Is Allah Described with al-Qidam (Ancientness)?

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والعاقبة للمتقين

وصلى الله  على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله واصحابه اجمعين

Is Allah Described with Al-Qidam (Ancientness)?

 

Mu’ammar b. Abbâd al-Sulami (d. 215 H), a Mu’tazilite theologian and founder of the Mu’ammariyya subsect, denied that Allah is Qadîm (ancient, old) on the basis that it implies Allah’s existence is contingent to time, whereas Allah is timeless.

 

In the Hebrew Bible, God is referred to as עַתִּיק Attîq in Aramaic, meaning “Aged” (Strong’s Concordance #6268). God is named “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9, 13, 22)

 

One of the supplications from the Sunnah when entering the Mosque:

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ وَبِوَجْهِهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَسُلْطَانِهِ الْقَدِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

I seek refuge in Allah the Magnificent, and in His Noble Face, and in His Ancient Authority [Sultaanihil-Qadeem] from Satan the Rejected.

(Sunan Abi Dawud)

 

So here is a proof that the attribute of Allah, His Sultah (Authority) is described as Qadîm (Ancient). And the Sultah of Allah is uncreated, one of His eternal attributes. If it was a created thing and not one of the Attributes of Allah, the Prophet ﷺ would never teach his Umma to seek refuge in it; for refuge is only sought in Allah and in His Names and Attributes.

 

Imam Abu Ja’far at-Tahawi (d. 321 H), in outlining the agreed upon creed of Ahlus Sunnati wal-Jama’a, said concerning Allah:

 

قَدِيمٌ بِلا ابْتِدَاءٍ

Qadîm (Ancient) without a beginning

(al-Aqidat-ut-Tahawiyya)

 

Therefore, as long as beginning/origin/creation are negated then it is correct to affirm the attribute of al-Qidam “ancientness” for Allah.

 

Many Muslims say that Allah is timeless, meaning He exists outside of time. They further say that time is a creation of Allah. However, such statements are made out of ignorance of exactly what time is. Time is relative to frame of reference and is not a universal constant. This is why Allah says:

 

أَنَا الدَّهْرُ، بِيَدِي الأَمْرُ، أُقَلِّبُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ

“I am Time [ad-Dahr]. In My Hand is the command; I alternate the Night and Day.”

(Hadith Qudsi)

 

So when it is affirmed that Allah is al-Qadîm and al-‘Atîq (Ancient, Old, Aged), it means that Allah precedes all things and His existence, although not quantifiable since He is eternal and infinite, is older than any created thing, no matter how old and ancient they might be. This is like how we say Allah is Kabîr “large, big, great” without quantifying how large He is in terms of size, since He is infinite. And so we should affirm these divine attributes for Allah, as they are true and further serve to magnify Allah in our hearts and minds and take away any awe we might have for the limited and finite creation.

Sermon of al-Hassan (RA) and Spiritual Ascension of Jesus

Was Jesus of Nazareth (peace be upon him) raised up to the Heavens in his earthen body or Jasad? A close reading of the Quran al-Karim will persuade the unbiased to summarily dismiss such a notion. Allah Most High says that none of the Prophets were given a Jasad which could be sustained without eating food (Sura 21:8). And He says that both Jesus and his virtuous mother Mary used to eat food (Sura 5:75). Therefore, when the Quran al-Karim speaks of the ascension of Jesus of Nazareth to Allah, it must be understood as a spiritual ascension and not bodily.

 

When the Prophet’s fourth successor and honorable relative, Amir-ul-Mu’minin Ali b. Abi Talib^RA was martyred, his son, sayyidina al-Hassan^RA, who was also the beloved grandson of the Prophet ﷺ delivered a sermon to the people, in which he stated:

 

ولقد قبض في الليلة التي عرج فيها بروح عيسى بن مريم ليلة سبع وعشرين من رمضان

 

“And he (Ali) was taken in the Night in which the Ruh (spirit) of Jesus ascended, the twenty-seventh of Ramadan.”

 

Reference: Tabaqat Ibn Sa’d, v.3 p.37; Majma al-Zawa’id, v.9 p.146

 

 

 

Some individuals, who insist on defending their blind belief in the bodily ascension of Jesus Christ to the Heavens, claim this narration is weak. Waqar Akbar Cheema, a debater who runs the Let Me Turn the Tables site, wrote an article posted on February 3, 2011 in which he said: “This narration has quite a number of problems: In its chain is the narrator Al-Ajlah bin ‘Abdullah who has been criticized by the scholars.”

