Section 1:
Selection of Traditions Discussing the Signs before His Blessed Reappearance, His Emergence and Appearance and What Happens Before That
Reported from Ahmad b Muhammad b 'Ubaid Allah b Ahmad b Ya'qub b Nusair al-Anbari, from Ahmad b Muhammad b Masruq from Abd Allah b Sh'ayb from Muhammad b Ziyad al-Sahami from Sufyan b 'Uyaynah from 'Imran b Dawud from Muhammad b al-Hanafiyyah, he said:
The Commander of the faithful (A.S.) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) saying: Allah the Almighty said, "I shall definitely punish any people who pledge obedience to an Imam who is not from me, even though the people may be righteous. And I shall shower my mercy upon any people who pledge obedience to a just Imam from me, even though the people may not be righteous or God-fearing. He (the messenger of Allah) then said to me: O 'Ali! You are the leader and Successor after me. Your war is mine and so is your peace. You are father to my progeny and husband to my daughter. From your progeny shall emerge twelve purified leaders and I am master of the Prophets, and you are master of all leaders. You and I are from the same tree. Had it not been for me Allah would not have created the heaves, fire, Prophets, or Angels".
He ('Ali) said: I said, "Are we superior or the angels?"
He replied, "O Ali! We are the best of creation upon the whole earth, better than the favourite angels! Why not, when we have preceded them in recognising Allah and his Unity. It was because of us that they have recognised Allah, and due to us that they have worshiped Allah, and because of us they have been guided towards the path of recognising Allah. O Ali! You are from me and I from you. You are my brother and vizier. When I die malice and rancor shall appear in some people's hearts towards you. There shall be after me great trial and tribulation which shall affect every intimate friend. This shall be the time when your Shi'ah loses the fifth one from the seventh son of your progeny. Those people in the heavens and earth shall grieve for their failure to find him. How many believing men and women shall grieve and despair during his absence!" He (the Prophet) then slightly bowed his head, raised it again and then said: "By my father and my mother! The one who has my name and resembles me. The one who resembles Moses, the son of 'Imran.
Upon him shall be the garment of light (or he said the cloak of light). It illuminates from the flames of Holiness (al-Quds) as though even I regret for those who have passed before his time. Then it shall be announced with such an announcement which shall be heard by those far just as it shall be heard by those near as a form of mercy upon believers and retribution upon the hypocrites!"
('Ali) said to him: What is that announcement?
He replied: It is three voices in Rajab. The first is, "Behold! May the curse of Allah be upon the transgressors?" The second is, "The time has come!" The third time they shall see a body appearing with the sun (above the sun) and a voice announcing, "Behold! Allah has sent so and so, the son of so and so" (It shall mention the lineage) until it ends with me, and at that time shall be the destruction of the oppressors. At that very time liberation and freedom shall come, their hearts shall be cured and the hatred of their hearts shall disappear!" I said to him: O Messenger of Allah, how many leaders shall there be after me? He answered: After Husayn there shall be nine. The ninth one is the Qa'im.
Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman
(The Clear Path in what was revealed concerning al-Qaim)
Reported from Muhammad b al-'Abbas from Humaid b Ziyad from al-Hasan b Muhammad b Sama'ah from Ibrahim b 'Abd al-Hamid from Abu 'Abd allah (A.S.), he said:
"Verily when al-Qaim reappears he shall enter the sacred Masjid (al-haram) and face the direction of prayer (qiblah) with his back towards the sacred maqam, then he shall pray two raka'ah after which he shall stand and say: O you mankind! I have a greater right to Adam than all other people. O you mankind! I have a greater right to Ibrahim than all other people. O you mankind! I have a greater right to Isma'il than all other people. O you mankind! I have a greater right to Muhammad (S.A.W..) than all other people. Then raising his hands towards the sky supplicating, humbling him until he falls on his face. This is the meaning of Allah's words: "Or is the One who answers the one in difficulty when he calls upon Him and removes the calamity and appoints you Successors on earth is there a god together with Allah? Little do they understand!"
