In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate
I want to ask something about the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi near qayamat. I am in discussion about this topic with someone who said that the riwayaat of Ahadith about Hazrat Mahdi are not present in mo'ta Imam Malik
, and Imam Malik
had spent his life in Madina so according to him it is proven that peopsle of Madina did not know anything about Hazrat Mahdi.
He said that all riwayaat about Hazrat Mahdi include the raavees of "Koofa", and he said that people of Koofa introduced their selfmade belief of Hazrat Mahdi in the name of Islam, and this is why with Imam Malik
one does not find any hadith about Hazrat Mahdi.
He also said that the name of Hazrat Mahdi is not even mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim too. He said that Imam Malik
, Imam Bukhari
and Imam Muslim
never had any belief on Hazrat Mahdi because they did not write any hadith which clearly indicate Hazrat Mahdi.
The Muwatta' has no mention of the sadl or hanging the hands by the sides in Salat, yet it is the preferred position of Imam Malik according to his School. This shows that if something is not in the Muwatta', it does not automatically follow that it was not part of Imam Malik's belief or practice.
Secondly, even if this was the position of Imam Malik, the latter does not necessarily represent the position of all the schools of Madina. The Faqih Ibn Abi Dhi'b, for example, differed sharply with Malik and he was also from Madina.
Thirdly, even if the Muwatta' were the last and exclusive word on everything Malik considered part of the Din and even if Malik were the only and exclusive representative of the Fiqh of Madina, even so, it does not follow that he necessarily transmits everything there is to know in Islam. This was demonstrated by al-Layth ibn Saʿd in his epistle to Imam Malik, in which he showed that the rest of the world, also, was home to the Companions of the Prophet, upon him and them blessings and peace, and no one can reject what they transmit just because they are no longer based in Madina. Imam Malik accepted this argument as shown by his responses to the Caliphs who tried to make the Muwatta' law. Furthermore, to paraphrase the saying of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal about Ibn al-Mubarak: "Malik did not descend from the heaven!"
As for "the name" of Imam al-Mahdi not being mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, this claim shows arrogance which borders on hypocrisy. Have they not heard what Imam Malik himself is related to say, that we do not worship Allah Most High on the basis of wordings but on the basis of meanings? Therefore, they need to reassess their view since al-Mahdi is mentioned in Sahih Muslim in meaning ("A leader shall emerge..."), in the chapter on Fitan, in the same hadith where Abu Dawud mentions him by name.
Belief in al-Mahdi is mentioned as part of the Islamic creed by the Ulema of all the Four Sunni Schools: Hanafi (e.g. al-Qari in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar), Maliki (al-Qurtubi in al-Tadhkira), Shafiʿi (al-Haytami in al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar), and Hanbali (al-Saffarini and al-Shatti's ʿAqidas).
Success is from Allah alone. Was-Salam,
gibril
[SP 2006-05-20]
Addendum:
(1)
Is Imam Mahdi the Leader in Whose Time Sayyiduna Isa(as) Will Descend?
Wa ʿalaykum as-Salam,
It is mass-transmitted that the Imam Mahdi, upon him peace, who
appears shortly before the descent of Sayyidina ʿIsa, upon him peace,
is a descendent of the Prophet through his daughter Fatima, upon him
and his family blessings and peace, and will be the overall leader of
the Muslims and caliph for a number of years. This has been abundantly
documented and is agreed upon by the majority of Ahl al-Sunna and the
consensus of the Shiʿis as well as the Wahhabis.
Was-Salam.
gibril
[SP 2006-06-13]
(2)
Shaykh Yusuf Abu Sneine (Imam and Khateeb at Masjid al-Aqsa al-
Mubarak) spoke about this topic in a dars last thursday at al-Aqsa al-
Mubarak post magrib. (He mentioned among other that Sayyidina Imam
Mahdi will be from Madinah, receive bayah in Makkah, Sayyidina Isa
(as) will descend in Dimashq and (later) enter al-Aqsa al-Mubarak
compound from the now closed Gate of Rahma/Tawbah and pray behind
Sayyidina Imam Mahdi at al-Aqsa al-Mubarak on a friday Fajr prayer.)
Was-Salam.
From Khalil al-S.
[SP 2006-06-15]
© GF Haddad
See also at this site:
- The Coming of the Mahdi
- Mahdi in hadith
- Signs Of The Hour
