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“The subject of the Mahdi” is one that has always occupied an important place in the Islamic world, ever since the Age of Bliss. Hoping that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be instrumental in making the afflictions Muslims have been going through, the intellectual systems based on denial, unfair and unjust practices, conflicts and wars pervading the world to come to an end, believers have always awaited the coming of this blessed individual in their own times and sincerely prayed to Allah for it to come about.  

The hadiths of our Prophet (saas) speak of Muslims eagerly awaiting the coming of the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) ever since the time of the Ashab al-Kiram (Companions of the Prophet [saas]) and of their “begging Allah to be among the living at that time.” We are told that the old “will beg Allah to be young” in order to live to see the age of the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as). In the hadiths, our Prophet (saas) also tells the believers who will live in that time “to find and follow Hazrat Mahdi (as), even by crawling over ice,” and advises those who live to see this happy age to strive to be worthy of this blessing from Allah:

Ibn Abi Shayba and Nuaim Ibn Hammad in Kitab Al-Fitan, and Ibn Majah and Abu Na’im quoted from Ibnu Mas’ud. He said that:

This blissful time, for which people have been deeply longing for hundreds of years will, according to the indications in the hadiths, last “for more than half a century.” And little time now remains until these historic glad tidings, of such great importance to the Islamic world, finally come about. By Allah's leave, the timing given by the Prophet (saas) in the hadiths for the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is now imminent. The century we are living in, or “Hijri 1400s”, is “the century of the Mahdi,” by Allah’s leave. “The coming of the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as),” that people have been keenly awaiting and praying for over the centuries will, by His leave, take place in this century. Sincere Muslims living in this century and who eagerly, hopefully and enthusiastically await the coming of these historic individuals will, insha’Allah, be able to enjoy the honor of being among the Prophet Jesus’ (as) and Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) helpers, friends and close followers. They will be able to support the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) in their intellectual struggle against irreligious movements, in spreading the moral values of Islam across the world, in uniting the Islamic world and in causing the Christian world to follow the Qur’an and the true faith. Being among the supporters of these holy individuals, they will have the honor of being among those instrumental in the Muslim world attaining the peace, happiness, plenty and abundance for which it has longed for the last 14 centuries.

The hadiths of our Prophet (saas), books written by great Sunni scholars, and all the statements by worthy scholars who were mujaddids (revivers) and mujtahids (scholars who derive legal rulings) of their own times, all point to the present century. Almost all the events known as “The Portents of the End Times” have come about one after the other “like the beads on a necklace.” The developments taking place in the world on an almost daily basis show that we are living in “The End Times” and that “the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear in this age, and the age that they will be instrumental in its being a most holy one is approaching.” 

Everyone, whether or not they take a great interest in this reality, is by now well aware of it; the subject of Hazrat Mahdi (as) is being discussed on domestic and foreign television and radio stations, on chat programs, in newspapers and magazines, at conferences and on web sites. There is no doubt that this is an important sign revealed in the hadiths and foretelling the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as):

"HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL APPEAR, EVERYONE WILL SPEAK ONLY OF HIM, DRINK OF HIS LOVE AND SPEAK OF NOTHING ELSE." (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 33)

One of the aims in the preparation of this book is to enable both Muslims excitedly awaiting the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) and everyone interested in the subject to obtain the most accurate information and access the most trustworthy sources; it is for them to be able to learn important facts regarding these holy individuals from valuable hadiths that have been scrupulously transmitted from the Prophet (saas) and down the centuries to the present day. In this way, Muslims, the Islamic world and everyone on Earth will be able to follow these significant events of such great importance for human happiness and to ready themselves for these historic events both better and faster.

People have not had the honor of seeing a “Prophet” for the last 14 centuries. They have been unable to meet and see such a holy person and to witness his deep faith, fear of Allah and superior moral virtues. By Allah's leave, this time is now the age when people will be honored by a “Prophet” after 1400 years. Allah will send the Prophet Jesus (as) back to Earth to support Hazrat Mahdi (as) in his struggle against denial. On this second coming, the Prophet Jesus (as) will adhere to the Qur’an and will be instrumental in the whole Christian world also obeying the Qur’an. The Prophet Jesus (as) will follow Hazrat Mahdi (as) and they will establish the global dominion of Islamic moral values under Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) spiritual leadership. This is a great blessing from Allah for people living in the current century.

The “Mahdi of the End Times” awaited for hundreds of years will only come once, and people in this century will have the honor of seeing this Great Person. Our Prophet (saas) reveals in the hadiths that “Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be the most virtuous person of his age.” We are told that his good manners and conduct will resemble those of our Prophet (saas). It is a great blessing from Allah for a believer to live in the same age as such a virtuous and holy figure. A Muslim must strive to find someone described as “the most virtuous person in the world” of his own day.

Allah's sending two such superior figures chosen by and beloved of Him at the same time is a great blessing. The information in this book will, by Allah’s leave, be instrumental in Muslims having a better understanding of this great mercy and these glad tidings from Allah, and getting ready in a much better way for the dominion of the moral values of Islam after so many centuries.