 

But Cheema’s polemical article did not fully research the issue of the status of the narrator Ajlah b. Abd Allah b. Hujayya al-Kindi. I refer the reader to a more detailed analysis of the scholarly criticism regarding Ajlah. The conclusion is that Ajlah is acceptable, and so this narration is sound and a proof that the Prophet’s own grandson, sayyidina al-Hassan^RA believed that Jesus ascended with his Spirit not in his earthen body.

Abd Allah b. Mu'awiya and the Janahiya

‘Abd Allâh Ibn Mu’âwiya and the Janâhiyya: Rebels and Ideologues of the Late Umayyad Period by William F. Tucker (Studia Islamica, No. 51 (1980), pp. 39 – 57)

Abd Allah b. Mu’awiya was the great-grandson of sayyidina Ja’far al-Tayyar^RA. So this was neither an Alid nor Abbasid uprising during the latter part of the Ummayad rule, but nevertheless politically Shi’ite since it was motivated by a sense of allegiance to the Ahl al-Bayt. Tucker says about Abd Allah b. Mu’awiya: “the majority of sources accuse him of religious heterodoxy. This charge is probably more applicable to his followers, since he himself was more interested in politics than dogma.”

In the book Shi’ism in the Middle East by Aydin Bayram: “Shi’ites set up a certain Abd-Allah ibn-Muawiya as imam. He was a descendant of Ja’far ibn-Abi Talib, Ali’s brother. He is also considered to be hiding in the mountain of Isfahan. As a result, the belief in occultation (ghayba), which began with Muhammad al-Hanafiya returned.” (p. 12)

What I find very ironic is that Abd-Allah b. Mu’awiya was put to death under the orders of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, architect of the Abbasid victory. According to one version, Abu Muslim’s governor in Herat, Abu Nasr Malik b. al-Haytham al-Khuza’i, was suspicious of Abd-Allah b. Mu’awiya, because he had the name “Mu’awiya” in his geneology, and found this to be strange for someone who claimed to be from the Ahl-al-Bayt. But it seems to me that the underlying reason for the killing of Abd-Allah b. Mu’awiya was because Abu Muslim considered him a dangerous rival.

During the uprising of Ibn Mu’awiya, the two main pillars of the support he received were from the Zaydiya and from the Rabi’a tribesmen of Kufa.

Explanation of Sura at-Takwir (Sura 81)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

An Explanation of Sura al-Takwir (Sura 81)

إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ

When the Sun is shrouded

When the beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم dies and is wrapped in a shroud.

وَإِذَا النُّجُومُ انكَدَرَتْ

And when the Stars are dimmed (or scattered)

When the eminent saintly and pious people of this Umma, such as the Sahaba, the Awliya, the Rabbaniyun, the Abdal, and the Mulhamun (seers) become few and far between.

وَإِذَا الْجِبَالُ سُيِّرَتْ

And when the Mountains are made to move

When great nations and populations of the world are displaced and destroyed.

وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ

And when the ‘Ishaar are left untended

When the ten month pregnant she-camels are untended because of the advancements in technology and modernisation of the world. Or it means when the Prophet’s ﷺ kin, his Ahl-al-Bait, are abandoned like what happened during the event of Karbala.

وَإِذَا الْوُحُوشُ حُشِرَتْ

And when the wild beasts are assembled

When the wild, ignorant and animalistic people claim they are “civilised” and convene assemblies and parliaments for themselves for devilish purposes.

وَإِذَا الْبِحَارُ سُجِّرَتْ

And when the seas are set ablaze

The sea will be kindled and set on fire. It will literally become Hell.

وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ

And when the souls are paired

During the Resurrection, when the souls of the deceased are raised up and paired with their bodies.

وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ

And when the buried alive is questioned

The innocent martyrs who were killed unjustly, like al-Hussayn. The martyr is alive with Allah in Heaven, but despite being “alive” the martyr was buried in a grave.

بِأَيِّ ذَنبٍ قُتِلَتْ

For what sin was she killed

The soul of the martyr – al-Hussayn – is questioned as to why he was killed. The questioning of the victim is to instill utter horror into the heart of the murderer who will be present during this reckoning.

