THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT ABOUT THE COMING OF THE MAHDI

The Hadiths Regarding The Mahdi Are Tawatur 

The word 'tawatur' means 'powerful news, an account based on a whole community and which cannot be wrong.' (Great Dictionary -Tür-Dav, 3003). According to hadith analysts, if an account has been related by several people, and if it is impossible for these people to have come together and fabricated it, then that account is said to be 'mutawatir' (known by common consensus of reporters). Many Islamic scholars have stated that our Prophet's (saas) hadiths on the subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) are 'mutawatir'.

 In Ibn Hajar Al-Askalani Fat-hal-Bari, it has become mutawatir that the Mahdi will be from this nation and the Prophet Jesus (as) will pray behind him. Shawkani also says that the number of hadiths reporting that Jesus (as) will return has reached to 29. He reported all of them and finally said: "The hadith we have reported reached the level of mutawatir. With this statement, we can conclude that the hadith about the awaited Mahdi, the hadith about the Dajjal and the return of Jesus (as) are mutawatir." (Sunan Ibn Majah 10/338)

The sahih hadith about the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) has become mutawatir.
(Signs of the Judgment Day, s.193)

According to their assumption, Hazrat Mahdi (as) has passed away and gone... However, the hadith concerning this subject are very well known. Moreover, they are at the level of spiritual tawatur and they contradict the words of the others.
(Maktubat, Rabbani, 2/250)

There are many hadith reported by the Messenger of Allah (saas) at the level of mutawatir about the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as).
(Ab'ul Hasan Muhammad Ibn Hasan al-Uberi Sicistani, Manaqib al-Shafi / Dr .G. Huseyn Tacirinasab, (Mahdism and Imam Mahdi), p.88, p.405)

The existence of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and that he will emerge in the end times, that he is from the family of the Prophet (saas) and the sons of Fatima, are explained by hadith at the level of tawatur and there is no sense in denying these hadith. It has been proved by clear and explicit hadith that exceed the level of tawatur that Hazrat Mahdi (as) is from the predecessors of Fatima, that he will emerge before the end of the world, that he will bring justice and peace to this world which is full of injustice and oppression, that Jesus (as) will descend from the sky in his time and pray in his leadership.
(Muhammad Ibn 'Abd Al-Rasul Al-Barzanji Madani, el-isae, pp.184, 305 / Mahdism and Imam Mahdi, p.328)

One of the biggest signs of the day of resurrection is the emergence of a 'person' about whom there are many hadith that exceed the level of tawatur. Many hadith scholars have accepted that Hazrat Mahdi (as) comes from the Prophet's family, so it would be unbecoming to turn our backs on such a mutewatir subject. According to the belief of the righteous, Hazrat Mahdi (as) is different from Jesus (as). Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear before the Messiah. This subject has become spread among the Sunni scholars to such an extent that it can be regarded as their belief.
(Summary from Shams Ud-Din Muhammad Bin Ahmad As-Safarayni, al-Anwar al-bahiya, V.2, p.74-76-86)

Muhammad ibn Ali al- Sawkani said in his book called "at-Tawzih...":...These (The reports about Hazrat Mahdi (as), Dajjal and the Messiah) are undoubtedly mutawatir hadith. They can be seen as the command of the Prophet (saas). In this sense, just as the reports about the Dajjal and the Messiah are mutawatir, so are those about the Mahdi.
(Muhib Ibn Salih al-Burayni, Iqd ad-Durar fi Akhbar al-Imam al-Muntazar, p.14-15 / Abi Al-Tayyab Siddiq, al-Izaetu... p.95, 130 / (Mahdism and Imam Mahdi) p.329)

The hadith about Hazrat Mahdi (as) have exceeded the level of spiritual tawatur, there is no sense in their being rejected.
(Sheikh Hassan Al-Hamzawi, Mashariq al-Anwar, F.2, p.115, -1307 H. Basimi / (Mahdism and Imam Mahdi) p. 329)

...The hadith about the Mahdi are more than the level of tawatur. They exist in the books "Sunan", "Masnad" and "Mu'cam.
(M.Siddik Ibn Hasan Qunuji, al-Izaetu... p.94)

As well as the sources cited above, many writers in countless works have stated that the hadiths which have come down to us on the subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) possess a 'tawatur' level of certainty. Some of these Islamic scholars and their works are:

