The hadiths regarding the emergence of the Mahdi are contradictory: does he appear and receive the pledge of allegiance in Makkah, or does he appear in the East?
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The Shaykh : The hadiths regarding the emergence of the Mahdi are contradictory: does he appear and receive the pledge of allegiance in Makkah, or does he appear in the East? Likewise, regarding the descent of our master 'Isa: is it in the east of Damascus or in Jerusalem?
The hadiths that have been transmitted regarding the Mahdi are some authentic and some weak. It is the authentic ones upon which we should base our creed. In this category, there is no mention of the Mahdi emerging in Makkah; rather, that emergence is found in the other category, which is the weak one. As for the first category, it contains numerous hadiths that explicitly state that his emergence will be in Damascus, and that he will meet 'Isa (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who will have descended at the white minaret in the east of Damascus. It is not the minaret of 'Isa, as the common people claim. This meeting between them in Damascus is established in the authentic hadiths. Therefore, it is not permissible to contradict what is established with what is not established.
In summary: the emergence of the Mahdi is here.
As for the second part, which is his statement: "Does the descent of our master 'Isa occur in the east of Damascus or in Jerusalem?"
We say: The first thing 'Isa does upon his emergence, as is explicit, is that he descends at the white minaret in the east of Damascus. So his descent will be in Damascus. However, his coming to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) is established. But there is no authentic hadith stating that he descends in Bayt al-Maqdis, so that we would assume a contradiction between the hadiths. Rather, the hadiths state that he descends in Damascus at the white minaret, and the hadith states that he descends in Bayt al-Maqdis. This is because there is no authentic hadith there that 'Isa descends in Bayt al-Maqdis. However, a stage of his life and his jihad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will be in Bayt al-Maqdis. As for how he will be there, by what means, and by what method, this is something for which we have not found an answer in the hadiths we have come across.
The hadiths that have been transmitted regarding the Mahdi are some authentic and some weak. It is the authentic ones upon which we should base our creed. In this category, there is no mention of the Mahdi emerging in Makkah; rather, that emergence is found in the other category, which is the weak one. As for the first category, it contains numerous hadiths that explicitly state that his emergence will be in Damascus, and that he will meet 'Isa (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who will have descended at the white minaret in the east of Damascus. It is not the minaret of 'Isa, as the common people claim. This meeting between them in Damascus is established in the authentic hadiths. Therefore, it is not permissible to contradict what is established with what is not established.
In summary: the emergence of the Mahdi is here.
As for the second part, which is his statement: "Does the descent of our master 'Isa occur in the east of Damascus or in Jerusalem?"
We say: The first thing 'Isa does upon his emergence, as is explicit, is that he descends at the white minaret in the east of Damascus. So his descent will be in Damascus. However, his coming to Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) is established. But there is no authentic hadith stating that he descends in Bayt al-Maqdis, so that we would assume a contradiction between the hadiths. Rather, the hadiths state that he descends in Damascus at the white minaret, and the hadith states that he descends in Bayt al-Maqdis. This is because there is no authentic hadith there that 'Isa descends in Bayt al-Maqdis. However, a stage of his life and his jihad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will be in Bayt al-Maqdis. As for how he will be there, by what means, and by what method, this is something for which we have not found an answer in the hadiths we have come across.
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