Fatwa ID: 04477
Answered by: Maulana Mohammed Kamran Abid
Question
What is the meaning of Hadith "There is no Mahdi except Jesus”?
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (r) that indeed the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “The hour will not establish except on evil people and there is no rightly guided individual at that time except Jesus, son of Mary”.[1] This Hadith has been narrated in Ibn Majah.
Some deviant groups like the Ahmadiyya and Shias use this Hadith to prove their belief that the Mahdi and Jesus are the same person. This is incorrect because the meaning of this hadith is mentioned by Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdul Hadi Al-Sindi in his commentary of Ibn Majah. He writes that the meaning of the word الْمَهْدِيُّ in this hadith is an adjective and not a title or the name of someone. He writes that it does not mean that there is no Mahdi except Jesus.[2] This hadith does not negate that another person can’t be “Mahdi”, rather it says that the rightly guided individual will be Jesus at that time. [3]
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Mohammed Kamran Abid
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] 4039 – حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْأَعْلَى حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ الشَّافِعِيُّ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ الْجَنَدِيُّ عَنْ أَبَانَ بْنِ صَالِحٍ عَنْ الْحَسَنِ عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ «أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا يَزْدَادُ الْأَمْرُ إِلَّا شِدَّةً وَلَا الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا إِدْبَارًا وَلَا النَّاسُ إِلَّا شُحًّا وَلَا (كفاية الحاجة في شرح سنن ابن ماجه, vol. 2, pg. 495, Darul Jeel Beirut )تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ إِلَّا عَلَى شِرَارِ النَّاسِ وَلَا الْمَهْدِيُّ إِلَّا عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ»
[2] (وَلَا الْمَهْدِيُّ) أَيْ: وَصْفًا لَا لَقَبًا أَيِ الْمُتَّصِفُ بِالْهَدْيِ عَلَى كُلِّ وَجْهٍ بَعْدَهُ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – الَّذِي يَنْصَرِفُ إِلَيْهِ مُطْلَقُ الِاسْمِ وَهُوَ
عِيسَى وَلَيْسَ الْمُرَادُ أَنَّ اللَّقَبَ بِالْمَهْدِيِّ لَيْسَ إِلَّا لِعِيسَى، فَالْحَدِيثُ عَلَى تَقْدِيرِ ثُبُوتِهِ لَا يُخَالِفُ أَحَادِيثَ الْمَهْدِيِّ (كفاية الحاجة في شرح سنن ابن ماجه, vol. 2, pg. 495, Darul Jeel Beirut )
[3] وَهَذَا الْحَدِيثُ فِيمَا يَظْهَرُ بِبَادِئِ الرَّأْيِ مُخَالِفٌ لِلْأَحَادِيثِ الْوَارِدَةِ فِي إِثْبَاتِ مَهْدِيٍّ غَيْرِ عِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَعِنْدَ التَّأَمُّلِ لَا يُنَافِيهَا، بَلْ يَكُونُ الْمُرَادُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْمَهْدِيَّ حَقٌّ، الْمَهْدِيُّ هُوَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ، وَلَا يَنْفِي ذَلِكَ أَنْ يَكُونَ غَيْرُهُ مَهْدِيًّا أَيْضًا(كفاية الحاجة في شرح سنن ابن ماجه, vol. 2, pg. 495, Darul Jeel Beirut )