Al-Burhan fi 'Alamat Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman
(Evidence regarding the signs of the Mahdi of the Last Days)
In the first chapter, reported from Huzaifah b al-Yaman from the Prophet (S.A.W.) regarding the advent of the Mahdi (A.S.) and his allegiance between the pillar and the sacred maqam, and his departure towards Syria, he said:
Jibril shall be in his front and Mikail shall be on his shins, the people of the heavens and earth shall be pleased with him including the birds, the animals, and fish in the sea.
This tradition has been recorded by Abu 'Umar and 'Uthman from Sa'id al-Muqr'i in his Sunan.
Section 2:
The discussion that he shall not appear except after a great trial and the fall of believers into great difficulties and tribulations
From the book al-Kitab al-Muhajjah fi ma Nazala fi al-Qaim al-Hujjah, from Mufadal from al-Sadiq from his father from his fathers from the leader of the believers Ali (A.S.), he said:
The help of Allah shall not come until you become of less value to the people than the dead, and this is the meaning of my Lord the almighty in His book in surah Yusuf, "Until when the Prophets lose hope and think that they have been belied, at that time our help shall come." This is at the time of our leader the Mahdi (A.S.).
Nahj al-Balaghah:
From his sermon: By my mother and father! They are numerous, their names are known in the heavens and yet unknown on earth. Behold! Be hopeful regarding what shall come to pass at the end of your affairs and the dissection of your limbs, the enslavement of your young ones. This is the time when one strike from a sword will be easier that a silver coin from jewellery, the time when the receiver shall get greater reward than the giver, when you shall be drunk without drinking but from great pleasures and luxuries, when you shall take oath without any need for it, and lie unnecessarily. This is when calamity shall hold on to you just like a hump holding on to the back of a camel. What a long distress this shall be! How further this hope shall be!
From Jabir al-Ju'fi, he said: I said to Abu Ja'far (A.S.): When shall your salvation/release be? He answered: How unbelievable! Our release shall not take place until you have been sieved and sifted (he repeated it thrice) until Allah removes the filth leaving purity.
Muhammad b Abd Allah b Ja'far al-Humayri from his father from Ayub b Nuh from al-Abbas b Amir from Rabi'i b Muhammad al-Maslami, he said: Abu Abd Allah said to me: By Allah! You shall be broken like glass except that glass can be broken and then be repaired as it was! By Allah! You shall be broken like earthenware and earthenware cannot be repaired as it was. By Allah! You shall be examined and thoroughly tested. By Allah! You shall be sifted just as chaff is sifted from grains.
Section 3:
Discussion on him leading 'Isa son of Maryam in prayer.
From Kitab al-Fitan of Hafiz al-Na'im b Hammad with his own chain from Hisham b Muhammad, he said: The Mahdi is the one who shall lead Jesus the on of Mary in prayers.
From the Prophet (S.A.W.), he informed the Imams regarding the emergence of the Mahdi, the seal and last of all the Imams, the one who shall fill the earth with justice and equality in the same way it was filled with oppression and transgression. And that Jesus (A.S.) shall descend at the time of his emergence and he (Jesus) shall pray behind him. He (the reporter of this tradition) said: This tradition has been agreed upon by the Shi'ite, scholars and non-scholars, and the ahl al-Sunnah, all and sundry, even children due to its popularity.
In the commentary upon the words of Allah, "For indeed He possesses knowledge of the final hour." In the tradition it has been reported that Jesus shall come down a mountain trail in the Holy land known as Afiq. In his hand he shall carry a weapon by which he shall kill the Dajjal. He shall approach the Holy House (in Jerusalem - al-Aqsa) while the people are performing the dawn prayer. The Imam (al-Mahdi) shall move back to give Jesus the honour of leading the prayers but he (Jesus) shall insist that the Imam continue leading the prayers. He (Jesus) shall then pray behind him according to the laws of Muhammad (S.A.W.).
Section: 4
The situation before his emergence:
Corruption, Innovation, Oppression, Excessive transgression and the power of the transgressors, lack of emphasis on obedience of Allah, spreading of evil, and open indecency.
