Imam Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Mahdi (a): Difference between revisions

=His Imamate=

According to Shi'i hadiths, the beginning of the imamate of Imam Mahdi (a) was when he was five. God bestowed upon him the qualifications needed for imamate at that young age, just as [[Yahya]] was given wisdom in his childhood, and [[Jesus]] was chosen as a prophet when he was an infant.

Hadiths from the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) mention the imamate of Imam Mahdi. His father, Imam Hasan al-‘Askari, specifically showed him to his trusted Shi'a and announced his imamate.

Believing in a savior is not exclusive to the Shi'a or Muslims. Many religions and sects also maintain similar beliefs. The difference between Twelver Shi'ism and the other religious traditions is the belief in a specific person, who was born in 255 AH and is still alive, as the awaited savior.

Among the hadiths of the Prophet (s) pointing to the imamate of the twelfth Imam, recorded in Shi'i sources, is the hadith in which the Prophet (s) says to Imam al-Husayn (a), “You are a master son of a master; you are an Imam son of an Imam; you are the Proof son of a Proof; you are the father of nine Proofs from your progeny, the ninth of whom is the Riser (al-qa'im).”

“Mahdi is from my family, from the descendants of [[Fatima]].'”

‘Mahdi is from us, [[Ahl al-Bayt]].'”

“If only one day remains before the world ends, God will raise a man from my family who will fill the earth with justice, while it has become full of injustice and oppression.”

In a hadith recorded in al-Khwarazmi's ''Maqtal'', the Prophet (s) declares the names of the Twelve Imams one by one and mentions Imam Mahdi (a) as the last Imam.

Among the hadiths of the Imams (a), a hadith attributed to [[Imam Ali]] (a) states, “Know that by God my two sons [al-Hasan (a) and al-Husayn (a)] and I will be murdered, and God will surely raise at the end of the time a man from my descendants who will revenge for us. He will be hidden from people so that the misguided should be known, [and his occultation will be prolonged] until the ignorant will say, ‘God does not need the family of Muhammad [s].”

A hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a) states, “After al-Husayn b. Ali, there will be nine imams, the ninth of whom is the Riser.”