# Where does the belief in the Mahdi come from?

*The Mahdi: a belief from early Shia politics, and Ibn Ashur, the Maliki giant*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/27/
- Date: 2021-04-06 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #209 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (2:43:30–2:51:30)
- Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ85AUzeK5w&t=9810s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/

**Topics:** Dajjal, Mahdi and the signs; False and fabricated hadith; Modern reformers and movements

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The Mahdi belief is disrespectful to the Prophet, who was the rightly guided saviour, and entered Sunni Islam from early Shia political movements; the Mahdi hadith describe figures of that time.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the belief in a Mahdi is disrespectful to the Prophet, who was the rightly guided saviour, and that it entered Sunni Islam from early Shia political movements, the Mahdi hadith being fabricated descriptions of figures of that time.

**Evidence, his words at 2:44:43:** “I find this concept disrespectful to the prophet because there the rightly guided person for this um was the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ85AUzeK5w&t=9883s)

## Longer summary

After a brief technical hitch, Mufti Abu Layth takes the Mahdi as another belief equally endorsed by the same scholars. He says he finds it disrespectful to the Prophet, who was himself the rightly guided saviour of the community, and asks what the Mahdi is supposed to do when fighting the Dajjal and establishing the kingdom of God are assigned to Jesus, which he says implies the Prophet was not enough. He says the belief crept into Sunni Islam from early Shia politics: al-Mukhtar promoted Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as the saviour before they fell out, later figures such as Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya [?] were cast in the role, and the Mahdi hadith are descriptions of such people fabricated at the time. He introduces Ibn Ashur, whom he calls an indirect teacher, mentions that a senior shaykh in that line, whose name the transcript does not render clearly, received him warmly and gave him an ijazah, and shows a timeline of Ibn Ashur's career as Maliki judge and mufti, Shaykh al-Islam of the Malikis and Grand Shaykh of al-Zaytuna.

## Sources and names cited

- Mahdi
- Shia
- al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi
- Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya
- Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya [?]
- Ibn Ashur
- al-Zaytuna
- ijazah (authorisation to teach, with a chain)
- Isa (Jesus)

## Transcript (machine tier, 2:43:30–2:51:30)

[2:43:14] you're doing it you're doing it right so what he says is that uh how to claim that anything could have crept into Islam would have basically just ripped out the foundations of Islam. [laughter] I don't know how that opened there. One moment. Let me just Right. So he he says that to claim that would mean that you would Right.

[2:43:42] You would [laughter] What this one man? part of this one [laughter] is a I'll have to I'll have to look for that key. [laughter] But so he says that this is to claim that the whole of Islam has been made um you know it's been made uh it's it's had its foundations ripped out if that's the case.

[2:44:11] Isn't that that that's the case isn't it? So this is the the jal with big uh a big d going on. So if we take a look here folk law. Now something as equally I just want to show you as equally valid sorry equally validated by these same scholars is the concept of the mai. The mai is this rightly guided figure that Islam needs for its salvation towards the end of time.

[2:44:43] What's funny is first of all I find this concept disrespectful to the prophet because there the rightly guided person for this um was the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam there is no mai there is no rightly guided after the prophet you know this rightly guided savior for Islam that is the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and it's I find it insulting that you have that people would say that after the prophet a rightly guided Imam

[2:45:20] of this whole ummah will emerge and will then precipitate the salvation of this um I mean is is that not the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam oh no he he he began the process but you know you need a really rightly guided Did you know you need like obviously it's not the prophet isn't enough.

[2:45:46] He's good is of course they're going to say he's good but he's not enough. You need an imam. This great Imam who will the great Imam he will you know he will set it all into motion. So you think well okay what is the job of this I imam by the way? [laughter] What does this imam do? because he's not going to fight the Antichrist because that's obviously Jesus's job.

[2:46:14] He's not going to establish the kingdom of God on earth because that's Jesus's job. Obviously, our prophet couldn't do that either according to them because our prophet didn't establish the kingdom of God on earth. He didn't make all animals vegetarians and he didn't eliminate world poverty and he didn't uh you know our prophet couldn't do that according to them. It wasn't he was wasn't he wasn't allocated the task.

[2:46:39] Why, you know, why allocate it to the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam when you've got Jesus Christ our savior who only God can entrust such a task to establish the kingdom of God on earth. It needs to be Jesus Christ. So this Mai belief is something that is as equally pushed which is obviously it's crazy but I mean it's there. Now here is is something interesting that you'll see that

[2:47:11] You'll see that that these beliefs like the belief of the Mai was also invented and it were crept into Sunni Islam from a Shia understanding and people liked the Maliki from hundreds and hundreds what is you're talking at least 600 700 years ago who is speaking about this saying that these things were just invented and it was in the Shia tradition It was used early on.

[2:47:39] It was used by who pushes Muhammad to be this great savior for the um which obviously doesn't work out and Muhammad Hanafi has a fallout with him. Mkhtar then later on tries to appoint himself but then since then many other subsequent Shia imams were given that role. The likes of Muhammad Napaki was a great candidate. All of these hadith that are used for the mai are really just descriptions of these people fabricated in that time and then later on subsequent mai hadis as well.

[2:48:12] But coming to this point you also see look the legend the dawn people Ash who was he somebody an indirect teacher of mine somebody who I have from [laughter] through all right people may Allah bless Allahh see this is another thing they hate this People hate the fact that [laughter] would people like sheh sidua give them time.

[2:48:49] Never never in a million years have would have they had that connect. But I was Shehikh Sidubza invited me to his home and I went and I went as I wearing this wearing you know with my normal hair and my goatee and I mean he had a goatee himself but uh and it doesn't mean that she would necessarily agree with my views but very respectful very hospitable the whole evening there and then giving me a jazza but so one of the things anyway was sheh if we take a look here focus on uh sheh Ashur you can see there I've put just a brief

[2:49:28] timeline of some of his achievements this is him obviously his short trim beard and there he is in old age as well um it mentions in the year 1351 so obviously this is going by hiji standards but it's this is going it would probably uh this would be going back to what is it maybe the 50s late 60s no sorry late 50s or 60s I believe.

[2:49:54] uh but it's going but in the last century he he rises as you can see prior to that he becomes a muti he becomes a judge a maliki judge he becomes a like a um like a high court judge h it mentions he becomes like a muti a deputy superior muti but then as you can see he's kind of taken into the legislative body the whole timeline I I got a translation on the other side but it's not translated as But it mentions that the Islam he became the Islam of the Malik

[2:50:33] in his day and age. Okay. Theh Islam and he became the grand judge uh sorry the grand muti the grand sheh not the judge the grand sheh of Zetuna which in his day and age was was highly impressive. Now you can see the reason I brought up Ashur is because people say you know these kind of beliefs oh you can't be Maliki.

[2:51:00] I mean he was the don Maliki of the 20th century. There was no Maliki that could stand to him in the entire last 20th century. I mean he was a giant. And you have this book of his you know and you can see this obviously by the legend and people don't like you know what it is because he is so widely respected and this is some extract from it.

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment zZ85AUzeK5w/s/27. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/27/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.