al-Fikr fī Zuhūr al-Mahdī al-Muntazar.” Al-Saffārīnī mentioned it in Lawāmi‘ al-Anwār al-Bahiyyah, as did Siddīq Hasan in al-Idhā‘ah and other works.

9- Among those who wrote about the Mahdī, together with the descent of Jesus, blessings and peace be upon him, and the emergence of the Dajjāl (the False Messiah), was the judge Muhammad ibn ‘Alī al-Shawkānī. He entitled his work al-Tawdīh fī Tawātur mā Jā’a fī al-Mahdī al-Muntazar wa-l-Dajjāl wa-l-Masīh. Siddīq Hasan mentioned this in al-Idhā‘ah and quoted a substantial passage from it. Al-Shawkānī was among those who wrote about the Mahdī and affirmed that the hadiths concerning him were mass-transmitted.

10- Another was al-Amīr Muhammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-San‘ānī, author of Subul al-Salām, who died in 1182 AH. Siddīq Hasan said in al-Idhā‘ah:

“The noble and eminent scholar, the radiant full moon of the faith, Muhammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Amīr al-Yamānī, collected the hadiths establishing that the Mahdī will appear, that he belongs to the family of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and that he will appear at the end of time. He then said: ‘No specific time for his appearance has been reported, except that he will appear before the Dajjāl.’” End quote.

[Fourth: Naming those who affirmed the mass transmission of the hadiths concerning the Mahdī and quoting their statements on the matter]

Mentioning some of those who affirmed the mass transmission of the hadiths concerning the Mahdī and quoting their statements on the matter

1- Among those who declared the hadiths concerning the Mahdī to be mass-transmitted was the hadith master Abū al-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Āburrī al-Sijzī, author of Manāqib al-Shāfi‘ī, who died in 363 AH. He said—may Allah have mercy on him—concerning Muhammad ibn Khālid al-Jundī, the narrator of the hadith “There is no Mahdī except Jesus son of Mary”:

“This Muhammad ibn Khālid is unknown to the scholars who specialize in hadith transmission. Reports from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning the Mahdī have been mass-transmitted and widely circulated: that he belongs to his household; that he will rule for seven years; that he will fill the earth with justice; that Jesus, peace be upon him, will appear and help him kill the Dajjāl; and that the Mahdī will lead this community in prayer, with Jesus praying behind him.”

Ibn al-Qayyim quoted this from him in al-Manār al-Munīf without commenting on it. The hadith master Ibn Hajar also quoted it from him in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, in the biography of Muhammad ibn Khālid al-Jundī, without commenting on it. He likewise quoted it without comment in Fath al-Bārī, in the chapter on the descent of Jesus son of Mary, blessings and peace be upon him. Al-Suyūtī also quoted it from him at the end of his treatise al-‘Arf al-Wardī fī Akhbār al-Mahdī without commenting on it. Mar‘ī ibn Yūsuf quoted it from him in Fawā’id al-Fikr fī Zuhūr al-Mahdī al-Muntazar, as Siddīq Hasan mentioned in his book al-Idhā‘ah limā Kāna wa-mā Yakūnu bayna Yaday al-Sā‘ah.

2- Another was Muhammad al-Barzanjī, who died in 1103 AH. In his book al-Ishā‘ah li-Ashrāt al-Sā‘ah, he said:

“Chapter Three: The major signs and the imminent portents that will be followed by the Hour. These too are numerous; among them is the Mahdī