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Belief in the Mahdi (the 'guided' latter-day
ruler who will establish justice) is deeply rooted in Islam, and is an
obligatory part of belief in the view of some ulama. There may be
differences of opinion on the characteristics and the person of the Mahdi ,but
all are of the opinion that most of the traditions on the Mahdi are right and
that the tidings about him are mutawatir. In addition to the direct references to the
Mahdi in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, there are also almost 50 traditions,
with direct reference to the Mahdi, in other well-known collections such as Abu
Daud, Tirmizi, Musnad-i Ahmad bin Hanbal, Ibn Maja, Tabarani (in all the three
collections: Al-Kabir, Al-Awsat and Al-Saghir), Al-Hakim (Mustadrak),
Abu Ya'li, al-Bazzar, Ibn Hibban, Abu al-Shaykh (Kitab al-Fitan), Ibn
Asakir, Ibn Adi, Abu Na'im (Akhbar al-Mahdi), Al-Royani (Musnad),
al-Dailami, Al-Dani (Sunan), Ibn Mandah, Na'im ibn Hammad (Kitab
al-Fitan), Al-Harith ibn Ali Usamah (Musnad), Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi
(Tarikh), Ibn Abi Shaibah (Musannaf), Al-Darqutni, Abu Na'im (Dalail
al-Nubuwwah and al-Hilyah), Ibn al-Munadi (Al-Malahim), Abu
Ghannam al-Kufi (Kitab al-Fitan), Tammam (Fawaid), Ibn Sa'd (Tabaqat),
Ibn Jarir (Tafsir), Al-Muhami (Al-Amali), etc. These authoritative source books contain almost
50 traditions of the Prophet, (Peace and benediction be upon him and his
infallible progeny) which clearly foretell the emergence of the Mahdi before
the Day of Resurrection. Many of these traditions are 'Sahih' and directly
narrated on the authority of the Prophet by 33 well-known companions, who
include: Ali ibn Abi Talib, Husayn ibn Ali, Abu Sa'id al-Khudari, Abdullah ibn
Mas'ud, Umm Salmah, Thauban, Abu Hurayrah, Anas ibn Malik, Jabir ibn Abdullah,
Uthman ibn Affan, Awf ibn Malik, Talha ibn Ubaidallah, Huzaifah ibn al-Yaman,
Umran ibn Husayn, Abdullah ibn Umar, Ayesha, Abdul Rahman ibn Awf, Abu Ayyub
al-Ansari, Ibn Abbas, Tamim al-Dari, Umm Habibah, Abbas ibn Abdil Muttalib and
Ammar ibn Yasir. The most famous of these traditions is the one
narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud in which the Prophet said: "Even if a
(single) day is left in (the life of) the world, Allah will lengthen that day
to send a person of my House whose name will be like my name and whose Kunyah
will be similar to mine. He will fill the world with justice and equity just as
it was previously full of injustice and oppression". (Abu Daud, Tabarani,
Ibn Hibban, Hakim, Ibn Maja, Abu Na'im, Ibn Asakir etc). This and many other traditions are in
accordance with the highest standards of scrutiny set by the traditionists and
therefore it is the consensus of Islamic scholars of all ages that the
tradition is true and mutawatir (uninterruptedly conveyed on the authority of
the Prophet). Following is a selection of affirmative references to the Mahdi
by Muslim authorities from the old to the modern times:
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