THE DESCENT OF PROPHET ‘ISA (As) AND THE COMING OF THE MAHDI ARE SUBJECTS “THAT CANNOT BE DENIED” IN THE FAITH (ITIQAD) OF THE PEOPLE OF THE SUNNAH Our Prophet Muhammad (saas) told Muslims of the coming of the Mahdi, who, in the End Times, would bring peace and love to a world afflicted by oppression. Indeed, in imparting these glad tidings to Muslims, our Prophet (saas) said:
According to the beliefs of the people of the Sunnah (the Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi’i and Maliki schools), the coming of the Mahdi, the descent from the skies of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and his bestowing the role of imam on the Mahdi are all unquestionable tenets of faith. It is normal that people who are not members of the community of the Sunnah and who do not revere the hadith do not believe in the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Mahdi. However, no one from the ulama (religious scholars) of People of the Sunnah, who have believed in the same articles of faith for hundreds of years, has denied the return of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the coming of the Mahdi. Our great scholars have “unanimously” bestowed these tidings on Muslims. Al-Imam al-A`zam Abu Hanifah, imam of our school, Imam Hanbal, imam of the Hanbali school, Imam Malik, imam of the Maliki school and Imam Shafi’i, imam of the Shafi’i school, have all stated that the Prophet ‘Isa (as) will return to Earth and that the Mahdi will appear. The imams of these four great schools of the People of the Sunnah are all absolute mujtahids (a scholar who derives rulings). All the other great Islamic scholars in addition to these absolute mujtahids have also stated that Islamic moral values will rule the world in the End Times, that the Prophet ‘Isa (as) will return and that the Mahdi will appear. For example, Abu Hanifah, imam of our school, states that subjects such as the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Mahdi are “matters that should not be denied”:
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According to Official Publications of the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs, These Matters Are the Subject of Itiqad (Faith) in the Beliefs of the People of the Sunnah
According to the belief of the People of the Sunnah, there are 10 absolute portents of Doomsday in the tenets of Islam. These include the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Mahdi. Everybody knows these signs, and they cannot be denied. |
Since the Prophet ‘Isa (as) will not come and the Mahdi will not appear, why such alarm? People claiming not to believe in the return to Earth of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the coming of the Mahdi appear to be in a state of great alarm. The fact is that if these two great personages will not be emerging, then there should not be a reason for these people to be so alarmed and frantically espouse the opposite view. But the attempt to deny, in such alarm and panic, the coming of the Mahdi and the Prophet ‘Isa (as) is, as revealed by our Prophet (saas) 1400 years ago in many trustworthy hadith, an important sign that the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) and the Mahdi is actually close at hand. Because in the hadith, our Prophet (saas) tells us that the words “The Mahdi will not appear, there is no Mahdi,” are actually a portent of the coming of the Mahdi:
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SOME TRUSTWORTHY HADITH REGARDING THE COMING OF THE PROPHET ‘ISA (AS) AND THE BLESSED MAHDI ... I swear by Allah that the son of Maryam will certainly descend as a just judge… (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0289) The Hour will not be established until the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you as a just ruler… (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 43, Number 656) I swear by Him in Whose hand is my soul: the son of Mary shall descend among you as a just ruler. ... (Narrated by Abu Huraira, Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi) There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (pbuh). He will descend (to the earth). (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 37, Number 4310; Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and Tirmidhi) ... Jesus son of Mary would then descend and their (Muslims') commander would invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he would say: No, some amongst you are commanders over some (amongst you). This is the honour from Allah for this Ummah. (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0293) How can a community be eliminated, when there is first me [the Prophet Muhammad (saas)], Isa’ (as) son of Maryam at the end, and the Mahdi, one of my line, between us? (Jalaladdin as-Suyuti, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, p. 78) The Mahdi is one of this community and will serve as imam to the Prophet ‘Isa (as). (Jalaladdin as-Suyuti, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, p. 79) Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin: The Prophet (saas) said: The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah. … (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 36, Number 4271) Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib: The Prophet (saas) said: If only one day of this time (world) remained, Allah would raise up a man from my family who would fill this earth with justice as it has been filled with oppression. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 36, Number 4270) Hear the glad tidings of the Mahdi. He will be one of the Quraish and one of my line. (Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 13) ... The Mahdi will appear with the flag of the Messenger of Allah (saas), when people have lost hope that they will be freed from the woes afflicting them.... (Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 55) |
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