***Very Important Study***

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I know this is long, but the wise here will study this. Please compare this literature with the bible prophecies of the last days and share your knowledge with us.

Thanx!
~WeBe1


Awaiting the 12th Imam


from the August 08, 2006 eNews issue

"Is there art that is more beautiful, more divine, and more eternal than the art of martyrdom? A nation with martyrdom knows no captivity." - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, Speaking on the virtues of suicide bombing

Iran's nuclear program has long been the subject of debate. It is viewed by most as one of the greatest threats to international security. Yet some have condemned efforts to stem Iran's nuclear ambitions as hypocritical. One such commentator wrote, "The US government cannot make a reasonable case as to why it's OK for Israel to have a stockpile of nuclear warheads but it's not OK for any other nation in the Middle East to pursue nuclear weapons technology." Such sentiments may seem reasonable to some. However they do not take into account some of the key dynamics behind the Middle East conflict.

Unlike Iran, Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and, as such, technically does not have to abide by nuclear anti-proliferation conventions. Over the past five decades Israel has developed a nuclear-weapons program but has neither denied nor admitted the existence of its nuclear arsenal. Israelis call this policy "strategic ambiguity." Israel is surrounded on all sides by enemies bent on bringing about its destruction. Israel, therefore, developed its nuclear program to serve as a deterrent. Israel's nuclear arsenal is one of the primary reason nations like Iran have not yet succeeded in their plans to wipe Israel "off the map."

Iran is governed by Shiite Muslim clerics committed to a stern interpretation of Islamic law. Hatred of the United States has been a key component of Iranian foreign policy since the 1978 Islamic revolution, and Iran's leaders often refer to the United States as the "Great Satan." Iran's distaste for the United States is surpassed only by their utter loathing of Israel. Iran's political and religious leaders have repeatedly called for Israel's complete destruction.

The State Department calls the Islamic Republic of Iran the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism." Iran continues to provide funding, weapons, training, and sanctuary to numerous terrorist groups based in the Middle East and elsewhere. Iran mostly backs Islamist groups, including the Lebanese Shiite militants of Hezbollah (which Iran helped found in the 1980s) and such Palestinian terrorist groups as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran uses such groups to carry out a proxy war on Israel and the West. It is therefore folly to allow Iran, and consequently its terrorist allies, to obtain nuclear technology.

The Dark Horse

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected in June of 2005 with more than 60 percent of the vote. He is Iran's sixth president since the 1979 revolution. He ran on a populist economic platform and beat former president Hashemi Rafsanjani - who was hugely wealthy and purportedly very corrupt. Unlike Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad appealed to the people. He is seen as an honest and simple man. According to reports, he lives so modestly that his personal assets include only a 30-year-old car, an even older house, and an empty bank account. Ahmadinejad projects the image of a humble and devout man. He is motivated, not by wealth or power, but by his conservative Islamic ideals.

Ahmadinejad is a controversial figure in the international community, but he has the support of the Iranian people and the backing of Supreme Leader Ali Ayatollah Khamenei. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad graduated from college with a degree in civil engineering and joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps during the Iran-Iraq war. During the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad was a member of the radical student group that took control of the US embassy. Ahmadinejad reportedly played a central role in the hostage crisis, which included interrogating captives.

Prior to running for president, Ahmadinejad was the mayor of Tehran, Iran's capitol city. He was appointed mayor in the spring of 2003 by the city council. Before becoming mayor, Ahmadinejad was a relatively unknown figure in Iranian politics. In fact, the city council members that appointed him came to power in an election that could only boast of a 12 percent voter turnout.

The Return of the 12th Imam

When Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations General Assembly in October of 2005, he ended his speech with a prayer imploring God to hasten the return of the 12th Imam. Ahmadinejad refers to the return of the 12th Imam, also known as the Mahdi, in almost all his major speeches. In the Islamic faith, the Mahdi is the ultimate savior of mankind. His appearance will usher in an era of Islamic justice and bring about the conversion of the heathen amidst flame and fire. The Mahdi will establish Islam as the global religion and will reign for seven years before bringing about the end of the world.

In a speech last November, Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying: "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi. Therefore, Iran should become a powerful, developed and model Islamic society. Today, we should define our economic, cultural and political policies based on the policy of Imam Mahdi's return. We should avoid copying the West's policies and systems."

