«the jews and the christians»
in the third chapter of the same book, the author says: in some of the traditions it is stated: the reason why mahdi is called as mahdi is because he will be directed towards the books of torah and he would take them out from the mountains of syria. he would invite the jews towards the books and a congregation will submit themselves before the books of torah. the author of 'eqdud-durar' says:- abu amro mada'eni in his 'sunan' has said: 'the reason why mahdi has been called as mahdi is because he will be directed towards the mountain of syria and will take out the books of torah from it. he will argue and rationalize with the jews by means of torah and a congregation of jews will surrender to him. the author 'esaaf-ur-raghebeen' (page 153) says: 'mahdi will take out the ark of the covenant and the books of torah from the cave of anthakia and mountain of syria respectively. he will argue with the jews by means of torah and a large number of the jews will surrender to him. the author of 'yanabi-ul-muwadda' narrates (on page 476) from the author of 'meshkat al-masabeeh' who narrates from abu huraira that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: 'isa-ibn-maryam will descend and will judge with justice. he will destroy the cross and will kill the pork. he will nullify the 'jazia' (poll tax), set free the young camels and will not ride upon them. he will eradicate enmity and will destroy grudge, hatred and jealousy. author says: that he will nullify the 'jazia' perhaps refers to this point that all the people at that time would be following the religion of islam just as destruction of the cross too is a metaphoric remark in this regard. eradication of enmity, grudge, hatred and jealousy too may mean that these will be obviated between the jews and christians by the blessings of isa-ibn-maryam's descension.
'allah will restore the religion by means of mahdi and will produce victories and triumphs for him. then, except for those who say 'there is no god except allah' «--» none others would be left on the earth... the author of 'yanabi-ul-muwadda' narrates (on page 476) from shaikh mohyiddin arabi from his book fotouhat-makkiyah (chapter 366) about mahdi and his ministers and says:- 'mahdi will emerge when religion would be on the decline. the one who would not accept will be killed and the one who would engage in debate with him will be defeated. he will so reveal the realities of religion that had the holy prophet (s.a.w.a.) been alive, be too would have judged in the same manner. he will eradicate the (false) religions from the face of the earth. then, except for the pure religion, no other religion would remain over the earth.
again, the author of 'yanabi-ul-muwadda' nattates (on
page 486) from abul-mu'aiyyed muwafiq-ibn-ahmad khawrazmi
that abu sulaiman has said: 'i heard the holy prophet
(s.a.w.a.) saying: 'the night when i was made to ascend
to the heavens... (hazrat mentioned partly about his
ascension and its virtues and about the virtues of his
progeny and his twelve legatees)... i heard a cry: 'o
muhammad! would you like to see your legatees? later, i was addressed: 'o muhammad! they are my proofs upon my servants. they are your legatees and mahdi who is the avenger of your progeny is amongst them. i swear by my glory and majesty that mahdi will take revenge from my enemies and will assist my friends. the author of 'eqdud-durar' (section one, chapter four) narrates from abu na'eem (from the book sefat-ul-mahdi) who narrates from huzaifa-ibn-yaman that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: 'woe to this nation because of its oppressive rulers. how they kill the believers and create fear in them leaving aside those who obey them. a believer is one who withholds himself from those who are good to him by tongue but weary of him by heart. whenever allah wills to hold islam in high esteem, he will destroy the oppressors. allah has power over all things and he is able to rectify a nation which has gone corrupt. thereafter the holy prophet (s.a.w.a.) said: 'o huzaifa! if there remains not more than a day from the life of this world, then allah will prolong that day to such an extent that a man from my progeny will appear and rule. he will conduct important affairs and will manifest the religion of islam. allah does not break his promise and he is quick in reckoning. in section three, chapter nine of the afore-said book, its author narrates that amir-ul-mumineen ali-ibn-abi talib while mentioning about mahdi and his reforms says: there is no heresy but that mahdi will uproot it and there is no 'sunnah' (practice) but that mahdi will enliven it.' in the seventh chapter of the same book, he narrates from a congregation of traditionists namely abu na'eem esfahani, abul-qasim tabarani, abu abdur-rahman-ibn-abu hatim, abu abdullah na'eem-ibn-hemad who narrate form ali-ibn-abi talib that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) while mentioning about mahdi and the fact that allah would terminate the religion by his hands said: 'people will be delivered from the troubles due to mahdi just as they found deliverence from polytheism through us. due to him, allah will make them intimate with each other after having been hostile (hostility of troubles) just as he made them intimate towards each other though after hostility of blasphemy. in section three, chapter nine of the same book, he
narrates from abdullah-ibn-atha as such: 'i asked imam
muhammad baqir: when mahdi emerges what will be his ways? in the same section and the same chapter of the afore-said book, the author narrates from ali-ibn- abi talib as such: 'there is no heresy but that mahdi will eradicate it and there is no 'sunnah' (practice) too but that mahdi will establish it.... in the third chapter of the afore-mentioned book, be narrates from abu bakr baihaqi (from the book 'besath-wa-nushur'), ahmad-ibn-hemad (from the book 'mustadrik) and abu na'eem (from the book 'sefat-ul-mahdi') who all narrate from abu sa'eed khudri that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: 'i give you glad-tidings about mahdi. he will emerge amongst my nation at the time when they will be in discord and war with each other. then, hazrat will fill the earth with equity and justice just as it was fraught with tyranny and oppression.... mahdi will fill the hearts of muhammad's nation with riches and make them free from want. his justice would embrace all of them.... in the seventh chapter of the afore-mentioned book, he narrates from amir-ul-mumineen ali (a.s.) as such: 'mahdi will dispatch his chiefs to various cities for establishing justice amongst the people. the wolves and sheeps shall graze together. the children will play with the snakes and scorpions without being harmed the least. evil will vanish and goodness will remain. people will cultivate about 750 gramme and will receive in return about 525 kilograms just as the same has been mentioned in the holy quran. adultery, wine-drinking and usury will be uprooted. people will have a relish for worship, divine laws and faith and a desire for mixing in the society. life of man will lengthen, properties held in trust would be returned back, trees will bear fruits, blessings will double, the wicked will be destroyed, the virtuous ones will remain and those having grudge against the ahl-e-bayt will cease to exist. in the third chapter of the afore-said book, the author narrates from nae'em-ibn-hemad (from the book 'fatan') who in turn narrates from jafar-ibn-bashar shami that (during mahdi's era) injustice would be rebuffed to such extent that if something belonging to someone is hidden under a person's tooth he would remove it and give it back to its owners.
