AL-MAHDI TRUTH or FICTION? Written by MUHAMMAD AHMAD BIN ISMA’IL AL-MUQADDAM Published by AL-FIRDOUS LONDON ©Copyright: Al-Firdous Ltd. All rights reserved 2013. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publishers and copyright owner. 2013 Edition. Translated by: Abdallah Elaceri Edited by: Zakariyya King Cover design & Typeset by : Chetan Boda ISBN: 1 874263 95 7 Published and Distributed by: Al-Firdous Ltd. PO Box 71305 London SE17 9DE www.al-firdous.co.uk Printed by: Mega Print Baha Is Merkezi Haramider, Istanbul Contents Translator’s Word: 5 Introduction 11 Part One 39 Ahadith Concerning al-Mahdi 39 Second Chapter 73 The Scholars’ Interest in the Ahadith about theMahdi 73 Third Chapter 91 The Scholars’ Texts confirming the truth about the Mahdi 91 Part Two 113 Fabricated Dubious Arguments 113 Poor Rational Dubious Arguments 183 Part Three 219 Diverse Opinions about the Mahdi 220 Some Remarks 243 The real world… and the anticipation of the Mahdi 252 Conclusion 269 Useful Supplementary Reading 273 The Origin and Development of Hadith 273 Al-Firdous Ltd.’s Program for Tarbiyah 295 Important advice to the Muslims 303 BISMILLAHI AR-RAHMAN, AR-RAHEEM Translator’s Word: All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him and seek His Support. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our spirits and misdeeds. Whosoever Allah guides, there is no one who can misguide them, and whosoever Allah misguides, there is no one who can guide them. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah I , Alone having no partner, and that Muhammad r is His servant and Messenger. ( O you who believe! Observe your duty to Allah with correctobservance, and die not save as those who have surrendered (unto Him). )[1] ( O mankind! Be mindful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate, and from these two has spread a multitude of men and women. Be mindful of your duty toward Allah in Whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bore you). Lo! Allah has been a Watcher over you. )[2] ( O you who believe! Fear Allah, and (always) say a word directed to the right. That He may make your conduct whole and sound and forgive you your sins. He that obeys Allah and His Messengerhas already attained the highest achievement. )[3] The best discourse is the Word of Allah I (the Qur’an) and the best guidance is that of the Prophet’s r .The most evil of deeds are novelties introduced into religion, for every novelty is a bid’ah (innovation in religion) and every bid’ah is an act of misguidance, and every act of misguidance is destined for the Hellfire. The Prophet Muhammad r has prophesised several events that will occur just before the advent of the Day of Judgment. Among these, he r has foretold the emergence of one of his descendants, Al-Mahdi (the guided one), who will appear when the believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He will fight the tyrants, unite the Muslims and bring peace and justice to the world. A Muslim should strive hard to adhere to the teachings of Islam amidst all of the material trappings and temptations of the dunya (life of this world). We cannot expect, as Muslims, to suffer humiliation and failure in life, and then anxiously await the appearance of the Mahdi who may be 1,000 years away. No one knows the exact time of his appearance except Allah. If Salah- ad-Din, `Imadud-ud-Din Zenki, Saif-ud-Din Qutuz, Nur-ad-Din Mahmud and Muhammad Al-Fateh had adopted the same policy of retreat and procrastination, the Ummah would have been subjected to endless suffering at the hands of the Crusaders, Tartars and others. Throughout the history of Islam, a few individuals, driven either by the desperate state of Muslims in their community, or by a selfish pursuit of power and prestige, laid claim to being the Mahdi and discovered a following among the uninformed masses who were looking for salvation from the Heavens. For some of these individuals (like Bab of Iran or Mirza Ghulam of India) the Mahdi claim was just a stepping stone to the development of heretic sects which broke away from the fold of Islam. Thus, it is at least prudent to visit the facts of this prophecy and avoid falling prey to false claimants that will appear from time to time. Today we find groups likethe Shiite Rafidites, opposing Ahlu Sunnah[4], created an army which they named ‘Jaish al-Mahdi’ (Army of the Mahdi), asserting that it is prepared for him when he reappears! In fact, it is but a band of murderous and blood-thirsty killers who demonstrate their endless hatred towards the Sunni Muslims. They have created ‘Death