Chapter 6: Imam Mahdi
According to the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, Imam Mahdi will appear at the end of time and he is one of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.
Al-Hajjaj said: I heard Ali ibn Abi Talib say that the Prophet said: Even if there were only one day left for the world, Allah would send a man from among us to fill the world with justice, just as it had been filled with oppression and injustice. (Ahmad)
Ali ibn Abi Talib reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: The Mahdi is one of us, from among the people of my household. In one night, Allah will inspire him and prepare him to carry out his task successfully. (Ahmad, Ibn Majah)
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: If there were only one day left for the world, that day would be lengthened until a man from among my descendants or from among the people of my household was sent. His name will be the same name as my name and his father’s name will be the same as my father’s. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness, just as it will have been filled with injustice and oppression. The world will not end until a man of my household, whose name will be the same as mine, holds sway. (Abu Dawud)
In another report, Abdullah ibn Mas’ud stated that the Prophet said: A man from my household, whose name is like mine, will take power. (Tirmidhi)
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: If there were only one day left for this world, Allah would lengthen it until he took power. (Tirmidhi)
Abu Sa’id narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: The Mahdi will be one of my descendants. He will have a high forehead and a hooked nose. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness just as it was filled with injustice and oppression and he will rule for seven years. (Abu Dawud)
Umm Salamah said: I heard the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ say: The Mahdi will be one of my descendants from the children of Fatimah. (Abu Dawud)
Umm Salamah stated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: People will begin to differ after the death of a Khalifah. A man from the people of Madinah will flee to Makkah. Some of the people of Makkah will come to him and drag him out against his will. They will swear allegiance to him. An army will be sent against him from Syria and it (the army) will be swallowed up in the desert between Makkah and Madinah. When the people see this, groups of people from Syria and Iraq will come and swear allegiance to him. Then a man from the Quraysh whose mother is from Kalb will appear and send an army against them and they will defeat them. This will be known as the Battle of Kalb. Whoever does not witness the spoils of this battle will miss much! The Mahdi will distribute the wealth and will rule his people according to the Sunnah of the Prophet. Then, he will die and the Muslims will pray for him. (Abu Dawud)
Ali ibn Abi Talib reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: A man named Al-Harith ibn Hirath will come from Transoxania (present day Uzbekistan). His army will be led by a man named Mansur. He will pave the way to establish the government of the family of Muhammad, just as the Quraysh established the government of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Every believer will be obliged to support him. (Abu Dawud)
Abdullah ibn al-Harith ibn Juzi al-Zubaydi narrated that the Prophet said: A people will come out of the East who will pave the way for the Mahdi. (Ibn Majah)
Abdullah said: When we were with the Messenger of Allah, some young men from Banu Hashim approached us and when the Messenger of Allah saw them, his eyes filled with tears and the colour of his face changed. I said: We can see something has changed in your face and it upsets us.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ replied: We are the people of a Household for whom Allah has chosen the Hereafter rather than this world. The people of my Household (Ahl al-Bayt) will suffer a great deal after my death and will be persecuted until a people carrying black banners will come out of the east. They will instruct the people to do good, but the people will refuse. They will fight until they are victorious and the people do as they asked, but they will not accept it from them until they hand over power to a man from my household. Then, the earth will be filled with fairness just as it had been filled with injustice. If any of you live to see this, you should go to him even if you have to crawl across ice. (Ibn Majah)
The Hadith above refers to the rule of the Abbasids. As well as this, it shows that Imam Mahdi will appear after the Abbasid rule and that he is part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
One of the companions of the Prophet, Thawban reported that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Three men will be killed at the place where your treasure is. Each of them will be the son of a Khalifah. Then, the black banners will come out of the East and they will slaughter you in a way which has never been seen before.
Thawban then stated that the Prophet said something which he could not remember.
The Prophet then said: If you see him, go and give him your allegiance, even if you have to crawl over ice, because he is the Khalifah of Allah, the Mahdi. (Ibn Majah)
The treasure that is mentioned here refers to the treasure of the Kabah and before the day of Judgement, three of the sons of the Khalifahs will fight for this treasure.
Imam Mahdi will then appear from the East and according to some of the Hadith, people will swear allegiance to him at the Kabah and during his time, there will be peace.
Abu Sa’id said: By Allah, every ruler we have had has been worse than the previous one, and every year has been worse than the year before. I heard the Prophet say: Among your rulers will be one who will give out wealth freely, without counting it. A man will come and ask him for money and he will say: Take. The man will spread his cloak and the ruler will pour money into it.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spread out a cloak that he was wearing to show the actions of the ruler. He then took the cloak by its corners and said: Then, the man will take it (the money) and leave. (Ahmad)