| Imam Mahdi |
Articles about Mahdi |
Website Links For Mahdi |
Information AboutImam Mahdi |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MAHDI | |
| islamic eschatology | |
| religious leadership roles | |
|
The Mahdi ( , also '''Mehdi'''; "Guided One"), in Islamic Eschatology , is the prophesied redeemer of Islam , who will change the world into a perfect Islamic society before Yaum Al-Qiyamah (literally ''"Day of the Resurrection"''). 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 the Mahdi does not appear in the Qur'an, but is mentioned in the earliest and-according to many-most reliable collections of Muhammad's sayings-the ' Hadith ' collections of Bukhari and Muslim. Later recorded references to the Mahdi occurred in Al-Mukhtar 's rebellion against the Umayyid Caliphate in 686 CE. Al-Mukhtar claimed that Ibn Al-Hanifiya , a son of the fourth Caliph Ali, 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. The idea of a man who would arise to right the injustices in the world of Islam was now widely held, however, and later collections of hadiths included ample references to the Mahdi. For example, in a Hadith now widely regarded as authentic, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad 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 , 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 Jesus against the Dajjal (Antichrist or false Messiah). However, since the most reliable sources do not refer to him, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi, and many leaders of politico-religious revival movements in Islam have claimed to be the Mahdi. The following sections list a few of the characteristics of the Mahdi, according to various traditions of Islam: BIRTH OF THE MAHDI Sunni, Shi'a, and Mahdavi sources Sunni sources
Shia sources
Mahdavi sources
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAHDI Sunni and Shi'a sources
Sunni sources
SIGNS INDICATING THE EMERGENCE OF THE MAHDI Shi'a sources
"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." EMERGENCE OF THE MAHDI Sunni and Shi'a sources Sunni sources Shi'a sources CLAIMS OF BEING THE MAHDI See Also: 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 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. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS Sunni view Shia view Mehdavi view |
|
|