Reported on the authority of Hasan b Ahmad b Idris from his father from Abu Sa'id Sahl b Ziyad al-Adamiy from Muhammad b Adam al-Shaibani from his father Adam b Abu Iyas from Mubarak from Faddalah from Wahb b Munabbah who attribute the tradition to Ibn Abbas, he said:
The Prophet said: When my Lord the Almighty ascended with me to the heavens he called upon me, "O Muhammad!" I answered: "I hear and obey O lord of grandeur!" Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! Do you know why the great angels argued?"
"I have no knowledge regarding that my God", I said.
"O Muhammad! Have you appointed a vizier, a brother, and Successor after from among the people?"
I said, "O my Lord! Who shall I appoint? You must appoint yourself for me O my Lord."
Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! I have chosen for you from among all the people Ali the son of Abu Talib."
"O my Lord! He is but the son of my uncle!" I answered.
"O Muhammad! Ali shall be thy heir, the one to inherit the legacy of knowledge after thee, the bearer of the flag of praise on the day of judgement, the custodian of your pond from which any believer from thy nation who shalt pass by it will be quenched."
Allah then revealed to me, "O Muhammad! Indeed I have made a true pledge upon myself that the one who harbours hatred for you, your household, or your pure progeny shall never ever drink from the pond. I say unto you, I shalt enter all of thy people into paradise save for the one from my creation that refuses."
I said, "O my Lord! Can anyone refuse to enter paradise?"
"Of course!" He said.
"How can he refuse?" I asked.
He answered, "O Muhammad! I chose thee from my creation, I then chose a successor for you giving him the same position as that of Aaron in relation to Moses except that there can never be another prophet after thee. I then instilled his love in thy heart making him the father of your grandchildren. Therefore, his right upon thy nation is like thy right upon them during lifetime. Whomsoever shalt dispute his right has disputed your right. Whomsoever, refuses to support him has refused to support thee, and he who refuses to support thee has refused to enter paradise."
I then fell down in prostration showing my gratitude to the Almighty Allah for the great favour upon me. At that same time a voice announced, "Raise thy heard O Muhammad! Ask me and I shalt grant thee!"
I called, "O my Lord! Unite my people after me under the leadership of Ali the son of Abu Talib so that they may all come to drink from my pond together on the day of judgement."
"O Muhammad! Indeed I have decreed upon my servants before I created them and my decree shalt come to pass. I shalt destroy with it whomsoever I wish and I shalt guide whomsoever I wish. I have granted him your knowledge after you upon your family and nation as a firm decision from me. I shalt enter into paradise whoever loves him and I will not enter into paradise whoever hates him, fights him, or disputes his leadership after you. Whoever angers him angers you and whoever angers you angers me. Whoever wages war against him has waged war against you and whoever wages war against you has waged war against me. Whoever loves him has loved you and whoever loves you has loved me. I have granted him this favour and I have granted you the favour of producing from him twelve rightly guided personalities and they are all from your progeny from your pure daughter. The last man from among them will have the honour of leading Jesus the son of Mary in prayers. He shall spread justice on earth just as evil and oppression had been widespread. It is through him that I shall save from destruction and through him that I shalt guide from darkness. I shalt grant sight to the blind through him and cure the sick."
I said, "O my Lord and Master! When shall that be?"
He said, "This will happen at the time when knowledge shall vanish while ignorance shall be rife, the number of those who preach what they do not practise shall multiply, and good deeds shall be scarce. Killing shall be rife. Scholars and guides shall be few while deceptive and misguiding scholars will increase, poets will increase, and their graves shall be turned into Mosques, Qur'an will be decorated and Mosques will be adorned with beauty and indecency and corruption will be widespread. Evil shall spread and you nation shall encourage towards it while they shall prevent from good. Men shall desire man while women shall desire women. The leaders shall become clear apostates and their ministers evil, and their helpers oppressors and bureaucratic. They advisors shall be hypocrites. At that time there shall be three lunar eclipses in the East and one in the West, and another in the Arabian peninsular. Basra shall fall at the hands of a man from your progeny whose followers shall be black. A man from the children of Husain shall appear, and so shall the Dajjal appear from the Eastern region of Sajistan. The Safavids will also appear."
