для его возвращения. Мухаммад сказал: «Я клянусь Тем, Кто послал меня с истиной как носителя радостной вести, Каим моего потомства, несомненно, будет скрыт от общественности на основании завета, который был вверен ему от меня. Это возвращение незадолго до последнего Судного дня. Фактически, понятие «скрытый имам» по очереди приписывалось нескольким имамам.

Некоторые историки предполагают, что сам термин, вероятно, введен в ислам южными арабскими племенами, которые поселились в Сирии в середине 7 века. Они верили, что Махди вернет их на родину и восстановит химьяритское царство. Они также верили, что он в конце концов завоюет Константинополь. Также было высказано предположение, что концепция могла быть получена из мессианских иудео-христианских верований. Соответственно, традиции были введены для поддержки политических интересов, особенно анти- аббасидских настроений. Эти предания о Махди появились лишь в сборниках хадисов, таких как Джами ат-Тирмизи и Сунан Аби Дауд, но отсутствуют в ранних работах Бухари и Мусульманин.

суннитский ислам

с установленной доктрины Махди, сочинения Махди изменяются среди суннитских ученых. В то время как некоторые ученые, такие как Ибн Халдун, даже оспаривали достоверность ссылок на Махди в хадисах литературе, другие, такие как Ибн Касир, целый апокалиптический сценарий, включающий пророчества о Махди, Иисус и Даджал в последнее время. Некоторые суннитские верования отрицают Махди как отдельную фигуру, соответственно, они будут выполнять эту роль и судить человечество, поэтому Махди считается титулом Иисуса, когда он вернется. Однако среди мусульман-суннитов более распространено мнение, что Махди является ожидаемым правителем, посланным Богом перед концом времени для восстановления праведности, что совпадает с Вторым пришествием Иисуса Христа (Иса), но, в отличие от шиитских традиций, суннитский ислам часто не верит, что Махди уже родился. Сунниты в целом отвергают двунадесятник шиитский принцип сокрытия Махди. Сунниты, однако, полагаются на традиционно традиционные собрания повествований для канцелярских атрибутов и происхождения Махди. Согласно Сунан Аби Дауд, одной из шести канонических книг хадисов в суннитском исламе, переданной Умм Саламой, «Пророк сказал: Махди будет из моей семьи, из потомков Фатимы».

В отличие от шиитского ислама, сунниты гораздо более гуманно против Махди, который, по их мнению, будет не чем иным, как самым правильным мусульманином своего времени. Он будет исполнен за одну ночь. Согласно Сунану ибн Маджаху, одному из шести канонических сборников хадисов, переданных Али, «Махди — один из нас, в семье. Аллах исправит его за одну ночь ». Согласно Сунан Аби Дауд, «Пророк сказал: Махди будет из моих родителей, и у него будет широкий лоб [и] выдающийся нос. Он наполнит землю справедливостью и справедливостью, как это было раньше. наполненный угнетением и тиранией, и он будет править семь лет ».

Ссылки, интерпретируемые в хадисах

Махди часто упоминается в суннитских хадисах как основание халифата. Среди суннитов некоторые считают, что Махди будет обычным человеком. В следующем суннитском хадисе есть ссылки на Махди:

• Мухаммад цитирует высказывание о Махди:

  Его имя будет моим именем, а имя его отца — именем моего отца

  Даже если все время существования мира уже исчерпано, и до Судного Дня остается только один день, Аллах расширит этот день до такой продолжительности времени, чтобы вместить Халифат человека из моего Ахлул-Байта, который будет называться моим именем. Он наполнит землю миром и справедливостью, поскольку она будет полна несправедливости и тирании (к тому времени). Аят Корана 16:36 завершает этот хадис, ясно на то, что земля никогда не оставалась без посланника или проводника.

• Умм Салама, жена Мухаммада, цитируют это;

  Его [Махди] цель — установить моральную систему, из которой были удалены все суеверные верования. Так же, как принимают Ислам, так и неверующие будут уверовать.

  Когда Махди явится, Аллах вызовет такую ​​силу зрения и слуха, которая проявила в верующих, что Махди призовет весь мир, откуда он без почтальона, и они услышат и даже увидят его.

• Абу Саид аль-Худри цитируется так:

  Посланник Аллаха сказал: «Он один из нас».

  Посланник Аллаха сказал: «Махди из моего рода. Он наполнит землю справедливостью и справедливостью, поскольку она была наполнена угнетением и несправедливостью, и он будет править для семь лет.

  Посланник Аллаха сказал: «В конце времен моей уммы сказал Махди. Аллах ниспошлет ему дождь, земля принесет свои плоды, он даст много денег, увеличится скот и умма станет великой. Он будет править семь или восемь лет.

