ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Faith of Shia Islam Doctrine of the Mahdi ========================= Many people have narrated from the Prophet concerning the reappearance, at the end of time of the Mahdi, who is a descendent of his daughter Fatimah, and how he will spread justice and equity throughout the world, after it had been overcome by injustice and oppression. All sects of Muslims have accepted this good tiding, but with different interpretations.

It is not a new opinion or idea that has come into existence only among the Shi'a, and in which they were prompted to believe by oppression, dreaming of someone who would come to clear the world of injustice, as some malevolent sophists have suggested. On the contrary, the concept of the reappearance of the Mahdi has been well known among all Muslims, and they have believe in it.

Proof of this is that some persons falsely called themselves Mahdi during the first century after the advent of Islam; such were the leaders of the Kaysaniyyah,5 the 'Abbasids and the' Alawiyyah. Only because people believed in the Mahdi could these persons have deceived them, exploited their belief and seized power. So they made their claims in order to impress the people and spread their influence.

We, the Shi'a on the one hand, believe in the truth of the Islamic religion as the last Divine religion, ad have no expectation of another religion to come and reform humanity. But on the other hand, we observe oppression and corruption spreading hay by day throughout the world, resulting in a total lack of justice and improvement anywhere in the inhabitable countries of the globe.

We have also witnessed Muslims forsaking every Islamic principle, commandment and law in every single Islamic country. We know that we must wait for the reestablishment of Islam in all its power, to reform this world, drowned as it is in oppression and corruption.

Naturally, with such diversity of opinion among people pretending to be Muslim as we see today, it is impossible that the superiority of Islam should return, unless a great reformer appears to protect it, and, through Divine providence, unite people and eradicate the error, perversion and wrong which has become admixed with Islam.

To be sure, this guide must possess such a great position, such general authority and such supernatural power as to fill the earth with justice and equity when it is full of evil, injustice and wrong.