Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Section Three: The traditions that prove he is from the progeny of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, from his Ahl al-Bait, and from his seed

Comprised of 407 traditions

481. Al-Fitan1 : Narrated to us al-Walīd, from al-Shaykh, from al-Zuhrī, from `Urwa, from `Ā’isha, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“He is a man from my progeny. He will fight in accordance with my customs (sunnatī) just as I fought in accordance with the revelations.”

482. Al-Fitan2 : Narrated to us al-Walīd from ibn Lahī`a and informed me `Ayyāsh b. `Abbās from ibn Zarīr, from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“He is a man from my Ahl al-Bait.”

And narrated to us ibn Wahb, from ibn Lahī`a, from al-Ḥarth b. Yazīd, from ibn Zarīr al-Ghāfiqī, from `Alī, peace be on him, who said:“He is from the progeny of the Prophet, may Allah’s blessings be upon him and his family.”

483. Jawāhir al-`iqdain3 : Aḥmad, ibn Māja, and others have narrated from `Alī, may Allah be satisfied with him, without a chains of narrators, that:“The Mahdī is from us. Religion will be sealed through us just as it by through us.”

484. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr4 : Narrated to us al-Ḥusayn b. Isḥāq al-Tustarī, from Wāṣil b. `Abd al-A`lā, from Muḥammad b. Fuḍail, from Uthmān b. `Abd-Allah b. Shubrama, from `Āṣim b. Abī l-Najūd, from Zirr b. Ḥubaish, from `Abd-Allah b. Mas`ūd, may Allah be satisfied with him, who recounts that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said:“A man from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge. His name will be my name and his character will be my character. He will fill [the earth] with justice and fairness just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.”

485. Ṣifat al-Mahdī5 : From `Abd-Allah b. `Umar, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Hour will not be established until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules. His name will be my name. He will fill the earth with justice and fairness just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.”

486. Al-Fitan6 : Narrated to us al-Walīd, from Abū Rāfi`, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“He is from my progeny.”

487. Al-Fitan7 : Narrated to us al-Qāsim b. Malak al-Muzanī, from Yāsīn b. Sayyār, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥanafiyya, from his father, from `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait.”

488. Al-Fitan (by Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥārith al-Bazzāz)8 : Narrated to us `Abd al-Quddūs al-`Aṭṭār, from `Amr b. `Āṣim, from `Imrān al-Qattān, from Qatāda, from Abū Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait.”

489. Al-Mu`jam al-ausaṭ9 : Narrated to us Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Khalid b. Ḥibbān, from Muḥammad b. Sufyān al-Ḥaḍramī, from ibn Lahī`a, from Abī Zur`a `Amr b. Jābir, from `Umar b. `Alī, from his father `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, who said:

I asked the Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family,“Is the Mahdī from us or other than us, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied,“He is from us. [Through us] Allah will seal just as He commenced through us. Through us they will be liberated from polytheism. Through us Allah will unite their hearts after clear enmity just as He united their hearts after the enmity of polytheism.” I asked,“Will they be believers or non-believers?” He replied,“[They will be] astray (maftūn) and non-believers.”

490. Al-Mu`jam al-ṣaghīr10 : Narrated to us Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-`Abbās al-Qantarī, from Ḥarb b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭaḥḥān, from Ḥusayn b. al-Ḥasan al-Ashqar, from Qays b. al-Rabī`, from al-A’mash, from `Abāya i.e. ibn Raba`ī, from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said to Fāṭima, [peace be on her]:

Our Prophet is the best of Prophets and he is your father. Our martyr is the best of martyrs and he is your uncle. From us is the one who has two wings by which he flies in Paradise where he wishes, and he is your father’s cousin, Ja`far [al-Ṭayyār]. From us are the two grandsons of this nation, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and they are your sons. And from us is the Mahdī.

I say: Ibn al-Maghāzilī has recorded the entire tradition with its chain of narrators-which ends at `Abāya-who narrates from Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī:

Once the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], became ill and Fāṭima, Allah’s blessings be on her, visited him while he was recovering from his illness. When she saw the affliction and weakness of the Messenger of Allah, she started gasping until her tears rolled down from her eyes.

He said to her,“O Fāṭima! Allah, Mighty and Glorified be He, searched the earth thoroughly, then chose from it your father and sent him as a Prophet. He searched it a second time and chose your husband. Thereafter, He revealed [some matters] to me and I gave your hand in marriage to him and made him the executor of my will. Are you not aware, O Fāṭima, that because Allah holds you in such high esteem, He has married you to a person who is the greatest in forbearance, the foremost amongst them in Islam, and the most knowledgeable amongst them?”

