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Messiah is a name or attribute of Jesus, peace be upon him. Messiah means
“blessed” in Hebrew, thus this name might have been used for him in admiration
for his merits and virtues. It is reported that he was given this name for
several reasons: he was protected from all kinds of sins; his touch healed
illnesses by God’s permission; he frequently traveled and made his message heard
every where. Mahdi literally means one who has embraced the faith and has thus
been led to the “straight path.” Mahdi also refers to the savior, who will come
at a time when tyranny and injustice dominate all around the world; he will
re-establish justice, make Islam dominant, and he will be a descendent of the
Prophet (Ahl al-Bayt), peace and blessings be upon him.
Awaiting a savior at times when basic credo of belief is ignored, abandoning
religious duties has become common, and proper conduct as enjoined by faith has
been forgotten in the world, dates back very early in history. Jews, Christians,
even many people before them all spent a lifetime with expectations of a savior,
especially when they had to face injustice and suffer. Throughout the ages of
prophetic mission that was represented by a chain of messengers, it was always a
Prophet or a Messiah for whom the people waited. After the Messenger of God,
peace and blessings be upon him, people no longer await a messenger; rather they
are expecting a reviver or a savior, a guide or a mahdi from the lineage of the
Prophet. This mahdi has been called Mahdi al-Rasul, due to the perception that
the Mahdi will be sent like a messenger by God and that there are signs of his
superiority over the Fuqaha al-Arbaa (four great jurists of Islam: Imam
Azam, Imam Malik, Imam Safii, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal), saints of all ranks,
and even the Qutb al-Irshad.(1)
Islam and anticipation of the Mahdi
In religions like Judaism and Christianity people have always awaited a
Messiah or a Mahdi, who will save the believers from sufferings and teach the
faith to others. Such anticipation consolidated the believers’ spiritual power
and stimulated the believers’ determination for revival. It can even be argued
that the popularity of prophets like Moses and Jesus were, to a certain extent,
a consequence of this kind of anticipation. People who gathered around each of
them said, “He is the powerful will and determination that the previous
messengers gave glad tidings of!” According to the New Testament (Matthew 3:11)
the Prophet John (the Baptist), said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than I; he is one whose shoes
I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with
fire.” Although he was also a prophet, when he listened to Jesus, the most
glowing youth of Nazareth, who was also his cousin, he saw his enthusiasm and
influence upon people, and he said, “This is the Messiah we have been awaiting!”
John’s glad tidings gave rise to further enthusiasm and expectations in the
community, and his testimony for Jesus quickened the process of the apostles’
faith in him, reinforcing their belief.
The Children of Israel have always anticipated a Messiah. When they noticed
certain features of the savior described in their holy book, their anticipation
became a fire burning inside, urging them toward further research. Nevertheless,
during the translations of the scriptures, or as they were handed from
generation to generation, some kind of a mist covered this very important issue,
making it impossible to see what was behind. Lost in this overwhelming mist, the
Children of Israel became lost in their viewpoint and got mired down in denial,
although the savior for whom they had been waiting was standing in front of
them. They denied the Messiah who embraced everyone with forgiveness and
compassion, saying, “You are not him (the Messiah).”
After Jesus another savior was awaited. The coming of the Pride of Humanity,
the Prophet Muhammad, was anticipated; all his attributes had been very well
defined and sought after. The glad tidings of this were announced by Jesus and
the messengers who came before him. Bahira, the Christian monk, expressed this
longing for the coming savior when he told the following to the Messenger, who
was partaking in a trade caravan to Damascus: “You will be the Last Prophet. I
hope that I can live until the day when you will declare your mission, and that
I will be able to serve you by carrying your shoes.” Zayd (Umar’s uncle and the
father of Said ibn Zayd, a Companion who was among the ten people who were
promised Paradise) voiced the same anticipation when he said on his deathbed, “I
know a religion will come very soon, its shade is above your heads. But I don’t
know if I can survive until that day.” However, there were also many others who
failed to see the pit in front of them, denying him, saying, “You are not him.”
There were others who did not accept his message either because it was against
their interests or because he was not of their lineage. But the glad tidings,
known for so many years, that a savior would come caused the first Companions to
embrace Islam and the Helpers of Madina to pledge their commitment to the
Messenger of God at Aqaba. Anticipation of a Messiah had a great influence in
the formation of the bond between the Prophet and his Companions, despite so
many provocations and attempts to discourage the followers by the polytheists.
The believers stood firm at the reverse in the Battle of Uhud and at the Battle
of the Trench. In addition to the Prophet’s personality, appearance, message,
persuasion, confidence, devotion, loyalty, and intellect, we cannot deny the
role this anticipation played in the spreading of his message.