• Ат-Тирмизи сообщил, что Мухаммад сказал:

  Махди из моей Уммы ; он родится и будет править пять, семь или девять лет. (Если) кто-то подходит к нему и говорит: «Дайте мне (пожертвование)», он наполнит его одежду тем, что ему нужно.

• Ат-Тирмизи сообщил, что Мухаммад сказал:

  Лицо Махди будет сиять на поверхности Луны.

• Ат-Табарани сообщил, что:

  Его лоб будет широким, и его нос будет высоким, его лицо будет сиять, как звезда, и он будет у него черное пятно на левой щеке.

• Шейх Ибн Таймийа (ум. 728 г. хиджры) также заявляет:

Хадисы, на которые полагаются как на худжжа (доказательство) выхода Махди, являются сахих-хадисами.

Махди будет из крови и плоти Посланника и «будет править царством». Он будет «послан» Аллахом, чтобы свести к минимуму угнетение и несправедливость на земле. Он будет править всей планетой как справедливый, праведный и правильно управляемый королевский халиф, которому помогает его Господь.

Исторические взгляды

Суннитские поэты Джарир ибн Атия и Аль-Фараздак считал различных Омейядских халифов, таких как Сулейман ибн Абд аль-Малик, Умар II, Язид II и Хишам ибн Абд аль-Малик быть махди. В Медине среди религиозных кругов суннитов была широко распространена вера в то, что Умар II является Махди, «справедливым реставратором религии». Саид ибн аль-Мусайиб, как говорят, идентифицировал Умара II как Махди задолго до своего правления. Басранцы поддержали мнение, что Умар II был Махди. Хасан аль-Басри выступал против концепцииского Мессии, но считал, что если и был Махди, то это был Умар II. После Омейядов сунниты считали пример аббасидских халифов махди.

Современные взгляды

Типичный модернист в своих взглядах на Махди, Абул Ала Маудуди (1903–190). 1979), пакистанский исламский возрожденец заявлено, что Махди будет современным исламским реформатором / государственным деятелем, который объединит умму и революционизирует мир согласно идеологией ислама, но никогда не будет претендовать на звание Махди, вместо этого получив посмертное признание таковое. Сообщается, что в 2011 году был снят фильм с участием президента Ирана Ахмадинежада в главной роли, в которой провозглашается, что 12-й Махди придет снова

Некоторые исламские ученые отвергают доктрину Махди, в том числе Аллама Таманна Имади (1888 –1972), Аллама Хабибур Рахман Кандхалви и Джавед Ахмад Гамиди (1951–1972).

Джавед Ахмад Гамиди пишет в своей книге «Мизан»:

Помимо этого, прихода Махди и прихода Иисуса с небес также считаются знаками Судного дня.. Я о них не упоминал. Причина в том, что рассказы о приходе Махди не соответствуют требованиям критики хадисов, установленным мухаддитхун. Некоторые из них слабые, а некоторые сфабрикованные; несомненно, некоторые повествования, приемлемые точки зрения их цепочки повествования, информируют нас о приходе щедрого халифа ; (Муслим, №: 7318), однако, если они глубоко обсудят, становится очевидным, что халиф, о котором они говорят, это Умар ибн Абд аль-Азиз, который последним халифом с суннитской точки зрения. Таким образом, это предсказание Пророка слово в слово материализовалось в его личности. Теперь не нужно ждать другого Махди.

Ахмед Хулуси интерпретировал Махди как часть внутреннего «я». Следовательно, Махди пробуждается в человеке, чтобы победить внутренний Даджала. Махди означает достижение самоотверженности и осознание собственного существования человека как Бога.

шиитского ислама

двунадесятника

Мечеть Аль-Аскари в Самарра, Ирак, 2017. Здесь имамы-двунадесятники Али аль-Хади и аль- Хасан аль-Аскари, место упокоения отца и деда двунадесятника шиитского Махди.