On hearing this, Fāṭima became happy and rejoiced. Then, the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said to her,“O Fāṭima! `Alī has eight obvious qualities: His belief in Allah and His Messenger, his wisdom, his marriage to Fāṭima, his sons al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, his enjoinment of good and forbiddance from evil, his judgment by [using] the Book of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He. O Fāṭima! We Ahl al-Bait have been given seven characteristics that have not been given to anybody from the first ones and the last ones [or he said: no one from the last ones except us].

Our Prophet is the most superior of the Prophets and he is your father. Our heir (waṣī) is the best of the heirs, and he is your husband. Our martyr is the best of martyrs and he is your father’s uncle. From us is the one who has two wings by which he flies in Paradise where he wishes and he is your cousin Ja`far [al-Ṭayyār]. From us are the two grandsons of this nation, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, and they are your sons. And I swear by the One in Whose hands is my life, from us is the Mahdī of this nation.”

The traditions with the following numbers are either in harmony with the topic of this section, or result in it, or based on the interpretation of other narrations conform to it: 65, 70, 72, 80, 81, 83, 91, 95, 113, 118, 120, 125, 126, 127, 129, 132, 134, 136, 143, 149, 153, 158, 159, 160, 167, 168, 169, 170, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 181, 183, 191, 193, 194, 196, 205-309, 317, 318, 321, 323, 324, 325, 327, 336, 339, 345, 346, 349, 350, 353-357, 359, 360, 362-367, 370, 371, 373-378, 382, 385, 390, 395, 396, 398, 400, 401, 402, 406, 407, 411, 414, 416, 417, 418, 434, 435, 438, 450, 451, 456, 458, 461, 463-470, 475, 478-480, 492, 494, 496-499, 500, 502-509, 516-572, 575, 578, 580, 581, 586, 588, 590, 591, 595, 597, 603, 608, 609, 610, 613, 624, 625, 641, 645, 653, 654, 670, 685, 726, 757, 771, 780, 786, 787, 789-807, 859, 902, 903, 904, 918, 928, 932, 939, 942, 956, 958, 960, 973, 974, 1105, 1113, 1116, 1130, 1139, 1140, 1158, 1159, 1160, 1162, 1164, 1165, 1168, 1169, 1175, 1178, 1179, 1180, 1184, 1191, 1198, 1205, 1212, 1216-1219, 1223, 1230, 1235, 1237, 1240, 1243, 1246, 1251, 1252-1256, 1260, 1264, 1272, and 1274.

References

1. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 199; al-Ṣawā`iq al-muḥriqa, under the twelfth verse, p. 162; Jawāhir al-`iqdain, vol. 2, p. 8; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 73, p. 433; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 192; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 2, p. 95, no. 21; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, pp. 16-17.

2. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, pp. 199-200; Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 2, p. 5, no. 21.

3. Jawāhir al-`iqdain, vol. 2, p. 8; al-Ṣawā`iq al-muḥriqa, under the twelfth verse from the verses that have been revealed about them, citing al-Ṭabarānī, p. 161; Is`āf al-rāghibīn (printed in the marginal notes of Nūr al-abṣār), chap. 2, p. 134; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 73, p. 433; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 7, p. 145. He says: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī has recorded it”; Kashf al-khafā wa muzīl al-albās, vol. 2, pp. 288-289.

4. Al-Mu`jam al-kabīr, vol. 10, no. 10229; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, p. 273, no. 38702; Muntakhab kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 6, p. 32, with a little difference; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 2, p. 92, no. 11. He has recorded it from al-Ṭabarānī and Abū Nu`aim; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 471, no. 23, citing al-Arba`īn by Abū Nu`aim with the difference that he has mentioned the narration to: “. . he will fill [the earth] with justice and fairness” ; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 132, citing al-Ṭabarānī and Abū Nu`aim.

5. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 2, pp. 29-30. He says: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has recorded it in Ṣifat al-Mahdī likewise” ; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 471, no. 9, citing Abū Nu`aim in al-Aḥādīth al-arba`īn, through his chains of narrators from ibn `Umar.

6. Al-Fitan (manuscript), vol. 5, p. 199; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 194, p. 85, citing al-Fitan, with a slight difference in the wording of the chain.

7. Al-Fitan (manuscript), vol. 5, p. 201; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 198, p. 86, citing al-Fitan.

8. Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, sect. 3, chap. 19, pp. 163-164, citing al-Fitan by Abū Yaḥyā Zakariyyā b. Yaḥyā b. al-Ḥārith al-Bazzāz, dated: Wednesday, end of Rabī` al-Awwal, 391 AH from al-Nizāmiyya Waqf; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, p.21.

