MAHDI in Al-Kutub As-Sitta

VARIOUS HADITH ABOUT THE MAHDI IN THE AL-KUTUB AS-SITTA

The al-Kutub as-Sitta (Six Books) is the collective name given to the collection consisting of six famous books of hadith. The great scholars of the People of the Sunnah confirm that the hadith reported from the Prophet (saas) in these six books are accurate.
For that reason, according to the beliefs of the People of the Sunnah the al-Kutub as-Sitta is the second most important reference source after the Noble Qur’an.
Many hadith on the subject of the Mahdi are reported in the al-Kutub as-Sitta. The mere fact of its appearance in this collection reveals that the subject of the Mahdi is a truth about which there can be no possible doubt.
Various passages from the al-Kutub as-Sitta about the Mahdi and hadith regarding the End Times are listed below:


SAHIH AL-BUKHARI
Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (810-870)'s entirely trustworthy book of hadith. It is the most important of the Six Books (al-Kutub as-Sitta). The People of the Sunna regard the Sahih al-Bukhari as the second fundamental Islamic holy text after the Qur’an. It contains 725 hadith. Imam al-Bukhari selected these most reliable hadith from a total of around 6,000, completing the Sahih al-Bukhari over a period of 16 years.

Narrated by Abu Huraira:
Allah's Messenger (saas) said "How will you be when the son of Maryam (i.e. ‘Isa) descends amongst you and judges people by the Law of the Qur’an and not by the law of the Gospel?” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 658)


Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Messenger (saas) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (‘Isa,) the son of Maryam will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non-Muslims). Money will be in such abundance that nobody will accept it…” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 657)



SAHIH MUSLIM
A book of trustworthy hadith by Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri (821-874). Imam Muslim is one of the most renowned hadith scholars, and selected his hadith from a total of around 300,000. The Sahih Muslim is the second basic book of hadith after the Sahih al-Bukhari, and these two eects are together known as the "Sahihayn."
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger or Allah (saas) observed: “I swear by Allah that the son of Maryam will certainly descend as a just judge and will definitely break the cross, and kill swine and abolish the Jizya and will leave the young she-camel and no one will endeavor to (collect Zakat) on it. Spite, mutual hatred and jealousy against one another will certainly disappear and when he summons people to accept riches, not even one will do so.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0289)
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (saas) observed: “What will be your state when the son of Maryam descends amongst you and there is an Imam amongst you?” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0290)
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saas) saying: “What will you do when the son of Maryam descends and leads you?” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0291)
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (saas) observed: “What will you do when the son of Maryam descends amongst you and leads you as one amongst you?…” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0292)
Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saas) say: ‘One section of my people will not cease fighting for the Truth and will prevail till the Day of Resurrection. ‘Isa son of Maryam will then descend, and their (the Muslims') commander will invite him to come and lead them in prayer, but he will say: No, some amongst you are commanders over others (amongst you). This is an honor from Allah for this Ummah.’” (Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0293)




SUNAN AL-TIRMIDHI
A six-volume book of trustworthy hadith collected by the hadith scholar Muhammad ibn ‘Isa al-Tirmidhi (824-893). Al-Tirmidhi, a famous hadith scholar and imam, made his name by hadith memorisation. He was born in the Bugh suburb of the town of Termez to the east of the River Ceyhan. In order to study the hadith he travelled to Khorasan, Iraq and Hijaz, and studied under al-Bukhari and various other hadith scholars. He made use of Ahmad ibn Hambal, ad-Darami and third century hadith scholars. His works include Ash-Shamail, al-‘Ilal, at-Tarih and al-Jami al-Sahih.The latter book in particular won special renown and value in the eyes of the People of the Sunna. It is also one of the-Kutub as-Sitta. A number of expositions of this book have also been written. Hadith regarding the blessed Mahdi are related in the fourth volume of the Sunan.

Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
"We were afraid that things might happen, so we asked the Prophet of Allah (saas), ... 'In my Ummah there will be the Mahdi; he will appear and live five, seven or nine,'" Zayd was one who was not sure. He said, "We said, 'What does that rfer to?' He said, 'Years.' He said, 'So he will come to him and say, "O Mahdi, give unto me!"’ He said, 'So he will spread his garment for him as open as possible to carry it away (what the Mahdi will give him)'." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
‘Abdullah narrated:
“The world will not end until a man of my house takes control of the Arabs, one whose name coincides with my name.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
‘Abdullah narrated:
“If there remains nothing of this earth except one day, then Allah will lengthen that day until a man emerges who will be descended from me, or from my household. His name will correspond to mine and his father’s name to my father’s.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet of Allah (saas) said:
“By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the Son of Maryam will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizyah. Then there will be abundance of money and no one will accept charitable gifts.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)