The beliefs of Sunni and Shiite Muslims differ on the identity of the Mahdi. Sunnis either believe that he is yet to be born, or that he was born recently and has yet to emerge. Shiites hold that the Mahdi is Muhammad ibn Hasan, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad born in the 9th century and the 12th and final Shiite Imam. As a devout Shiite, Ahmadinejad believes that the 12th Imam was hidden away by Allah at a young age and will someday emerge to bring justice and peace by establishing Islam throughout the world. After taking office Ahmadinejad allocated $20 million for the expansion of the Jamkaran mosque, a religious pilgrimage site where Shiites can drop messages to the "Hidden Imam" in a holy well.

Ahmadinejad ardently believes in the imminent return of 12th Imam, which he anticipates will happen in the next two years. He believes he has a personal role in ushering in the return of the Mahdi and is preparing Iran for Judgment Day. Understanding this perspective is vital to understanding the Iranian threat.
Related Links:
• Divine Mission Driving Iran's New Leader - Telegraph
• Profile: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - ABC
• Ahmadinejad, One Year Later - CFR
• Iran leader's Messianic End-Times Mission - WND
• Strategic Trends: The Rise of Islam - Koinonia House

 

[WeBe1]

Mahdi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).
The Mahdi (مهدي translit: Mihdī, also Mehdi; "Guided One" ), in Islamic eschatology, is the prophesied redeemer of Islam, who will change the world into a perfect Islamic society alongside the Prophet Jesus before Yaum al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection"). The "hdi" of "Mahdi" refers to the Arabic root "هدی" which means "to guide".
The exact nature of the Mahdi differs according to Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. For a more in-depth Shi'a account of the Mahdi, see Muhammad al-Mahdi.
Introduction

The idea of a man who would arise to right the injustices in the world of Islam has been widely held and collections of hadiths included ample references to the Mahdi.
For example, in a hadith widely regarded as authentic, the Islamic prophet Muhammad has stated:
Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before the Day of Judgment, God (Arabic:Allah) will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahl al-Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill the Earth with peace and justice as it will have been filled with injustice and tyranny before then.
― Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74–75.
The Mahdi, according to majority Sunni and Shi'ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Islamic prophet Jesus against the Dajjal (Antichrist or false Messiah).
However, like most of religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi. Besides, since Mahdiism is closely related to the leadership of the whole Muslims (Ummah) and widely accepted by them, has had this potential to be abused as some leaders of seculary focused politico-religious movements in the name of Islam who have claimed to be the Mahdi.
The following sections list a few of the characteristics of the Mahdi, according to various traditions of Islam:

 

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Birth of the Mahdi


Sunni, and Shi'a sources

• He is a descendant of Muhammad, from the offspring of Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah

Sunni sources

• Hazhrat Abu Saeed Khudri (R.A.) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "Al Mahdi will be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high. He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven years."
• His father's name will be Abdullah (same name as Muhammad's father). Abdullah means "Servant of God" and can also be widely interpreted to mean that his father will be a virtuous and holy person.
• His mother name will be Amina, which means "faith" or believe. He will appear at the age of 40, which could mean literally at around 40 years old or at middle age. Before that he will remain as a common person.
• His age at the time of his emergence will be forty years.
• He will receive Knowledge from Allah.
• He will come from the East as told in this hadith.
• He will appear from the east in an army with black banners. Thawban (R.A) reported that the Propet Muhammad said, “ In your old age three men will be killed . Each of them will be the son of a Khalifah (caliph - a Muslim ruler). Then the black banners will come out of the east, and they will slaughter you in a way that no Nation has ever done before. Then the Dear Prophet said something that I didn’t remember. Then again the Dear Prophet said if you see him give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice, because he is the Khalifah of Allah, the Mahdi.” (Ibne Majah Page 300, Also Ahmad's Musnad, al-Haakim's Mustadrak and others.).
• The people around him will be Muslims who are the descendants of Prophet Isaq (Isaac), Prophet Israel and Prophet Haroon (Aaron) as told in the following two ahadiths.

