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

According to a number of hadiths, he is the [[Prophet (s)|Prophet's (s)]] namesake.<ref>Riyshahrī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī'', vol. 2, p. 283.</ref> In some hadiths and written Shiite sources, such as ''[[al-Kafi]]'' and ''[[Kamal al-din]]'', his name is written with separate letters as "{{ia|م ح م د}}" (M Ḥ M D).<ref>Riyshahrī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī'', vol. 2, p. 289-291.</ref> This is in accordance with hadiths forbidding any mention of Imam al-Mahdi's (a) name.<ref>Riyshahrī, ''Dānishnāma-yi Imām Mahdī'', vol. 2, p. 297-305.</ref>

His mother is referred to in different ways: Narjis, Susan, Saqil or Sayqal, Haditha, Hakima, Malika, Rayhana, and Khamt.<ref>Khudāmurād Sulaymān, ''Farhangnāma-yi mahdawīyyat'', p. 371.</ref> In general, there are four accounts of her life and characteristics. According to a [[hadith]] cited by [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] in his ''[[Kamal al-din wa tamam al-ni'ma]]'',<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', vol. 2, p. 417.</ref> Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was a Roman princess. And in other hadiths, her life story is not mentioned and it is only said that she was trained and raised in the house of [[Hakima bt. Imam al-Jawad (a)|Hakima]], the daughter of [[Imam al-Jawad (a)]].<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', 1390 AH, vol. 2, p. 424.</ref> According to a third group of hadiths (cited by [[al-Mas'udi]] in his ''[[Ithbat al-wasiyya li l-Imam 'Ali b. Abi Talib (al-Mas'udi)|Ithbat al-wasiyya]]''),<ref>Masʿūdī, ''Ithbāt al-waṣīyya'', p. 272.</ref> Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was not only raised in the house of [[Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a)|Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a)]] paternal aunt, but was also born there. The last group of hadiths has a fundamental difference with these three groups. According to these hadiths, Imam al-Mahdi's (a) mother was a black bondwoman.<ref>Nuʿmānī, ''al-Ghayba'', p. 163.</ref> The first three groups of hadiths can be considered as complementary, but the last one cannot be reconciled with them. However, some scholars have tried to reconcile the last group of hadiths with others by taking it to be concerned with Imam al-Mahdi's (a) nurse.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 51, p. 219.</ref>

Some old sources did not talk about the birth date of Imam al-Mahdi (a), taking it to be a secret.<ref>Muqaddasī, ''Bāzpazhūhī-yi tārīkh'', p. 555; Nawbakhtī, ''Firaq al-Shīʿa'', p. 108-112.</ref> However, many Shiite and some Sunni hadiths take the year of the birth of Twelfth Shiite Imam (a) to be [[255]]/869<ref>Khudāmurād Sulaymān, ''Farhangnāma-yi mahdawīyyat'', p. 192.</ref> or [[256]]/870.<ref>Muqaddasī, ''Bāzpazhūhī-yi tārīkh'', p. 555-569.</ref>

There is also a disagreement about the month in which the Imam (a) was born. The majority of scholars take it to be [[Sha'ban]] as is evidenced by many old Shiite sources.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', vol. 2, p. 424, 430, 432; Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 514; Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', p. 339.</ref> However, some Shiite<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', vol. 2, p. 417; Ṭūsī, ''Kitāb al-ghayba'', p. 238.</ref> and Sunni sources<ref>Irbilī, ''Kashf al-ghumma'', vol. 2, p. 437.</ref> take it to be [[Ramadan]], and some Sunni sources<ref>Ibn Khallikān, ''Wafayāt al-aʿyān'', vol. 4, p. 176.</ref> take it to be [[Rabi' I]] or [[Rabi' II]].

Some Sunni scholars have reported the birth of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari's (a) son, but they are silent about the son being the promised al-Mahdi: some examples are Ibn Athir (d. 630/1232) in his ''al-Kamil fi l-tarikh'',<ref>Ibn Athīr, ''al-Kāmil fī al-tārīkh'', vol. 7, p. 274.</ref> Ibn Khallikan (d. 681/1282) in his ''Wafayat al-a'yan'',<ref>Ibn Khallikān, ''Wafayāt al-aʿyān'', vol. 4, p. 176.</ref> and al-Dhahabi (d. 748/1347) in his ''al-'Ibar''. Other Sunni scholars have, in addition to reporting his birth, pointed to his being the promised al-Mahdi as well, such as Ibn Talha al-Shafi'i (d. 652/1254) in his ''Matalib al-sa'ul''<ref>Shāfiʿī,''Maṭālib al-saʿūl'', vol. 2, p. 79.</ref> and Ibn Sabbagh al-Maliki (d. 855/1451) in his ''al-Fusul al-muhimma''.<ref>Mālikī, ''al-Fuṣūl al-muhimma'', p. 287.</ref>

