Al-Khattābī (d. 388 AH), may Allah have mercy on him, commented on the hadith of Anas ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“The Hour will not come until time passes more quickly, a year becomes like a month, and a month like a week,” and so on.
Al-Khattābī said: “This will occur in the time of the Mahdi or Jesus—may blessings and peace be upon them both—or in the time of both.” Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī cited this in al-Mirqāh, his commentary on al-Mishkāh, and said: “The last interpretation is the more likely one, since this phenomenon will occur when the Dajjāl emerges, which will take place during their time.” Al-Mubārakfūrī, the author of Tuhfat al-Ahwadhī, also mentioned this in his commentary on this hadith.
Imam al-Bayhaqī (d. 458 AH), after discussing the weakness of the hadith, “There is no Mahdi except Jesus son of Mary,” said: “The hadiths explicitly stating that the Mahdi will emerge unquestionably have sounder chains of transmission.” The hadith master Ibn Hajar quoted this from him in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, in the biography of Muhammad ibn Khālid al-Jundī, the transmitter of the hadith, “There is no Mahdi except Jesus son of Mary.” Ibn al-Qayyim also quoted it from him in al-Manār al-Munīf fī al-Hadīth al-Sahīh wa-l-Da‘īf.
In his book al-Shifā’, al-Qādī ‘Iyād (d. 544 AH) devoted a chapter comprising thirty sections to the miracles of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. In the first part of that book, he wrote: “Chapter Four: The miracles Allah manifested at his hands, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the special distinctions and honors He bestowed upon him.” Near the beginning of this chapter, he said:
“Our aim in this chapter is to record his principal miracles and his renowned signs, demonstrating his exalted standing with his Lord. We have included verified accounts with sound chains of transmission, most of which attain certainty or nearly do, and have added some accounts found in the books of eminent imams.”
Then, in the twenty-third section, he wrote: “Section: Among these is what he was made aware of concerning the unseen and what is yet to happen…” At its beginning, he said: “The hadiths on this subject are an ocean whose depths cannot be reached and whose waters cannot be exhausted.” In this section, he cited a great many future events foretold by the one who does not speak from his own desire, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and included among them the emergence of the Mahdi.
Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Qurtubī (d. 671 AH), the author of the renowned Quran commentary, said in his book al-Tadhkirah fī Umūr al-Ākhirah, after mentioning the hadith, “And there is no Mahdi except Jesus son of Mary”:
“Its chain of transmission is weak. The hadiths from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explicitly stating that the Mahdi will emerge from his family, from among the descendants of Fātimah, are established and sounder than this hadith. Judgment must therefore be based on them rather than on it.”
He also said: “It is possible that his words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘And there is no Mahdi except Jesus son of Mary,’ mean that there is no perfect and infallible Mahdi except Jesus.” He said: “On this interpretation, the hadiths are reconciled and the contradiction is removed.” Al-Suyūtī quoted this from him at the end of his treatise al-‘Arf al-Wardī fī Akhbār al-Mahdī.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said in his book Minhāj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah fī Naqd Kalām al-Shī‘ah wa-l-Qadariyyah (vol. 4, p. 211):