«---» none else would remain over the earth..... in the first chapter of the afore-said book, its author narrates from abu abdullah-ibn-jauzi (from his 'tarikh') who narrates from abdullah-ibn-abbass that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: four persons ruled over the entire land - two of them from the believers and two from the un-believers. the two believers were zul-qarnain and hazrat sulaiman (a.s.) and the two disbelievers were bakht-un-nasr and nimrod. soon, a man from my progeny will become the owner of the entire land. the author of esaaf-ur-raghebeen (on page 150) says: 'it has come down in traditions that mahdi will become the owner of the east and the west. the author of 'yanabi-ul-muwadda' narrates (on page 447) from the book 'fara'ed-us-semtain' which narrates from sa'eed-ibn-jubair who narrates from ibn-abbass that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: there will be twelve caliphs and successors after me who will be the proofs of allah upon his creatures. the first of them is ali and the last of them is my son, mahdi. then isa-ibn-maryam will descend and will pray behind mahdi. the earth will illuminate by means of the divine light and mahdi's rule will extend from east to west. on the same page of the same book, he narrates from the book 'fara'ed-us-semtain' which narrates from abu-imamah baheli that the holy prophet (s.a.w.a ) said: 'mahdi will extract the treasures and will conquer the cities of the polytheists and infidels. the author of 'yanabi-ul-muwadda' narrates (on page 487) from the book 'fara'ed-us-semtain' which narrates from sa'eed-ibn-jubair who narrates from ibn-abbass that the messenger of allah (s.a.w.a.) said: 'if not more than a day remains from the life of this world, allah will prolong that day until mahdi who is from my offspring will emerge.... the earth will illuminate by means of the divine light and mahdi's rule will spread over the east and west.
abu dawoud has narrated that mahdi shall rule for a period of seven years. tirmidhi has narrated that mahdi shall rule for a period of five, seven or nine years. ibn-maaja too has narrated the same. hakim has narrated in 'esaaf-ur-raghebeen' that mahdi shall rule for seven or nine years. however ibn-hajar has mentioned only seven years (and not nine) for mahdi's rule. it has been narrated from tabarani and bazzaz that mahdi shall live for seven, eight or maximum nine years. it is narrated from maawardi and ahmad that hazrat shall live for five, seven, eight or nine years and after him there will be no goodness left. some of the traditions mention mahdi's rule to extend for twenty years just as the author of 'eqdud-durar' has narrated the same from abu na'eem and tabarani. moreover the author of 'eqdud-durar' has narrated from na'eem-ibn-hemad that mahdi would survive for forty years. however, traditions which mention mahdi's life to last for seven years are more. some traditions mention that mahdi shall rule for seven years where each year would be equal to twenty years of our reckoning. that is to say, in each year, mahdi will conduct the reformatory tasks and islamic teachings for a period of twenty years. some traditions mention that he would rule for ten years. the sayings of 'ulemas' (learned scholars) in this regard are diverse. some have said: doubt have arisen from the narrator and the proof of this view is the statement of tirmidhi who says: 'it is due to the narrator's doubt.' the author of 'esaaf-ur-raghebeen' (page 155) says: most of the traditions mention mahdi's rule to last for seven years and with regards to seven to nine years it is doubtful. one tradition mentions hazrat's rule to last for six years. ibn-hajar says: 'the matter on which traditions are in agreement with each other is this that mahdi will undoubtedly rule for seven years. he has also narrated from abul-hassan abari that abundant and authentic traditions indicate that mahdi will rule for seven years. author says: abul-hassan abari's saying is more clear and well-known. in this saying, there exists a great virtue for mahdi and it is this that within this short period, he will rise for the religions and worldly reforms just as his great grandfather, the holy prophet (s.a.w.a.) revolted within a period of eight years i.e. in the second year of hijrat. the author of 'esaaf-ur-raghebeen' (page 156) says:- one tradition mentions the period of mahdi's rule to be more than what was mentioned. another tradition states that mahdi would rule for forty years. another tradition mentions twenty-one years and yet another tradition mentions fourteen years. ibn-hajar isqalani in 'ala'maat mahdi muntazar' says: 'traditions mentioning the seven-year period of mahdi's rule are more in number and more famous. assuming the correctness of all the traditions, we can conclude from all of them as such: traditions which mention forty years refer to the period of his rule. traditions which mention seven, eight or nine years refers to the last degree of manifestation of his rule and power. moreover, traditions which mention twenty or fourteen years refer to the average limit of the rule. author says: the reason for the differences in traditions in this regard may be that the reality of this matter and the duration for which mahdi will rule should not be known (just as the time of his emergence is concealed and unknown) in order that one's attention is drawn towards all sides and he longs for mahdi's victory and long stay till the maximum period of time even though the saying of seven-year period is preferable.
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