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

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| above       = Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Mahdi<br /> <small>12th [[Shi'a]] [[Imam]] </small> <br /> <small>14th Infallible</small> <br />

Wali l-'Asr

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|data4= 874- it continues

|data6= {{Circa}} {{Birth date|869|8|2|df=yes}} [[Common Era|CE]] <br> ([[Sha'ban 15]], 255 [[Hijri year|BH]])

|data8= He is alive.

|data12= He is the last [[Imam]] and does not have any successor

|data13= [[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari|Hasan b. 'Ali al-'Askari(a)]]

|data21= [[Al-Qa'im]]

|below       = <center>'''The Twelve Imams'''<br>[[Imam Ali (a)|'Ali]], [[Imam al-Hasan (a)|al-Hasan]], [[Imam al-Husayn (a)|al-Husayn]], [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)|al-Sajjad]], [[Imam al-Baqir (a)|al-Baqir]], [[Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (a)|al-Sadiq (a)]], [[Imam Musa al-Kazim (a)|al-Kazim]], [[Imam 'Ali al-Rida (a)|al-Rida]], [[Imam Muhammad al-Jawad (a)|al-Taqi]], [[Imam 'Ali al-Hadi (a)|al-Hadi]], [[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)|al-'Askari]], [[Imam al-Mahdi (a)|al-Mahdi]]</center>

Imam al-Mahdi (a) became the Imam after the demise of his father [[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)]] in the year [[260]]/874, when he was five. From that time until the year [[329]]/940-941, he was in contact with his followers through his [[The Four Deputies|Four Deputies]]. After that, his [[Major Occultation]] started, in which period the direct guidance and leadership of the [[Shi'a]] community rests with religious scholars.

=Genealogy and Birth=

The twelfth Imam (a) is the only child of [[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)]]. His name and Epithet are the same as those of [[The Prophet (s)]]. He was born on Sha'ban 15th, 255/869. Some sources, though, regard [[256]]/870 as the more accurate year of his birth.

[[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)]] hid the birth of his son, because the news of the appearance of Mahdi and the fact that the [[Shi'a]] were anticipating his uprising were well-known, and this had made the government sensitive. Therefore, Imam al-'Askari (a) did not publicly announce the birth of his son, and most people did not know his son after the Imam's demise.

* [['Uthman b. Sa'id|Abu 'Amr al-'Amri]]

* [[Abu Nasr Turayf al-Khadim]]

==His Imamate==

According to Shi'i hadiths, the beginning of the [[imamate]] of Imam al-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 (a)]] was chosen as a [[prophet]] when he was an infant.

==The Sayings of the Prophet (s)==

===Shi'i Sources===

Among the [[hadith]]s 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]])."

===Sunni Sources===

"Mahdi is from us, [[Ahl al-Bayt]].'"

==The Sayings of the Imams (a)==

Among the hadiths of the Imams (a), a hadith attributed to [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] states, "Know that by [[God]] my two sons [ [[Imam al-Hasan (a)|al-Hasan (a)]] and [[Imam al-Husayn (a)|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 [[Imam al-Husayn (a)|al-Husayn b. 'Ali (a)]], there will be nine imams, the ninth of whom is the Riser."

Several hadiths predicted the birth and [[occultation]] of Imam al-Mahdi (a) before his birth. Many hadiths also speak about his rule. According to these hadiths, he is the [[Imam]] who will rise by [[God]]'s command and establish a universal rule. Before his uprising, he has two periods of occultation, one of which is longer than the other. The [[Minor Occultation]] started from the birth of the Imam until 329/940-941, when the last ''specific deputy'' of the Imam (a) passed away. After that, the [[Major Occultation]] started, which will end when he will rise against the injustice and oppression that fills the world.

* [http://www.al-islam.org/kitab-al-ghayba-book-occultation-sheikh-an-numani ''al-Ghayba'' by al-Numani]