SUNAN ABU DAWUD
A book of trustworthy hadith collected by the hadith scholar Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn Ash`ath al-Azadi al-Sijistani (817-888). The book consists of 4,800 hadith. The imam was from the Iranian town of Sistan. He travelled from an early age in order to pursue his studies and, so Zahabi says, studied under Ahmad ibn Hanbal in Baghdad in 220 according to the Hejira calendar.
Studying under many great hadith scholars, he eventually joined their ranks himself. Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’I and even Ahmad ibn Hanbal narrated hadith from him. After living in several towns, he settled in Basra at the invitation of the Abbasid caliph al-Wathiq, where he eventually died. He wrote works about the hadith and other subjects. Among his best known works are the Sunan Abu Davud, known as the Sunan, which is also one of the Kutub as-Sitta. It is said that he selected and collected the hadith in this book from a total of half a million hadith in order to preserve the Sunna of the Pophet (saws).
In the section of the book concerning the Mahdi he related the Mahdi’s features, the portents of his coming and what he will do after having made his appearance.
Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin:
The Prophet (saas) said: “The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatimah.” Abdullah ibn Ja'far said: “I heard Abu’l Malih praising Ali ibn Nufayl and describing his good qualities.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4271)
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
The Prophet (saas) said: “The Mahdi will be of my line, and will have a broad forehead and a prominent nose. He will fill the earth will equity and justice as it was formerly filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4272)
Narrated by Ali ibn Abu Talib:
The Prophet (saas) said: If only one day of this time (the world) remains, Allah will raise up a man from my family who will fill this earth with justice as it had been filled with oppression.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4270)
Narrated by Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin:
… He [the Mahdi] will divide property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (saas) and establish Islam on Earth. He will remain for seven years…” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4273)
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud:
The Prophet (saas) said: “If only one day of this world remains, Allah will lengthen that day (according to Za'idah’s version), till He raises up in it a man who belongs to me or to my family whose father's name is the same as my father's, who will fill the earth with equity and justice as it had been filled with oppression and tyranny (according to Fitr’s version).” Sufyan's version says: “The world will not pass away before the Arabs are ruled by a man of my family whose name is the same as mine.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4269)




SUNAN IBN MAJAH
A book of trustworthy hadith by the hadith scholar Abu `Abdallah Muhammad ibn Yazid Ibn Majah (824-886). Ibn Majah was a well-known teacher of the hadith, who travelled from Qazwib to Baghdad, Basra, Mecca, Kufa, Sham, Egupt and Ravy in order to research them.
He wrote several works on the subjects of history, Tarih, exegesis and knowledge of the hadith. His best-known book is the two-volume Sunan al-Mustafa, known as the Sunan Ibn Majah. His Ahl al-Sunnah is one of the texts known as the Kutub as-Sitta. One chapter of the book, titled "al-Fitan," concerns those hadith regarding the blessed Mahdi.
Ali b. Abi Talib (ra) has related a tradition from the Prophet (saas) who informed him:
“The promised Mahdi will be from among my family. Allah will make the provisions for his emergence within a single night.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 2, p. 519)
The Messenger of Allah (saas) announced:
“The Mahdi will be of my family, of the descendants of Fatima (the Prophet's daughter).” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 2, Tradition No. 4086)
The Prophet (saas) said:
"We the children of Abd al-Muttalib are the Masters of the inhabitants of the heaven: Myself, Hamza (ra), Ali (as), Ja'far Ibn Abi Talib (ra), al-Hasan (as), al-Husain (as), and al-Mahdi (as)." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 2, Tradition No. 4087)
Abd Allah ibn al-Harith ibn Juz al-Zubaydi said, the Prophet (saas) said:
“A people will come out of the East who will pave the way for the Mahdi.” (Ibn Majah)
The Prophet said:
“… a man from my family appears to fill the Earth with justice as it has been filled with corruption. So whoever lives to see that (time) ought to come to them even by crawling over ice." (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 2., Tradition No. 4082)
Abu Umamah al-Bahili said,
"The Prophet (saas) delivered a speech to us, most of which dealt with the Dajjal (the Antichrist) and warned us against him. Umm Sharik bint Abi'l-'Akr said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, where will the Arabs be at that time?’ He said, ‘At that time they will be few in number; most of them will be in the Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and their Imam will be a righteous man. While their Imam is going forward to lead the people in the Salat al-Subh (the morning prayer), 'Isa son of Maryam will descend. The Imam will step back, to let 'Isa lead the people in prayer, but 'Isa will place his hand between the man's shoulders and say, “Go forward and lead the prayer, for the Iqamah was made for you.” So the Imam will lead the people in prayer… 'Isa son of Maryam will be a just administrator and leader of my Ummah. He will break the cross, kill the pigs, and abolish the Jizyah (tax on non-Muslims). He will not collect the Sadaqah, so he will not collect sheep and camels. Mutual enmity and hatred will disappear. Every harmful animal will be made harmless, so that a small boy will be able to put his hand into a snake's mouth without being harmed, a small girl will be able to make a lion run away from her, and a wolf will go among sheep as if he were a sheepdog. The earth will be filled with peace as a container is filled with water. People will be in complete agreement, and only Allah will be worshipped. Wars will cease…’” (Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Fitan, Tradition No. 4077, 2: 1363)
Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
“There will be the Mahdi in my Ummah; if it is shortened then seven, and if not, then nine, and my Ummah will be blessed in him with a blessing the like of which they will have never heard. The earth will give up its produce and nothing of it will be stored, and wealth on that day will be in heaps, so that a man will stand up and say, 'Mahdi, give me!' and he will say, 'Take'.” (Sunan Ibn Majah)