1. Abu Abdillah Muhammad bin Yusuf Ganji, al-Bayan fi Akhbar Sa'hibi-z-Zaman, p. 126 2. Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi, Kitab Al-Tadhkirah Bi-Ahwal Al-Mawta Wa-Umur Al-akhirah, p. 710
3. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya Muhammad b. Abi Bakr Dimishqi, Al-Manar al-Munif, p. 142
4. Ahmad ibn Ali Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Nukat ala Taqrib Al-Tahdhib  , V.9, p. 126
5. Jalal Ad-Din As-Suyuti, Al-'Arf al-Wardi, Al hawi Lilfatawi, V.2, p. 165
6. Ab'ul-Abbas Ibn Hajar Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Haytami, Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa, p. 99 / Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 23
7. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd Al-Rasul Al-Barzanji Madani, al-Isae, pp. 147, 185
8. Shams Ud-Din Muhammad Bin Ahmad As-Safarayni, al-Anwar al-bahiya, V.2, p. 89 / Ahwal Yaum al-Qiyamah, p. 33
9. Muhammad b. `Ali al-Sabban al-Misri, Is`af al-raghibin, Nur'ul-Ebsar printed footnotes p. 192 directly from Al-Sawa`iq al-Muhriqa.
10. Shablanji, Shaykh Mumin bin Hasan Mumin, Nur ul Absar, p. 189
11. Muhammad Siddiq Khan al-Qunuji, al-Izae, p. 120
12. Abu Abd-Allah Muhammad B. Jafar Al-Idrisi Al-Qatani, Nazmu'ul-Mutanasir Fi'l-Hadith'il-Mutawatir, p. 145
13. Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ghimari, Ibraz al-Wahm al-Maknun, pp. 3-4
14. Abdul Muhsin al Abbad, Majallat al-Jami`ah al-Islamiyah, No. 3, Year 1, p. 598

Accounts of the Coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) by Islamic Scholars

Many great Islamic scholars have made statements confirming that no doubt attaches to the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) in the final times. One of the best known of these is Muhyi Ad-Din Ibn Al-Arabi. In his work al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya, Arabi says:

'It is certain that when the world is full of cruelty and injustice, the caliph of Allah will rise up and fill the earth with justice and equality ... He will divide general earnings equally among the people, govern them with justice and decide on disputes between them ... Allah will order his activities in one night, and victory will always proceed him ... He will walk in the footsteps of the Prophet and never deviate from them ... He will do away with superstitions, and only the true religion will prevail...'
(Ibn al-Arabi, Futuhat al-Makkiya, Vol. 3, pages 327-328)

Someone else who has made statements on this subject is the famous Egyptian writer Sheikh Mansur Ali Nasif, who describes belief in the Mahdi in these terms in one of his works:

'It is certain that one called the Mahdi from the People of the House will appear and rule the lands of Islam. Muslims will follow him, and He will govern them with justice and strengthen the religion. After that, the Anti-Christ will emerge, and the Messiah (the Prophet Jesus) and either kill the Anti-Christ or help the Mahdi to do so.'
(At-Tajul-Jami'u Lil-Ussoul, Vol. 5, p. 341)

The writer Sayyid Sabik, an academic at Egypt's al-Azhar University's Department of Beliefs, makes the following comments about the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) in his book Aqaid-i-Islamiya, published as a selected text by the Islamic Conference:

'The essence of the promise regarding the Mahdi is this: He will appear soon, at the end of time ... At a time when the world is full of cruelty and injustice, he will fill it with justice and good governance. It is certain that he will bring the law of Islam to the fore and will give new life to the weakened Sunna of the Prophet.'
(Aqaid-i-Islamiya, p. 250)

In his book 'ar-Raddu,' Ala al-Din Ali ibn Abd-al-Malik Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi says:

'May Allah have compassion on you and may you know that there is no doubt about the coming of the promised Mahdi. Three hundred and more hadiths and works have proved this.'
(Jasim Muhalhil, al-Burhan, Vol. 1, page 339 / (Mahdism and Imam Mahdi), p. 328)

Alongside these statements of famous Islamic scholars, there are also detailed accounts of the belief of the People of the Sunna regarding the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as). Some of these are as follows:

In his book "Sharh us-Sunnah", Hanbali Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari writes of the belief of the People of the Sunna, '... The belief that Jesus, son of Mary, will come down from the sky and kill the Anti-Christ, and that he will pray behind Qaim (the Mahdi) of the sons of the Prophet Muhammad.'
(Jasim Muhalhil, al-Burhan.., Vol. 1, page 426)

'Based on the true hadiths, one certain belief is in the existence of the Mahdi (who will appear). In his time, the Anti-Christ and the Messiah will appear.'
(Ibn Hajar, bn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntazar, p. 74)

'In his book Sharh us-Sunnah Abu Al-Asbal Ahmad Ahmad Muhammad Shakir writes: According to this Sunna that has come down from many of the companions of the Prophet, belief in the Mahdi is proven, and nobody has the right to entertain any doubts on the matter.'
(Jasim Muhalhil, al-Burhan..., Vol. 1, p. 343)

'This means that it is obligatory to believe that the Mahdi will appear, and it is necessary to believe that in order to abide by the commands of the Prophet. This matter has been recorded and proven in the books of faith of the People of the Sunna.'
(Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ghimari, Ibraz al-Wahm al-Maknun, pp. 3-4)

There can be no doubt that these commentaries by Islamic scholars of those hadiths concerning the coming and actions of Hazrat Mahdi (as) are of the greatest importance. Even more important, however, is the fact that our Prophet's hadiths regarding the final times and Hazrat Mahdi (as) are actually coming true one after the other. These events leave no room for doubt about their veracity, nor that they are coming true as a miracle of our Prophet (saas).