"MAHDI" is a term title meaning "The Guided one" ON THIS PAGE
Who Is Imam Mahdi?
What Muhammed Said
Summary
Physical Description of The Imam Mahdi
Signs that Will Precede His Coming
Iran President Paves the Way For Arabs' Imam Return
Waiting For the Rapture in Iran Who Is Imam Mahdi?
“According to the Shiite version of Islam the 12th descendant of Mohammed, known as the 12th Imam or the Mahdi, (Also known as the "Hidden Imam”) went into hiding in 941, some 1300 years ago. At an earlier time of rising tensions, the 10th imam was forced from his home in Medina by the powerful Sunni caliph in Baghdad and was sent to live in Samarra, where he could be kept under closer supervision. Both he and his son were believed to have been poisoned by the caliphate. Fearing such persecution, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was just a child when he became the 12th imam. Then he is said to have gone into what Shiites call occultation, a kind of suspended state from which it is believed he will return. Shiites believe he will reappear when the world has become full of oppression and tyranny. They believe that he is hidden in the Jamkaran well in Iran, which is a place of pilgrimage for believers who drop their requests for help into the well in the hope that the Imam will read them and come to their aid”. The February 22nd 2006 bombing of one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines, the Golden Mosque in the town of Samarra, sparked considerable retaliatory killing as 2 of the 12 imams revered by mainstream Shiites, including the 11th imam, Hassan al-Askari, are buried there. Legend has it that he 12th Imam, was at the site of the shrine before he disappeared. According to the wsu.edu web site .. “The core of the Shi'ite religious world view is the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, "The Guided One." While the stories of the first eleven Imams are historical in nature, the history of the twelfth Imam is mystical and miraculous. Born in 868 AD / 255 AH, Abu'l-Kasim Muhammad (which is the name of the Prophet himself), and when Hasan al-Askari, the Eleventh Imam, died in 874 AD / 260 AH, the seven year old boy declared himself to be the Twelfth Imam and went into hiding. The Shi'ites believed that he hid himself in a cave below a mosque in Samarra; this cave is blocked by a gate which the Shi'ites call Bab-al Ghayba, or the "Gate of Occultation." This is one of the most sacred sites in Shi'a Islam, and the faithful gather here to pray for the return of the Twelfth Imam. The central Shi'a doctrines revolving around the Hidden Imam are the doctrines of Occultation (Ghayba) and Return (Raj'a) . The Doctrine of Occultation is simply the belief that God hid Muhammad al-Mahdi away from the eyes of men in order to preserve his life. God has miraculously kept him alive since the day he was hidden in 874 AD / 260 AH; eventually God will reveal al-Mahdi to the world and he will return to guide humanity... The Hidden Imam, however, will eventually leave his Greater Occultation and appear (zuhur) to the world of humanity. This return is the most significant event in the future for the Shi'ite faithful and has thunderous eschatological consequences. This return will occur shortly before the Final Judgment and the end of history. Imam Mahdi will return at the head of the forces of righteousness and do battle with the forces of evil in one, final, apocalyptic battle. When evil has been defeated once and for all, the Imam Mahdi will rule the world for several years under a perfect government and bring about a perfect spirituality among the peoples of the world. After the Imam Mahdi has reigned for several years, Jesus Christ will return (raj'a), as will Husayn and others”. (Richard Hooker. The Hidden Imam. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/SHIA/HIDDEN.HTM)
Also the official web site of Idara Dawat-O-Irshad, a non-profit organization in the Washington DC metropolitan area says “The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has prophesied about several events that will occur just before the advent of the day of judgment. Among these, Rasulullah (SAW) has foretold the advent of one of his descendants, Al Mahdi (the guided one), which will materialize when the believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He will fight the oppressors, unite the Muslims, bring peace and justice to the world, rule over the Arabs, and lead a prayer in Mekkah at which Isa (pbuh) (Jesus) will be present”. (Identification of the Prophesied Imam Mahdi. www.irshad.org/islam/prophecy/mahdi.htm)
Note: “Please do not confuse Imam Mahdi with Hadhrat Isa (Jesus) Alayhis Salaam. They are two different persons, and both will come during the last days. According to Hadeeth, Imam Mahdi will appear first, and Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will appear during Imam Mahdi's lifetime. Furthermore, only Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) will be able to kill Dajjal (the "anti-Christ")”. (Imam Mahdi (Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH)
