“The angels said, ‘Mary, Allah gives you news of a Word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, who will be held in honor in this world and the next, who will be one of those brought near to God.” (3:46)
“We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.” (2:87)
“There is not one of the People of the Book who will not believe in [Jesus] before his death”. (4:159)
The Prophet (pbuh) described the Masih Isa Ibn Marryam, ‘On the night of the Isra wal Miraj, “I met Moses – he was a slim man with wavy hair, and looked like a man from the Shanu’ah tribe. I also met Jesus – he was of medium height and of a red complexion, as if he had just come out of the bath'” (Bukhari, Muslim)
The Prophet (saws) said, “Whilst I was asleep, I saw myself (in a dream) making Tawaf around the Ka’bah. I saw a brown-skinned man, with straight hair, being supported by two men, and with water dripping from his head. I said, ‘Who is this?’ They said, ‘The son of Mary’. I turned around and saw a fat, ruddy man, with curly hair, who was blind in his right eye; his eye looked like a floating grape. I asked, ‘Who is this?’ They said, ‘The Dajjal’ The one who most resembles him is Ibn Qatan.” Al-Zuhri explained: Ibn Qatan was a man from Khuza’ah who died during the Jahiliyyah (before the coming of Islam). (Bukhari)
Imam Ibn Kathir said: “After the lesser signs of the Hour appear and increase, mankind will have reached a stage of great suffering. Then the awaited Mahdi will appear; he is the first of the greater, and clear, signs of the Hour. There will be no doubt about his existence, but this will only be clear to the knowledgeable people. The Mahdi will rule until the False Messiah (al-Masih al-Dajjal) appears who will spread oppression and corruption. The only ones who will know him well and avoid his evil will be those who have great knowledge and Iman (faith).
The false Messiah will remain for a while, destroying mankind completely, and the earth will witness the greatest Fitnah (tribulation) in its history. Then the Messiah Isa (a.s) will descend, bringing justice from heaven. He will kill the Dajjal (The Curse Of Allah Upon Him), and there will be years of safety and security.”
Ibn Kathir said: The black flags that will come with Al-Mahdi, whose name is Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah Al Ulwee (from the descendants of ‘Alee), Al-Faatimee (from the descendants of Fatimah), and Al-Husanee (from the descendants of Al-Hasan or Al-Husain). Allah will rectify him in a single night — meaning that He will forgive him, guide him, make him understand, and make him wise, after not having been of that description. Allah will provide him with help from the people of the East, who will support him and establish his rule. Their flags will be black, a color which carries with it dignity. The flag of the Messenger of Allah was black, and it was called Al-lqaab. Khaalid ibn Waleed planted it in the ground in Ath-Thunayyah, which is eastern Damascus. This is when he came from Iraq…Similarly, when the Prophet, entered Makkah during its conquest, he wore a black helmet on his head; and according to another narration he was wearing a black turban over his helmet.
Anas ibn Maalik said that he heard the Messenger of Allah ‘say, “We, the children of ‘Abdul-Muttalib, are the chiefs of the dwellers of Paradise, I, Hamzah (the prophets Uncle), ‘Alee, Ja’far (one of the First to accept Islam), Al-Hasan, Al-Husain (his grandchildren), and Al-Mahdi.” (Ibn Maajah)
Ali (r.a.) said, “The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘The Mahdi is one of us, from among the people of my household. In one night Allah will inspire him and prepare him to carry out his task successfully.’” (Ahmad and ibn Majah.)
Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu’minin: The Prophet (saws) said: Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the eminent saints (abdal) of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. Then there will arise a man of Quraysh whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb (the ruling class of syria) and (he will) send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (saws) and establish Islam on Earth. He will remain seven years, then die, and the Muslims will pray over him. (Abu Dawud said: Some transmitted from Hisham “nine years” and some “seven years”. ( Book 38, Hadith 8))
When the Army Sent from Syria is Swallowed up that will be the clear sign for the rest of the World that this is the Mahdi (ra) of Allah. This will be the time when it will become an obligation upon this Ummah to respond and go to Him because that is when the Awliyah (Saints, literally Abdal in the hadith) and the best people of Iraq will respond to him first, and they are the best of people, whoever comes latter will be among the others of this Ummah, similar to how the best of Quraish responded to the message of the prophet (saws) first then those lesser than them responded later.
In terms of hadith literature as a whole, if we place all the Ahadith referring to the Signs of the Hour on a timeline of events that will occur before the advent of the Mahdi, and after His arrival in an order, we will see there are not many events still expected to occur before Imam Mahdi (ra) arrives.
