years ago—reckoned from the time of Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 752 AH)—and since then no one has seen him, nor has there been any news or sign of him. They await him every day, standing with horses at the cellar entrance and calling for him to come out to them: ‘Come out, our master!’ Then they return disappointed and empty-handed. Such is their routine—and his. How well the poet said:

‘The time has not come for the cellar to bring forth the one
You addressed in your ignorance—it has not come!
May ruin befall your minds, for you have spoken
To the phoenix and the ghouls.’

These people have indeed become a disgrace to the children of Adam and a laughingstock for every sensible person.” Here end the words of Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him.

Ibn al-Qayyim also said in his book Ighāthat al-Lahfān min Masā’id al-Shaytān (Relief for the Distressed from Satan’s Snares):

“One way in which he—meaning Satan—toys with them—meaning the Jews—is that they await the rise of a descendant of the prophet David: when he moves his lips in supplication, all nations will perish. They claim that this awaited figure is the Messiah they were promised. In reality, however, they await only the messiah of misguidance, the Dajjāl, for they will constitute most of his followers. The Messiah of guidance, Jesus son of Mary, blessings and peace be upon him, will instead kill them and leave none of them alive.”

He then said:

“The Muslims await the descent from heaven of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, to break the cross, kill the swine, and kill his enemies among the Jews and those among the Christians who worship him. They also await the emergence of the Mahdi from the household of the Prophet, who will fill the earth with justice as it had been filled with oppression.”

Abū al-Hasan al-Samhūdī (d. 911 AH) said:

“The established reports about him—that is, the Mahdi—show that he is a descendant of Fātimah. The report in Abū Dāwūd states that he is descended from al-Hasan. The wisdom behind this is that al-Hasan relinquished the caliphate for Allah’s sake, out of compassion for the Muslim community. Allah therefore made the one who would establish the true caliphate—at a time of dire need, when the earth would be filled with injustice—one of his descendants. Such is Allah’s way with His servants: He grants something better than what was relinquished either to the person who gave it up for His sake or to that person’s descendants. Al-Hasan was resolute in relinquishing the caliphate and forbade his brother to seek it. His brother recalled this on the night before he was killed and prayed for Allah’s mercy upon al-Hasan. Reports that the Mahdi is descended from al-Husayn are very weak.”

This is quoted through al-Munāwī’s Fayd al-Qadīr (The Bounty of the All-Powerful), his commentary on al-Suyūtī’s al-Jāmi‘ al-Saghīr (The Concise Collection).

Ibn Hajar al-Makkī (d. 974 AH) said in his book al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fī ‘Alāmāt al-Mahdī al-Muntazar (A Concise Account of the Signs of the Awaited Mahdi):

“What must be believed is what the authentic hadiths indicate: the existence of the awaited Mahdi, in whose time the Dajjāl and Jesus will appear, and behind whom Jesus will pray. He is the one intended whenever the term ‘the Mahdi’ is used without qualification.”

This is quoted through al-Barzanjī’s al-Ishā‘ah li-Ashrāt al-Sā‘ah (Making Known the Signs of the Hour).

The hadith master ‘Imād al-Dīn Ibn Kathīr, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his book al-Fitan wa-al-Malāhim (Tribulations and Great Battles):

“Section on the Mahdi Who Will Appear at the End of Time

He is one of the upright caliphs and rightly guided imams. He is not