After Imam al-Hasan al-'Askaris (a) demise, the Abbasid caliph sent a group of agents to his house. They shut down the house and confiscated the Imam's (a) property. They looked for the Imam's (a) son, examined the Imam's (a) wives and bondwomen for pregnancy,<ref>Kulaynī, ''al-Kāfī'', vol. 1, p. 514; Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', p. 43.</ref> and arrested a heavy bondwoman who was suspected to be pregnant. She was monitored for two years and was released afterwards.<ref>Ṣadūq, ''Kamāl al-dīn wa tamām al-niʿma'', p. 473-476.</ref>

Imam al-Mahdi (a) was born in 255/869 about twelve centuries ago. This longevity is not comparable to that of ordinary people. Shiite [[kalam|theologians]] have provided different replies to questions about the extraordinary longevity of Imam al-Mahdi (a).

According to the [[Qur'an]], the prophet [['Uzayr]]'s food and drink stayed fresh after hundred years although the food and drink do not have souls. Thus, a fortiori, a human person with a soul can have an extraordinarily long life.

* [[Sahla Mosque]]: There is a place in the middle of this mosque between the maqam of [[Imam al-Sajjad (a)]] and that of [[Prophet Yunus (a)]], which is attributed to the Twelfth Imam (a). According to some traditions, this place will be the Imam's (a) place of residence after his reappearance.  

* [[Wadi l-Salam]]: A place in this cemetery is attributed to the Imam (a). The current shrine in this place was built in 1310 AH by Sayyid Muhammad Khan, the king of Sind. Prior to that, [[Al-Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Bahr al-'Ulum|Sayyid Bahr al-Ulum]] (d. [[1212]]/1797) renovated the building. In the mihrab of this shrine, there is a stone on which a [[Ziyara-text|ziarah-text]] is transcribed. The date of transcription is Shaʿban 9th, 1200 AH.  

* One hundred fifty three hadiths collected by [[Allama Majlisi]] in ''[[Bihar al-anwar]]'', demonstrating the imamate of Imam al-Mahdi (a).  

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

[[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] (d. 413/1022) in his ''[[al-Irshad]]''<ref>Mufīd, ''al-Irshād'', 1372Sh, vol. 2, p. 340. </ref> and [[al-Tabrisi]] (d. 1154) in his ''[[I'lam al-wara]]'',<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Iʿlām al-warā'', vol. 2, p. 259.</ref> and some other prominent Shiite [[jurist]]s and [[muhaddith]]s as well as many historiographers have subscribed to the first view, taking the Minor Occultation to be seventy four years.

The term [[Tawqi'at al-Imam al-Mahdi (a)|tawqi']] mostly indicates the writings of the Imams (a) and especially of Imam al-Mahdi (a), but sometimes this term has been used also for his oral sayings. In sources such as ''[[Kamal al-din]]'' by [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] and ''Mu'jam ahadith al-Imam al-Mahdi (a)'', not even the oral sayings of the Imam (a) but also the sayings of his special deputies have been collected under the title al-tawqiʿat. The tawqiʿat of the Imam (a) (about 80 sayings) are mostly issued during the Minor Occultation and on various topics.  

The issue of Imam al-Mahdi (a) was an old issue in Islam, and in particular, Shiism. Since the Reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi was promised by the [[Prophet (s)]] himself, the name, "al-Mahdi", was since then well-known. Even before the Imam's (a) birth, tens of books were written about him by the Shi'as. After the Imam's (a) birth, many other books were still written about him. Thousands of books have so far been written about different aspects of the Twelfth Shiite Imam. Here are some of the most reliable ones:

During the [[Major Occultation]], Shiites do [[tawassul]] to the Imam of the Time (a) and ask him for his prayers and attention. Their love for their Imam (a) causes them to strive to get closer to him and long to meet him. Moreover, according to Qur'anic verses and hadiths, the Imams (a), with God's permission, are aware of the spiritual and material conditions of people and their prayers can improve their situations. Therefore, the Shi'a believe that the stronger their relation with the Imams (a), the more they benefit from the Imams' (a) prayers and attention.  The supplications of [[Al-'Ahd Supplication|Ahd]] and [[Tawassul supplication|Tawassul]], the prayer of Imam al-Mahdi (a), visiting Jamkaran and Sahla mosques, [[Ziyarat Al Yasin]], paying alms for the health of the Imam (a), the celebrations related to the fifteenth of Sha'ban, and many poems that are composed about him are manifestations of the relation between the Shia and their Imam (a).  

The Islamic tradition emphasizes the importance of awaiting faraj (freedom from grief or sorrow). One of the most important instances of this concept is hoping for and awaiting a bright future for the world, which, according to Shiite beliefs, will be realized by the return of the Twelfth Imam (a). Awaiting the return of Imam al-Mahdi (a) and the great merits of such awaiting are mentioned with different wordings in Shiite traditions; those who await the Imam (a) are said to be the “Friends of God” and “the best people,” who are like those who accompanied the [[Prophet (s)]] in the [[Battle of Badr]].