Pursuant to the contents
of my previous post regarding the imminent emergence of the promised Mahdi (peace
be upon him), I should like to quote another Hadith which attests to the fact
that he shall rule for approximately seven years:
عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآَلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ
، قَالَ : يَخْرُجُ فِي آخِرِ أُمَّتِي الْمَهْدِيُّ ، يَسْقِيهِ اللَّهُ الْغَيْثَ
، وَتُخْرِجُ الأَرْضُ نَبَاتَهَا ، وَيُعْطِي الْمَالَ صِحَاحًا ، وَتَكْثُرُ الْمَاشِيَةُ
، وَتَعْظُمُ الأُمَّةُ ، يَعِيشُ سَبْعًا أَوْ ثَمَانِيًا
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri
reported that the Messenger of Allah (Peace & blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “At the end of the time of my Umma, the Mahdi will appear. Allah will
grant him rain, the earth will bring forth its fruits, he will give a lot of
money, cattle will increase and the Umma will become great. He will live (rule)
for seven or eight (years).” (Mustadrak al-Hakim)
Comment: This Hadith
establishes several important facts, firstly, the appearance of the Mahdi is in
the latter days, closer to Judgment Day, indeed, being one of its portents, and,
secondly, it shall be a time of material prosperity for the Muslim Umma. Thirdly,
this Hadith says that the Mahdi will rule for approximately seven to eight years
in confirmation of another Hadith I quoted in the previous entry which
establishes that the Mahdi’s rule over the Arabs is for seven years. Observating
the situation of the Muslims today, it is quite evident that we as a nation
are, for the most part, in a state of abject poverty. The majority of the
masses are suffering from malnutrition, while the threshold of water in river
basins is lowering significantly, leading to the looming scarcity of fresh
drinking water. The Gulf states like Saudi Arabia have already experienced the
peak of their prosperity and are now on a downward trajectory. The relative luxury
and wealth in which they live is not only in jeopardy after the plummeting of the
oil market, but it is confined to the ruling elite. We know that in the time of
the Mahdi wealth shall be distributed among everyone, and there will be no more
poverty or want for anything from anyone. In an authentic Hadith, the Prophet
(peace be upon him) prophesied:
يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ
خَلِيفَةٌ يَقْسِمُ الْمَالَ وَلاَ يَعُدُّهُ
“There shall be, in the
end of time, a Khalifa distributing money without counting it.” (Sahih Muslim)
There is a weak
narration in the collections of Tirmidhi (#2232) and Ibn Maja (#4083) which explicitly
mentions that the Khalifa who will freely distribute wealth is the Mahdi. But
as I have said, that Hadith is weak, due to the narrator Zaid al-Ammi. Nevertheless,
we can safely conclude that the Khalifa spoken of in the authentic Hadith is
the Mahdi due to several factors. Firstly, that Khalifa is said to be during
the latter part of this Umma, in the end of time, in which the Mahdi is known
to appear. Secondly, no Muslim ruler in the history of this Umma has ever
matched this description of distributing wealth freely without account and
without refusing anyone. Finally, I have already quoted the sound Hadith from
Mustadrak al-Hakim which states that the Mahdi shall give a way a lot of money.
Another authentic Hadith mentions the fact that during the second coming of
Jesus son of Mary:
وَيَفِيضَ الْمَالُ حَتَّى لاَ
يَقْبَلَهُ أَحَدٌ
“Money will be in such
abundance that no one will accept it.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
However, the difference
is that during the Mahdi’s rule, people will be flocking to him to acquire
their share of wealth, and he will distribute it freely without counting, but
by the time of the second coming of Jesus, there will still be such an
abundance of wealth that could be distributed, but since people have more than
what they can handle they will no longer accept it. There is also the general
prophecy that:
لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى
يَكْثُرَ الْمَالُ وَيَفِيضَ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ الرَّجُلُ بِزَكَاةِ مَالِهِ فَلاَ يَجِدُ
أَحَدًا يَقْبَلُهَا مِنْهُ وَحَتَّى تَعُودَ أَرْضُ الْعَرَبِ مُرُوجًا وَأَنْهَارًا
The Hour will not be
established until money increases and becomes abundant (so much so) that a man
will take out the Zakat from his wealth but not find anyone accepting from it,
and until the land of the Arabs returns to being meadows and rivers. (Sahih
Muslim)
This Hadith appears to
be a reference to the period of the Mahdi and Messiah, in the latter days, when
the abundance of wealth will lead to a transformation of the landscape of
barren, desert Arabia into a fertile, green land of flowing rivers.
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