وَإِذَا الصُّحُفُ نُشِرَتْ

And when the Scrolls are spread open

Scrolls containing the record of all the deeds of the individual, in preparation for the final Judgment. Or it means when the Qur’an al-Karim is written on scrolls and pages.

وَإِذَا السَّمَاءُ كُشِطَتْ

And when the Sky is peeled away

When men’s knowledge of the universe advances very far and very fast and little mystery remains concerning the cosmos. Or it means, during Judgment Day, when the sky is stripped away and armies of Angels invade from above.

وَإِذَا الْجَحِيمُ سُعِّرَتْ

And when the Hellfire is kindled

The Hellfire will be kindled to to be as severe as it never was before in preparation to receive the hordes of disbelievers, the nations of Gog and Magog.

وَإِذَا الْجَنَّةُ أُزْلِفَتْ

And when the Garden is brought near

When Paradise shall be brought down to the Earth, as Allah says: الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ  “My righteous servants shall inherit the Earth” (21:105) وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ And the Garden is brought near for the Righteous, not far off (50:31)

عَلِمَتْ نَفْسٌ مَّا أَحْضَرَتْ

A soul will know what it has presented

When these things happen, and it is so certain they will happen as though they have already happened, then the soul will know what kind of deeds it has presented and have a good idea as to its ultimate fate.

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالْخُنَّسِ

But no! I swear by the receding planets

Is said by some philogists to be the ‘luminous five’ namely Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury, so described because they are observed to have a bi-directional motion, thus earning for themselves another epithet of ‘the puzzled planets’. And so Allah calls to witness the five receding planets, i.e., the Panjtan Paak “the people of the cloak”: 1. Prophet Muhammad 2. Ali b. Abi Talib 3. Fatima al-Zahra 4. Hasan al-Mujtaba 5. Hussain al-Shahid (peace be upon them).

الْجَوَارِ الْكُنَّسِ

The (running) ships, the vanishing

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَسَ

And the Night when it gradually departs

The final defeat of the Dajjal.

وَالصُّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّسَ

And the daybreak when it breathes

Coming of the Messiah, and mention of the miraculous powers of his breath

وَلاَ يَحِلُّ لِكَافِرٍ أَنْ يَجِدَ رِيِحَ نَفَسِهِ إِلاَّ مَاتَ وَنَفَسُهُ يَنْتَهِي حَيْثُ يَنْتَهِي طَرْفُهُ

“Every disbeliever who smells the fragrance of his breath will die, and his breath will reach as far as his eye can see.” (Tirmidhi & Ibn Maja)

And with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4)

إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ

Indeed, it is surely the Saying of an honorable Messenger

The saying of this honorable Messenger is the breath of Daybreak

ذِي قُوَّةٍ عِندَ ذِي الْعَرْشِ مَكِينٍ

Possessor of strength, with the Owner of the Throne, safe and secure

The Messiah, or Angel Gabriel, is a strong, and is with his Lord, Owner of the Throne (in Heaven), safe and secure

مُّطَاعٍ ثَمَّ أَمِينٍ

One to be obeyed and trustworthy

وَمَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍ

And nor is your Companion insane

Your Companion, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ بِالْأُفُقِ الْمُبِينِ

And certainly he saw him in the clear horizon

The vision the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had of the Angel Gabriel in all his glory, with 600 wings, filling the horizon.

وَمَا هُوَ عَلَى الْغَيْبِ بِضَنِينٍ

And nor is he on the Unseen reticent

He (the Prophet) does not withhold news of the unseen that has been revealed to him.

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَيْطَانٍ رَّجِيمٍ

And nor is it the saying of a devil [a satan] rejected

Rejected, pelted with stones (as done symbolically during ramee al jamaraat). This is mentioned because of the fierce propaganda against it (the Saying)

فَأَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ

So where are you going?

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

It isn’t except a messenger (reminder) for the worlds

For the universe

A universal message.

لِمَن شَاءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ

For the one who wishes, among you, to go straight

This is for whoever wants to take the Straight Path i.e. find the truth

وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّـهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ

And you won’t wish except that Allah, Lord of the Words, wishes

It is Allah who makes the desire into the person to discover the truth (straight path).