The origins of the anticipation for the Mahdi-Messiah in religion
There are almost a hundred Traditions of the Prophet which point to the
return of the Messiah at the end of time and how this return will take place. At
least forty of these Traditions are authenticated (sahih) according to
the criteria determined in hadith studies; they are considered to be reliable by
experts. Another twenty of this hundred are listed as being hasan, i.e.,
although not as certain as the authentic Traditions, their chain of transmission
is considered to be dependable. Twenty to thirty other Traditions have a weaker
reliability for their authenticity. To cite an example, it is reported in
Bukhari, Tirmidhi, and Musnad that the Messenger of God said, “By God in Whose
Hand of Power my soul is, the descent of Jesus, son of Mary, who was a just
sovereign, among you, is soon. He will destroy the cross, kill the swine, revoke
the capitation tax, and distribute goods in abundance. Property will be so vast
that no one will accept it as charity.” In another hadith, reported in Muslim
and Abu Dawud, the Prophet said, “When Jesus, son of Mary, descends the ruler of
the Muslims will ask him, ‘Come and lead the prayer for us.’ Jesus will say,
“No, you are rulers to each other; this is a blessing of God to the Muslim
community.”
There is no verse in the Qur’an that has an overt reference to this issue.
However, some prominent scholars, like Kashmiri of India, who compiled
Traditions related with this issue, selects four verses that are considered to
indicate the descent of the Messiah toward the end of time.
He shall speak to the people in the cradle and in manhood. And he shall be of
the righteous. (‘Al Imran 3:46)
And there is none of the People of the Book but will believe in him before
his death (Nisa 4:159)
And peace on me on the day I was born, and on the day I die, and on the day I
will be raised to life. (Maryam 19:33)
And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment).
(Zukhruf 43:61)
We can also give two examples from the Traditions about the Mahdi: “The Mahdi
is from us, Ahl al-Bayt. God will give him victory in one night. The
Mahdi is from the children of Fatima” (Ibn Maja, Fitan, 34; Darimi, Mahdi, 1).
“Even if there will be one day left for the end of this world, God will send a
person from Ahl Al-Bayt to fulfill justice in a world of tyranny” (Ahmad
ibn Hanbal II, 117-118).
As a work of His Mercy, God Almighty, at various times of disunity, has sent
a restorer, a reviver, a respected vicegerent, a saint, a perfect teacher, or
other mahdi-like blessed people to us. Such people have eliminated disunity,
restoring and protecting the faith. Bediuzzaman gives Mahdi al-Abbasi as an
example in the political arena, Abd al-Qadir Jilani, Shayk Naqshbandi, aqtab
al-arbaa (four great saints: Abd al-Qadir Jilani, Ahmad Badawi, Ahmad Rufai,
Ibrahim Desuki), and twelve imams in the spiritual arena, saying, “As this is
the way of God, He will definitely send a radiant person from Ahl al-Bayt,
who will be the greatest jurist, the greatest reviver, sovereign, mahdi,
teacher, and the greatest saint against a grievous mischief toward the end of
time.” Bediuzzaman also answers questions about the weakness of the reliability
of Mahdi-related Traditions: “Is there anything that cannot be criticized in
some way or another? Some scholars report with indignity that even Ibn Jawzi, a
great scholar of hadith, listed some authentic Traditions as fabricated (maudu'
ahadith). Every weak or fabricated hadith does not necessarily mean that it
conveys a wrong message. A weak hadith means that its chain of transmission does
not certify its authenticity; but its message might be the truth.”
The return of Jesus
Some Islamic scholars consider the descent of Jesus as a person would be
contrary to the divine wisdom of God Almighty. They rather think that it will
take place as a descent of a “collective spiritual personality.” Some other
scholars have interpreted Qur’anic verses and Traditions in a different way.
Bediuzzaman, on the other hand, while not discarding the possibility of Jesus’
descent as a person, stresses the spiritual personality more, and interprets
this descent as the conformity of the Christian world to Islam. He also argues
that the descent of Jesus as a person might not be a distant possibility: “The
Glorious Sovereign, Who sends angels from heavens to the Earth at all times, Who
sometimes transforms them into human form as did Gabriel into Dihya (a Companion
of the Prophet), Who make the spiritual beings from the realm of spirits come to
this world in the form of a man, or late saints in an imaginary body, would
certainly dress Jesus in a human form who is alive and resides in the worldly
sky, even if he had gone to the farthest end of the afterlife and was really
dead, and would send him for such a substantial result.” Bediuzzaman never went
further into these details which exist in certain reports.
[1] Qutb al-Irshad (Master of Teachers): It is a title given to very
exceptional saints, and according to Imam Rabbani’s definition they appear only
many centuries after a previous one. Their teaching of faith has a worldwide
influence.
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