1.) Hazrat Umama reported Rasulullah said: You and the Romans (Christians) will have four peace treaties. The fourth peace would be at the hand of a person who would be from the Al-e-Haroon (family of Prophet Haroon).This peace treaty would be for seven years. Rasulullah was asked who would be the Imam of the Muslims at that time. Rasulullah said ”That person would be from my family, his age would be 40 years, his face would be bright as a star and a black spot would be on his right cheek. He would be wearing two Qutwani Cloaks. He will appear exactly as the person from Bani Israeel. He will rule for 20 years and will conquer the cities of the Mushrikeen (Idolaters) (Ref: Kanz-ul-Aamal, Page 268,Hadith No 3868). 2. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle saying: You have heard about a city the one side of which is in the land and the other is in the sea (Constantinople). They said: Allah's Messenger, yes. Thereupon he said: The Last Hour would not come unless seventy thousand persons (an idiom for a large number or majority) from Bani lshaq would attack it. When they would land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor would shower arrows but would only say:" There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," that one side of it would fall. Thaur (one of the narrators) said: I think that he said: The part by the side of the ocean. Then they would say for the second time: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest" that the second side would also fall, and they would say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," that the gates would be opened for them and they would enter therein and, they would be collecting spoils of war and distributing them amongst themselves that a noise would be heard and It would be said: Verily, Dajjal has come. And thus they would leave everything there and would turn to him. (Book 041, Number 6979: Saheh Muslim)
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Ithna Ashari Shia sources

• Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is the 12th and last of the Shi'a Imams.
• He was born in 255 or 256 AH and is still alive.
• He has been in 'occultation' since the age of five years, that is, he has been living anonymously and unknown to public but nevertheless in the physical world.
• His father is the 11th Shi'a Imam, Hasan al-Askari.
• His mother is Narjis, a Byzantine princess, though few Shi'a scholars (Hamid Algar for instance) believe it is more likely he was the son of a Nubian slave.
• Imam mahdi is living among people but people don't know him, like the prophet Yusuf (Joseph) that remained unknown to his brothers until he introduced himself.
• He looks young although he is over 1000 years old.
• He has many similarities to other prophets:

- His face is like Yusuf (Joseph) - He has a long life like Nuh (Noah) - He is patient as was Ayyub (Job) - His birth was hidden for security like Musa (Moses).

 

[WeBe1]

Characteristics of the Mahdi


Sunni and Shi'a sources

• His name is generally accepted to be Mohammad, Mahdi is just a title. Muhammad literally means "praised one".
• Some Muslims claim that his name can be an accepted variant of Muhammad such as Ahmed or Mahmoud; Supporters of this idea quote a passage from Muhammad in the Hadith which is interpreted: "If there remains only a day for the world to come to an end, Allah will prolong this day till He raises a man from my nation and my progeny. His name will be my name. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it would have fraught with injustice and oppression." (Muntakhabul Asar by Lutfullah Safi Gulpaygani, p. 153)
• His appearance is not similar to those of Muhammad. He will be don with two woolen Qatwani cloaks (or the QATAN) like the people of Bani-israel (here it means the Muslims who are the descendants of the Bani-israel race and not the Jews)
• His character is like that of Muhammad, he would follow him perfectly and shall err not.

Sunni sources

• He has a fair complexion.
• He has a broad forehead and a prominent nose.

Signs indicating the emergence of the Mahdi


Shi'a sources

• According to Shia sources no one can detemine the time of Imam Mahdi's emergence and whoever determines any specific time is a liar (Kamal ul-din, p 484, Hadith #4). Nevertheless, there are some signs for his emergence, most of which are not necessary conditions for his reappearance.
• The 6th Shi'a Imam, Jafar al-Sadiq, is reported to have said:

"Before the appearance of the one who will rise, peace be upon him, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky. It will swallow up Baghdad, and will swallow up Kufa. Their blood will be shed and houses destroyed. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they shall have no rest."

• There will be an insurgence by the Sufyani, a descendant of Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan is considered by Shias to have been one of Muhammad's worst enemies, along with his son, Muawiya I and Muawiya's son, Yazid. According to Shia narrations, the Sufyani's revolution will start from Palestine/Jordan, and his reign of tyranny will span the Middle East from Iraq to Egypt.
• A loud call from the sky signals the Mahdi's appearance.

Emergence of the Mahdi


Sunni and Shi'a sources

• He emerges during the last days of the world from Makkah
• He and Isa (ie. Jesus) are two different individuals; This so accepted by consensus of earlier scholars, although it counters the prophetic tradition presented by famous Muslim historian Ibn Khuldun. He quotes Anas ibn Malik that the prophet said, "لا مهدي إلا عيسى بن مريم", literally meaning: No Mahdi but Jesus son of Mary.
• He precedes the second appearance of Jesus
• He establishes justice, peace and truth throughout the world (or land, the Arabic word "الأرض" pronounced al-ardh does not necessarily translates to whole world or Planet Earth only, it basically means 'land' and could thus address to some nation or part thereof.)

