Sunni references:
- Ibn Asakir, as quoted in:
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p252
Ibn Hajar wrote that:
Muqatil Ibn Sulayman and those who followed him among the (Sunni) commentators of Quran said that the verse: "And he shall be a Sign for (the coming of) the Hour" (Quran 43:61) was revealed about al-Mahdi.
Sunni reference: al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section 1, p247
Also Ahmad Ibn Hanbal recorded:
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "Allah will bring out from concealment al-Mahdi from my Family and just before the Day of Judgment; even if only one day were to remain in the life of the world, and he will spread on this earth justice and equity and will eradicate tyranny and oppression."
Sunni references:
- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v1, p99
- A close version has also been narrated in Sunan Abu Dawud, English version, Ch. 36, Tradition #4270 narrated from Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS).
It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that:
Jabir Ibn Abdillah al-Ansari (RA) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: "A group of my Ummah will fight for the truth until near the day of judgment when Jesus, the son of Marry, will descend, and the leader of them will ask him to lead the prayer, but Jesus declines, saying: "No, Verily, among you Allah has made leaders for others and He has bestowed his bounty upon them."
Sunni reference:
- Sahih Muslim, Arabic, part 2, p193
- Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v3, pp 45,384
- al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Ch. 11, section 1, p251
- Nuzool Isa Ibn Maryam Akhir al-Zaman, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p57
- Musnad, by Abu Ya'ala which provides another version of the tradition with more clear words on the authority of Jabir that the Messenger of Allah said: "A group among my Ummah will continue to fight for the truth until Jesus, the son of Marry, will descend, and the Imam of them will ask him to lead the prayer, but Jesus replies: "You have more right to it, and verily Allah has honored some of you over others in this Ummah."
- Sahih Ibn Habban, whose tradition reads: "their leader al-Mahdi" and the rest of tradition is the same.
Ibn Abu Shaybah, another Sunni traditionist, and the mentor of al-Bukhari and Muslim, has reported several traditions about Imam al-Mahdi (AS). He has also reported that the Imam of the Muslims who will lead Prophet Jesus in prayer is Imam al-Mahdi himself.
Jalaluddin al-Suyuti mentioned that: "I have heard some of the deniers of (truth) deny what has been conveyed about Jesus that when he descends will pray the Fajr prayer behind al-Mahdi. They say, Jesus has higher status than to pray behind a non-Prophet. This is a bizarre opinion since the issue of prayer of Jesus behind al-Mahdi has been proven strongly via numerous authentic traditions from the Messenger of Allah, who is the most truthful." And then al-Suyuti goes on narrating some of the traditions in this regard. (See Nuzool Isa Ibn Maryam Akhir al-Zaman, by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti, p56).
Also al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned that:
"The Mahdi is of this Ummah, and that Jesus (PBUH&HF) will come down and pray behind him."
Sunni reference: Fat'h al-Bari, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, v5, p362
This is also mentioned by another Sunni scholar, Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, who wrote:
"The Ahlul-Bayt are like the stars through whom we are guided in the right direction, and if the starts are taken away (or hidden) we would come face to face with the signs of the Almighty as promised (i.e., the Day of Resurrection). This will happen when the Mahdi will come, as mentioned in the traditions, and the Prophet Jesus will say his prayers behind him, the Dajjal will be slain, and then the signs of the Almighty will appear one after another."
Sunni reference: al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section 1, p234
Also Ibn Hajar quoted Abu al-Husain al-Ajiri saying:
The traditions of al-Mustafa (PBUH&HF) on the rising of al-Mahdi has been transmitted via numerous authorities and is more than the level of (being sufficient for) Mutawatir, describing that he is of his Ahlul-Bayt, and will fill the earth with justice, and that Jesus (AS) will come at the same time and he will assist Jesus for killing al-Dajjal in the land of Palestine, and that he will lead this nation and Jesus will pray behind him.
