There are some Muslims who, impressed by the views of distinguished scholars such as Ibn Khaldun and Dr Muhammad Iqbal, have rejected belief in the advent of Imām al-Mahdi. Some of them even go on to dismiss our preoccupation with this subject with disdain and with spurious comments.
They should be warned that it is not only false but also sinful to argue that those who strive for a deeper understanding of the subject of the advent of Imām al-Mahdi (‘alaihi al-Salām) are a people who are content to sit waiting with folded arms for the Imām while doing nothing to combat falsehood and oppression in the world.
We have no doubt that certain members of the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) will be blessed with true dreams and visions which will convey to them information concerning the End-Time advent of Imām al-Mahdi (‘alaihi al-Salām). Readers must know however, that information so obtained cannot be objectively verified, and hence that there is no compulsion on any one to accept such information as truth.
This writer has never attempted to use such information in his analysis of events now mysteriously unfolding in the world, and in the Holy Land in particular. Rather he has continuously striven to grasp the ‘system of meaning’ of the subject of the End Times as derived from data located in the Qur’ān and Ahadīth of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). He is confident that his students will Insha Allah, continue that effort when he is no longer in this world. His conclusions, based on rational analysis (and intuitive internal insight), must always be qualified with the words Allahu ‘alam (Allah Knows best).
Those who are not convinced by his views expressed in this essay or in other writings and lectures, therefore have every right to withhold acceptance. Those on the other hand who reject his views, cannot be recognised as serious critics who deserve a response, unless and until they offer their own ‘correct’ views that are published under a name by which they can be recognized and held accountable. This writer is confident that a reasoned and respectful scholarly dialogue (in response to this and other essays on the subject) will enrich all those who participate with a greater understanding and insight into the subject Insha Allah.
The subject of the emergence of Imām al-Mahdi has now assumed truly urgent importance in the world of Islam ̶ Shia as well as Sunni. The misguided followers of the false Prophet of Qadian, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Kazzab, should follow carefully the discussion on this subject so that they may recognize Insha Allah, the falsehood of Mirza’s claims that he was Imām al-Mahdi as well as the Promised Messiah. This subject is of urgent importance since the Anglo-American-Israeli military attack on the Arabs, Pakistan and Iran can be expected at any time now, and we can therefore expect that someone will soon emerge with yet another false claim to be the promised Imām.
We warned in an earlier essay that an Israeli attack on Iran would almost certainly provoke the emergence of a Shia claimant to be the promised Imām. We can expect a Sunni claimant on the other hand, when the attack is launched against the Arabs or Pakistan.
This essay, written in Buenos Aires in Argentina as I make my way to our Second International Islamic Retreat in Cape Town, attempts to explain the subject of the advent of Imām al-Mahdi in its End-Time context and to thus offer a view concerning the time-line for the emergence of the prophesied Imām.
There are some Muslims who, impressed by the views of distinguished scholars such as Ibn Khaldun and Dr Muhammad Iqbal, have rejected belief in the advent of Imām al-Mahdi. Some of them even go on to dismiss our preoccupation with this subject with disdain and with spurious comments.
They should be warned that it is not only false but also sinful to argue that those who strive for a deeper understanding of the subject of the advent of Imām al-Mahdi (‘alaihi al-Salām) are a people who are content to sit waiting with folded arms for the Imām while doing nothing to combat falsehood and oppression in the world.
Our understanding of the ‘system of meaning’ which harmoniously integrates all data from the Qur’ān and Ahadīth pertaining to the End Times, recognizes the return of the true Messiah Jesus the son of the Virgin Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both) as the Sign of all Signs of the End Times (see ‘An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern World’); hence the subject of the emergence Imām al-Mahdi must be harmoniously integrated with that momentous return.
It is logically inconsistent that a wise God, whose creation is flawless, should send the true Messiah back to this world before Dajjāl the false Messiah has completed his mission of impersonating the true Messiah. That mission of impersonation would not be complete until he publicly proclaims that he is the promised Messiah. In addition, I believe that no learned Jew would ever respond seriously to any claimant to be the promised Messiah unless that claimant is a Jew, he makes his claim from within the Holy Land (Jerusalem to be specific), and makes his claim while offering overt evidence that he has already established his rule (or has the capacity to do so) over the world in general and in particular over the Arab/Muslim world that surrounds the Holy Land on all sides. I hold this view since the Jewish scriptures proclaim the advent of a Messiah who will rule the world (eternally) from the throne of David (‘alaihi al-Salām).
I have argued in ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’ as well as in other writings, that Dajjāl’s ‘day like a month’ is now coming to an end and that his ‘day like a week’ is about to commence. The evidence which emerges from the ‘system of meaning’ of the subject is that the passage from a ‘day like a month’ to a ‘day like a week’ cannot occur without great wars which will result in the loss of millions of lives. This is what occurred during the passage from a ‘day like a year’ to a ‘day like a month’.
When those wars do break out, and that should sadly be soon, then those who consider this writer to be rightly-guided (or at least not misguided) would understand what is happening in the world and as a consequence should neither be confused nor enter into a state of despair.
They would also consider the following present facts to be pertinent when answering the question which is the topic of this essay:
Israel has not as yet established her control over the Arab/Muslim world that surrounds the Euro-Jewish State;
The territory of the State of Israel has not as yet expanded to encompass the frontiers of the Holy Land as (falsely) delineated in the Torah;
Israel has not as yet replaced USA as the ruling State in the world;
No Jew has as yet (i.e., in recent times) proclaimed himself to be the Promised Messiah.
The evidence is therefore clear that Imām al-Mahdi cannot emerge at this time. Such would be inconsistent with the ‘system of meaning’ which integrates all End-Time data in a harmonious whole.
Our view, and Allah Knows best, is that the Imām can only emerge at that time when Dajjāl’s ‘day like a week’ has come to an end and he has emerged in human form in our world of space and time. This is so for the following reason:
A Hadīth in the Sahīh of Imām al-Bukhāri informs us that the advent of the Imām will be contemporaneous with the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salaam):
“How will you be (at that time) when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imām will (at that time) be from amongst yourselves (i.e., a Muslim).”
(Sahīh Bukhāri)
Those who wish to do so can hold the view that a period for as long as 20 or 30 years can elapse between the advent of the Imām and the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām). We hold a different view. We believe that the State of Israel – and the Gog and Magog world-order which support that Euro-Jewish State – will respond with desperate speed to the Imām’s appearance in Makkah, and would attempt to eliminate him without delay. If this is true, then as soon as the Imām makes his appearance at the Holy Ka’aba and proclaims himself to be the promised Imām, events can be expected to move rapidly towards a confrontation with those who control power in the world. That confrontation will eventually lead to a personal confrontation between the Imām and Dajjāl as described in the Hadīth in Sahīh Muslim. That in turn, would be the moment when Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) will descend from the sky “with the hands resting on the wings of two angels”.
Our conclusion therefore, is that only a brief period of time will elapse between the advent of the Imām and the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām).
Since we also argue that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) will not return until Dajjāl the false Messiah has completed his mission and publicly claimed to be the Messiah, it follows that the world may have to wait for at least another two or three decades for the blessed Imām to emerge and for events to then rapidly escalate until Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) returns, Dajjāl is killed, Gog and Magog are destroyed, and Khilāfah is restored in Jerusalem. And Allah Knows best!
Our gentle readers must strive to remain ever vigilant during the time which remains before the Imām emerges, however long that may be, not to be deceived by the false Imāms who are certain to soon emerge, and who would faithfully follow in the misguided footsteps of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani. I would be surprised if the Israeli Mossad/CIA has not already groomed a suitable candidate.