Apart from the hundreds of hadith (traditions) concerning the Mahdi ...

Apart from the hundreds of hadith (traditions) concerning the Mahdi , there are many that provide an exegesis of these verses through both Shi’ite as well as Sunni chains of transmitters, in order to explain the Qur’anic stand vis-à-vis belief in Mahdawiyyah ( Mahdi sm). These traditions clearly state that the verses refer to the Mahdi .

According to some Shi’ite scholars, more than one hundred and twenty Qur’anic verses have been recorded that refer to the Mahdi , as interpreted in the Shi’a traditions. [1] For example, the Qur’an explains that the moral and spiritual improvement awaited by mankind can become a reality according to the traditions under the government of the Mahdi .

Indeed, the Shi’ites claim that the universe is a harmonious system based on order and balance, where corruption, oppression and injustice are the consequences of society's misdeeds. However, these man-made imperfections are considered as accidents and exceptions, to be erased finally by the appearance of the Mahdi . Also according to the Qur’an, God promises to restore earthly power to those believers who, although weakened by injustice, remain praiseworthy and basically sincere.

The traditions ( hadith ) explaining these verses remind that they concern the government of Mahdi . According to the Qur’an, people are not abandoned to their own devices but God, through His wisdom and justice, will save Man by replacing unjust governors with pious and just ones. These verses are said to be about God's Will to put an end to the era of Satan’s rule, annihilating his partisans, and restoring power to God's Righteous Servants throughout the universe.

The first chapter of this study will attempt to clarify terms such as Messianism as generally understood in Islamic belief, [1] Seyyed Hashem Bahrani : Sima-ye Hazrat-e Mahdi dar Qur’an, p.23 and the concept of the eschatological figure of the Mahdi in both Sunnism and Shi’ism. The second chapter will present a brief survey of the origin, principles and development of Shi’i Tafsir as well as the lives and works of the commentators dealt with in this research.

The third chapter will be devoted to a limited comparative study between classical and modern works of Shi’i Tafsir dealing with the specific subject of the Mahdi , in order to see how the mufassirin interpret the presence of the Mahdi in the Qur’an.