9. Al-Mu`jam al-ausaṭ, vol. 1, p. 136, no. 757; Al-Fitan, chap. “Nisbat al-Mahdī,” p. 198; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, pp. 598-599, no. 39682; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 2, p. 91, no. 7; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 129; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, p. 25, and chap. 7, p. 142; Mahdī `āl al-rasūl, p. 5.

10. Al-Mu`jam al-ṣaghīr, vol. 1, chap. “Min ismih Aḥmad,” p. 37; Jawāhir al-`iqdain, vol. 2, p. 8. He says: “Al-Ṭabarānī has recorded it in al-Ausaṭ”; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 73, p. 434, with the difference: “From us is the Mahdī and he is from your descendants”; al-Bayān, chap. ½, p. 98; Dhakhā’ir al-uqbā, p. 44; `Iqd al-durar, chap. 1, p. 25; Majma` al-zawā’id, vol. 9, p. 166; al-Ṣawā’iq, p. 163; al-Manāqib by ibn al-Maghāzilī, pp. 101-102, no. 144; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 73, p. 436, with the difference: “I swear by the One in whose hand is my life! From us is the Mahdī of this nation and he is from your descendants”; al-Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, vol. 1, p. 154, like what has been recorded in al-Manāqib; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 37, chap. 50 / 16, pp. 41-42, and pp. 65-66, no. 37, and vol. 51, chap. 1/6, p. 67; al-`Umda, p. 267, no. 423; al-Ṭarā’if, p. 134, no. 212; Sharḥ al-akhbār, vol. 2, pp. 509-510, no. 900.

Section Four: The traditions that show that his name and epithet (al-kunya) are the same as the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, and that his appearance, speaking, and actions are more similar to him than any other person, and that he will act according to his traditions (sunna)

Comprised of forty-five traditions

491. Al-Fitan1 : Narrated to us al-Walīd, from Abū Rāfi`, from someone who narrated to him, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, may Allah be satisfied with him, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The name of the Mahdī is [the same as] my name.”

492. `Iqd al-durar2 : From `Abd-Allah b. `Umar, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“In the end of times a person will emerge from my descendants. His name is like my name and his epithet is my epithet (kunyatuhū kunyatī). He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice.”

493. Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān3 : Nu`aim b. Ḥammād has also recorded from `Alī, peace be on him, that he said:“The name of the Mahdī is Muḥammad.”

494. Sunan al-Dānī4 : From Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

A man from my Ahl al-Bait will emerge. He will act according to my customs(sunna) . Allah will send down blessings for him from the sky. The earth will throw out its treasures for him and it [i.e. the earth] will be filled by him with justice just as it will have been filled with unfairness and injustice. He will rule over this nation for seven years and will dismount at Bait al-Maqdas.

495. Al-`Arf al-wardī5 : Nu`aim has also recorded from ibn Mas`ūd from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“The Mahdī’s name is Muḥammad.”

496. `Iqd al-durar6 : From `Abd-Allah b. Mas`ūd, may Allah be satisfied with him, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], said:“The Hour will not be established until a person from my Ahl al-Bait rules the earth. His name is like my name.”

This tradition has been recorded by al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī.

497. Kamāl al-dīn7 : Narrated to us Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Masrūr, may Allah be satisfied with him, from al-Ḥusayn b. Muḥammad b. `Āmir, from Muḥammad b. Abī `Umair, from Abū Jamīla al-Mufaḍḍal b. Ṣāliḥ, from Jābir b. Yazīd al-Ju`fī, from Jābir b. `Abd-Allah al-Anṣārī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:

The Mahdī is from my progeny. His name is my name and his epithet is my epithet. He is the most similar of people to me in creation and character. He will go in an occultation in which the nations will be deviated. Then, he will emerge like a shining meteor. He will fill it [i.e. the earth] with justice and fairness just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness.

498. Kamāl al-dīn8 : Narrated to us my father, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan, and Muḥammad b. Mūsā al-Mutawakkil, may Allah be pleased with all of them, from all of the following: Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far, and Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from all of the following: Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. `Īsā, Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim, Aḥmad b. Abī `Abd-Allah al-Barqī, and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Abī l-Khaṭṭāb, from Abū `Alī al-Ḥasan b. Maḥbūb al-Sarrād, from Dāwūd b. al-Ḥaṣīn, from Abū Baṣīr, from (Imam) al-Ṣādiq, Ja`far b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, from his forefathers, peace be on them, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said:

The Mahdī is from my descendants. His name is my name and his epithet is my epithet. He is the most similar of people to me in creation and characteristics. He will have an occultation and a bewilderment. It will be [so severe] that the people will deviate from their religions. When this happens, he will emerge like a shining meteor and will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.

