tell the believers to support him for, if he did indeed have a
miraculous personality, he would not need the support of others.
The matter of divine intervention
A
TRADITION
HAS
been recorded in Sunan ibn Majah regarding
the appearance of
Mahdi
. One part of it reads: ‘God will reform
him overnight.’ (
Kitab Al
-
Fitan
, Chapter Khooruj al-Mahdi).
This means that
Mahdi
will appear at a time when the pitch
darkness of confusion will prevail throughout the world. In these
dire conditions of deception, it will be almost impossible to find
guidance by one’s own efforts and there will be no institution in
this age of general perversion either to help in giving guidance,
or in developing the personality of
Mahdi
. The formation of
Mahdi
’s personality will take place only by the direct intervention
of God. God will intervene so that through him he will show
the right path to His servants. Another Hadith says of
Mahdi
:
“His name will be that of mine.” ‘Name’ in this tradition is not
in the literal sense. It means that
Mahdi
shall possess the
Prophet’s attributes.
As we learn from another tradition: ‘
Mahdi
will be like the
Prophet Muhammad in his internal quality rather than in his
appearance.’
Mahdi
, not
Hadi
S
OME
PEOPLE
TAKE
Mahdi
in the sense of
Hadi.
Going by this
self-styled concept, it is believed that
Mahdi
will be a
revolutionary leader who will establish the Islamic political
system at a global level. This definition of
Mahdi
is entirely
baseless. The truth is that
Mahdi
will be one who has realized
God, the
Arif
of the present age. By the grace of God, He will
himself realize God and show others the path to God realization.
It is a fact that the realization of God is the most supreme and
most desirable goal in the eyes of God. This task of showing
Mahdi,
not
Hadi
39