The Companions of the Cave (Sura 18:10, 16)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

نحمده ونصلى ونسلم على رسوله الكريم

 

The eighteenth chapter of the Suhuf-i Mutahhara with its unmistakeable apocalyptic theme embodies an important lesson for the Muslims of the latter days when it narrates the story of the As-Hab al-Kahf or the youth who sought refuge in a cavern:

 

إِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا

When the youths retreated to the cave they said: “Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and facilitate for us from our affair in the right way.”

(Sura 18: 10)

 

وَإِذِ اعْتَزَلْتُمُوهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّـهَ فَأْوُوا إِلَى الْكَهْفِ يَنشُرْ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِهِ وَيُهَيِّئْ لَكُم مِّنْ أَمْرِكُم مِّرْفَقًا

 

“And when you withdraw from them and what they worship except Allah, then retreat to the cave. Your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and will facilitate for you from your affair in ease.”

(Sura 18: 16)

 

The theme of withdrawal and retreating away from the false society is especially important as a lesson for the present day Muslims in the midst of all sorts of trials which they must resist in order to protect their faith. The ‘Uzla (withdrawal) discussed in Surah 18: 16 is in fact twofold; 1. withdrawal from them, i.e., the society of Jahiliya (ignorance, “barbarism”) 2. withdrawal from their objects of worship, their false “gods”. The second is obviously a spiritual withdrawal, to remove oneself from their false religion, practices, and system, and purify oneself from the uncleanliness of idolatry, as Allah Most High commands:

 

وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ

And keep away al-Rujz (unclean idols)

(Sura 74: 5)

 

وَالَّذِينَ اجْتَنَبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ أَن يَعْبُدُوهَا وَأَنَابُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَىٰ

And those who avoid al-Taghut (false gods) lest they worship them, and (instead) turn to Allah; for them are glad tidings

(Sura 39:17)

 

But in order to enact the second type of withdrawal as per Sura 18: 16, the turning away from and avoidance of the false “gods” and idols, the youths of the cave first enacted withdrawal from the people and society. It is this first type of ‘Uzla which I am discussing in greater depth:

 

This withdrawal from a society consumed by Jahiliya, infused with idolatry, disobedience to Allah, and corrupt to the core takes on several forms. The youths of the cave represent an example of true Believers who took their withdrawal to a physical level of separation by actually retreating into a cavern. The Prophet ﷺ foretold his own Umma that a time will come with his followers too will have to enact this kind of physical withdrawal from society in order to safeguard their faith:

 

يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرَ مَالِ الْمُسْلِمِ غَنَمٌ يَتْبَعُ بِهَا شَعَفَ الْجِبَالِ وَمَوَاقِعَ الْقَطْرِ، يَفِرُّ بِدِينِهِ مِنَ الْفِتَنِ

 

A time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the top of mountains and the places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his Religion from trials.

(Sahih al-Bukhari: Kitab al-Iman; Bab Min al-Dini al-Firaro min-al-Fitan)

إِنَّ الْهِجْرَةَ خَصْلَتَانِ إِحْدَاهُمَا ، أَنْ تَهْجُرَ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَالْأُخْرَى ، أَنْ تُهَاجِرَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ، وَلَا تَنْقَطِعُ الْهِجْرَةُ مَا تُقُبِّلَتْ التَّوْبَةُ ، وَلَا تَزَالُ التَّوْبَةُ مَقْبُولَةً ، حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ

Verily, al-Hijra (emigration) is of two types: the first is to emigrate from sins, and the second is to emigrate to Allah and His Messenger. And al-Hijra shall not cease as long as repentance is accepted, and repentance shall not cease to be accepted until the sun rises from the west.

(Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal)

 

Then there is also a psychological, emotional, and social separation from the society one lives in. This too is imperative for the believing Muslims who happen to live in a society of Jahiliyya and corruption but are unable to physically emigrate to another land where Islam is established and there is no corruption or retreat into the remote areas in order to safeguard their faith.

 

Two illuminous companions of the Prophet ﷺ, namely, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari^RA and Salama b. al-Akwa^RA, retreated into the desert of Rabadha to live among the Bedouins for the purpose of fleeing from trials. When the oppressor al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf taunted Salama b. al-Akwa^RA because he imagined that Salama had committed apostasy by retreating into the desert to live among the Bedouins, Salama replied:

لاَ وَلَكِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَذِنَ لِي فِي الْبَدْوِ

“No, but rather the Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted me to stay with the Bedouins.”