Sunni reference:
- Abu al-Husain al-Ajiri as quoted in al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, by Ibn Hajar, Ch. 11, section 1, p254
So if al-Mahdi and Jesus are to be the same person as some ignorants claim, then how can one prays behind himself?! Moreover this shows that Imam al-Mahdi and Jesus (the Messiah) will come at the same time so that they could pray the morning prayer together in Jerusalem.
In fact, the equivalent word of "Messiah" in Arabic is "al-Maseeh" which means "Wiped Clean; Purified". This word has been used in Quran as the title of Prophet Jesus (AS). As such, the "Messiah" is the Prophet Jesus (AS) and not the Imam al-Mahdi (AS). However, the word "Messiah" in English has another meaning, that is "savior". As a result, there have been some English translators who used the word "Messiah" for Imam al-Mahdi (AS) with the meaning of "Savior" which does NOT have anything to do with Arabic word "al-Maseeh".
I should point out that, there exists a fabricated tradition which is mainly used by Ahmadis and Qadianis to prove that al-Mahdi and Jesus are the same. The tradition states: "And no Mahdi except Jesus." This tradition has been rated by al-Hakim as unknown and strange and he said there are discrepancy in its chain of authorities. al-Bayhaqi said Muhammad Ibn Khalid said this tradition is single (Mufrad). al-Nisa'i has mentioned that this tradition is unfamiliar and is denied, and that the memorizers of traditions confirm that the traditions which state that al-Mahdi is the descendants of Fatimah are authentic and reliable. (See al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, Ch. 11, section 1, p252 for details).
Prophet Jesus is not the Imam of Muslims, and when he comes back, he will be the follower of the Imam of Muslims who is known as Imam al-Mahdi (AS).
In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is narrated that:
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said: "What would be your situation if the Son of Marry (i.e. Jesus) descends upon you and your Imam is among you?"
Sunni reference:
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Arabic-English, v4, Tradition #658
NOTE: The above is my own translation. The Saudi-paid translator of Sahih al-Bukhari (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) has shown pure dishonesty in translating the above tradition. His translation of the last portion of the tradition does not bear any similarity what so ever with the Arabic text of the tradition which is as follows:
/ . | | .. | . | : . | . /
o_)_,_9 o_, _o . _,| | _, | > | o_,_, | .__9_,_)
( : ( : / (_). (_| / ( :
/. / | |
? o_)_,_o o_)_o |_o | q
( ( /
Now let us look at the false translation of Mr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan:
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> Sahih Bukhari Hadith: 4.658
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> Narrated Abu Huraira:
Muhammad Muhsin Khan>
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> Allah's Apostle said "How will you be when the son
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> will judge people by the Law of the Quran
Muhammad Muhsin Khan> and not by the law of Gospel.
Mr. Muhsin Khan has trimmed the last part of the tradition which states that the Imam of Muslims (i.e., Imam al-Mahdi) is among Muslims when the son of marry descends. Instead, the translator has added another sentence which does not exists in the Arabic text. I should mention that this is not the only place that he has altered the text, and there are much more examples in this regard which proves his bias and his dishonesty.
Al-Hafidh Muhammad Ibn Ali al-Shawkani (d. 1250/1834) wrote in a book called "al-Tawdhih fi twawatur ma jaa'a fil muntadar wad-djjal wal masih" (the explanation about the frequent reports concerning the Awaited one, the Dajjal, and the messiah) in which he wrote about Imam al-Mahdi (AS) that: "The traditions about al-Mahdi have been related by numerous authorities and are therefor reliable beyond doubt or confusion, because in jurisprudence the qualification of Mutawatir is valid even for (traditions) with less than this number of narrations. There are also many sayings of the companions (of the Prophet) which explicitly mention the Mahdi, which have the status of narrations from the Prophet since there is no question of establishing such saying through Ijtihad (one's opinion and research)". The author gives the same opinion in his other book "al-Fat'h al-Rabbani". (In this connection see also Mawsu'atil Imam al-Mahdi, v1, pp 391-392,413-414,434, and also Tuhfatul Ahwadhi, v6, p485).