Согласно верованию двунадесятников, Махди является двенадцатым и последним в цепи очищенных имамов. Он родился 15-го Шабана 255 г. от хиджры. Его зовут Мухаммад, титулы — Махди, Худжат, Каим, Мунтазар, Сахибуззаман и Халаф аль-Салех, среди прочих, те же имена и агномены исламского пророка Мухаммеда. Его рождение держалось в секрете, так как правитель-тиран Аббасид устраняет его, зная о том, что человек родится в семье пророка, который, по-видимому, устранит все виды коррупции и тирании. За исключением самого доверенного из шиитов собственной семьи. В возрасте пяти лет, после смерти Хасана Аскари, одиннадцатого имама, ответственность за руководство шиитами (то есть имаматом) была передана ему, так же, как Пророк Яхья и Пророк Иса, которые в младенчестве пользовались благосклонностью пророка. Из-за различных способов выполнения задачи по его устранению, была выполнена оккультизация, которая состояла из двух фаз, одна короткая, а другая продолжительная. По словам шиитов-двунадесятников, главной целью Махди будет создание исламского государства. и применять законы ислама, которые были открыты Мухаммеду. Считается, что Махди — Двенадцатый Имам, Худжат-Аллах аль-Махди. Они верят, что Двенадцатый Имам вернется из затмения как Махди с «компанией избранных», а его использованием своих интересов будут растить Даджжал и Суфьяни. Две армии будут сражаться в «последней апокалиптической битве», в которой Махди и его силы одержат победу над злом. И шииты, и сунниты твердо верят, что Иса (Иисус) вернется после прибытия Махди.

Для двунадесятников Махди родился, но исчез и будет оставаться скрытым от человечества, пока он снова не появится, чтобы принести справедливость миру, доктрина, известная как Оккультизация. Для них этим скрытым имамом является Худжат-Аллах аль-Махди, Двенадцатый имам. Шиитские комментаторы Корана, такие как Шейх Табарси в его книге «Маджма аль-Баян», интерпретировали девять стихов, относящихся к Махди в Коране; и Мухаммад Хуссейн Табатабай в книге «Тафсир аль-Мизан» истолковали девять стихов, относящихся к Махди в Коране (восемь из них совпадают с теми, что были истолкованы Шейхом Табарси).

Шииты-двунадесятники (как основные ветвь шиитов, состоящие из 85% всех мусульман-шиитов) утверждают, что имам аль-Махди, который погрузился в затмение около 256 / 873-874 годов, является обещанным Махди, который появится до наступления дня. Суда, чтобы восстановить справедливость и равенство на земле. В шиитском исламе Махди ассоциируется с верой в оккультацию, что Махди — это «скрытый имам», который уже родился и который однажды вернется вместе с Иисусом, чтобы наполнить мир справедливостью. Обещанный Махди, который обычно упоминается в шиитском исламе под своим титулом Имам-аль-Аср (имам «периода») и Сахиб аль-Заман (владыка эпохи), является сыном одиннадцатого имама. Его имя такое же, как у Пророка Ислама. Согласно шиитскому исламу, Махди родился в Самарре в 868 году и до 872 года, когда его отец был замучен, жил под опекой и опекой своего отца. Он был скрыт от общественности, и лишь немногие представители элиты шиитов смогли встретиться с ним.

Вера в мессианского имама — не просто часть веры двунадесятников, но основа. Шииты верят, что после мученической смерти своего отца он стал имамом и по Божественному повелению ушел в оккультизацию (гайбат). После этого он являлся только своим заместителям (наиб) и то только в исключительных случаях. С их точки зрения, Махди назначил личным заместителем Усмана ибн Саида Умари, одного из соратников его отца и деда, который был его доверенным лицом и другом. Через своего заместителя Махди отвечал на требования и вопросы шиитов. После Усмана ибн Саида его заместителем был назначен его сын Мухаммад ибн Усман Умари. После смерти Мухаммада ибн Усмана Абу’л Касим Хусейн ибн Рух Навбахти был особым заместителем, а после его смерти Али ибн Мухаммад Симмари был выбран для этой задачи. За несколько дней до смерти Али ибн Мухаммеда Саммари в 939 году н.э. Махди издал приказ о том, что через шесть дней Али умрет. Отныне специальная делегация имама подошла к концу, и началось главное затмение (гайбат-и кубра), которое продолжалось бы до того дня, когда Бог даст разрешение имаму проявить себя. Таким образом, с точки зрения двунадесятников, затмение Махди делится на две части: первая, меньшее затмение (ghaybat-i sughra), начавшееся в 872 году и завершившееся в 939 году, продолжавшееся около семидесяти лет; второй — крупное затмение, которое началось в 939 году и будет продолжаться до тех пор, пока этого пожелает Бог. В хадисе, в подлинности которого согласны шииты и сунниты, Мухаммад сказал: «Если бы в жизни мира оставался только один день, Бог продлил бы этот день до тех пор, пока не пришлет в него человека из моей общины и моей семьи. Его имя будет таким же, как и мое. Он наполнит землю справедливостью и справедливостью, поскольку она быланаполнена угнетением и тиранией ».