(Sahih al-Bukhari: Kitab al-Fitan; Bab al-Ta’arrubi fil-Fitan)

 

Retreating into remote areas, such as caves, mountains, rainfall valleys, and the desert is all for the purpose of safeguarding one’s faith and fleeing from the trials and afflictions of the world. Some may argue that it is akin to cutting oneself off from the Jama’a of the Muslims, but that is not the case, as the Hadith of Salama b. al-Akwa^RA illustrates. That is not to say that a wrong intention and motivation for departing from the Muslim society, such as that which came to characterise the Kharijite factions, is not condemnable and dispraised. But in the latter days especially, behavior which resembles the khuruj of the old Kharijites in leaving urban centers and withdrawing to form separate, small communities for the purpose of safeguarding the faith will in fact be considered as practing the Sunna, as long as an attitude of mass-Takfir (excommunication) of Muslim societies is avoided. Hence, the As-Hab al-Kahf represent a model and inspiration that Allah has cited in the Holy Qur’an for especially Muslims of the latter days to emulate.

In his book, Gilles Kepel discusses the type of ‘Uzla that was practiced in Egypt during the time of President Anwar el-Sadat:

 

“The imprisoned Islamicist militants were divided in their reading of Signposts. While the old-guard supporters of Hudaybi defended established dogma against heresies by publishing ‘Preachers, Not Judges’, the youth soon split into various factions. These may be classified in two major currents, which disagreed as to the proper interpretation of Qutb’s term mufasala, or ‘uzla (‘separation’, ‘withdrawal’). One tendency held that withdrawal from society meant only spiritual detachment, while the other felt it meant total separation. Those who preached ‘spiritual detachment’ from society called themselves the jama’a al-‘uzla al-shu’uriyya (Spiritual Detachment Group). They argued that contemporary Egyptian jahiliyya society had to be excommunicated (takfir), but they were aware of the dramatic consequences any enunciation of takfir could have, since they found themselves in a position of ‘weakness’ (istid’af) relative to the enemy jahiliyya society. Since they continued to live within society, they concealed their views, pronouncing the takfir secretly in their hearts while awaiting the advent of the phase of ‘power’ that would enable them to excommunicate a society which they would then have the capacity to combat without beeing doomed to defeat. Not unlike the Shi’ite sects that practice kitman (concealment), every Friday they pretended to pray before an imam whom they actually held to be an infidel…The other faction, which preached mufasala kamila, or ‘total separation’ from society, agreed with the first tendency that jahiliyya society had to be excommunicated. They were also aware of the danger of pronouncing this excommunication while they were still living in society in a ‘phase of weakness’. But their method of averting danger was to withdraw from society and to create, on its margins, a little Society of Muslims, which would then excommunicate jahiliyya society without ‘concealment’.” (Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh, pp. 74 – 75)

 

“In May 1975 the Cairo daily newspaper al-Akhbar published an article about Shukri and his disciples, calling them ahl al-kahf (people of the cave), an expression used in the Koran to designate the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus and, by analogy, any others who sought withdrawal from the real world. The group’s wanderings in the mountains seem to have made an impression both on the authors of the police reports and on the journalists who copied them. In reality, however, the group had lived only very briefly in the grottoes. Most members lived together in furnished rooms in the poor neighborhoods ringing Cairo and other cities.” (ibid, p. 77)

 

The latter group described by Gilles Kepel was the Jama’at-ul-Muslimin led by Shukri Mustafa (1942 – 1978). They were nicknamed Takfir wal-Hijra by the Egyptian media. Undoubtedly a pure Kharijite group, Takfir wal-Hijra was highly influenced by Syed Qutb’s Signposts (or Milestones) and moulded by the political atmosphere created by Nasser’s modernist, secularist and pan-Arabist regime in Egypt. But throughout the history of the Umma, including its modern history, there have been various tendencies and sects among the Muslims who practiced ‘Uzla to different degrees. These groups often bore the unmistakeable mark of Kharijism, Shi’ism and Sufism. These particular expressions of Islam share with each other a sense of protest and dissent from the Muslim mainstream and political establishment. I believe that a healthy dose of this expression of spiritual and political dissent from the mainstream and the establishment is not only Islamic but is, upon deep introspection, the very theme and flavor of pure Islam. However, extreme manifestations of ‘Uzla such as mass-Takfir of Muslim societies, terrorism against the State and even worse, against civilians, and the doctrine of ‘concealment’, represent a fundamental divergence from the Qur’anic and Sunni expression of ‘Uzla. The Prophet ﷺ warned specifically about many groups emerging from the east, their distinctive sign being their shaven heads (Sahih Muslim: Kitab al-Zakat). This description fits many sects and subsects of Kharijism, Shi’ism and extreme versions of Sufism based in the eastern lands, especially Iraq. To compare these kind of misguided groups to the As-Hab al-Kahf is obviously a mistake.

