Is it permissible for us to ask Allah to send the Mahdi among us, and what is the origin of the term al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One)?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
His EminenceThe Shaykh : The hadiths in the Sunnah have been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner, and they have been transmitted with a mass-transmitted meaning regarding the Mahdi. However, my question has two parts concerning the reality of the Mahdi: Is it permissible for us to ask Allah, the Exalted, to send the Mahdi among us? This is the first part of the question.
The second part: The term "al-Muntadhir" (the Awaited One) appears in the writings of later Muslims, mentioning the Awaited Mahdi, the Awaited Mahdi. Does the term al-Muntadhir after the Mahdi have a historical basis?
The Shaykh : There are hadiths regarding the Mahdi, and they are divided into four categories: fabricated hadiths falsely attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), weak hadiths, good hadiths, and authentic hadiths supported by other evidence.
The authentic view is that he will emerge, but when will he emerge? He will emerge when the wisdom of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, decrees his emergence, when the earth is filled with injustice and tyranny. Pay attention to the phrase: "the earth is filled," meaning: no justice or excellence remains. So when the earth is filled with injustice and tyranny and no justice or excellence remains, then Allah, the Exalted, will send the Mahdi. He will clarify the truth for the people and call them to it, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will guide them through him. This is the authentic belief held by us. Shaykh 'Abd al-Muhsin al-'Abbad has a lecture in the journal of the Islamic University from when Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz was the president of the university. It is a valuable lecture, and I refer the brother questioner to it so that the ruling on the emergence of the Mahdi becomes clear to him.
As for the term "the Awaited Mahdi", this is the Mahdi of the Rafidah (Twelver Shi'ah), whom they claim is in a cellar in Iraq, that he is alive, that he is awaiting relief, and that he will emerge. Their ignorant ones, as al-Safarini (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from them, go out every morning to this cellar with a horse, a spear, water, honey, and bread. Every day they say: We are waiting for his emergence this morning so that he can break his fast with bread, honey, and water. Then he will mount the horse with his spear and go out to the people to fight the oppressors, because they hold, or many of them hold, that all people are oppressors, that all people are oppressors, even Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) are oppressors in their view. They say that they wronged 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) by taking the caliphate from him and seizing it by force. So they are oppressors, not caliphs. The rightful caliph for the caliphate is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
And it is astonishing that I saw in al-Shahrastani's book al-Milal wa al-Nihal a strange statement. He said: Abu Bakr and 'Umar are oppressors, and 'Ali is also an oppressor, because he did not take revenge for himself. We ask Allah for safety! So these and those are all oppressors in the view of the splinter groups! But the majority of the Rafidah do not say this. They say that Abu Bakr and 'Umar were oppressors who seized the caliphate by force, and that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib is the caliph.
There is no doubt that their statement is rejected by the statement of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), for it is authentically reported from him through mass-transmitted narration that he said on the pulpit of Kufa: "The best of this Ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar". He (may Allah be pleased with him) declared this, and this is the complete fairness and complete truth and justice from him (may Allah be pleased with him). But those who claim to be his followers contradicted his path in this matter. He had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, pledged allegiance to 'Umar, supported them, and was with them. In fact, he had pledged allegiance to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), and this is well known in biographies and history. So appending the term al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One) to the term al-Mahdi is taken from the Rafidah.
And we say: This Mahdi will emerge if the wisdom of Allah, the Exalted, decrees it, such that the earth is filled with tyranny and injustice. The one who says: "O Allah, send him out," has a trace of Rafidi belief, because he believes now that the earth is filled with tyranny and injustice. And the earth, praise be to Allah, is not filled with tyranny and injustice. The earth now, praise be to Allah, has people who rule with justice, judge by the truth, and establish the Shari'ah as much as possible, whether they are individuals from the peoples or rulers of the peoples. This is a matter known by everyone. In fact, people today, especially the peoples, are better than they were yesterday.
Groups have appeared, praise be to Allah, in all Islamic lands calling for Islam and striving for it, and applying what they can of Islam. So Islam, praise be to Allah, has a bright future. Now, even in the disbelieving nations like America, France, and England, and others, there are many Muslim groups calling to Islam. And now Islam has its weight even in America. Even in America, Islam has its weight in the present time, praise be to Allah. And as is mentioned, the President of America congratulated the Muslims of America on 'Id al-Fitr this year, and the Muslims of the entire world. This indicates that Islam now has its weight. And what was mentioned about these tyrants, I mean the tyrants of the disbelievers, that Islam threatens humanity, this is from the inspiration of Satan. Islam guides humanity and does not threaten humanity. What system is better than the religion of Allah?[Al-Ma'idah 5:50] The answer has ended. Do you understand now? Good.
The questioner : Yes, Shaykh, did the early scholars mention al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One)?
The Shaykh: This is not correct. It is absolutely not correct, and we do not know it. We say: The Mahdi, as it came in the hadith only, and we do not say: al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One).
