others that will accompany the Mahdi. He is Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah, an ʿAlid, Fāṭimid, Ḥasanid—Allah knows best. Allah will set his affairs aright in a single night, that is, He will accept his repentance, grant him understanding and inspire him with right guidance after he had lacked it. He will be supported by a people from the East who will aid him, establish his authority and strengthen its pillars, and their banners too will be black—a dignified colour, for the banner of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was black. It was called al-ʿUqāb. Khālid ibn al-Walīd planted it (1) on the Thaniyyah to the east of Damascus when he arrived from Iraq; ever since, that pass has been known as Thaniyyat al-ʿUqāb. That banner proved a scourge upon the unbelievers—Christian Syrians, Byzantines, Arabs and Persians alike—and it secured a good outcome for Allah’s believing servants among the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār, and for all who followed them thereafter until the Day of Judgment. Praise belongs to Allah.

Likewise, on the Day of the Conquest the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Mecca wearing a black migfar (mail-helmet), and one report states that he had wrapped over his helmet a black turban. May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

The upshot is that the promised Mahdi who is to appear at the end of time will first emerge from the direction of the East, after which he will come to Mecca where allegiance will be sworn to him at the Sacred House, as some aḥādīth indicate. I have compiled a separate treatise on the Mahdi, and praise belongs to Allah.

Ibn Mājah also recorded: Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Marwān al-ʿUqaylī narrated to us; ʿUmārah ibn Abī Ḥafṣah narrated to us, from Zayd al-ʿAmmī, from Abū al-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“There will be in my community the Mahdi; if his era is short, it will be seven, otherwise nine. During that time my community will enjoy a blessing the like of which they have never experienced: the earth will yield its produce without withholding anything, and wealth on that day will lie in heaps (2). A man will stand and say, ‘O Mahdi, give me,’ and he will reply, ‘Take.’” (3)

Al-Tirmidhī likewise reported: Muḥammad ibn Bashshār narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Shuʿbah narrated to us; I heard Zayd al-ʿAmmī say: I heard Abū al-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī relate from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī:

“We feared that something might occur after our Prophet, so we asked the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, and he said: ‘There will be in my community the Mahdi; he will emerge and live for five, or seven, or nine’—Zayd was unsure—‘years.’ We said, ‘What is that?’ He replied, ‘Years.’ He then said, ‘A man will come to him and say, “O Mahdi, give me, give me,” and he will pour into the man’s garment as much as he can carry.’”

This is a sound ḥadīth and has been transmitted through more than one route from Abū Saʿīd, from the Prophet ﷺ. Abū al-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī’s name is Bakr ibn ʿAmr; some say: Bakr ibn Qays (4). These reports show that his tenure will last at most nine years and no fewer than five or seven, and it is likely that he is the caliph who will scoop