I said, "O my Lord! How long after me shall this evil be?"
He then informed me about the Umayyad rule, the fitnah regarding my uncle's son Abbas, what will be and what should have been until the day of judgement. I then informed my uncle's son all this when I returned to earth when I executed my duty of propagating the message. I praise Allah for that just as the Prophets have sang His praise, and as everything before me has praised Him, and whatever he is to create until the day of judgement.
He (the narrator) has reported this tradition in al-Bihar,
Muhammad b Yahya from Ahmad b Muhammad from the companions of Ali b Ibrahim from his father from Ibn Abu Umayr all of them reporting from Muhammad b Abu Hamzah from Hamran from Abu Abdullah (S.A.W.) (in a long hadith in which he mentioned some of the things that shall manifest among people; evil deeds, innovation [bid'ah], and fitnah), he said: When you see that truth is dead and its proponents and finished, and you see that transgression has spread on earth, and you see that the Qur'an has been adulterated/fabricated and things that are not part of it are invented in it and it is directed towards vain desires, and you see that din [the Muslim way of life] has evaporated just as water evaporate, and the proponents of falsehood have overpowered the proponents of truth, and you see manifest evil which is not prevented and its proponents are justified and excused, and you see transgression manifesting itself, men sufficing themselves with men, and women with women, and you see that a believer is silent and his word is not considered while the transgressor can lie and his lie and concocted words are not rejected, and you see that the young look down upon the old, and you see that the family ties have been broken, and you see the one that glorifies evil being laughed at and his word is not rejected, and you see the young boy being given the same given to a woman, and women marrying women and you see women increasing in number, man spending his wealth in other ways than the obedience of Allah and while he is not prevented or stopped, and you will see the onlooker seeking Allah's protection from the believer's hardworking/striving/ independent reasoning, and you see the neighbour harming his neighbour and no one stops him, and you see the disbeliever happy from the happiness he sees in the believer who rejoices at the corruption he sees on land, and you see alcohol being consumed openly while people who have no fear of Allah will gather around it, and you see the one who enjoins good being humiliated, and those who supports and love them being humiliated, and you see the path of good being blocked while the path of evil being followed, when the house of Allah has been neglected and people are ordered to leave it, and you see a man saying what he does not do, and you see man fattening themselves ( gaining weight) to attract other men, and women to attract other women, and you see that the source of a man's sustenance is his anus and that of a woman is her private part, and you see women frequenting public gatherings the same way men do, and you see that gender bending is common among the sons and dyeing is common while they comb their hair in the same way a woman make up for her husband, and men are given wealth for their private parts, and the rich is respected more than the believer and interest is strife and cannot be changed, and a woman is praised for her promiscuity, and you see a woman encouraging her husband to have sex with other men, and you see most of the people and even those from noble families assisting women in their promiscuous acts, and you see a believer being grieved and humiliated, and you see promiscuity and innovation [bid'ah], and you see people considering false witnesses, and haram being legitimated, and halal being outlawed, and religion is based on personal opinion while the Qur'an and its laws are being neglected, and the night is not enough to hide from transgression of Allah's laws, and a believer is not capable to prevent from evil except with his heart, and you see the one endowed with great wealth spending it in transgression against Allah, and the leaders befriending the disbelievers while alienating the people of goodness, and the leaders accepting bribery in ruling, and the leaders accumulating wealth and you see the blood relatives marrying each other, and you see a man being executed only on the basis of suspicion, and you see a man being criticised for preferring women [over men], and you see a man eating from what her wife has earned from her private parts [pimping] knowing fully well and approving it, you will see a woman dominating her husband, working and gathering wealth which she spends on her husband, and you will see a man hiring out his wife and slave and being pleased with despicable food and drink, and you will see a lot of false oath on Allah, excessive gambling, open and legitimated trade in alcohol, women presenting themselves to the disbelievers, you will see a lot of amusement centres emerging and people will be passing by them and no one preventing others from entering them, you will see the honourable being humiliated by the one who fears his authority, you will see that those who befriend the leaders will be the same people who praise and legitimate our insult i.e. the insult of the ahl-al-bayt, you will see those who love us being falsified and their testimony being rejected, people competing to give false testimony, when listening to the Qur'an becomes difficult, and listening to falsehood is easy, a neighbour honouring a neighbour due to fear of his tongue, Allah's penal laws being neglected, people acting according to vain desires, and you see that the Masjids have been beautified, the