Squads’ to attack the Sunnis in Baghdad (as recently highlighted by Channel 4 journalist Deborah Davies)[5] and destroy the Sunni mosques with a fire never witnessed before in history. As Muslims, we should remember that the prophecy about the Mahdi is one that will certainly come to pass. This prophecy, however, does not absolve the Muslim nation from its duty to strive in the cause of Allah, oppose injustice, and seek peace and the betterment of the human condition. Centuries have passed since the time of the Prophet r , and there is a likelihood that many more moons will expire before the advent of the Mahdi. Muslims who are negligent in their duty hoping for a saviour are committing a grave mistake and are not observing the Divine Decrees ordained in the Qur’an or taught by the Prophet r . BISMILLAHI AR-RAHMAN AR-RAHEEM INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND PUBLICATION All praise to Allah; we seek His Aid and His Pardon, and we praise Him. We believe in His existence and submit unto Him, and we disown and reject those who disbelieve in Him. May Allah’s Peace and Blessings be upon His Slave and Messenger, Muhammad, who conveyed clearly to people the Message of the Revelation, warning them against the path of the devil, and guiding them towards the True Path of Allah. Allah I taught His Messenger some of the knowledge of the Unseen, which confirmed his prophethood and helped establish the Message of Islam. Indeed, whoever follows This Path is rightly guided, but whoever refuses This Path is truly misguided. May Allah have mercy upon all the followers of His Prophet. This is the second revised edition of the book ‘Al-Mahdi: Truth not Fiction’. The first edition was published hurriedly, following the woeful events inside the Holy Mosque in Makkah in 1400AH/1979.[6] Since that time, the case of the Mahdi in Islam has re-surfaced and became atopic of discussion among both intellectuals and the masses. Certain scholarly groups deviated regarding this issue; they have gone to extremes and now deny the future appearance of the Mahdi altogether, rejecting many authentic Ahadith. Conversely, other intellectuals have taken another radical view and exaggerated their confirmation of the Mahdi’s appearance, approving of all the fabricated Ahadith about him. As for the general population, they are largely in a state of confusion regarding this matter. Some accept the authentic traditions, while others object to them.This bewildermentwas widely spread through the articles of newspapers and books which were published on this subject. Indeed, had people with less knowledge been silent there would have been less controversy and uncertaintyin this matter. One of the obligations of the second testimony of faith [MuhammadurRasulullah (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)] is to obey him in everything he commanded and avoid all that he prohibited, and to worship Allah I with whatHis Prophet r had legislated. It also necessitates believing every word he said, regarding news and predictions, provided they are reported back to us authentically. The Prophet r informed us about many people in many stories found in the books of Ahadith, such as: The three men who were trappedin a cave, and they implored Allah I with their good deeds and He set them free[7]. The man who bought a patch of land from another man and found an earthenware jar filled with gold in it[8]. He who killed ninety-nine people and then asked whether there was any way for him to repent to Allah I .[9] The man who while he was driving a cow with a load on it, it turned towards him and spoke saying, “I have not been created for this purpose, but for ploughing.”[10] There are many Ahadith which may sound surreal, but are well confirmed as being authentic in the two sahih books of al-Bukhari and Muslim. There are also many Ahadithin which the Prophet r foretold of events that would take place in the future, as they were revealed to him by Allah I , and there should be no doubt in our minds as to their occurrence, exactly as he r predicted. Indeed, prophecies are a great portion of the Signs of Prophethood of all the Messengers of Allah (peace be upon them). Our Lord says: ( He (Alone) knows the Unseen, and He does not make any one acquainted with His Mysteries, except a Messenger whom He has chosen )[11]. The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad r did not speak from his own desire: ( It is no less than inspiration sent down to him )[12] Knowledge of those mysteries also supported the truthfulness of his Messengership and the Message he delivered.