Шииты-двунадесятники верят, что прибытие Махди будет ознаменовано они будут предзнаменованиями:

• Подавляющее большинство людей, исповедующих себя мусульманами, будут таковыми только на словах, несмотря на их практикующих исламских обрядов, и именно таковыми будут вести войну с Махди.
• Перед его приходом наступит красная смерть и белая смерть населения, убив две трети мира. Красная смерть означает насилие, а белая смерть — чума. Одна треть населения мира умрет от красной смерти, а другая треть — от белой смерти.
• Появятся несколько фигур: Аль-Харт, Аль-Мансур, Шуайб бин Салех и суфьяни..
• Будет великий конфликт на земле Сирии, пока он не будет разрушен.
• Смерть и страх поразят народ Багдада и Ирак. В небе появится огонь, и их покроет краснота.

В шиитских традициях также говорится, что Махди был «молодым человеком среднего роста с красивым лицом», черными волосами и бородой. «Он не придет в нечетный год […] появится в Мекке между углом Каабы и стоянкой Авраама, и люди будут свидетелями его там.

Ахадис

• Сообщается, что в хадисах Мухаммад сказал:

  Махди — защитник знания, наследник знаний всех пророков и знает обо всем.

  Власть (власть) Махди — одно из доказательств того, что Бог создал все; Его так много, что его [Махди] доказательства контролеюты (будут сильными, сильными доминировать) всех, и ни у кого не будет никаких контрпредложение против него.

  Люди будут убегать от него [Махди], как овцы убегут от пастыря. Позже люди начнут искать очистителя. [Махди], Всемогущий Бог поднимет для него самую низкую часть мира и опустит самые высокие места, кроме него, они будут

  . что он будет видеть весь мир как на ладони. Кто из вас не может видеть ни единого волоса на ладони?

  Во времена Махди мусульманин на Востоке сможет увидеть своего брата-мусульманина на Западе, а он на Западе увидит его на Востоке.

• Мухаммад аль-Бакир, Четвертый (Исмаилит ) или Пятый (Двенадцатый) имам сказал о Махди:

  Учитель Командование было названо Махди, потому что он откопает Тору и другие небесные книги из пещеры в Антиохии. Он будет судить среди людей Торы согласно Торе; среди людей Евангелия согласно Евангелию ; среди людей Псалмов согласно Псалтирь ; среди людей Корана в соответствии с Кораном.

• Джафар ас-Садик, Шестой Имам, сделал следующие пророчества:

  Абу Башир говорит: Когда я — спросил Имам Джафар ас-Садик: «О сын Посланника Бога! Кто такой Махди (каим ) из вашего клана (ахл аль-байт )? », он ответил: «Махди завоюет мир; в то время Бог будет освещен светом, и везде, где поклоняются тем, кто не является Богом, становятся местами, где поклоняются Богу; и даже если политеисты не желают этого»

  Садир ас-Сайрафи говорит: Я слышал от имама Абу Абдуллы Джафара ас-Садика, что: Наш скромный имам, тот, кому принадлежит это оккультация [Махди], который лишен и лишен

  Абу Башир говорит: Я слышал Имам Мухаммад аль-Бакр сказал: «Он сказал: Когда Ма Похоже, их прав, будет ходить среди них, бродить по их рынкам и ходить туда, где они ходят, но они не узнают его. Только он [Махди] может объяснить дела Посланника Бога.

  Лицо Махди будет сиять на поверхности Луны.

Кроме того, есть различия в хадисах, проявлении дня восстания Махди. Навроз и Ашура оба считаются указанными на день восстания. По словам Джафара ас-Садика, Махди появится в пятницу. го отец, Мухаммад аль-Бакир, также подчеркивал, что день Ашура является днем ​​восстания, и что о его новом появлении будет объявлено с, после чего Махди прислонится к стене Каабы И приглашаю людей навстречу правде. Мухаммад аль-Бакир передал, что Махди появится после ночной молитвы, и что он будет иметь с собой знамя и рубашку исламского пророка Мухаммеда.

Доктрина долголетия

Шииты твердо верят что длительная продолжительность жизни Махди полностью оправдана рациональными, кораническими, традиционными, основанными на исследованиях и историческими данными. В связи с этим указаны некоторые причины:

1. Коран включает стихи, которые могут показать шиитское заявление о возможности продления жизни Махди, например четырнадцатый стих главы Аль-Анкабут (29). В этом стихе Пророк Ной приглашал свой народ к Богу на 950 лет. В некоторых хадисах говорится, что он прожил 2500 лет. Двадцать пятый стих главы Аль-Кахф — другой. В этом стихе говорится, что Люди Пещеры спали в пещере 309 лет.
2. В рассказах имамов утверждается, что у людей может продолжаться долгая жизнь. Например, в шиитских источниках подчеркивается долголетие Хизра; кроме того, встреча Али и Хизра регистрируется в шиитских источниках.

