In the Prophetic hadiths, he (s.a.w.a.) declared that the Al-Mahdi will oppose terror and violence and that the anarchic environment and all acts of terror will come to an end in his day. The hadiths also mentioned that in the time of Imam Mahdi, all weapons will fall silent and wars will come to an end: War will lay down its burden (arms and the like). (1)
No Blood Will Be Shed in the Time of Imam Mahdi
Again according to the hadiths, the Mahdi will bring justice to the whole world, but not one single drop of blood will be shed. The Mahdi will be opposed to terror and violence. War and conflict will come to an end. Yet the Mahdi will follow a very peaceful path as he does all this. This attribute of the Mahdi is set out as follows in the hadith: In the same way that bees gather around the queen, people will gather around the Mahdi. He will fill the world, once filled with oppression, with justice instead. Such will be his justice that the sleeping man will not be awakened and no blood will be shed. The world will return to the Age of Happiness. (2)
Imam Mahdi and Islamic Moral Value
The Mahdi’s intellectual activities and struggle will make Islamic moral values victorious. The hadiths tell us that, just like the Prophet (s.a.w.a), the Mahdi will treat people with love and compassion, resolve problems by peaceful means, and call on people to have moral virtue and faith. The Mahdi’s struggle against atheistic ideologies (philosophies that deny Allah) will be carried out in the realm of ideas, and he will defeat those heretical ideologies using the wisest and most rational of methods.
Imam Mahdi and Peace
Peace and security will reign in the time of Imam Mahdi. Nobody’s nose will bleed, nobody will suffer harm and nobody will be awoken from sleep during the time of the Mahdi. This is also one of the clearest proofs that the Mahdi will wage his struggle on the intellectual plane. He will neutralize atheistic movements (philosophies that deny Allah) by means of his intellectual work, and will thus ensure the supremacy of Islamic moral values. The hadiths tell us that the Mahdis struggle will be a peaceful one: The Mahdi will walk in peace. (3)
By means of him (the Mahdi), Allah will put an end to blind strife. Security and peace will reign in the world…(4) The Mahdi will follow in the path of the Prophet, he will not awaken the sleeping man and no blood will be spilt. (5) In his time, neither a man will be awoken from sleep, nor will a person’s nose bleed. (6)
In a climate of violence and terror, it is impossible for a sleeping person not to be awakened. But according to the sayings of the Prophet (s.a.w.a), the Mahdi brings about the supremacy of Islamic moral values in such a calm, intellectual and cultural environment that it will not awaken the sleeping man. Indeed, people can only attain understanding, reflection and research, in an atmosphere of peace. The Prophet (s.a.w.a) received revelation when he was meditating in the very calm atmosphere of Mount Hira. The way that people withdraw to the calm of mosques and other places shows how they need peace in order to be able to think deeply. The importance of calm is also stressed in the Quran. This atmosphere of calm that the Mahdi will establish in the End Times will prepare the way for people to read and think, to be able to see the truth and to believe.
The Emergence of Imam Mahdi
Imam Mahdi will emerge from Mecca and spiritually conquer the city. In the hadiths, the Prophet (s.a.w.a) told that Imam Mahdi would emerge from Istanbul. Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu’minin: The Prophet (s.a.w.a) said: a man of the people of Medina [the Mahdi] will come to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. (7) Ahmad recorded a hadith by Allah ibn ‘Amr, who said: The Prophet (saas) said, ‘Six things will happen to this Ummah: The sixth is the conquest of a city.’ I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which city?’ He said, ‘Constantinople.’
The Conquest of Constantinople by Imam Mahdi
This is the conquest of Constantinople by Imam Mahdi (8). Imam Mahdi will seize Istanbul with Tasbih and Takbir (by remembering Allah and telling His truth). We are told in the hadiths that the Mahdi’s conquest of Istanbul will be a spiritual one. The Mahdi will use no violence as he makes Islamic morality prevail in Istanbul and the rest of the world, and will achieve this solely through the remembrance of Allah and praise of His name. The way that the Mahdi will be victorious solely with Takbir and tasbih is described as follows in the hadiths: The Hour will not come until Almighty Allah ensures the conquest of Istanbul, the centre of the Roman Empire, by His believing servants with Tasbih and Takbir. (9)
The Hour will not come until Almighty Allah ensures the conquest of Constantinople and the Roman (lands) for believers through tasbih and Takbir (10). They will conquer Constantinople with Tasbih and Takbir (saying Subhan Allah and Allahu Akbar), and they will obtain booty the like of which has never been seen (Ibn Majah). As reported from Amr ibn Awf: Allah will better him [forgive him, or give him success and the inspiration of wisdom and guidance] in a night. He will capture the Roman city [Istanbul] with Takbir. (11)
The Mahdi will move step by step and nullify atheistic systems one by one. It is revealed in the hadiths of the Prophet (s.a.w.a) that the first one of the city towers and then another will collapse during the Mahdis conquest of Istanbul. It can be seen from this that the Mahdi will tear down the bastions of the unbelievers one by one and will move in stages.
Continued in the next article: ( http://Will Imam Mahdi Oppose toward Terror and Violence? (2) )
NOTES:
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1. Sunan Ibn Majah, 10/334; Imam Sharani
2. al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, pp. 29 and 48
3. Signs of Qiyamah, p. 173
4. Signs of Qiyamah, p. 164
5. Signs of Qiyamah, p. 163
6. Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 44
7. Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 36, Number 4273
8. Signs of Qiyamah, p. 204; Ramuz al-Ahadith, 296
9. Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 478
10. Daylami, al-Firdaws, 5/82, no: 7524; at-Tabarani, al-Mu`jam al-Kabir, 17/15,21
11. Muhyiddin ibn al-Arabi, al-Futuhat al- Makkiya, section 366, Vol. 3, pp. 327- 328
