The Prophecy of Muhammad
al-Mahdi
By Andrew Dwight Harris
In the Shia tradition, Muhammad al-Mahdi was the last
of the Twelve Imams. The Twelve Imams, except for
the last one, were assassinated. The last Imam, who
was the Twelfth Imam, went into 'occultation' - he
became hidden from the world, and was known as the
Hidden Imam. However, the Hidden Imam is
expected to return
from occultation, and the return of this Twelfth
Imam, in many Islamic traditions, is likened to the
Return of Christ. The Twelfth Imam was Muhammad al-Mahdi
(and there are also
beliefs about the Mahdi in other branches of Islam).
Despite the fact that Muslims
say that Prophet Muhammad (of the
Qur'an) was the
last Prophet, it is also said that because the Mahdi
said he would return, therefore another Prophet
would appear. Also, the Mahdi appears to be a
very specific Prophet. I will use the
Bible and a saying (hadith)
attributed to Muhammad al-Mahdi to make my point.
In the
Bible, Revelation 5:1-4 (KJV),
there was no one found to open the Book sealed with
the Seven Seals, and in Revelation 5:3-4 John weeps
because no one can open the Seven Seals:
And no man in heaven, nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon.
And I wept much, because no man was
found worthy to open and to read the book, neither
to look thereon.
Muhammad al-Mahdi is said to
have stated
about his return:
And as for the way of benefiting
from me during my occultation, it is the same as
benefiting from the sun when it is beclouded; and I
am a safeguard to the inhabitants of earth as the
stars are safeguards to the inhabitants of heaven.
(Bihar al-Anwar Ch.53, P.181)
(Source)
The above two quotes may mean
the same thing. What I mean is that John is weeping
because no one can open the Book, the Book which is
about God, and the Mahdi is saying that, "it is the
same as benefiting from the sun when it is
beclouded," however the Mahdi is talking about the
time before his return from occultation. Therefore
it seems that the Mahdi must be
the one who will open the Book of the Seven Seals
that is mentioned in Revelation in the
Bible.
A question might arise that: Who is this Muhammad al-Mahdi, and even the Twelve
Imams, that they may play a part in prophecies of the
Return of Christ, i.e. the book of Revelation? If we
can look at Islam and Christianity as both from God,
then it can be seen that the Twelve Imams may have
been prophesied to come in the book of Genesis in the
Bible:
And as for Ishmael, I have
heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will
make him fruitful, and will multiply him
exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I
will make him a great nation. (Genesis 17:20)
Of course, later in Genesis it
explains that Ishmael had twelve sons who became
twelve princes (Genesis 25:16). However, as
Ishmael was the father of the Arabs, this verse may
also be referring to the Twelve Imams.
Furthermore, in showing that
the Mahdi is the one who opens the Book of the Seven
Seals, Prophet Muhammad is said to have stated:
The dominion (authority) of the Mahdi is
one of the proofs that God has created all things;
these are so numerous that his [the Mahdi's] proofs
will overcome (will be influential, will be
dominant) everyone and nobody will have any
counter-proposition against him.
(Source)
The teaching of the Seventh
Angel, the One mentioned by Prophet Muhammad above,
will be so powerful that no one can argue with it
and/or bring anything better than His. It goes
well with what Bab (the founder of the Baha'i Faith) said:
He Whom God Shall Make Manifest will bring a Teaching such that one can write a thousand books for each word in
His Teachings.
Also, this is so because no one can open the
Book of the Seven Seals but the
Christ. It says in Revelation 5:5:
And one of
the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion
of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven
seals thereof.
The Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Juda and the Root of David, and he opened the Book,
and so should also be the Mahdi.
Some Islamic beliefs say that
the Mahdi is on earth right now, so accordingly,
the person who opens the Book of the Seven Seals
would be that person, and Maitreya of
the Mission of Maitreya has opened the Book of the Seven Seals with
THOTH,
the Eternal Divine Path, and
The
Greatest Sign.
Finally, according to the
Mahdi
Wikipedia article:
"The Baha'i Moojan Momen
considers the following beliefs in relation to the
Mahdi are shared by Sunni and Shia Muslims alike:
-
The Mahdi will be a
descendant of Muhammad of the line of Fatimah,
He will be descendent by one side (by one of the
parents) by Hassan and by another by Hussain.
-
He will have the same name
as Muhammad."
Maitreya is from the lineage of
the Root of David (descended from King David, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah), and is also a Sayyed
(descended from Prophet Muhammad through his
daughter Fatima) - see
Maitreya's genealogy.
Maitreya's given name is
Mohammed, "he was given the name Mohammed by his
parents" (more).
Therefore, Maitreya is the Mahdi.