most trustworthy among people will be those fabricating lies, when evil, gossip and back biting is strife, when rebellion has spread, when back biting shall be considered interesting and people congratulating each other for it, when one shall desire hajj and jihad for reasons other than the pleasure of Allah, when a leader will humiliate a Muslim for the sake of pleasing a disbeliever, when you shall see more ruins than buildings, and you see a man eating from deceptive measurements, when blood shed will not be taken serious, when a man will seek leadership by worldly treasures and using his evil tongue to gain fame so that he may be feared and that all affairs may be directed towards him, when daily prayer will not be taken serious, when a wealthy man will never pay regular charity since possessing his wealth, when the dead will be exhumed and mutilated and his shroud/coffin being sold, when you will see turmoil increasing, when a man will sleep drunk and wake up drunk and none shall bother about his situation, you will see people [marrying] engaging in sexual intercourse [nikah] with animals, you will see animals preying on each other [a dog eat dog situation], a men coming out for prayers returning naked, when people's hearts become hard and their eyes blind (from truth), when remembrance (admonition) becomes heavy upon them, when illegal possession are many and people competing in them, when a person shall pray only to show people that he prays, and when a faqih shall seek knowledge for the world desiring power and leadership, when people will be on the side of the winner, when a person seeking lawful means will be blamed and criticised while the one seeking unlawful means will be praised and respected, and when actions which do not please Allah shall be practised in the two holy places [haramain] and no one will dare prevent them, and when music shall be strife in the two holy places, when you will see a man saying some truth enjoining good and preventing from evil and the one whom he is advising standing up and saying, "leave this topic!", when you will see people looking at each other and paying attention to the evil people, when a person will be alone on the path of truth with no one to tread with, when a person shall pass by the dead without experiencing any fear (of death), and when every year bid'ah and evil will be worse than the previous year, when the people will follow non other than the rich, when a needy will be given but with laughter and only shown mercy for other reasons than the sake of Allah, when the signs in the skies shall frighten no one and when people shall cohabit just like how animals cohabit and no one shall prevent evil fearing people, when a person will spend more in the disobedience of Allah and refuse to pay even little for the sake of Allah's obedience, when disobedience of parents shall be strife, and when their status shall not be granted any significance and they will be treated as though they are the worst of people in the child's eyes and the child will be happy to see them being defamed, when women will take over authority and take over every issue and they will only be approached for desire, when a child shall rejoice when his parents are being defamed and he shall pray against them and celebrate their death, when a day shall not pass when a man has not engaged in a major vice or earned through deceptive measurements [in trade] or cheating, drinking alcohol in sorrow thinking that day to be the worst of his life, the leaders will hoard food, and you see the wealth of the blood relatives being distributed unjustly and casting lots on it, using it to drink alcohol. You will see the alcohol being used as medicine and being prescribed to the sick, when people shall stop enjoining good and preventing from evil and they will stop emphasising on them, when the winds of the people of falsehood and the hypocrites everlasting while the winds of the people of truth fails to move, when Adhan and [leading]
Salah shall be paid for, when the Masjid will be full of people with no fear of Allah gathering in them for backbiting the people of truth and describing the drinking habits in it, when a drunk will pray with people without any recollection, and drunkenness will not be considered a problem and when one drinks he shall be honoured, feared and will be left alone without being condemned and punished, when the one consuming the wealth of the orphans will be praised for his piety, when judges shall judge with laws other than what Allah revealed, when leaders shall trust the treacherous, when the leaders shall appoint the hypocrites as heirs confiding in them and what they desire, when the Mimbar shall be a place where people are commanded to fear Allah and the speaker will not act according to what he preaches, when prayer in the right time will not be considered important, when charity will be given not to please Allah but people, when people's main concerns shall be their stomachs and private parts they shall not bother regarding what they eat or who they marry, when the world shall follow them, and you see the most prominent proponents of truth shall be obliterated, be on your guard and seek Allah's salvation, know that people are in Allah's wrath and He just respites them for a order/matter intended for them, be careful and strive hard so that Allah can see you doing contrary to what they are doing. If the punishment is to come while you are among them then you will have hastened towards the mercy of Allah and if you are delayed then they will be tested and you will saved yourself from the transgression on Allah the Almighty they engage in and remember that Allah will not waste the reward of the righteous and that the reward of Allah is closer to the righteous.