Mahdi in Quran (Sura 2:114) and Nasibi Rejection of the Mahdi

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

نحمده ونصلى ونسلم على رسوله الكريم

 

The awaited Mahdi is such a figure in the Religion of Islam that without him this Religion would seem incomplete and imperfect. The idea that there in the near future a savior will come to deliver the oppressed and the faithful from the harsh trials of the world and the cruelties inflicted upon them by the tyrannical and unjust rulers is in fact the pride and joy of Islam through which it can boast over other religions which have for the most part given up on the messianic expectation. The majority of Christians no longer believe in the imminent return of Christ, but have rather spiritualised the concept. The Catholic Church, for example, condemns millenarian and messianic expectations; instead asserting that all such expectations are already fulfilled in the institution of the Church. Likewise, the majority of Jews no longer eagerly wait for the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Reform Jews have dispensed with the concept altogether, while the vitality of the Zionist movement resulted in many Jews feeling that the modern State of Israel has for all intents and purposes fulfilled the messianic expectation of their Jewish forefathers. Hence, for the Christians it is the Roman Church, and for the Jews, it is the State of Israel, that is the savior and the manifestation of God’s deliverance of His people. There is no need for an individual Messiah or Messianic-figure to come now.

Now let the reader understand the grave problem with this. Despite the establishment of the Church and the State of Israel, not only does one witness the great corruption throughout the world, but it is self-evident that this corruption is spreading and becoming worse. The impoverished, malnourished, oppressed, weak, sick, and marginalised are crying out to God to rescue them from their plight. The earthly rulers are becoming more oppressive and cruel. The gap between an exclusive class of super wealthy people and the needy masses grows wider and wider with no sign of relenting. War and violence is all around, especially in the Middle East. So if the Catholic Church or the State of Israel truly is the fulfilment of the messianic expectation, it is obvious that both have utterly failed, and are in fact part of the problem rather than the solution to it. The Catholic Church is a powerful institution akin to a transnational corporation. It is the dominant religion in that part of the world (the West) where people are spiritually dead and consumed by consumerism and pursuit of their love of the world. Its head, the Pope of Rome, decked in his luxurious, fine robes, is more remnicient of Caesar in all his pomp, than the meek and humble Christ. Likewise, the State of Israel is a state with great military strength and economic power, but is essentially secular in both its laws and the society it governs. Ironically, the more religious and observant Jews, though representing a small minority, are either lukewarm to the State of Israel or else openly in contempt of it. If the State of Israel is the Messiah, it is the Messiah of materialism and secularism, which self-evidently mistreats its Palestinian and Arab subjects.

 

In fact, it is these powerful institutions such as the large Churches and the powerful States of the world which have a vested interest in making people turn away and lose faith in the messianic expectation, which they regard as the greatest threat to their hegemony and continued reign of evil. They know very well that if ordinary people affirm in their hearts and minds the idea that a Messiah will come soon and remedy the injustices done to the dispossessed by fighting and becoming triumphant against the evil powers and institutions that govern the world, it will result in them losing confidence, loyalty in respect even in the present. On the other hand, if the people become persuaded that there is no individual savior who is going to come and miraculously save them from their plight, the people will eventually be forced to acknowledge in their hearts the permanence of the present setup and reluctantly accept it. This is the psychological state of mind that the powerful Churches and States of this world want to induce in order to secure their position.