Abdullah ibn Amr said Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: The Dajjaal will appear in my Ummah and he will stay (in the world) for forty — I cannot say whether he meant forty days, forty months or forty years. Allah will then send Isa (a.s), son of Mary, who will resemble Urwah ibn Masud. He (Isa (a.s) ) will chase him and kill him. Then people will live for seven years, during which time there will be no rancor between any two persons. After that Allah will send a cold wind from the direction of Syria. None will survive on Earth, having a speck of good in him or faith in him: he will die. Even if some among you were to enter the innermost part of the mountain, this wind would reach that place also and cause your death. I heard Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) as saying: Only the wicked people will survive and they will be as careless as birds with the characteristics of beasts. They will never appreciate good nor condemn evil. (Muslim, Book 40, No.7023)
He (Jesus) will slay the Dajjal and he will stay in the World for 40 years. Then, he will die and the Muslims will perform the funeral prayer for him.” (Abu Dawud and Musnad Ahmad)
These ahadith give us the length of years for events to occur, we know Islam has 1500 years on earth, if we take from the 1500 year lifespan the 40 years that Isa (a.s) will be alive on earth, and the 7 years between his death and the time Allah takes the life of every Muslim with the cool breeze we have 1500 – 40 – 7 = 1453 Hijri or 2031 AD approximately, that is when we can expect Isa (as) at the soonest.
We say approximately because later we will show how these numbers may change by as much as a decade from this number, and no figure can be exact as closer analysis of the subject would show there is room for interpretation in this time range.
These calculations are more like a weather forecast of what is coming over the horizon in an estimated period of time according to the Ahadith of Rasul Allah (saws), sometimes the rain arrives as we expect it sometimes it is a little late.
Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree reported that the Prophet said, “In my nation there will be the Mahdee. If his period is shortened, then (his rule is) for seven (years); otherwise, it is for nine (years). My nation will enjoy blessings the likes of which it had never previously heard of; the earth will give forth its fruits and none of it will be stored away. Wealth in those days will be abundant. A man will stand and say, ‘O Mahdee, give me’ He will answer, ‘Take. (Ibn Maajah, Ibn Katheer in his al Bidaya wa Nihaya)
We know from Ahadith the Mahdi and the Dajjaal will both be on Earth prior to Isa (a.s). The Mahdi will rule the Muslims for 7, 8 or 9 years as different narrations state so this only changes matters by a few years, but if there is variation in years when the breeze will come as well as the length of the Mahdi’s time on earth and in other related matters a few years here or there does add up. The Dajjaal (Allah’s curse be upon him) will come towards the end of the Mahdi’s time on earth and because Isa (as) will return while Imam Mahdi (ra) is still alive the Dajjaal’s time doesn’t matter and won’t change anything.
If we calculate, 1500 – 40 (the life of Isa) – 7 (time left after Isa dies) – 9 (life of the Mahdi) = 1444 Hijra approximately.
Therefor 1444H – 1437H (present day) = 7 years from now is the soonest He is expected which is 2023 AD, or 9 years from now in 2025 AD, if we use 7 years in the initial calculation instead of the 9.
Abu As-Sadeeq An-Naajee related that Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudree said, “We feared that there would be a Hadath (something new but objectionable) and so we asked the Prophet, ” He said, “Indeed in my nation there is the Mahdi, and he will come out and live for 5 or 7 or 9. A man will go to him and say, ‘O Mahdi, give me.’ He will throw handfuls into the man’s garment, filling it with whatever the man is able to carry.” (Hasan, At-Tirmidhee, Ibn Katheer in his al Bidaya wa Nihaya)
The 7 or 9 years are the most common numbers for the Mahdi’s time on earth, but there is a chance it may be 5 years instead. If we use 5 years we have 1500 – 40 – 7 – 5 = 1448 Hijra therefor, 1448H – 1437 H = 11 years from now.
Therefore in total we have 7, 9 and 11 years from now based on the numbers given to us by the Prophet (saws) or 2023, 2025 or 2027AD, the later we see him the later we will see Isa (as).
Variables In The Equation
1) The number of years between the Death of Isa (as) and when Allah takes the life of every Muslim can be a variable number because the narrator was summing up events, if we increase it from 7 years to 10 then we can expect the Mahdi 3 years sooner, if we decrease it to 4 years we can expect him 3 years later.
2) The Prophet (saws) himself wasn’t certain about the length of the Mahdi’s time because Allah hadn’t decided yet, so He (saws) said it may increase or decrease.
3) The Year also depends on when in the Prophet’s 23 year mission, the narrations were said as that would have been around the time he was informed of the lifespan of the Ummah and when it will end, which could have been before or after Hijri Calender began and that is when year 0 is set in the Islamic calendar. So again the years above could be shortened by a few years or increased by a few years if we assume the year He (saws) was informed is year Zero and not the Hijra calendar.
4) The prophet (saws) said in a general manner his Ummah would have 1500 years, if He (saws) meant after his death (saws) then we can increase all the numbers by about a decade, because year zero in the Hijra calendar is set to the migration of the prophet (saws) to Madinah, not the prophets (saws) death about a decade later.
5) There are other interpretations which could also extend these numbers, but the interpretation given above is the most literal without much hypothesis, other interpretations rely on assumptions and don’t have literal Ahadith to support them, but the possibility remains.
The exact year itself isn’t important, the numbers give us a time frame of when these events are expected to occur, and any one of these factors listed above or a combination of them could change the years given in the calculations, but they are a fair estimation.
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