From what they mentioned in Kitab al-fitan of Na'im b Hammad al-Khuza'i who reports from the Shaikhs (teachers) of Bukhari and al-Rumadi and other scholars of hadith. They said: Na'im told us that al-Walid and Rushdin told him while reporting on the authority of Abu Lahi'ah who is reporting from Abu Qubail from Abu Ruman from Ali (A.S.) that he said: When a caller shall call from the heavens that Truth is with the family of Muhammad (S.A.W.), at that time the Mahdi become the main topic of discussion on people's mouths while they rejoice and they shall not have any other topic of discuss other than him.
Bihar al-Anwar: Kitab Tarikh Qum.
It has been reported from al-Sadiq (A.S.) through a number of chains that he mentioned Kufah saying: "Kufah shall be devoid of believers and knowledge shall sneak out of it just as a snake sneak out of its hole. Eventually knowledge shall appear at a place known as Qum. It shall become the mine of knowledge and virtue so much that even the young girls shall be veiled (from the eyes of strange men). This will happen towards the appearance of the Mahdi. Allah shall make Qum and its people the representatives of truth and authority. Had it not been for that the earth would swallow its people and no hujjah would be left on earth. Knowledge shall gush from it (Qum) to the rest of the world; in the East and West and Allah authority will be completed on his creation so much that there shall be no one upon the face of this earth to whom the message of Islam and the knowledge has not reached him. At that moment the Mahdi shall appear and he will become the reason of Allah's wrath and anger because Allah will not take a people to account until they reject the Truth.
The proof regarding the sign of the Mahdi of the end of time: Daraqutni mentioned a hadith in his Sunan on the authority of Muhammad b Ali that he said: Our Mahdi shall have two signs which have never happened since Allah created the earth and the heavens. The moon shall eclipse on the first night of Ramadan and the sun shall eclipse in the middle of the same year and this has never happened since Allah created the heaven and earth.
Sunan Ibn Majah (vol.2)
The Chapters of Fitan: The Chapter of the Signs:
Ali b Muhammad told us that Waqi' told him that Sufyan told him while reporting from Furat al-Qazzaz from 'Amir b Wathilah Abu Tufail al-Kanani from Hudhaifah b Usaid Abu Sarihah that he said: The Prophet appeared from Arafat while we were discussing the events of the end of time and said: The final hour shall not approach until after ten signs: The rise of the sun from the West, the Dajjal, the smoke, the beast, Gog and Magog, the return of Jesus the son of Mary (A.S.), three eclipses; one in the East, one in the West, and one in the Arabian peninsular, etc. Abu Dawud (al-Sijistani) reported in his Sunan (Sunan Abu Dawud also known as "Risalat Abu Dawud ila Ahl Makkah") in the chapter of the signs of hour in the book of battles, from volume 2 with his own chain from Hudhaifah and others. Muslim (Muslim b al-Hajjaj al-Qushairi) also reported it in his Sahih (Jami' al-Sahih) in Kitab al-fitan wa ashrat al-sa'ah in the chapter of the signs before judgement day.
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