The second is through what the one who does not speak from his own desire, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, tells us about past events and future events before they occur. For every report about the past authentically established from him, we know that events occurred just as he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, related them. For every report authentically established from him about future events, we know that Allah has willed them and that they must occur just as he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, foretold. Examples include his foretelling, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of the descent of Jesus, peace be upon him, at the end of time, the emergence of the Mahdi, the emergence of the Dajjāl, and other events. Thus, denying the hadiths concerning the Mahdi or wavering over the matter is a grave affair. We ask Allah for safety, well-being, and steadfastness upon the truth until death. O Allah, adorn us with the beauty of faith and make us guides who are rightly guided. Our final supplication is: all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
After the lecturer finished delivering this lecture, His Eminence Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Bāz, Vice-President of the Islamic University, rose and commented on it with the following remarks. These were transcribed from the audio recording and then presented to him, and he authorized their publication.
All praise is due to Allah. May Allah bless and grant peace to the Messenger of Allah, his family and Companions, and all who follow his path and are guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgement.
To proceed: We thank our lecturer, the esteemed teacher Shaykh ‘Abd al-Muhsin ibn Hamad al-‘Abbād, for this valuable and wide-ranging lecture. He has presented the subject excellently and informatively, giving a truly comprehensive account of the awaited Mahdi—the true Mahdi. There is nothing to add to his detailed exposition: he has treated the matter thoroughly and carefully, citing the hadiths and the statements of the scholars on this subject. He has been guided to what is correct and to the truth. May Allah reward him with good for his lecture, reward him with good for his efforts, multiply his reward, and help him bring his treatise on this subject to completion. Allah willing, we shall publish it once he has finished it, because of its great benefit and the pressing need for it. In summary, my comment on this valuable lecture is as follows:
The truth and the correct position are what His Eminence has presented in this lecture, as the scholars have explained. The matter of the Mahdi is well established, and the hadiths concerning him are widely transmitted—indeed, they are mass-transmitted and mutually corroborating. More than one scholar has affirmed their mass transmission, as the lecturer has reported in this lecture. They are mass-transmitted in meaning, owing to their numerous routes of transmission and the diversity of their sources, Companion narrators, other transmitters, and wording