Mahdaviyat in Hadith

The Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) Is Inevitable

Some persons reject the existence and the reappearance of Imam-e- Zaman (A.S.) because of his concealed birth, occultation and longevity. Today when the majority of the Islamic sects are scoffing at us because we are convinced of the existence of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) then it should not be in the least surprising because the believers were always made the target of mockery. (For details refer to Holy Quran).

The Holy Prophet (S.A.) had spoken a lot about Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) and declared emphatically that Qiyamat will never occur unless Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) does not arrive. Thus it has been quoted from the Holy Prophet (S.A.) that:

"If a single day remains from the age of this world then Allah will prolong that day to such an extent that, He will raise a man from my progeny on that particular day-." (Sunane-Abi Daud, Kitabul Mahdi, Tradition No. 4282)

There are numerous such traditions in the books of 'Sehah-e-Sittah'. Often a question arises that why always a similarity is struck between the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) and the occurrence of Qiyamat ?

The reason is that Qiyamat is one of the promises of Allah, the Almighty, Who always fulfills His promises. Similarly, Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) is also one of the promises of Allah. Hence occasionally, he is also referred as 'Mahdi-e-Mauood' (The Promised Mahdi) whose advent is mentioned in the Holy Quran in the following words:

"O Prophet say) Then await certainly I am awaiting too." (Araf:81)

Hence if Qiyamat is an irrefutable reality then the advent of Mahdi too is an incontrovertible fact.

Secondly the belief in Mahdaviyat is one of the fundamentals of Islam and as much a basic principle as Qiyamat is. This purports that the denial of the belief in Mahdaviyat is like the abnegation of a basic fundamental of Islam, and denial of any of the fundamentals of Islam is infidelity. All the same, Khwaja Kalan Qunduzi Hanafi narrates a tradition from the Holy Prophet that :

"The one who denied the reappearance of Mahdi (A.S.) then it is as if he has disbelieved in all that which was revealed upon the (Prophet) Mohammad (S.A.)."

Is there any further proof required? The conclusion which is derived after keen perusal of logical and traditional reasoning is that any one who denies the existence or the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) will be an infidel and not a Muslim. Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) And Justice:

Whenever the Holy Quran has mentioned about the aims of Prophets then it has mentioned about the establishment of justice as a chief objective of their mission. As it is said in the Holy Quran that:

"So that man may deal with justice."

In Sehah Sittah whenever Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) is mentioned, then along with it, his attributes also have been described. One of these descriptions is that when he will come, he will fill the earth with justice and equity as it would be fraught with injustice and inequity.

For instance "He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it would be rife with tyranny and oppression". (Sunane-Abi Daud, Tradition Nos. 2283, 4282) It can be inferred from these traditions that the purpose of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) is the dissemination of justice. Secondly, when he will arrive then injustice and oppression would be rampant in the world.

The oppressors would be obeyed and the disbelievers would be disgraced. There will he only one person who will turn the tide whose name will be on the name of Holy Prophet (S.A.) and his epithet will be same as that of the Prophet (S.A.). It will be the era of the fulfillment of Divine promises such as :

"... The last era is for the pious men" (Araf:127) and "... So that if (Islam) may prevail upon all religions though the polytheists may resent." (Tauba : 33) and people will realize the truth of the following verse :

"Say ('0 Prophet) truth has come and falsehood vanished, Surely falsehood was bound to vanish." (Bani Israil; 80) An Emphatic Command For The Believers:

The revolution of Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) will not be an ordinary one. It will bring a sea change in the cosmic order in its wake. It is evident that for bringing about such an unparallel revolution Hazrat Mahdi (A.S ) will need a legion of companions who are determined and can endure all sorts of untold calamities in their way. Perhaps for this reason the Holy Prophet (S.A.) had laid emphasis on the believers to aid and assist Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) when he reappears. He (S.A.) put the same in the following words:-

"So if you will see him then pledge allegiance to him even if you have to crawl on an iceberg because he is the Caliph of Allah, the Mahdi." (Sunane-lbne-Majah, Tradition No. 4084)

It can be inferred from this tradition that it has been stressed to assist Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) in all conditions, either in comfort or calamity. Alas ! the Muslims slaughtered the one whom the Holy Prophet (S.A.) regarded as his son in Karbala and denied the existence of one in whom he reposed all his hopes and expectations. Only Allah knows how this community will face Him and His Prophet (S.A.) on the day of Qiyamat.

Anyhow, all the topics discussed over here are extracted from Sehah-e-Sittah which are unchallengeable and undeniable. For, a majority of Sunni scholars agree that whoever dared to reject or question Sehah-e-Sittah has intact repudiated the Holy Prophet (S.A.) and has consequently disbelieved in Islam. Also it can be noticed that those compilers of Sahih who have not narrated the traditions regarding Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) in their books have quoted the same in their other books.

If any of the Sehah does not contain a proper and adequate narration about him then it does not cast any serious impact on the veracity of the beliefs in Imam Mahdi (A.S.), because in other Sehah it has been related redundantly. Here it was mentioned only to apprise others that even Sehah-e-Sittah is not devoid of the traditions regarding Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.). This much should suffice to those who are skeptical of the veritahility of this pristine belief.