 

Regrettably, some Muslim thinkers and sects are either outright opposed to the idea of a coming Mahdi (Islamic savior), or else severely downplay and neglect it. The modernist thinkers in particular are the greatest culprits. They assert that there is no Mahdi or even a theme of a messianic expectation in the Holy Qur’an, and thus dismiss it. But they are not only motivated in doing so by their strict and superficial reading of the Text. Modernists, influenced by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Allama Iqbal, Muhammad Ali Pasha, Muhammad Abduh and Mustafa Kamal “Ataturk”, consider the transient State as the ultimate expression of the ideals and values of Islam. For them, a powerful, Westernised, modern, and economically thriving State must be the ultimate aspiration for the Muslims. Hence for them the idea of waiting or expecting a Mahdi, a charismatic, spiritual figure, is repulsive and unnatural. Like the modern Christians and Jews, these modernist Muslims see a strong and modern Muslim state as being the fulfilment of any messianic expectation. This is what “Ataturk” envisioned and worked for in modern Turkey, what Iqbal envisioned for and what was realised through Jinnah for Pakistan, and the project begun through Muhammad Ali Pasha and realised through Gamal Abdel Nasser for modern Egypt. All of the above named individuals would find the idea of a coming Mahdi, sent with the objective of overturning the modern world, absolutely horrifying.

 

Some Muslim thinkers, characterised by Nasibi tendencies, such as enmity toward the Prophet’s ﷺ household and progeny, likewise reject the concept of the Mahdi, which they accuse of being a Shi’ite fabrication. For example, Mahmud Ahmad Abbasi, writes:

آمد و خروج مہدی کی حدیثیں مختلف اشخاص اور خاندانوں کے سیاسی اغراض کی خاطر وقتا فوقتا وضع ہوئیں پیشتر ان میں سے حضرت فاطمہ ^رض کی نسل کے کسی شخص کے بارے میں ہیں۔

 

“The Ahadith about the coming of the Mahdi were fabricated over time by different individuals and families for political objectives. Most of them are regarding an individual from the progeny of Hadrat Fatima^RA.”

 

Reference: Tahqiq Sayyad o Saadat p.199

 

Now of course, the typical Nasibi is motivated in his perverse thoughts and ideas by a sense of pride in and loyalty to the Ummayad dynasty. It was the Ummayads who ruled over the Muslims and were hated by them because of their being drowned in love of worldly delights and luxury, and their being corrupt, irreligious, and tyrannical. Yazid the cursed, for the love of power and lust after worldly delights, had the audacity to oppose the Prophet’s^SAW beloved grandson, Imam al-Hussain^RA, resulting in the latter’s tragic martyrdom in the plains of Karbala. Likewise, the Ummayads faught against and perpetrated injustices against the Prophet’s^SAW companions when they rose up against them, such as Abdullah b. al-Zubayr^RA and sayyidina Suleman b. Surad al-Khuza’i^RA. Now it becomes clear that during the tyrannical and unjust rule of the Ummayads and Abbasids, the messianic expectation intensified among the faithful. There were literally dozens of armed uprisings against various Ummayad and Abbasid ruler, most of them motivated by messianic expectation. Hence it is understandable why the wretched Nasibis ridicule and reject the Islamic concept of the Mahdi.

 

Now in response to the doubts raised by the modernists, Hadith-rejecters, and Nasibis, we will present some proof-texts from the Holy Qur’an and Ahadith concerning the promise of a coming Mahdi:

 

لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ

For them in this world is disgrace, and they will have in the Hereafter a great punishment.

(Sura 2:114)

 

In explaining this Ayah, Imam al-Suddi (d. 127 H) said:

 

حدثنا موسى قال : حدثنا عمرو قال : حدثنا أسباط ، عن السدي قوله : ( لهم في الدنيا خزي ) ، أما خزيهم في الدنيا ، فإنهم إذا قام المهدي وفتحت القسطنطينية قتلهم ، فذلك الخزي ، وأما العذاب العظيم ، فإنه عذاب جهنم الذي لا يخفف عن أهله

 

Al-Suddi said concerning Allah’s saying ‘for them in this world is disgrace’ (2:114): “As for their disgrace in this world, it is when the Mahdi rises and conquers Constantinople, killing them, so that is the disgrace. And as for the great punishment, it is the punishment of Jahannam which will not be lightened for its inmated.”

 

Reference: Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari

 

And there are many authentic Ahadith which explicitly mention the Mahdi. They describe him as: 1. A descendant of the Prophet^SAW through his daughter sayyida Fatima^RA 2. Bearing the name of the Prophet^SAW (Muhammad or Ahmad) 3. Having a broad forehead and aquiline nose 4. Fills the Earth with justice after it was filled with injustice 5. Gives out wealth abundantly without counting

 

These are the basic and established characteristics of the coming Mahdi based on absolutely authentic and sound Ahadith.