The ‘Abbasids also fabricated traditions to bolster their...

The ‘Abbasids also fabricated traditions to bolster their claim to this eminent role predicted by the Mahdi. According to one of these traditions, Ibn ‘Abbas reported from the Prophet who said to ‘Abbas, his uncle: “At the End of Time there will be Mahdi among you through whom right guidance will spread and the fires of misguidance will be put out. Indeed, God began this matter with us and will conclude it through your progeny.

(3)” In another hadith Ibn ‘Abbas reports the Prophet saying: “From us, the , will arise al-Saffah, al-Mundhir, al-Mansur and al-Mahdi. The Mahdi will be among the descendants of my uncle al-‘Abbas. (4)” There is little doubt that these traditions were forged by the ‘Abbasids. A tradition is related from ‘Ali b. Abi Talib regarding the appearance of black banners from the direction of Khurasan. “Among these banners is God’s caliph, the Mahdi.

(5)” This too appears to be fabricated by the ‘Abbasids or by the supporters of Abu Muslim Khurasani because the Mahdi will not come from Khurasan, and the black banners were the emblem of the ‘Abbasids. There are numerous other traditions that were evidently forged by the ‘Abbasid pretenders to promote support for their cause. In general, to provide legitimacy to the claims of any pseudo-Mahdi, traditions traced back to the Prophet himself were forged and circulated among the followers.

Consequently, there is hardly any prominent leader for whom there were no traditions to promote his Mahdiism. The problem was that many of these individuals had died. But their followers refused to accept their death as real. Hence, traditions were fabricated to relate that their revolution would commence after their death and upon their return to life when God commanded them to do so. Al-Fadl b.

Musa reports a tradition in which Imam al-Sadiq was asked by Abu Sa’id Khurasani: “Why was he (i.e., the Mahdi) known as al-Qa’im?” The Imam said: “Because he will rise after his death. He will rise for an important task, as commanded by God, the Exalted. (6)” Certainly, this hadith was fabricated by the Waqifiyya, who believed that Imam Musa Kazim had not died and would return as the promised Mahdi.

Moreover, it is likely that it was fabricated by those who believed that Imam Hasan ‘Askari had died, but would rise later on to establish a just society. Actually, in terms of the science of hadith, the chain of transmission is weak, since it includes a person whose reliability is in question.