Коран

• 21: 105

До этого Мы писали в Псалмах после Послания (данного Моисею): Мои слуги, праведники, наследует землю ». 2 [Юсуф Али 21: 105] Этот аят упоминается в Коране, а также в Торате и Плазмах. Упомянутые праведные слуги называются Махди и его товарищами.

• 2: 3

Те, кто веруют в Невидимое, непоколебимы в том, что Мы предоставели для них; 19 [2: 3] Те, кто верят в сокрытие Махди, указаны как верующие в невидимое.

• 34:51

Если бы ты только видел, когда они задрожат от ужаса; но тогда не будет выхода (для них), и они будут схвачены с позиции (совсем) рядом. 24 [34:51] Аллама Табатабай в своей книге «Тафсир аль-Мизан» связывает приведенный выше стих с хадис Пророка, указывающий на восстание суфьянов. Он распространит на земле угнетение и тиранию. Он и его последователи будут поглощены землей в пустыне Байда.

• 4: 159

И нет никого из Людей Книги, которые должны были бы верить в него перед его смертью и в Судный день он будет свидетелем против них; [4: 159] В своей книге «Тафсир аль-Мизан» Аллама Табатабаи интерпретирует аят о сошествии Исы после повторного появления Махди. Все христиане и евреи примут ислам как свою религию.

• 48:28

Это Он, Кто послал Своего Посланника с Руководством и религией истины, чтобы провозгласить это над всей религией: и достаточно Аллаха для Свидетель. 59 [48:28] Благодаря и распространению мира по всей земле, Махди сделает ислам доминирующим над всеми религиями

Махди и Христос

Вскоре после повторного появления Махди Исы ( Иисуса) также спустится с Небес. Иса будет подобен министру Махди. Оба будут работать над общей миссией распространения мира, справедливости и равенства.

«Среди моих потомков есть Махди. Когда он выйдет, Иисус, сын Марии, спустится, чтобы помочь ему, Иисус пошлет его вперед и помолится за ним. «Этот хадис от Пророка Мухаммеда указывает на возвращение Иисуса после повторного появления Махди. Согласно некоторым рассказам, Иса будет справедливым правителем. отменит джизью (ежегодный налог).

Мир до его пришествия

Мухаммад аль-Бакир сказал: Махди не восстанет, Пророк Мухаммад сказал: «После того, как меня будут править халифат; после халифов придут эмиры, за ними будут цари, а после их тираны и угнетатели будут править, и тогда Махди появится снова».

• Религиозные условия

Мухаммад в одном из своих хадисов религиозное состояние ислама, говоря, что мусульмане будут мусульманами, просто для тезки, люди не узнают и люди не узнают, что такое монотеизм. Больше внимания будет предназначено украшению структуры, лишенной главной цели — руководства и просвещения. Бедственное положение религии будет таким, что она будет продаваться по ничтожной цене. Утром верующие к вечеру превратятся в неверных.

• Социальные условия

Социальные условия будут такими, что сильные будут угнетать более слабых. Люди будут поражены нескромностью и неуверенностью в семье. Даже самое бесчеловечное поведение не будет считаться неприличным и постепенно станет нормальным поступком. Людям будет предложено иметь меньше детей из-за экономических проблем и отсутствия условий. Количество женщин превысит количество мужчин. В хадисе Мухаммеда по этому поводу говорится: «Мужчины умрут, а женщины останутся». Агрессивные и доминирующие державы мира вызовут небезопасность для более слабых стран, и их права будут нарушены.

• Рост преступлений

Ужас преступления, такие как казни маленьких мальчиков, сжигание детей, погружение их в расплавленные жидкости, нанесение ран людям существа на куски топорами и железными пилами, приставание к женщинам и убийство плода, разрезая их матки, будут совершаться под бдительным взором так называемых сверхдержавных стран.

• Неуверенность

Люди будут желать смерти, увидев жестокость друг друга. Один из сподвижников пророка передает хадис по этому поводу: «Воистину, настанет время, когда человек пожелает своей смерти, хотя он не будет находиться под давлением бедности и нищеты». Рабство восторжествует. Эпидемии могут возникать часто. До прихода Махди «Красная смерть и белая смерть» могли происходить часто. Красная смерть означает военные убийства, а Белая смерть — чума. Весь мир был бы в отчаянии и разочаровании, и люди не нашли бы места, где можно было бы укрыться. Хадис Мухаммада аль-Бакира, пятого имама шиитов-двунадесятников, указывает на правду о ситуации. «Вы не увидите его, ожидая его, за исключением того момента, когда вы станете подобны мертвой козе в лапах свирепого животного, для которого не имеет значения, как ее привели. В то время не было бы ни места вдали от агрессии, куда вы могли бы пойти, ни убежища, где вы могли бы искать убежище ».

