"I have left you upon clear white ground, its night is like its day, no one deviates from differences (controversy). So stick to what you know from my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly acting (Rashideen) rightly guided (Mahdiyeen) Khulafa (i.e. Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, Ali), cling to that with your molar teeth and stick to obedience even if it is an Abyssinian slave, since the believer is like the submissive camel, wherever he is led he follows". [Ahmad (4/126), Ibn-e-Majah (no. 43), Al-Hakim (1/96) and others - Hasan]

"An army will come from the East towards Arabia. The East here refers to Khurasan, (Afghanistan). They will pave the way for the establishment of Imam Mahdi's kingdom. This army will carry black banners. Nothing shall stop their onward march, and eventually they will plant their flag on the soils of Jerusalem."

Among the major signs of the Day of Judgment is the advent of Imam Mehdi. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) predicted the coming of Imam Mehdi towards the end of this worldly existence, i.e. just before The Day of Judgment.

Hazrat Abu Hurayrah (radiyallahu anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:

"If only one day is left for the end of the world, Allah will lengthen that day until a man from my family, whose name will be the same as mine, rules the world.” (Tirmizi Shareef)

This indicates the emphasis, which The Holy Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam laid on the coming of Imam Mehdi.

This booklet contains all the details about the life and advent of Imam Mehdi, and all these facts are derived from authentic sayings on this topic.

There is much speculation nowadays on whether Imam Mehdi has already been born and if so, what would be his present age, and when the impending appearance. Some Ulama have claimed that he is already born.

However, Muslims should realize that mere speculation does not represent concrete evidence upon which any firm and clear-cut ruling could be based. Hence, the best course of action is to believe that Imam Mehdi will appear' before the Day of Judgment, but exactly when, only Allah knows. The date and time of his arrival we leave to The Knowledge of Allah. However, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) did give certain signs, which will herald the arrival of this great Imam. The sayings on this issue leave no room for rejecting or even doubting the coming of Imam Mehdi. Neither do the facts leave us in the dark as to recognizing this great Imam when he eventually does arrive.

The term "MEHDI" is a title meaning "Guided one". The Mehdi is a normal man who is going to follow the true Islam. His name will be Muhammad and his father name will be Abdullah. He is a descendant from Ali and Fatima (daughter of the prophet Muhammad) so he will be descendant from al-Hasan or al-Hussain or both. The Mehdi will be very just and his capital will be Damascus. The Mehdi is NOT a prophet but he is the final Rightly Guided Khalifah. The Mehdi will lead Muslims to a great victory against the Sufyaani and the Romans. This great war or Armageddon. It will end up with a great victory to Muslims against Romans after six years. Muslims will take over their capital Rome (this can be any city). In the seventh year, the Dajjal (antichrist) will appear and a greater war will start between his followers and the believers for 40 days (longer that usual days) and will end when 'Eessa ("Jesus") will come, slay the Dajjal along with his followers. All remaining people will convert into Islam. Peace will pervade the whole world.

DETAILS OF IMAM MEHDI

The following are facts taken from the sayings of the Messenger of Allah( Sallallahu alayhi wasallam):

Name and Title

His name will be the same as that of (The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam), i.e. Muhammad. In addition, his father's name will be Abdullah. His title is the-Mehdi, meaning the guided one. The Holy Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam also called him Khaleefatullah, meaning "the Deputy of Allah".

FAMILY LINEAGE

Imam Mehdi will belong to the tribe of Quraish and the family of Fatima, the offspring of Imam Hasan.

CHARACTER

He will have the character and morals of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam). In one night Allah will grant him unique qualities of faith, piety, leadership and knowledge, hence the title Mehdi.

BIRTHPLACE

He will be born in Madina Shareef.

PHYSICAL FEATURES

He will be tall with a fair complexion, having a broad forehead and an aquiline nose, with a mole on his right cheek.

SIGNS BEFORE HIS APPEARANCE AS THE MEHDI

The world will be filled with a great amount of injustice and oppression. There will be widespread evil in which all people will be heavily involved.

Muslim countries and their people will have become so weak that even animals would defeat them in battle.

Muslims would be totally disunited, hence their state of weakness. On the other hand, the Kuffar of the whole world would be united under one leader. Their rule would spread over the entire world, and would reach as far as Khaibar, a mere hundred miles from Madina Shareef. Such would be the dominance of Kuffar during that era.

The Muslims would also be under severe persecution and oppression from the Khalifah (i.e. the Sufyaani) of that time and they will have no place to run.

The Ahl-ul-Bait (Family of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) will experience difficulties and persecution.

Throughout the world earthquakes would occur frequently. Innocent people will be put to death. A man by the name of Harith son of Harith will emerge from beyond the Euphrates River, and before him will be another by the name of Manzoor. The former (i.e. Harith) will be preparing the minds of Muslims to-accept Imam Mehdi when he comes. He will perform the same task for Imam Mehdi, what the Quraish performed for The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) in Madina before Hijri. Manzoor will aid him in this direction.