• Jesus defeats the Deceiving Messiah or Antichrist, known as al-Masih ad-Dajjal
• Once the Deceiving Mesiah is defeated, Jesus and the Mahdi live on Earth to live out their natural life
• The Mahdi will correct the false or corrupted practices in Islam, and Jesus will likewise correct false practices done in his name (i.e. Christianity).
• Some scholars also established Jesus could be praying behind Mahdi.
• Jesus will destroy all the crucifixes and false churches

Shi'a sources

• Upon his emergence, the young among his followers, without any prior appointment, reach Mecca that very night
• Each of his soldiers has the power of forty strong men
• Sinful opposers call their own followers to fight
• A large number of non-believers will convert to Islam once they see that the signs in the reports have occurred

Claims of being the Mahdi

Main article: People claiming to be the Mahdi
There have been several personalities over time who have considered themselves the Mahdi prophesied in Islam. Similar to the notion of a Messiah in the Judeo-Christian religions, the notion of a Mahdi as a redeemer to establish a society has lent itself to various interpretations leading to different claims within minorities or by individuals within Islam.
First historical recorded reference to a movement using the name of Mahdi returns to al-Mukhtar's rebellion against the Umayyid Caliphate in 686 CE (almost 50 years after Islamic prophet). Al-Mukhtar claimed that Ibn al-Hanifiya, a son of the fourth Caliph Ali (the first Imam of Shi'ite), was the Mahdi who would save the Muslim people from the unjust rule of the Umayyids. Ibn al-Hanifiya was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.
A list and a summary of known claimants is given on its own page.

Divergent views among Sunnis

The coming of the Mahdi is a disputed notion within Sunnis, with the claim being denied notably by the Ahle Quran, as also notable Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama clerics.

 

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The Mahdi in fiction

Several authors have used the concept of the Mahdi in fictional stories. Perhaps the best known is Frank Herbert, whose Dune science fiction novels centered on the character of Paul Atreides, who was proclaimed by his followers, the Fremen, to be the Mahdi. Paul's Fremen name, "Muad'Dib", means "teacher of adāb (manners and respect)" in Arabic, although within the novel it is a word in the Fremen language of Chakobsa, and is the name of a kind of desert mouse.
In The Wheel of Time fictional world, the Tinker people are divided into travelling bands each led by a mahdi, which is translated as "seeker". The Tinkers are of the same ethnicity as the Aiel, a Fremen-like desert-dwelling people.
The Mahdi plays a central role in Wilbur Smith's The Triumph of the Sun. It's about an English family during the Mahdi's siege of Khartoum in 1884.

See also

• Hadith of Jesus praying behind Mahdi
• Mahdaviat
• Dajjal
• People claiming to be the Mahdi
• Traditions about Mahdi
• Al-Qa'im (the Shi'a expectations)

External links


Ahmadiyya view

• Views of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement: "A Brief Sketch of the Ahmadiyya Movement", [1]

• Views of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community: " The Messiah and the Mahdi One and the Same Person", [2]

Sunni view

• THE MUSLIM BANI-ISRAEL OF EAST HELPING IMAM MAHDI
• Coming of Imam Mehdi and the Return of Hadhrat `Isaa
• Jesus Christ the Son of Mary and His Most Blessed Mother
• The Mahdi and the End Times
• Imam Mahdi
• THE COMING OUT OF THE AWAITED DESCENDENT OF FATIMA, AL-MAHDI

Shia view

• Al-Imam al-Mahdi: The Just Leader of Humanity by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini
• The Awaited Saviour by Ayatullah Baqir al-Sadr and Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari
• A Discussion Concerning the Mahdi by Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr
• Helpers Of The Mahdi
• Information about the 12th Imam

Mouood (Arabic: موعو&#1583 The largest portal about Imam Mahdi and related articles and news, in Persian language.

• Mouood Online

Mehdavi view

• Who are Mahdavis?
• The Promised Mehdi
• Syed Mohammad AlMahdi AlMow'ood

Bibliography (English)

• Shauhat Ali: Millenarian and Messianic Tendencies in Islamic Thought: Lahore: Publishers United: 1993.

• Timothy Furnish: Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, Jihad and Osama Bin Laden: Westport: Praeger: 2005: ISBN 0279833838

• Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina: Islamic Messianism: The Idea of the Mahdi in Twelver Shi'ism: Albany: State University of New York Press: 1981: ISBN 0873954580

 

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