• Война и кровопролитие

До нового появления Махди массовые убийства и кровопролитие и узурпация будут увеличиваться. собственности будет считаться законным. Весь мир будет поражен войной таким образом, что, пока она утихнет в определенной области, она будет гореть в другой области. Согласно хадису Мухаммеда, никто не будет быть свободным от мятежа конца времен. Оно начнется с поворота Сирии в сторону Ирака, распространяющегося на весь Аравийский полуостров. Хадис от [Али] добавляет по этому поводу: «Махди не появится, если одна треть людей убиты; еще одна треть умирает, а оставшаяся треть выживает ». Многие люди умрут из-за заразных болезней, вызванных химическими веществами и биологическим оружием, использованными на войне.

• Экономические условия

Из-за частых войн, коррупции и плохого управления экономическое положение во всем мире ухудшится. Скудные и несвоевременные дожди скажутся на сельском хозяйстве. Плоды и посевы будут уничтожены. Водоемы могут высохнуть, что приведет к голоду. Из-за нехватки сельскохозяйственной продукции будет преобладать спад в торговле. Инфляция будет расти, что приведет к недостаточному доходу. Условия бедности и голода будут такими, что люди будут обменивать своих дочерей и жен в обмен на небольшое количество еды.

исмаилизм

египетская столица Каир в 2014 г., где Ат-Тайиб Абу’л-Касим, сын Фатимидского халифа Аль-Амир би-Ахками’л-Ла, родился. На фото мечети султана Хасана и ар-Рифаи.

исмаилиты разработали свою собственную теорию Махди с избранными исмаилитами имамами, представляющими концепция Махди или Аль-Каима (человека) в разное время. Для Севенера Исмаили, имамат закончился Исмаилом ибн Джафаром, чей сын Мухаммад ибн Исмаил был ожидаемым Махди, о котором проповедовал Джафар ас-Садик. Однако в этот момент исмаилитские имамы, согласно низаритам и Муста’ли, нашли области, где они могли бы быть в безопасности от недавно основанного Аббасидского халифата, который победил и захватил контроль у Омейядов в 750 году нашей эры. В период Джафара Аббасидский халифат заменил Омейядов и начал агрессивно выступать против веры в имамата. Из-за сильного подавления со стороны Аббасидов седьмой исмаилитский имам Мухаммад ибн Исмаил вошел в период затмения. В этот период его представитель, Дани, поддерживал общину. Имена восьмого, девятого и десятого имамов считаются некоторыми традициями «скрытыми», известными только по своим прозвищам из-за угроз со стороны Аббасидов.

11-й имам, Абдулла аль-Махди Биллах, основал Фатимидский халифат в 909 году н.э. в Ифрикия (включая настоящего Тунис в Северной Африке ), положив конец первому покрытию. В глазах исмаилитов этот акт снова объединил имамат и халифат в одном лице. Затем Фатимиды распространились до центрального Магриба (теперь включая Марокко, Алжир и Ливию ). Они вошли и завоевали Египет в 969 году нашей эры во время правления четырнадцатого имама ал-Муизз ли-Дина Аллаха и Маде Каир их столица. После восемнадцатого имама аль-Мустансира Биллаха секта низаритов считал, что его сын Низар был его преемником, в то время как другая ветвь исмаилитов, известная как перешла Мустаали (от которого в итоге получилась Давуди) Бора) форма), поддерживал другого своего сына, аль-Мустали. Династия Фатимидов продолжалась с аль-Мустали как имамом и халифом, и эта совместная позиция сохранялась до 20-го имама аль-Амира би-Ахками’л-Ла (1132 г. н.э.). После смерти 20-го имама Амира одна из ветвей веры Мустаали утверждала, что он передал имамат своему сыну Ат-Тайибу Абу’л-Касиму, которому тогда было два года. Требование Тайеба к имамату было одобрено Ура аль-Малика («Благородная королева») Арва ас-Сулайхи, королева Йемена, создавшая офис Дай аль-Мутлак для управления сообществом в отсутствие имама. Зоеб бин Муса (ум. 546 хиджры / 1151 г. н.э.) был первым Дай-уль-Мутлаком, жил и умер в Хаусе, Йемен. Тайиби (к которому принадлежит Давуди Бора ) полагают, что второй и текущий период затмения (сатр) начался после того, как имам Тайеб ушел в уединение, и имам от его потомков очень часто присутствует на земле как Махди каждый раз.