The author of the book, "Ghayah al-Ma'amool," mentioned that: "It is a famous narration among the Scholars of the past and the present that there has to appear a man from the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) named al-Mahdi. In addition, the traditions about the Mahdi have been narrated by the most renowned companions of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), as well as by the most renowned scholars such as Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Tabarani, Abu Ya'ala, al-Bazzar, Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, and al-Hakim (May Allah be pleased with them all); furthermore, those who claim that the traditions narrated with regard to the appearance of the Mahdi are weak, are themselves in error."
Al-Saban in his book, "Is'af al-Raghibeen," mentioned that: "The news about the appearance of the Mahdi are traceable back to the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and that he is one of the members of the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF); and that he will fill the Earth with justice."
Al-Suwaydi in his book, "Saba'iq al-Dhahab," reported that: "The scholars have a consensus that the Mahdi (AS) will appear at the end of time and fill the Earth with justice; and the traditions supporting his appearance are indeed numerous."
al-Hafidh Abul-Hasan Muhammad Ibn al-Husain al-Sijistani al-Aburi al-Shafi'i (d. 363/974) said: "The traditions were related by numerous authorities and were spread far and wide by many narrators, from al-Mustafa (PBUH&HF) concerning al-Mahdi who is from the household (of the Prophet) and who will fill the world with justice.." This statement was accepted by the subsequent scholars as testified by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, v9, p144; Fat'h al-Bari, v7, p305), al-Qurtubi (al-Tathkirah, p617), al-Suyuti (al-Hawi, v2, pp 165-166), al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (al-Burhan fi Alamat Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, pp 175-176), Ibn Hajar al-Haythami (al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, Ch. 11, section 1, p249), al-Zurqani (Sharh al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyyah, v5, p348), al-Sakhawi (Fat'h al-Mugheeth, v3, p41), etc.
The best formulation of the belief of all Muslims about al-Mahdi (AS) has been given by a person who himself did not believe in his coming and who denied the validity of the traditions concerning this matter. He was Ibn Khaldoon (d. 808/1406), a famous historian, in whose book, "al-Muqaddamah," wrote:
"Let it be known that it is a narrated event by ALL Muslims in EVERY era, that at the end of time a man from the family of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) will, without fail, make his appearance and will strengthen Islam and spread justice; Muslims will follow him and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called al-Mahdi." (An Introduction to History, by Ibn Khaldoon, English version, London, 1967 Edition, pp 257-258)
The above quote proves that even Ibn Khaldoon was in the opinion that the belief in Imam al-Mahdi was not a characteristics of a special sect of Islam, but was a common belief to ALL Muslims.
Sunni scholars openly criticized those elements (like Ibn Khaldoon) who tried to cast doubt the traditions about al-Mahdi (AS), and have strongly asserted that the belief in Mahdi is well-established for ALL Muslims. See for instance: "Awnul Ma'bud" (which is the commentary of Sunan Abu Dawud), by al-Azimabadi, v11, pp 361-362, Tuhfatul Ahwadhi (which is the commentary of Sahih al-Tirmidhi), by al-Mubarakfuri, v6, p484, al-Tajul Jami' lil Usul, by Shaikh Mansoor Ali Nasif, v5, p341.
Shaikh Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (d. 1377/1958), one of the greatest contemporary scholar of Hadith and Tafsir, whose major work was his commentary on Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (for a biography of Ahmad Shakir, see al-Aalam, v1, p253; Mu'jam al-Mu'allifeen, v13, p368) wrote in his commentary: "Belief in al-Mahdi is not particular to the Shia because it is from the narration of many companions of the Prophet in such way that NO one can cast doubt the truth (of this belief)." After this, he proceeds to a strong refutation of Ibn Khaldoon's weakening the traditions regarding al-Mahdi. (see Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal with commentary of Ahmad Muhammad Shakir, Pub. by Dar al-Ma'arif, Egypt, v5, pp 196-198, v14, p288).
Al-Sayid Sabiq, the Mufti for the "Muslim Brotherhood," in his book, "al- 'Aqa'id al-Islamiyyah," that: "The idea about the Mahdi is indeed valid, and is one of the Islamic tenets that one must believe in." Mr. Sabiq also narrated a variety of traditions relating to the appearance of al-Mahdi (AS) in the above book.