THE BLESSED ALI (RA)
In his famous work Divan-i Ali ibn Abi Talib, the blessed Ali (ra) speaks of some of the hadith regarding the Mahdi and the End Times. One passage from the Mushtaqzada commentary of his Divan reads:
“Âyâ my son! (...) when they give rise to chaos, wait for the Just Mahdi...”


IMAM RABBANI
… InshaAllah it will make a full appearance in the Mahdi (as). The number of sheikhs of that rank imparting such tidings has declined… May the words of their knowledge and wisdom linger on...
That rank finds excellent expression in this verse:
“That is Allah’s favor which He gives to whoever He wills. Allah’s favor is indeed immense.” (Surat al-Jumu’a, 4) (Maktubat al-Rabbani, Vol. I, Letter 32, p. 125)
The promised Mahdi bears the title of the lord of knowledge. Like the blessed Ali, he has dealings with ‘Isa (as). One step of the Prophet ‘Isa (as) is at the head of the blessed Ali, and another at the head of the blessed Mahdi.
... The promised Mahdi will assume the perfection of sainthood. He will come upon this Golden Path and will perfect this Golden Chain. That is because all the levels of sainthood are under this Golden Level. (Maktubat al-Rabbani, Vol. I, Letter 251, p. 550, 554)
The Mahdi (as) will be among them. The Messenger of Allah (saas) has given the glad tidings of his coming and existence, saying:
"He is the caliph of Allah." (Maktubat al-Rabbani, Vol. 1, p. 814)
All the portents of Doomsday revealed by the Messenger of Allah (saas), the speaker of the truth, are true. There is no possibility of their being false. These include the following:
Contrary to what we are familiar with, the Sun rising in the west. The appearance of the Mahdi, the coming of the Prophet ‘Isa. His greetings to him and our Prophet, the coming of the Dajjal, the coming of Gog and Magog, the emergence of the Beast from the earth and a thick smoke from the sky, and infliction of great suffering on people. They will suffer such hardships that people will say: “Our Lord, remove the punishment from us. We are really believers.” (Surat al-Duhan, 12)
In one hadith he states that; “The Mahdi will appear. There will be a cloud just above his head. There will be an angel there who will cry out ‘This is the Mahdi, follow him’…”
The Messenger of Allah (saas) said:
“There have been four great kings on the earth: two were believers and two unbelievers. The believers were Dhu'l-Qarnayn and Sulayman, and the unbelievers were Nimrod and Bakhtinasr. There will be a fifth king, from the People of my House: the Mahdi.”
In another hadith our Prophet (saas) said:
"Almighty Allah will not destroy the world until the coming of one of my line. His name matches mine; his father’s name is my father’s name. With his coming the world will be filled with justice, in the same way that it was formerly filled with cruelty and injustice…”
In another hadith the Messenger of Allah (saas) said:
"The People of the Cave will be ‘Isa’s (as) helpmates.” ‘Isa will come down in the time of the Mahdi. The Mahdi will join with ‘Isa as he fights the Dajjal. At the time of his reign there will be a solar eclipse on the fourteenth day of Ramadan; there will be a lunar eclipse on its first night.
The Messenger of Allah (saas), the speaker of the truth, has reported many other portents apart from what have been related.
Sheikh ibn al-Hajar wrote a treatise about the signs of the Mahdi, containing almost two hundred such signs.
Despite the signs of the promised Mahdi being so very clear, one community has deviated because of extreme ignorance… May Almighty Allah show them the true path. (Maktubat al-Rabbani, Vol. 2, Letter 380, pp. 1162-1163)
... He will appear at the beginning of the century. Eighteen years have currently passed since the beginning of the century.
The following portent of the Mahdi is described in the hadith: "A comet will appear in the East and shed its light.”
...The form of this comet will match its course. In other words, its head will face the East and its rear will face the West. This long white part will be at its rear. In figurative terms it is accurate to describe this as a tail. Its daily course is from East to West. However, its course (that bearing its own weight) follows that of the heavens. It is Almighty Allah Who knows the truth.
The coming of the Mahdi is close at hand. Many portents and signs will take place until his emergence at the beginning of the century. May he find favor with Allah. The signs and portents of his coming resemble the miracles foretelling of the Messenger of Allah (saas). That happened before the prophethood of our Prophet (saas). Indeed, he has related in that sense that:
When the seed of Abdullah, the incarnation of our Prophet (saas) entered the womb of Amine, all the idols were thrown down on the ground. All satans were taken from their tasks. Angels cast the throne of Iblis into the sea. And him they tormented for forty days.
The night our Prophet (saas) was born, the palace of Qisra trembled; its fourteen towers fell down.
The flames of the fire-worshippers (Majusis) went out, though that fire had burned for a thousand years, never being extinguished during that time.
Great is the Mahdi. Great strength will come to Islam and Muslims because of him. There is great outward and inward significance to his dominion. He will possess many marvels and knowledge of the future.
Amazing things will happen during his time.
In terms of the significance set out above, it is a fact that: before he appears physically there will be many amazing marvels… such as the miracles before the prophethood of our Prophet (saas). These things are signs of his coming.
The meanings set out here can be seen from the hadith.
Know that in one hadith the Messenger of Allah (saas) has said: “The Mahdi will not appear until unbelief is everywhere and reigns openly.” (Letters, Vol. 2, Letter 381, p. 1169-1171 )
The coming of the Mahdi will be after the passage of a thousand years. The tidings of his holy coming have been imparted by our Prophet (saas). ‘Isa (as) will appear after a thousand years have passed. (Letters, Vol. 1, Letter 209, p. 440 )
It is possible that these two centuries will be more auspicious in this way: there being many more pious servants of Allah, fewer heretics, and there being few spreaders of strife and rebellion. Such a thing means that holy persons from this class are not able to be more auspicious than those from those two centuries. The blessed Mahdi, for instance. (Letters, Vol. 1, Letter 209, p. 441)