Низариты исмаилиты утверждают, что шииты исмаилиты имамы и мусульманские мыслители-исмаилиты объяснили, что аль-Махди — это не отдельная личность, а фактически выполняемая функция некоторые из потомственных шиитских исмаилитских имамов от потомков Пророка Мухаммеда и имама Али ибн Аби Талиба. На протяжении всего определенного числа имамов были практические средства для выполнения такой грандиозной миссии по установлению справедливости и равенства и устранению угнетения и несправедливости в мире, потому что большинство имамов-исмаилитов подверглись жестким преследованиям. Например, основатель Фатимидского халифата, имам Абдулла аль-Махди и халифы Фатимидов-имамов каждый выполняли функцию или миссию Махди. Таким образом, Махди — это миссия, используемая территория шиитскими исмаилитскими имамами, а не конкретное лицо. Сегодня 49-й потомственный исмаилитский имам Шах Карим аль-Хусайни Ага Хан IV выполняет миссию «махдиистов» — функции Махди — через работу своих учреждений в Сеть Развития Ага Хана.

Другие секты

Ахмадия

В вере Ахмадии термины «Мессия » и «Махди» являются синонимами для одного и того же человека. Подобно термину Мессия, который, среди прочего, по сути означает помазание Богом или назначение Богом, термин «Махди» означает руководство Богом, таким образом, оба подразумевают прямое рукоположение или поручение и духовное воспитание Богом избранного Богом человека.. По мнению Ахмадии, предсказанные эсхатологические фигуры христианства и ислама, Мессия и Махди, на самом деле были исполнены в одном человеке, который должен был представить всех предыдущих пророков. Пророчества относительно Махди или Второго пришествия Иисуса исследует Ахмади как метафорические и подлежат интерпретации. Утверждается, что человек должен быть родиться и подняться в эпоху Мухаммеда, который в силу своего сходства и близости с Иисусом, а также сходства по природе, темпераменту и характеру людей временного Иисуса и людей того времени Обетованного (Махди) назван тем же именем.

Эти пророчества, согласно мусульманам-ахмади, исполнились в лице Мирзы Гулама Ахмада (1835–1908), основатель Ахмадийского движения, который утвержден, что был назначен Богом как второе пришествие Иисуса и Махди в 1891 году примерно в тот же момент времени после Мухаммеда, как Иисус появился после Моисея (тринадцать веков). Вопреки общепринятым исламу, ахмади не верят, что он пережил распятие и мигрировал на восток, где умер естественной смертью, и что Гулам Ахмад был обещанным духовным пришествием и подобием Иисуса., обещанный Мессия и Махди.

Махдавия

Секта Махдавия, основанная Мухаммадом Джаунпури, широко известная как Нур Пак, утверждала, что является Махди в Мекке, перед Кааба (между рукном и макамом) в 901 году по хиджре (10-й год хиджры), и Махдавия почитает ее. Он родился в Джаунпуре, путешествовал по Индии, Аравии и Хорасану, где он умер в городе Фарах, Афганистан в возрасте 63 лет. Махдави считают Джаунпури имамом Махди, халифом Аллаха и вторая по значимости фигура после исламского пророка Мухаммеда.

Лица, претендующие на звание Махди

Мухаммад Ахмад, суданский суфийский шейх, создало государство Махдия, на основании его притязаний на то, что он Махди.

Следующие лица (или их сторонники от их имени) утверждали, что они являются Махди:

• Первое историческое упоминание о движении, использующем имя Махди, — восстание аль-Мухтара против халифата Омейядов в 686 году н.э., почти через 50 лет после смерти Мухаммеда. Аль-Мухтар утверждал, что Мухаммад ибн аль-Ханафийа, сын четвертого халифа, Али, был Махди и спасетский мусульманский народ от правления из Омейядов. Самбн аль-Ханифийя не принимал участие в восстании, когда Омейяды успешно подавили его, они привели его в покое.
• Аль-Хаким би-Амр Аллах (985-13 февраля 1021 г.), основатель друзы секта
• Ибн Тумарт (1080-1130), основатель и религиозный лидер халифата Альмохад в Марокко и аль-Андалус
• Мухаммад Джаунпури (1443–1505), основатель секты Махдави. (См. Выше.)
• Ахмед ибн Аби Махалли (1559–1613), с юга Марокко, был кади и религиозным ученым, который провозгласил себя Махди и возглавил революцию (1610–1610). 13) против господствующей династии Саади.
• Баб из Ирана основал новую религию в 1844 году нашей эры (1260 г.х.), которая вступила в противоречие с духовенство того времени. В 1850 году он был расстрелян в городе Тебриз.
• Мухаммад Ахмад (1845–1885), суданский суфийский шейх ордена Саманийа, объявивший себя Махди в июне 1881 г. и продолжил успешную военную кампанию против турецко-египетского правительства Судана. Хотя он умер вскоре после захвата суданской столицы Хартума в 1885 году, государство махдистов существовало при его преемнике Абдаллахи ибн Мухаммаде до 1898 года, когда оно пал британской армией после битвы при Омдурмане.
• Мирза Гулам Ахмад (1835–1908) утверждал, что он был одновременно Махди и вторым пришествием Иисуса в конце девятнадцатого века в Британской Индии и основал Ахмадийское религиозное движение в 1889 году. (См. выше.)
• Мухаммад бин абд Аллах аль-Кахтани был провозглашен Махди своим зятем, Джухайманом аль-Отайби, который в ноябре привел более 200 боевиков захватить Большую мечеть в Мекке. 1979. Восстание было подавлено после двухнедельной осады, в ходе которой было убито не менее 300 человек.
• Мухаммад ибн Абдулла аль-Афтах ибн Джафар ас-Садик
• Муса аль-Кадхим (согласно вакифитский шиит )
• Мухаммад ибн Касим (аль-Алави)
• Яхья ибн Умар
• Му Хаммад ибн Али аль-Хади
• Риаз Ахмед Гохар Шахи (согласно Messiah Foundation International )
• Уоллес Фард Мухаммад, основатель Нации Ислама
• , основатель община Лайене в Дакаре, Сенегал, в 1883 году. Он правил 40 лет и был заменен Инса ибн Мариамом в возрасте 33 лет. Инса правил 40 лет.
• Мухаммад Баязид Хан Панни (1925-2012)

См. Также

• Исламский портал

• Последний римский император
• Мошиах
• Список исламских терминов на арабском языке
• Махдавиат (значения)
• Масих ад-Даджжал
• Люди, утверждающие, что они Махди
• Парусия
• Суфьяни
• Дуа аль-Фарадж

Ссылки

Дополнительная литература

Исторические источники

• «Мукаддима Ибн аль-Салах», Сахих аль -Бухари, Дар аль-Маариф, стр. 160–169
• Джафар ас-Садик, Аль-Гайбах (Затмение): рассказы из пророчеств аль-Махди Имама Джафара аль -Sadiq, Mihrab Publishers
• Бихар аль-Анвар

Современные источники

• Бакр аль-Маджлиси, Мухаммад, изд. (2003), Китаб аль-Гайбат, Кум : Ansariyan Publications
• Doi, ARI (1971) [1971-1972], «Йоруба Махди», Journal of Religion in Africa, 4 (2): 119–136, doi : 10.1163 / 157006671×00070, JSTOR 1594738
• Мартин, Ричард К., изд.. (2004), «Махди», Энциклопедия ислама и мусульманского мира, Томпсон Гейл
• Момен, Муджан (1985), Введение в шиитский ислам, Нью-Хейвен, Коннектикут: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-03531-4
• Шаухат Али, Милленаристские и мессианские тенденции в исламской мысли (Лахор: Publishers United, 1993)
• Тимоти Ферниш, Святые войны: исламские махди, джихад и Усама бин Ладен (Вестпорт: Praeger, 2005) ISBN 0-275-98383-8
• Абдулазиз Абдулхусейн Сачедина, Исламский мессианизм: идея Махди в двунадесятном шиизме (Олбани: State University of New York Press, 1981) ISBN 0 -87395-458-0
• Шайх Хисиам Каббани, Подход Армагеддона (Верховный исламский совет Америки, 2002) ISBN 1-930409-20-6
• » Махди «, Британская энциклопедия, 2008 г., дата обращения 4 июля 2010 г.
• Золотая эра нового появления (PDF). www.almuntazar.in. Получено 14 июля 2020 г. от
• Mhammed Baqar Faqeeh Imani, Fauze Akbar, ed (1387 AH), опубликовано Ansarul Mahdi, ISBN 964 -7941-15-3
• Шейх Али Аль Курани, Моаджам Аль Ахадисал Имам Мехди, изд (1411 г.х.)

Внешние ссылки

Викицитатная цитата содержит цитаты, связанные с: Махди

Найдите mahdi в Wiktionary, бесплатном словаре.

• 12 признаков последователей Махди (суннитская исламская точка зрения)
• Исмаилитский гнозис
• «Имам Хусейн (ас) и имам Махди (ас)». Www.almuntazar.in. 14 июля 2020 г.