by Mufti A.H. Elias and Mohammad Ali ibn Zubair Ali www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html)
What Muhammed Said
The Following quotations are alleged by various people to have been made by Muhammed, and are considered to be authentic. Hadhrat Ali (R.A.) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said "This world will not come to an end until one person from my progeny does not rule over the Arabs, and his name will be the same as my name." [http://www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html] "Even if only a day remains for Qiyamah to come, yet Allah will surely send a man from my family who will fill this world with such justice and fairness, just as it initially was filled with oppression." (Abu Dawood) [http://www.irshad.org/islam/prophecy/mahdi.htm] "Al Mahdi will be from my progeny. His forehead will be broad and his nose will be high. He will fill the world with justice and fairness at a time when the world will be filled with oppression. He will rule for seven years." [http://www.irshad.org/islam/prophecy/mahdi.htm]
Abu Hurairah said: "The shall not occur until the Euphrates will disclose a mountain of gold, over which people will fight. 99 out of every hundred shall die, and every one of them shall say, 'perchance I shall be the one to succeed" (Imaam Mahdi and the Signs that Will Precede Him. www.inter-islam.org/faith/mahdi1.htm)
Summary
Idara Dawat-O-Irshad, a non-profit organization in the Washington DC metropolitan area states that according to reliable, authentic, and universally accepted narrations the Mahdi will: Be from among the family of Prophet(SAW),
among the descendants of Fatima(RA);
Have a broad forehead and pointed noise;
Appear in one night;
Appear just before the day of judgment;
Have same name as hazrat Muhammad(SAW);
Escape from Madina to Makkah where people will pledge allegiance to him;
Receive pledge and help of Iraqi people;
Fight in battles;
Rule over the Arabs for seven years according to Sunnah;
Spread justice and equity on earth;
Eradicate tyranny and oppression;
Lead a prayer in Mekkah which Jesus(pbuh) will follow in;
NOT be the same individual as the Promised Messiah (Jesus). (Identification of the Prophesied Imam Mahdi. http://irshad.org/islam/prophecy/mahdi.htm)
Physical Description of The Imam Mahdi
According to other hadeeth: * He will be tall
* He will be fair complexioned
* His facial features will be similar to those of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
* His character will be exactly like that of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)
* His father's name will be Abdullah
* His mother's name will be Aamina
* He will speak with a slight stutter and occasionally this stutter will frustrate him causing him to hit his hand upon his thigh.
* His age at the time of his emergence will be forty years
* He will receive Knowledge from Allah.. (Imam Mahdi (Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH)
by Mufti A.H. Elias and Mohammad Ali ibn Zubair Ali. www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html)
Signs that Will Precede His Coming
Mufti A.H. Elias and Mohammad Ali ibn Zubair Ali says that “While the people will be pledging their allegiance to Imaam Mahdi, a voice from the unseen will call out: "This is the representative of Allah,
The Mahdi, listen to him and obey him"
This announcement which will be heard by all those present will establish his authenticity. Another sign which will indicate the authenticity of Imaam Mahdi wil be that in the Ramadhaan prior to his emergence an eclipse of the sun and moon will occur”. (Mufti A.H. Elias and Mohammad Ali ibn Zubair Ali. Imam Mahdi (Descendent of Prophet Muhammad PBUH). www.islam.tc/prophecies/imam.html)
Iran President Paves the Way For Arabs' Imam Return
Nov 17, 2005
Reuters By Paul Hughes His call for the destruction of Israel may have grabbed headlines abroad, but it is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's devotion to a mystical religious figure that is arousing greater interest inside Iran. In a keynote speech on Wednesday to senior clerics, Ahmadinejad spoke of his strong belief in the second coming of Shi'ite Muslims' "hidden" 12th Imam. According to Shi'ite Muslim teaching, Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th leader whom Shi'ites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed, disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic justice. Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi," Ahmadinejad said in the speech to Friday Prayers leaders from across the country. "Therefore, Iran should become a powerful, developed and model Islamic society." "Today, we should define our economic, cultural and political policies based on the policy of Imam Mahdi's return. We should avoid copying the West's policies and systems," he added, newspapers and local news agencies reported.