499. Kamāl al-dīn9 : Narrated to us `Abd al-Wāḥid b. Muḥammad b. `Ubdūs al-Nīsābūrī al-`Aṭṭār, may Allah be satisfied with him, from `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Qutayba al- Nīsābūrī, from Ḥamdān b. Sulaimān, from Aḥmad b. `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Hamdānī, from `Abd-Allah b. al-Faḍl al-Hāshimī, from Hishām b. Sālim, from al-Ṣādiq Ja`far b. Muḥammad, from his father, from his grandfather, peace be on them, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:

The Qā’im is from my descendants. His name is my name, his epithet is my epithet, his features are my features, and his customs(sunna) are my customs. His will make the people establish my religion and my nation(yuqīmu al-nas `alā millatī wa sharī`atī) and he will call the people to the Book of my Lord, Mighty and Majestic be He. Whoever obeys him has indeed obeyed me and whoever disobeys him has indeed disobeyed me. Whoever denies him in his occultation, then indeed he has denied me and whoever refutes him, has indeed refuted me. Whoever acknowledges him has acknowledged me. I will complain to Allah against those who reject what I say about him, those who deny my word about his status and those who deviated my religion from his path,

“And soon those who act unjustly will know to what final place of returning they will go to” (Quran Surah Shuaraa 26:227).

The traditions with the following numbers also show the aforementioned concept: 245, 255, 265, 272, 279, 288, 289, 321, 339, 354, 355, 357, 397, 400, 402, 406, 409, 428, 441, 461, 484, 485, 506 (which says:“he has two names, one that is concealed and one that is apparent” ), 525, 529 (which says:“his epithet will be Abū `Abd-Allah” ), 535, 544 (it comprises of what shows that one of his agnomens will be that of Imam Muḥammad al-Bāqir, peace be on him), 546 (which says:“he will have two names: Khalaf and Muḥammad” ), 562, 563, 564, 569, 597, 653 (which says:“it is prohibited for them to say his name” ), 693, 726, 784, 791, 792, 797, 799, 800 (which says:“his epithet will be Ja`far,” 804, 806, and 810 (which say:“no one is permitted to address him by his name or by his epithet” ).

References

1. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, under “Fī ism al-Mahdī,” p. 197.

I say: The sentence “his father’s name is my father’s name,” which has been recorded by Zirr, from ibn Mas`ūd, from Maimūn al-Qaddāḥ, from ibn al-Ṭufail, has not been issued by the Holy Prophet. For, it has been narrated like this: “Zirr from ibn Mas`ūd” or “someone from the narrators from whom he has narrated. I have heard [this tradition] numerous times without the aforementioned sentence. Another thing that denotes the weakness of this addition (i.e. “his father’s name is my father’s name”) is its absence in Musnad of Aḥmad in what he has narrated from ibn Mas`ūd, along with the fact that the chains of narrators of some of his traditions are exactly like the chains in al-Fitan. See Aḥmad’s al-Musnad, vol. 1, pp. 376, 377, 430, and 448. Soon, more evidence will be mentioned to prove this, Inshā’Allah.

Al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, under the first section in which he has dedicated to the book of Fitan by Nu`aim b. Ḥammād, chap. 162, p. 74; al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 3, p. 101, no. 9; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 148

2. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 2, p. 32; Tadhkirat al-khawāṣ, p. 377, with the addition of “This is the Mahdī” at its end.

3. Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 3, p. 101, no. 8.

4. Sunan al-Dānī, pp. 100-101; `Iqd al-durar (citing al-Dānī’s Sunan and Abū Nu`aim’s Ṣifat al-Mahdī), chap. 1, p. 20, and chap. 7, p. 156; Similar to this has been narrated in al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 131, citing al-Ṭabarānī’s al-Ausaṭ and Abū Nu`aim; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 472, no. 25, citing Abū Nu`aim’s al-Aḥādīth al-arba`īn.

I say: There is no contradiction between this tradition and those that indicate that the capital of his government is other than Bait al-Maqdas, because it has not been mentioned that he will stay there as a place of permanent residence.

5. Al-`Arf al-wardī, no. 648.

6. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 2, pp. 30-31.

7. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, chap. 25, p. 286, no. 1; I`lām al-warā, chap. 2, sect. 2, p. 243; Kifāyat al-athar, chap. 7, pp. 66-67, no. 6; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 94, pp. 488 & 493; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 521; Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, pp. 334-335, no. 585; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 460, no. 103; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 1, pp. 71-72, no. 13.

8. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, chap. 25, p. 287, no. 4; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 94, p. 493; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 1, p. 72, no. 16.

9. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 39, p. 411, no. 6; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 1, p. 73, no. 19.

Section Five: The traditions that mention his facial appearance (shamā’iluh)

Comprised of twenty-nine traditions

500. Ṣifat al-Mahdī1 : From Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait and a man from my umma. He will have a aquiline nose. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice.”

501. Al-Muṣannaf2 : Informed us `Abd al-Razzāq, from Mu`ammar, from Maṭar, from a man, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, that the Mahdī will have a aquiline nose and a wide forehead.

502. Musnad al-Rūyānī, Mu`jam al-Ṭabarānī, and Manāqib al-Mahdī3 : Ḥudhayfat b. al-Yamān, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, said:“The Mahdī is a man from my progeny. His face is like a glittering star. His complexion will be Arabian while his physique will be similar to the Israelites. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with injustice. The inhabitants of the earth and the sky and the birds in the air will be satisfied during his government. He will rule for twenty years.”

503. Al-`Awālī4 : From Abī Salmat b. `Abd al-Raḥmān b. `Auf, from his father, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:“Certainly, Allah will raise a person from my progeny. His front teeth will be slightly apart and he will have a wide forehead. He will fill the earth with justice and will bestow wealth abundantly.”

504. Al-Fitan5 : Narrated to us al-Walīd, from Sa`īd, from Qatāda, from Abī Naḍra, from Abī l-Ṣiddīq, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Mahdī will have a wide forehead and a aquiline nose.”

And through another chain of narrator from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Mahdī will have an aquiline nose and a wide forehead.”

505. Musnad Abī Ya`lā6 : Narrated to us Qaṭan b. Bushair, from `Adī b. Abī `Umāra, from Maṭar al-Warrāq, from Abī l-Ṣiddīq, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

Certainly, a man from my Ahl al-Bait will rise upon my umma. He will have an aquiline [nose] and a wide [forehead]. He will fill the earth with justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice. He will rule for seven years.

506. Kamāl al-dīn7 : Narrated to us `Alī b. Aḥmad b. Mūsā, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Abī `Abd-Allah al-Kūfī, from Muḥammad b. Ismā’īl al-Barmakī, from Ismā’īl b. Mālik, from Muḥammad b. Sinān, from Abī l-Jārūd Ziyād b. al-Mundhir, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far al-Bāqir, from his father, from his grandfather, from Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib-peace be on them all-who said while he was on the pulpit:

A man from my descendants will emerge in the end of times. His color will be white with a reddish complexion and he will have a wide stomach, sturdy thighs, and large shoulders. On his back are two moles: One the color of his skin and the other will be similar to the mole of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family.

He will have two names: One name will be hidden and the other will be apparent. The one which will be hidden will be Aḥmad and the one that will be apparent will be Muḥammad. When he moves, you will see everything between the east and west being illuminated for him. He will place his hands on the heads of the people, then, no believer will remain but that his heart will be stronger than plates of steel. Allah, the Exalted, will give him the strength of forty men. There will not be a dead person [from the believers] in the grave but that happiness will enter his [heart] while he is in his grave, and the [dead] will be visiting each other in their graves and giving glad-tidings to each other about the rise of the Qā’im, may Allah’s blessings be upon him.

507. Al-Mustadrak8 : Narrated to us Abū l-`Abbās Muḥammad b. Ya`qūb, from Muḥammad b. Isḥāq al-Ṣan`ānī, from `Amr b. `Āṣim al-Kilābī, from `Imrān al-Qaṭṭān, from Qatāda, from Abī Naḍra, from Abū Sa`īd, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:“The Mahdī is from us Ahl al-Bait. He will have an aquiline nose and a wide [forehead]. He will fill the earth with fairness and justice as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. He will live for this many years,” and he showed seven with his fingers by showing the five fingers of his left hand and the thumb and the index finger of his right hand.

Al-Ḥākim says, “This tradition is correct(ṣaḥīḥ) according to the criteria set by Muslim but neither of them [i.e. al-Bukhārī and Muslim] have recorded it.

508. Dhikr akhbār Iṣbahān9 : Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Ja`far, from Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Anṣārī, from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥafṣ, from his grandfather al-Ḥusayn, from `Akramat b. Ibrāhīm, from Maṭar al-Warrāq, from Abī l-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said:

The Hour will not be established until a man from my Ahl al-Bait rules. He will have a wide forehead and an aquiline nose. He will fill the earth with justice just as it would have been filled before him with unfairness. He will live for seven years.