It is compulsory upon every Muslim to help this Harith, or to respond to his call.

The Abdaals and pious leaders will all be on the lookout for Imam Mehdi, knowing that only he could bring relief to the failing Ummah.

There will be a fight in Makkah between three people, each one being the son of a Khalifah, over leadership of the Muslims. However, none of them will gain the Khilafat. This fight will take place in the month of Zul-Qa'dah, and even in Mina during Hajj, there will be quarrelling. All this will occur in the same year as Imam Mahdi's election.

An army will come from the East towards Arabia. The East here refers to Khurasan, i.e. Afghanistan. They will pave the way for the establishment of Imam Mahdi's kingdom. This army will carry black banners. Nothing shall stop their onward march, and eventually they will plant their flag on the soils of Jerusalem.

IMAM MAHDI'S EMERGENCE AS THE NEW KHALIFAH

Imam Mehdi will inspired, and preparations will be made for him in one night to carry out his task successfully. They will actually lead him by the hand towards the Hijre Aswad, where people will then formally pledge their allegiance to him as the Khalifah. This pledge will take place in front of The Holy Ka 'ba, between the Hijre Aswad and the Muqame Ibrahim, during or just after the days of Hajj.

Initially the number of people to take the bay 'at pledge of allegiance at his hands will be 313, which is the number of Sahabah that took part in the battle of Badr. He will be forty years old at the time of his appointment.

PROTECTION AND ACCEPTANCE BY ALLAH

Immediately upon his appointment as the new Khalifah Imam Mehdi will witness the direct Help of Allah. Before the Mehdi, a man from the heart of Damascus, known as Sufyaani (from the family of Abu Sufyaan) had begun a horrendous campaign of bloodshed and killing, during which no tribe or community will be left alone. Even women and children will be mercilessly butchered. His chief supporters and followers will be the tribe of Kalb.

When this Sufyaani hears of Imam Mehdi, he will immediately dispatch an army towards Makkah (where the Mehdi will be). The Imam and his handful of followers will easily defeat this army. Then this Sufyaani will himself lead a contingent from Syria towards Makkah to fight against Imam Mehdi.

This army will be destroyed by an enormous earthquake at Baidaa, a place just after Zhul-Hulaifa, on the way to Makkah. First the rear of the army will be devastated, and when those in front go back to see what had happened, they too will meet the same fate. All but one member of this army will perish, and this sole survivor will take back the news of this disaster. There will be many in this army who had been brought along by force, people who did not intend to oppose Imam Mehdi. Such people would also be destroyed along with the others, but on the Day of Judgment they will be raised up according to their intentions. When the story of Divine Help being granted to Imam Mehdi spreads through the Muslim world, the Abdaals of Syria and the pious people of Iraq will come to pledge allegiance to Imam Mehdi and join his ranks.

Similarly, other Muslim armies from Madina and elsewhere will also come to Makkah and offer their support and allegiance to Imam Mehdi.

Imam Mehdi then moves forward to Syria, where he fights the armies of the Sufyaani who has the backing of the tribe of Kalb. He too will send an army against Imam Mehdi, who will yet again, through The Grace of Allah, inflict heavy defeat on his enemies.

The Prophet of Allah actually castigated those who do not participate in this battle against the Kalb. The inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth will be pleased with him.

It will be compulsory upon all Muslims who hear of Imam Mehdi to pledge their allegiance and full support to him.

HIS LEADERSHIP, BATTLES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

With his army now bolstered by saintly and pious people Imam Mehdi will defeat his enemies, as we have seen in the initial battles mentioned above. Upon releasing Syria from the oppressive rule of the Sufyaani, whom he captures and executes, he regroups his forces there, and prepares to engage the oppressive Zionists in Jerusalem. He will fight them, and also release Jerusalem from their oppressive rule. All the lands Imam Mehdi conquers were before him under Tyranny and Oppression, which he replaces with Equity and Justice.

He will become the supreme leader and reformer of the Muslim Ummah. He will rebuild the sanctuary of the Masjid al-Aqsa as it was destroyed before him by the Zionists.

There will be a great Islamic revival, and this Deen will reign supreme. He will fill the world with justice after it had been plagued with oppression.

He will practice and lead people according to the Sunnat of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

He will rule for seven to nine years, with complete justice and righteousness, and all this time Islam will be the predominant religion of the world. .

During his rule, the Muslims will experience great economic enrichment. There will be no droughts and lands will be exceptionally fertile. The earth will yield crops in abundance and of the best quality. This rich agricultural state will ensure a glut of money and food. In fact, so much that people who come to the Baitul-Maal for assistance will be given as much as they can take away.

In short the Muslims will live a most luxurious and comfortable life, something they will never ever experience again in this world. Imam Mehdi will distribute lands equally among people.

The hearts of people will become so independent of wealth and so dependent on Allah that when an announcement is made for the needy to come forward, only one person will stand up. When this person will be given wealth in such abundance, he will feel ashamed and would want to return the wealth, but the answer will be: "We do not take back what has been given. It's all yours to keep."

