Some scholars reject certain creedal matters, such as the Mahdi, by rejecting ahad reports. What is the ruling on these people?
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The questioner : Shaykh, some scholars...
Some scholars reject certain creedal matters, such as the Mahdi, by rejecting ahad reports. What is the ruling on these people, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The ruling on these people is that they are excused, as long as their rejection was based on ijtihad and ta'wil. However, their rejection of the hadiths regarding the Mahdi is not like their rejection of the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), because the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is established by the apparent text of the Qur'an and the explicit wording of authentic Sunnah. As for the hadiths regarding the Mahdi, the scholars have divided them into three categories:
authentic, good, weak, and fabricated. But the stronger position among the scholars is that he will come when the necessity of the earth calls for his arrival, by being filled with oppression and injustice. However, this is not the Mahdi of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community; it is the Mahdi of the Rafidah whom they await. The Mahdi of the Rafidah whom they await is nothing but an illusion in their minds and has no reality. They believe that this Mahdi is in the underground chamber in Iraq and they await his emergence every day. This has no basis, neither historically nor rationally. Yes, that is correct.
Some scholars reject certain creedal matters, such as the Mahdi, by rejecting ahad reports. What is the ruling on these people, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : The ruling on these people is that they are excused, as long as their rejection was based on ijtihad and ta'wil. However, their rejection of the hadiths regarding the Mahdi is not like their rejection of the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), because the descent of 'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) is established by the apparent text of the Qur'an and the explicit wording of authentic Sunnah. As for the hadiths regarding the Mahdi, the scholars have divided them into three categories:
authentic, good, weak, and fabricated. But the stronger position among the scholars is that he will come when the necessity of the earth calls for his arrival, by being filled with oppression and injustice. However, this is not the Mahdi of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community; it is the Mahdi of the Rafidah whom they await. The Mahdi of the Rafidah whom they await is nothing but an illusion in their minds and has no reality. They believe that this Mahdi is in the underground chamber in Iraq and they await his emergence every day. This has no basis, neither historically nor rationally. Yes, that is correct.