509. Al-Fitan10 : Narrated to us ibn Wahb, from Isḥāq b. Yaḥyā, from Ṭalḥat al-Taymī, from Ṭāwūs, from `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, who said:“He will be a youth from the Quraish with a tanned (asmar) complexion and lean [in figure].”

The traditions with the following numbers also show the aforementioned concept: 360, 366, 374, 378, 414, 428, 431, 484, 518, 577, 691, 812-814, 835, 836, 1198, 1217 and 1246.

References

1. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 33. He says: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has recorded it in Ṣifat al-Mahdī; Kashf al-ghumma, citing al-Aḥādīth al-arba`īn, vol. 2, p. 469, no. 11; Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, chap. 61, p. 330, no. 58; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 94, p. 488; Bishārat al-Islām, vol. 2, chap. 3, p. 271, from al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, p. 80.

2. `Abd al-Razzāq, al-Muṣannaf, vol. 11, chap. “Al-Mahdī,” no. 20773; al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 95, from Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family.

3. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 34. He said: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim has recoded it in Manāqib al-Mahdī and al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū l-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī in his Mu`jam; Jawāhir al-`iqdain, vol. 2, p. 8; al-Ṣawā`iq al-muḥriqa, p. 162, from al-Rūyānī, al-Ṭabarānī, and others; Ghāyat al-ma’mūl, vol. 5, p. 343, from al-Rūyānī, Abū Nu`aim, al-Daylamī, and al-Ṭabarānī; Firdaus al-akhbār, vol. 4, p. 6940, which says: “his face is like a glittering moon”; al-Bayān, through his chain of narrators from Ḥudhayfa, chap. 17. He writes: “This is a good (ḥasan) tradition. We have narrated it from a large number of people from the companions of al-Thaqafī and his chain of narrators is acceptable to us, and All Praise is for Allah.” He then mentions that Abū Nu`aim, al-Ṭabarānī, and al-Daylamī have recorded this tradition. Nūr al-abṣār, chap. 2, p. 154, citing Firdaus al-akhbār; Is`āf al-rāghibīn, chap. 2, p. 135; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 73, p. 433; Al-Burhān fī `alāmāt Mahdī ākhir al-zamān, chap. 2, pp. 93-94, no. 16, citing al-Rūyānī in his Musnad and Abū Nu`aim; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 469, no.9, citing al-Aḥādīth al-arba`īn; al-`Arf al-wardī, p. 137, with the following wording: “The Mahdī is a man from my descendants. His complexion is an Arabian complexion, his physique is like the Israelites, and on his right cheek is a mole like a glittering star... and the birds in the air.” He has narrated it from al-Rūyānī’s Musnad and Abū Nu`aim; al-Jāmi` al-ṣaghīr, vol. 2, p. 187, under the letter ‘al-Mīm,’ no. 45; Mahdī āl al-Rasūl, p. 4; Ibrāz al-wahm al-maknūn, p. 572, no. 66; Lawā’iḥ al-anwār al-bahiyya under the commentary on the line of poetry: minhā al-imām al-khātam al-faṣīḥ / Muḥammad al-Mahdī wa l-Masīḥ, from the collection of poems called al-Durrat al-muḍī’a; Faiḍ al-qadīr, vol. 6, p. 279; Mashāriq al-anwār, sect. 2, p. 112; al-’Idhā`a, p. 188; al-Qaṭr al-Shahdī, p. 48; Ghāliyat al-mawā`iẓ, vol. 1, p. 77; al-Ṣawā’iq, p. 162, under the Twelfth Verse; al-Fatāwī l-ḥadīthiyya, p. 39, which says: “there is a mole like a glittering star on his right cheek”; Nūr al-abṣār, p. 154; Kanz al-`ummāl, vol. 14, no. 38666; Dhakhā’ir al-`uqbā, p. 136; Sharḥ al-akhbār, vol. 3, p. 378, no. 1251, and many other books and writings which will not be mentioned for the sake of conciseness. In some of these sources, only mentioning the beginning of the tradition will suffice.

I say: Some of them have said ‘Israelite physique’ means that his body-shape is like that of the Israelites, who are tall and well-built.

4. `Iqd al-durar, chap. 3, p. 34, he writes: “Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu`aim al-Iṣbahānī has recorded it in al-`Awālī; Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, chap. 61, p. 331, no. 582, with the difference that he said: “Allah, the Exalted, will send from my progeny a man with slightly separated front teeth, a wide forehead... (to the end of the tradition).” Al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 132, with a slight difference; al-Munār al-munīf, sect. 50, pp. 187-188, no. 335, with a little difference; Lawā’iḥ al-anwār, vol. 2, under the commentary on his saying “minhā al-imām al-khātam al-faṣīḥ); Is`āf al-rāghibīn, p. 135; Jawāhir al-`iqdain, vol. 2, p. 8.

5. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, “Ṣifat al-Mahdī wa ni`atih,” pp. 195-196; Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, chap. 61, p. 330, no. 581, with the difference that he said: “The Mahdī is from us.”

6. Musnad Abī Ya`lā, vol. 2, p. 367, no. 154 (1128); Dalā’il al-imāma, chap. “Ma`rifat wujūb al-qā’im wa annahū lābudda an yakūn,” p. 251.

7. Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 57, p. 653, no. 17; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 4, p. 35, no. 4, from al-Ṭūsī’s Ghayba-although I did not find it there.

8. Al-Mustadrak, vol. 4, p. 557; al-’Idhā`a, p. 138.

9. Dhikr akhbār Iṣbahān, vol. 1, p. 84.

10. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, chap. “Ṣifat al-Mahdī,” p. 197; al-`Arf al-wardī (al-Ḥāwī lil-fatāwī), vol. 2, p. 147, with the following wording: “The Mahdī is from me, from the Quraish.”

There is no contradiction between such a tradition and those that mention his long life, for surely, when he is described as a youth and a young person and other similar attributes,

it refers to his chivalry and this is in addition to what has been narrated about him that he will not become old with the passing of the days and that he will emerge with the body of a strong man.

Section Six: The traditions that mention he is from the descendants of Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him

Comprised of 225 traditions

510. Al-Fitan1 : Narrated to us Yaḥyā b. al-Yamān, from Sufyān, from Abī Isḥāq, from `Āṣim, from `Alī, peace be on him, who said:“He [i.e. the Mahdī] is a man from me.”

511. Farā’id al-simṭain2 : Through his chain of narrators from Thābit b. Dīnār, from Sa`īd b. Jubair, from ibn `Abbās, from The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him [and his family], who said:

`Alī b. Abī Ṭālib is the leader(Imām) of my nation and my successor upon them after me. From his descendants is the Qā’im-the awaited one-through whom Allah will fill the earth with justice and fairness just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice. I swear by the One Who rightly sent me as a giver of good news! Surely those who will remain steadfast in believing in him during his occultation will be scarcer than red phosphorus(kibrīt al-aḥmar) .

Jābir b. `Abd-Allah al-Anṣārī stood up and said,“O Messenger of Allah! Will the Qā’im from your descendants have an occultation?” He answered:

Yes, by my Lord! Through him Allah will certainly sift(layumaḥḥiṣu) the believers and destroy the disbelievers. O Jābir! Surely, this is an affair from the affair of Allah and a secret from the secret[s] of Allah. Its knowledge is concealed from His servants. Have no doubt about him because indeed, having doubt about the affairs of Allah is disbelief(kufr) .

512. Dalā’il al-imāma3 : Narrated to us Abū l-Mufaḍḍal Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah, from Muḥammad b. Hammām, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Mālik al-Kūfī, from Sufyān b. al-Mahdī, from Abān, from Anas b. Mālik who said:

One day, the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, came to see us and saw `Alī. He placed his hand on `Alī’s shoulder and said,“O `Alī! If nothing remains from the world but one day, Allah will prolong that day until a person from your descendants rules. He will be called Mahdī and will guide towards Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He. The Arabs will be guided by him just like you guided the unbelievers and the polytheists from deviation.” Then, he said,“It is written on both his palms: ‘Pledge allegiance to him because indeed, allegiance is for Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He.’”

513. Ghaybat al-Shaykh4 : From Aḥmad b. Idrīs, from `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Qutayba, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān, from Muṣabbiḥ, from Abū `Abd al-Raḥmān, from whom he had heard from, from Wahb b. Munabba, from ibn `Abbās (in a lengthy narration) in which he said,“O Wahb! Thereafter, the Mahdī will appear.” I asked,“[Is he] from your descendants?” He replied, “No, by Allah! He is not from my descendants but from the descendants of `Alī, peace be on him. Salvation is for the one who lives in his era. Through him, Allah will grant relief to this umma until he fills it with fairness and justice... (to the end of the narration).

514. Ma`ānī l-akhbār5 : Narrated to us Abū l-`Abbās Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq al-Ṭāliqānī, may Allah have mercy on him, from `Abd al-Aziz b. Yaḥyā al-`Alawī in Basra, from al-Mughairat b. Muḥammad, from Rajā’ b. Salma, from `Amr b. Shimr, from Jābir al-Ju`fī, from (Imam) Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, who said:

Amīr al-Mu’minīn `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, delivered a sermon in Kūfa after returning from the Battle of Nahrawān because he had heard Mu`āwiya was abusing and cursing him and killing his companions. He stood up and said... (He then narrates the sermon in which `Alī, peace be on him, mentions the virtues bestowed by Allah upon his Prophet and himself... until he says) and from my descendants is the Mahdī of this nation.