Terror of Death

By Harry Suhartono and Alison Leung

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG
Mon May 16, 2011 12:09pm EDT
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - An investigation has been launched after a Cathay Pacific jetliner made an emergency landing in Singapore with an engine problem on Monday.

Say: "Death, from which you are fleeing, will certainly catch up with you. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible and He will inform you about what you did." (Surat al-Jumu'a: 8)

Another Records?

BBC News 21 June 2011 Last updated at 00:24 GMT Help Torrential rain continues to affect millions of people in south eastern China.
According to China Securities Journal, in the four provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Anhui, and Jiangxi, damage is estimated to top $2bn.
The rains are reducing vegetable production and that, says Stephen Joske from the Economist Intelligence Unit, is having an inflationary effect.



Dry spring in south-east England is 'exceptional'

31 May 2011 Last updated at 18:01 GMT Help This spring looks set to be one of the hottest and driest in England and Wales since records began.
But rainfall figures for May are expected to show a divide between north-west England and Scotland, which received higher than average rainfall, and the south and east of England.
Farmer Andrew Barr showed the BBC's Jeremy Cooke how the dry weather was affecting his crops and livestock on his farm in Lenham, Kent.
He said he was concerned that the widespread problems could lead to "less food being produced and that could lead to a rise in food prices



Death toll from Missouri tornado rises to 123
JOPLIN, Missouri, May 24 – The death toll from a tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri on Sunday has climbed to 123, with 750 people injured and many more missing, the authorities said on Tuesday.
Rescue and recovery teams scoured the wreckage of the small Midwestern city, which was devastated by a high-velocity whirl of wind that destroyed about 2,000 buildings.

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Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 10 May 2011 14.08 BST
Rescuers at the site of a landslide that buried five houses in the Santo Domingo neighborhood of Medellin on 27 April 2011. It followed heavy rain. Photograph: Luis Eduardo Noriega/EPA
It has never rained so much in Colombia. "Over the past 10 months we have registered five or six times more rainfall than usual," says weather specialist Ricardo Lozano. Torrential rain and flooding have affected more than three-quarters of the country. The most recent Red Cross bulletin reports 425 fatalities and 3 million disaster victims.
With 12,000 homes destroyed and 356,000 damaged, thousands of people have had to move out, taking refuge in temporary shelters. More than 1m hectares of land are underwater. "But the disaster prevention system worked," Lozano adds, saving between 5,000 and 10,000 lives.


By Richard Fausset and Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 10, 2011, 5:40 a.m.
Reporting from Atlanta and Los Angeles— Memphis braced as the rain-swollen Mississippi River reached its highest level in more than 70 years early Tuesday, marking what officials hope will be a turning point in the fight against a slow-motion disaster that has flooded low-lying homes and farmland and sent hundreds of residents to emergency shelters.