Imam Mehdi will conquer the city of Constantinople (presently known as Istanbul). The story behind this conquest is as follows:

After the earthquakes, which destroyed his enemies, and the subsequent amassing of Muslim armies under his leadership, the Imam will leave Makkah for Madina, where he will offer salaam at the Rozah Mubarak (The Grave of The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

Having done this his next step would be to proceed on to Damascus, where the bulk of the Nasara (Christian) forces along with the tribe of Kalb would be deployed, as was previously mentioned.

In Damascus, the Imam will set up his headquarters. From here, he will conduct military operations against the enemies of Islam and defeats them (such as the ones in Jerusalem), and from here, he will rule.

In response to this, the Roman forces will attack, and destroy the city of the Prophet (Madina), and start to gather their forces against its inhabitants.

At a place known as either A 'maaq or Daabiq, somewhere near Allepo Syria, 960,000 Roman forces would be assembled under 80 banners representing 80 nations, quite clearly to annihilate the Muslims.

Imam Mehdi will send a battalion of Muslim fighters, from among the best people on earth, to engage them. When the two groups encounter each other face to face, the Romans will request that the Muslims hand over to them those who had fought and captured their Roman brethren. The Muslims will refuse, saying: “By Allah, We will never hand over our Muslim brothers” thus triggering off a fierce battle. A third of the Muslim army will flee, and Allah will never ever grant them Taubah (repentance). A third will be slain, and they will be the noblest martyrs in The Sight of Allah. The surviving third will be victorious, never to suffer defeat thereafter.

This battle will last four days. Each day the Muslim troops will resolve on oath that they will not return but as victors. For three days, they will fail to crush the enemy, with many men becoming martyrs. On the fourth day, the Christians will falter and succumb to a tremendous onslaught from the remaining Muslim troops. The ensuing slaughter will be unprecedented in history. This decimation will utterly shatter the morale of the Romans.

Thus, Imam Mehdi will smash the might of the non-Muslims forces in that period, forces which had come together from all parts of the world.

Pressing forward, the next destination will be Turkey. From the Syrian coast, Imam Mehdi will dispatch seventy thousand soldiers of the Banu Is-Haq tribe to re-conquer Istanbul, liberating it from Roman rule. They will cross the Mediterranean Sea, bound for Turkey and will conquer Istanbul without the use of a single weapon. Parts of the city will collapse upon the Takbeer and Tahleel of these warriors. They will recite' Laa ilaha illal-laahu wallahu Akbar' and simply walk over the city. The Muazhzhins of the Muslims will then establish the five times daily Azaan throughout the city.

This will occur about six years after Imam Mehdi had come to power.

Imam Mehdi will also arrive at Istanbul and set up the structure for his rule, appoint people to govern there and most importantly, make arrangements for the implementation of Islamic law.

This conquest will deliver untold fortunes into the hands of the Muslims. As he and his men busy themselves capturing and rounding up these vast riches a rumor will spread that "the Dajjal has broken loose in Syria and is wreaking havoc among your families.” This news will be very disturbing to the Imam, and so consequently, he will hurriedly leave for Syria. In the meantime, ten men will be sent ahead to ascertain the truth. About these ten The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “ I know their names and the names of their fathers they will be among the best warriors in that era.” Prophet e Kareem (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) even knew the color of their horses.

One of them will report that the whole story is false. Dajjal has not yet emerged. This was a lie fabricated by Shaitan/Evil to try and disrupt the progress of the Muslims. Imam Mehdi will resume his return journey to Syria with greater ease and comfort once he learns that Dajjal is not yet loose.

He will stop over in all the towns and cities along the route to survey the situation and make necessary arrangements for government.

Meanwhile the conquerors of Istanbul will march on and invade parts of Western Europe (Greece, Italy, etc.) in the same manner, with the Takbeer and Kalimah. All this area will fall under the rule of Imam Mehdi.

A few weeks after Imam Mehdi reaches Damascus the great imposter, Dajjal will now truly emerge and begin his campaign of mischief and corruption between Syria and Iraq.

Since the Dajjal will have a large following of mainly Jews and illegitimate people (those born out of marriage), the Muslims under Imam Mehdi will resume preparations for war. They will be busy arranging the formation of their troops during the time of Fajr. The Jama'at Salat will be almost about to start when suddenly Sayyidina Eessa (Alayhis salaam) son of Maryam will descend from the heavens and join the ranks of Muslims for Salat. Imam Mehdi will lead the Fajr Salat and Prophet Eessa will offer the Salat behind him.

After the slaying of Dajjal by Prophet Eessa, Imam Mehdi will not live for very long. A few months will elapse and this great Imam, a man who provided the perfect sequel to Allah's Supreme Religion -ISLAM, will pass on to the realms of the hereafter. The Muslims will perform his Janazah Salat and bury him, and the Messiah son of Maryam will then become the new ruler of the Muslims.