The recent Fatwa in this issue was given in Mecca by "The Muslim World League" (Rabitatul 'Alamil Islami) on Oct. 11, 1976 (23 Shawwal 1396). This Fatwa states that more than twenty companions narrated traditions concerning al-Mahdi, and gives a list of those scholars of Hadith who have transmitted these narrations, and those who have written books on al-Mahdi. The Fatwa states:
"The memorizers (Huffadh) and scholars of Hadith have verified that there are authentic (Sahih) and acceptable (Hasan) reports among the traditions related to al-Mahdi. The majority of these traditions are related through numerous authorities (Mutawatir). There is no doubt that the status of those reports are Sahih and Mutawatir. (They have also verified) that the belief in Mahdi is obligatory, and that it is one of the beliefs of Ahlussunnah wal Jama'a. Only those ignorant of the Sunnah and innovators in doctrine deny it.
For the transcription and reproduction of this Fatwa, see, among others, the Introduction of al-Ganji al-Shafi'i, in the book named "al-Bayan," Beirut, 1399/1979, pp 76-79 and in Appendix.
Two Shafi'i scholars, Ganji in his book "al-Bayan", and Shablanji in his book "Noor al-Absar", on the verse 48:28 of Quran: "He is the One who sent his Messenger (Muhammad) with the guidance and the true religion that in order to prevail over all the religions" narrated from Sa'id Ibn Jubair that "this promise to Prophet Muhammad will be fulfilled by al-Mahdi who is in the progeny of Fatimah (AS)."
Even Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728/1328), who is acclaimed by the Wahhabis, wrote in his book "Minhaj al-Sunnah" (v4, pp 211-212) that the traditions concerning the Mahdi are certainly reliable, and his student, al-Dhahabi, conformed with him in his summary of his teacher's book. (See Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Sunnah, pp 533-534).
Among the Shia scholars, I would like to mention the masterpiece of Lutfullah al-Safi al-Golpaygani, who compiled an encyclopedia named "Muntakhab al-Athar". In this book, there is a comprehensive narration of the traditions regarding to the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi (AS) and the description of the world before and after his appearance. He has used over 60 Sunni sources, including their six major book of Hadith; and over 90 Shi'ite sources to illuminate the fact that al-Mahdi is NOT a fabricated event.
As far as we have been able to discover, at least 35 prominent Sunni scholars have written 46 of books EXCLUSIVELY about Imam al-Mahdi (AS), the leader of our time. Here are some of the name of some of these books:
(1)
"Kitab al-Mahdi," by Abu Dawud.
(2)
"Alamat al-Mahdi," by Jalaluddin al-Suyuti.
(3)
"al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar," by Ibn Hajar.
(4)
"Al-Bayan fi Akhbar Sahib al-Zaman," by Allamah Abu Abdillah Ibn Muhammad Yusuf al-Ganji al-Shafi'i.
(5)
"Iqd al-Durar fi Akbar al-Imam al-Muntadhar," by Shaikh Jamaluddin Yusuf al-Damishqi.
(6)
"Mahdi Aale Rasool," by Ali Ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Harawi al-Hanafi.
(7)
"Manaqib al-Mahdi," by al-Hafidh Abu Nu'aym al-Isbahani.
(8)
"Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman," by al-Muttaqi al-Hindi.
(9)
"Arba'in Hadith fi al-Mahdi," by Abdul Ala al-Hamadani.
(10)
"Akhbar al-Mahdi," by al-Hafidh Abu Nu'aym.
In conclusion, the belief in the coming Mahdi (AS) who is a person other than Jesus (AS), is an undeniable fact for the Sunnis. As we discussed above, the Sunni scholars affirm that belief in "Mahdi of the House of the Prophet" is one of the Islamic tenets for "Ahlussunnah wal Jama'a". In the next part, however, we will discuss the points of differences between the Shia and most Sunnis on the issue of Imam al-Mahdi.
