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

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There are many [[hadiths]] transmitted from the [[Imams (a)]] about Imam al-Mahdi (a), his life, his [[Occultation]], and his government, and many collections of such hadiths have been written. In addition to hadith collections, many works have been published about Imam al-Mahdi (a).

The possibility of meeting the Imam (a) during his [[Major Occultation]], when and how he reappears, and the incidents related to his [[reappearance]] are some of the popular discussions among Shi'as.

In Shi'a hadiths, the Twelfth Imam (a) is referred to by names such as Muhammad, Ahmad, and 'Abd Allah. However, among the Shi'as, he is most famously referred to as al-Mahdi which is one of his titles.<ref>Riyshahrī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī'', vol. 2, p. 283.</ref>

===Prohibition of Mentioning his Name===

{{Shi'a-Vertical}}

The names and titles of the Twelfth Shiite Imam (a) are mentioned in Sunni sources as well. In these source, "al-Mahdi" is the mostly mentioned title. The title "al-Qa'im" is rarely found in Sunni sources.<ref>Ṭabasī, ''Tā ẓuhūr'', vol. 1, p. 492.</ref>

===Secret Birth===

===Sunni Accounts===

After Imam al-Mahdi's (a) birth, some Shi'as who were close and reliable companions of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) saw Imam al-Mahdi (a). [[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] mentions some Shi'as who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) during the life of Imam al-'Askari (a): Muhammad b. Isma'il b. Musa b. Ja'far (a), Hakima bt. al-Imam al-Jawad (a), Abu 'Ali b. Mutahhar, 'Amr al-Ahwazi, and Abu Nasr al-Turayf, the servant of Imam al-'Askari (a).<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', p. 339; Qundūzī, ''Yanābīʿ al-mawadda'', p. 461.</ref>

A similar hadith is cited by [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]]. He also mentioned other people who saw Imam al-Mahdi (a) in the meeting: 'Ali b. Bilal, Ahmad b. Bilal, Muhammad b. Mu'awiya b. Hakim, and Hasan b. Ayyub b. Nuh.<ref>Ṣāfī Gulpāyigānī, ''Muntakhab al-athar'', p. 355.</ref>

{{Family tree Ahl al-Bayt (a)}}

==After the Demise of Imam al-'Askari (a)==

In his will, Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) gave all his property to his mother, [[Hudayth]], although the Abbasids did not allow the whole property to be given to Hudayth. They gave half of the property to [[Ja'far b. 'Ali b. Muhammad]], Imam al-Mahdi's (a) uncle.<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Fuṣūl al-ʿashra'', p. 69-72.</ref>

==Long Life==

===Empirical Responses===

===Philosophical Responses===

The human soul is in control of the body. If the soul is so powerful that it can have [[wilaya]] on the body, in addition to the control, then it can keep the body alive for a longer time.

According to historical accounts, there were people who lived longer lives than other people.

===Scriptures===

===Hadiths===

===End of Life===

There is no hadith about how Imam al-Mahdi (a) will die or be martyred.<ref>Qazwīnī, ''al-Imām al-Mahdī'', p. 638.</ref> Some scholars appeal to the well-known view that all the Imams (a) are martyred (based on a hadith according to which, "all of us will either be killed or poisoned",<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 27, p. 217.</ref> and thus, argue that Imam al-Mahdi (a) will be martyred at the end of his government. According to the [[Imamiyya]], after the demise of Imam al-Mahdi (a), there will be a [[raj'a]] (return of the dead). [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] will be the first person who will return to this world. He will say the [[Funeral Prayer]] for Imam al-Mahdi (a), and [[ghusl al-mayyit|wash]] and [[Kafn|enshroud]] his corpse.<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 8, p. 250.</ref>

===Place of Reappearance, Uprising, Government, and Life (after Reappearance)===

==Appearance and Moral Character==

===Appearance===

===Moral and Religious Characteristics===

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 (a)]] was given wisdom in his childhood, and [[Jesus (a)]] was chosen as a [[prophet]] when he was an infant.

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 are the belief in a specific person, who was born in 255/869 and is still alive, as the awaited savior.

===Narration from the Prophet (s)===

====Shi'a Sources====

====Sunni Sources====

"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."

===Narrations===

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

There was a disagreement in the house of Imam al-'Askari (a) as well. Hudayth, Imam al-'Askari's (a) mother, and Hakima, the Imam's (a) paternal aunt, believed that the Imam (a) had a son who was the new Imam, but the only sister of Imam al-'Askari (a)—the only other child of [[Imam al-Hadi (a)]] in addition to [[Ja'far b. 'Ali b. Muhammad]] and perhaps Ja'far's full sister—supported Ja'far.<ref>Mudarrisī Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''Maktab dar farāyand-i takāmul'', p. 161-162.</ref>

===Branching in the Shiite Community===

Still, others believed in the imamate of [[Ja'far b. 'Ali b. Muhammad|Ja'far]].<ref>Nawbakhtī, ''Firaq al-Shīʿa'', p. 107-109; Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', vol. 2, p. 408.</ref> Ja'far tried hard to propagate himself as the Imam. After the demise of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a), he claimed the heritage of his brother although their mother was still alive,<ref>Irbilī, ''Kashf al-ghumma'', vol. 2, p. 437; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', p. 345. </ref> and this was against the rulings of inheritance in Islam. He also encouraged the rulers of the time to search the Imam's (a) house to find his son, and with Ja'far's cooperation, one of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a) bondwomen was arrested and closely monitored to see if she was pregnant.<ref>Irbilī, ''Kashf al-ghumma'', vol. 3, p. 205; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', p. 345. </ref> Moreover, Ja'far offered to annually pay 20,000 [[dinars]] as a bribe to an Abbasid agent so that he confirms Ja'far's imamate.<ref>See: Irbilī, ''Kashf al-ghumma'', vol. 3, p. 199-205; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', p. 345. </ref>

: Of the sects we mentioned, in our time, that is in 373/983, only the Twelver Imamiyya has survived, that is, those who believe in the imamate of al-Hasan's son who is the Prophet's (s) namesake, and are certain about his life and survival until the day in which he will begin an uprising with his sword.<ref>Sayyid Murtāḍā, ''al-Fuṣūl al-mukhtāra'', vol. 2, p. 321.</ref>

=== Role of Tawqi' in the Establishment of Shiism===

: In the Name of God the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. I learned that a group of you have disputed about the religion and are confused about the guardians of your affairs (that is, the Imams). Have you not seen how God selected guardians for you since the time of Adam, peace be upon him, until the previous Imam so that you can refuge to them? God has raised flags with which you could be guided. Whenever a flag disappears, another appears, and whenever a star goes down, another rises. When God took him (that is, Imam al-'Askari) to Himself, you thought that the Exalted God has annihilated His religion and cut off the link between Him and His creatures. It has never been like this, and it will never be like this until the [[Resurrection]] when God's affair shows itself. The previous Imam, peace be upon him, has passed away. And his will and his knowledge and his succession lie in us, and no one disputes us about his position except a sinful unjust person.<ref>Ṭūsī, ''Kitāb al-ghayba'', p. 286.</ref>

===Minor Occultation===

During the Minor Occultation, Imam al-Mahdi (a) had interactions with the Shi'as through his [[Special Deputies]] and settled their issues, such as questions about beliefs, jurisprudential inquiries, and financial matters.

===Major Occultation===

==In Hadiths==

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{{end}}

==Further Reading==