His EminenceThe Shaykh : The hadiths in the Sunnah have been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner, and they have been transmitted with a mass-transmitted meaning regarding the Mahdi. However, my question has two parts concerning the reality of the Mahdi: Is it permissible for us to ask Allah, the Exalted, to send the Mahdi among us? This is the first part of the question.
The second part: The term "al-Muntadhir" (the Awaited One) appears in the writings of later Muslims, mentioning the Awaited Mahdi, the Awaited Mahdi. Does the term al-Muntadhir after the Mahdi have a historical basis?
The Shaykh : There are hadiths regarding the Mahdi, and they are divided into four categories: fabricated hadiths falsely attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), weak hadiths, good hadiths, and authentic hadiths supported by other evidence.
The authentic view is that he will emerge, but when will he emerge? He will emerge when the wisdom of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, decrees his emergence, when the earth is filled with injustice and tyranny. Pay attention to the phrase: "the earth is filled," meaning: no justice or excellence remains. So when the earth is filled with injustice and tyranny and no justice or excellence remains, then Allah, the Exalted, will send the Mahdi. He will clarify the truth for the people and call them to it, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will guide them through him. This is the authentic belief held by us. Shaykh 'Abd al-Muhsin al-'Abbad has a lecture in the journal of the Islamic University from when Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz was the president of the university. It is a valuable lecture, and I refer the brother questioner to it so that the ruling on the emergence of the Mahdi becomes clear to him.
As for the term "the Awaited Mahdi", this is the Mahdi of the Rafidah (Twelver Shi'ah), whom they claim is in a cellar in Iraq, that he is alive, that he is awaiting relief, and that he will emerge. Their ignorant ones, as al-Safarini (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from them, go out every morning to this cellar with a horse, a spear, water, honey, and bread. Every day they say: We are waiting for his emergence this morning so that he can break his fast with bread, honey, and water. Then he will mount the horse with his spear and go out to the people to fight the oppressors, because they hold, or many of them hold, that all people are oppressors, that all people are oppressors, even Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) are oppressors in their view. They say that they wronged 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) by taking the caliphate from him and seizing it by force. So they are oppressors, not caliphs. The rightful caliph for the caliphate is 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).
And it is astonishing that I saw in al-Shahrastani's book al-Milal wa al-Nihal a strange statement. He said: Abu Bakr and 'Umar are oppressors, and 'Ali is also an oppressor, because he did not take revenge for himself. We ask Allah for safety! So these and those are all oppressors in the view of the splinter groups! But the majority of the Rafidah do not say this. They say that Abu Bakr and 'Umar were oppressors who seized the caliphate by force, and that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib is the caliph.
There is no doubt that their statement is rejected by the statement of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), for it is authentically reported from him through mass-transmitted narration that he said on the pulpit of Kufa: "The best of this Ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar". He (may Allah be pleased with him) declared this, and this is the complete fairness and complete truth and justice from him (may Allah be pleased with him). But those who claim to be his followers contradicted his path in this matter. He had pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr, pledged allegiance to 'Umar, supported them, and was with them. In fact, he had pledged allegiance to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), and this is well known in biographies and history. So appending the term al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One) to the term al-Mahdi is taken from the Rafidah.
And we say: This Mahdi will emerge if the wisdom of Allah, the Exalted, decrees it, such that the earth is filled with tyranny and injustice. The one who says: "O Allah, send him out," has a trace of Rafidi belief, because he believes now that the earth is filled with tyranny and injustice. And the earth, praise be to Allah, is not filled with tyranny and injustice. The earth now, praise be to Allah, has people who rule with justice, judge by the truth, and establish the Shari'ah as much as possible, whether they are individuals from the peoples or rulers of the peoples. This is a matter known by everyone. In fact, people today, especially the peoples, are better than they were yesterday.
Groups have appeared, praise be to Allah, in all Islamic lands calling for Islam and striving for it, and applying what they can of Islam. So Islam, praise be to Allah, has a bright future. Now, even in the disbelieving nations like America, France, and England, and others, there are many Muslim groups calling to Islam. And now Islam has its weight even in America. Even in America, Islam has its weight in the present time, praise be to Allah. And as is mentioned, the President of America congratulated the Muslims of America on 'Id al-Fitr this year, and the Muslims of the entire world. This indicates that Islam now has its weight. And what was mentioned about these tyrants, I mean the tyrants of the disbelievers, that Islam threatens humanity, this is from the inspiration of Satan. Islam guides humanity and does not threaten humanity. What system is better than the religion of Allah?
Then is it the judgement of [the time of] ignorance they desire? But who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain [in faith].
أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ حُكْماً لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَThe questioner : Yes, Shaykh, did the early scholars mention al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One)?
The Shaykh: This is not correct. It is absolutely not correct, and we do not know it. We say: The Mahdi, as it came in the hadith only, and we do not say: al-Muntadhir (the Awaited One).