515. Ghaybat al-Shaykh6 : Narrated to me a group from Abū Ja`far Muḥammad b. Sufyān al-Bazaufarī, from Aḥmad b. Idrīs, from `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Qutayba al-Naishābūrī, from al-Faḍl b. Shādhān, from Naṣr b. Muzāḥim, from Abū Lahī`a, from Abū Qubail, from `Abd-Allah b. `Amr b. al-`Āṣ, from the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, who said (in a lengthy tradition):

Then, the Mahdī will emerge who he is a man from his descendants. (Then the Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, pointed towards `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib.) Through him, Allah will destroy falsehood and will conclude the era of hardships. Through him, Allah will remove the disgrace of slavery from your necks. I am the first of this nation, the Mahdī is its middle, and Jesus is its end and between these is a crooked old man.

The traditions with the following numbers also show the aforementioned concept: 80, 81, 113, 118, 120, 126, 127, 129, 149, 153, 158, 159, 160, 168, 170, 173, 176, 178, 181, 191, 193, 196, 205-308, 323, 325, 359, 382, 397, 411, 417, 428, 450, 458, 463, 464, 467, 469, 472, 492, 497-499, 502, 506, 516-543, 546-548, 550-572, 588, 589, 597, 600, 608, 612, 623-626, 641, 670, 685, 757, 761, 765, 770, 775, 786-807, 859, 918, 973, 1104, and 1230.

References

1. Al-Fitan, vol. 5, p. 197; al-Malāḥim wa l-fitan, chap. 189, p. 84.

2. Farā’id al-simṭain, vol. 2, chap. 61, pp. 335-336, no. 589; Yanābī`’ al-mawadda, chap. 94, p. 424, citing al-manāqib.

The same has been narrated in the book Kashf al-yaqīn, pp. 191-192, from al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. `Alī al-Naṭanzī-known as Nādirat al-Falak-in his book from Abū l-Ḥasan Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn al-Muqri’, from `Alī b. Shujā` b. `Alī al-Ṣaiqalī, from al-Sharīf Abū l-Qāsim `Alī b. Muḥammad b. `Alī ibn al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. al-`Abbās b. `Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, from al-Ḥasan b. Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. Hishām, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far al-Kūfī, from Muḥammad b. Ismā`īl al-Barmakī, from Muḥammad b. al-Furāt, from Thābit b. Dīnār, from Sa`īd b. Jubair, from ibn `Abbās. The same has been narrated by Al-Ṣadūq in Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 1, p. 287, no. 7, from Muḥammad b. Mūsā al-Mutawakkil, from Muḥammad b. Abī Abd-Allah al-Kūfī, from Muḥammad b. Ismā`īl al-Barmakī, from `Alī b. Uthmān, from Muḥammad b. al-Furāt, from Thābit b. Dīnār, from ibn Jubair, from ibn Abbās. Sayyid b. Ṭāwūs says:

Whoever ponders over this great tradition which is a proof upon whoever it reaches-and also ponders on the many other narrations that we have mentioned in this book-will know that the Holy Prophet, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, has left no place for any arguments for anybody concerning `Alī, peace be on him and his son Mahdī and his long-life, peace be on him. This is from the signs of Allah, Majestic be His Majesty, and from the proofs of Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. He has informed about the birth of the Mahdī’s forefathers, then he has informed about his long life before anybody knew what would be the condition of the Mahdī during his occultation. So, for Allah and His Messenger, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, is the clear proof for whomsoever he was sent to in this perishable world and on the Day of Rewarding and Punishing (yum al-jazā’)” (Kitāb al-yaqīn bi ikhtiṣāṣ `Alī bi-’imrat al-mu’minīn); Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 38, chap. 61, pp. 126-127, no. 76, citing Kashf al-yaqīn by al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Naṭanzī; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 618, no. 177.

3. Dalā’il al-imāma, p. 250, no. 44; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 574, no. 716, which mentions the first part of the tradition.

4. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, p. 187, no. 146; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51 chap. 1, , p. 76, no. 31; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 504, no. 302.

5. Ma`ānī l-akhbār, chap. 27, pp. 58-60, no. 9; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 1, chap. 9, p. 488, no. 162.

6. Ghaybat al-Shaykh, p. 185, no. 144; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 51, chap. 1, p. 75, no. 29; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 32, p. 503, no. 300.