Ahmadinejad refers to the return of the 12th Imam, also known as the Mahdi, in almost all his major speeches since he took office in August. A September address to the U.N. General Assembly contained long passages on the Mahdi which confused Western diplomats and irked those from Sunni Muslim countries who believe in a different line of succession from Mohammed. This fascination has prompted wild stories to circulate. Presidential aides have denied a popular rumor that he ordered his cabinet to write a letter to the 12th Imam and throw it down a well near the holy city of Qom where thousands of pilgrims come each week to pray and drop messages to the Imam. But what really has tongues wagging is the possibility that Ahmadinejad's belief in the 12th Imam's return may be linked to the supposed growing influence of a secretive society devoted to the Mahdi which was banned in the early 1980s. Founded in 1953 and used by the Shah of Iran to try to eradicate followers of the Bahai faith, the Hojjatieh Society is governed by the conviction that the 12th Imam's return will be hastened by the creation of chaos on earth…” (www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_10945.shtml Link is no longer Valid. See Jihad Watch. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/12/our-revolutions-main-mission-is-to-pave-the-way-for-the-reappearance-of-the-12th-imam-the-mahdi.html) Waiting For the Rapture in Iran
Excerpts from An Article by Scott Peterson
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor / December 21, 2005 “Among the true believers is Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who predicted with "no doubt" his June election victory, months in advance, at a time when polls gave him barely 1 percent support. The president also spoke of an aura that wreathed him throughout his controversial UN speech in September. "O mighty Lord," Mr. Ahmadinejad intoned to his surprised audience, "I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace."... ... “From redressing the gulf between rich and poor in Iran, to challenging the United States and Israel and enhancing Iran's power with nuclear programs, every issue is designed to lay the foundation for the Mahdi's return.”... ...” The Mahdi's eventual return is an article of faith for Shiite Muslims that taps deeply into Persian consciousness and mystical tradition. Signs began to appear in Tehran three years ago, announcing that "He's Coming." But only a portion of Iranians actively prepare for that moment. Part of the tradition holds that the Jamkaran mosque was ordered built by the Mahdi himself, during a dream revealed to a "righteous man" some 1,000 years ago. It is here that believers are closest to the Mahdi. Written prayers dropped into the adjacent well (which, local guides point out has no religious basis) are thought by pilgrims to be divinely answered. Officials deny rumors that Ahmadinejad, as mayor last year, secretly tasked the Tehran City Council with reconfiguring the capital to prepare a suitable route for the Mahdi's return. They also deny that a list of Ahmadinejad's new cabinet members has been dropped into the well - a superstition that even Ayatollah Khomeini, the father of Iran's revolution, refused to associate with”... “...an early cabinet decision earmarked $17 million for Jamkaran. And there is talk of building a direct train link from Tehran to the elegant blue-tiled mosque, which lies 65 miles south of the capital, east of the Shiite religious center of Qom.
Already, Jamkaran is estimated to receive the second-largest number of pilgrims of any holy site in Iran.”... With hands over their hearts in supplication, they approach the radiant mosque for evening prayers, and scrawl requests to the Mahdi on preprinted prayer forms. Many pilgrims say their prayers are answered, and health problems are healed”... ...“few doubt the sincerity of Ahmadinejad's belief. Some point to his seemingly impossible prediction of electoral success, three months before the June vote. "You will see, on the day of the election, I will be the winner - I have no doubt about it," says political editor Mohebian, quoting those who heard the remarks. "People change, and we can calculate [politically] why he won. But this [gives a] kind of self-confidence," he says. "Mr. Ahmadinejad thinks he has a mission." | 
