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The Last Savior in Islamic Narrations
People since the creation of Adam are treading on the path of perfection. Every new religion is like a higher level of education take place in an academic center though all of the teachers follow a same goal. This is what we the Moslem believe that all of the prophets followed a same goal which was submission to God and the principles of all of them are one but, they are implemented on various levels. When people are raised to a higher level, the previous divine program is left to the side but however, its respect remains. Because of this, the religion of the Prophet Mohammad abrogates the previous religions.
When the Prophet was raised all of the followers of the previous religions should follow his religion since,
1- That a prophet with the name of Muhammad came to existence and had some miracles is a fact that no one can deny. It is not just a myth or a legend.
2- The prophet had miracles that proved he was from God. The Quran was one of his miracles that he who was illiterate could bring a book full of distinguishable points that no one could bring even a verse like it.
3- His teachings were not in contradiction with the previous divine religions, nor in opposition with intellect.
4- His prophesies were mentioned in the previous divine books.
However, since his religion was final and should be continued up to end of this world but his life was limited, people needed someone to succeed him, one who knew all of what the Prophet had known and possessed all of his spiritual capabilities. We the Shia believe that Imam Ali was the Prophet’s successor then, after the life of him another man like him came next till it was the time of the twelfth one who is Imam Mahdi and, like the previous Imams, is one of the descendants of the Prophet. He is now existent and manages people’s problems and looks for their needs even though, he is in occultation.
Imam Mahdi’s position with the Prophet is like the position of Aaron to Moses and the position of one of the twelve disciples of Jesus with Jesus.
Imam Mahdi in narrations: In following, we refer to some of narrations pertaining to him in Islamic sources. All of these narrations are from the prophet of Islam:
1- “The world will not come to an end until a man from my family, who will be called Mahdi, emerges to rule upon my community.”[i]
2- “What would be your situation if the Son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends upon you and your Imam is from among you?”[ii]
3- “A group of my Ummah will fight for the truth until near the day of judgment when Jesus, the son of Marry, will descend, and the leader of them will ask him to lead the prayer, but Jesus declines, saying: ‘No, Verily, among you Allah has made leaders for others and He has bestowed his bounty upon them.’”[iii]
4- “The promised Mahdi will be among my progeny, among the descendants of Fatima. (the Prophets daughter)”[iv]
5- “Allah will bring out from concealment Mahdi from my family and just before the day of Judgment; even if only one day were to remain in the life of the world, and he will spread on this earth justice and equity and will eradicate tyranny and oppression.”[v]
6- “The earth will be filled with injustice and corruption. At that time, a man from among my progeny will rise and will rule for seven or nine years and will fill the earth with justice and equity.”[vi]
7- “Mahdi from among my descendants, from my family, will rise at the End of Time, while the heavens will pour rain and the earth will bring forth green grass for him. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with tyranny and injustice.”[vii]
8- “Listen to the good news about Mahdi! He will rise at the time when people will be faced with severe conflict and the earth will be hit by a violent quake. He will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with injustice and tyranny. He will fill the hearts of his followers with devotion and will spread justice everywhere.[viii]
[i] Bihar al-anwar, v. 51, p. 75.
[ii] Sahih Muslim, bab nuzul isa, v. 2; Sahih Bukhari, kitab bad al-khalq wa nuzul isa, v. 4.
[iii] Sahih Muslim
[iv] Abu Dawud, Sahih, v. 2, p. 207.
[v] Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, v. 1, p. 99.
[vi] Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, v. 3, p. 27.
[vii] Bihar al-anwar, v. 51, p. 74.
[viii] Bihar al-anwar, v. 51, p. 74.
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