Reflections on Imam Mahdi (II)

I met him and his family at a tafsir session in the mosque within his compound. I joined the women in their section of the mosque. They were reading Suratul Kahf and the Sheikh was reading the commentary on Prophet Musa’s (Moses) AS encounter with Al khidr, one of the servants of Allah. Prophet Musa […]

I met him and his family at a tafsir session in the mosque within his compound. I joined the women in their section of the mosque. They were reading Suratul Kahf and the Sheikh was reading the commentary on Prophet Musa’s (Moses) AS encounter with Al khidr, one of the servants of Allah. Prophet Musa was directed to go and find Al khidr and learn from him knowledge of what Allah had thought him. Al khidr is a mysterious character and there are unanswered questions loaded on my mind. When the tafsir session ended, I asked my teacher to tell me more about Al Khidr.
His encounter with Prophet Musa AS took place thousands of years ago, yet I have read contemporary sufi literature in which sufis said they had encounters with Al khidr. Some said he initiated them into a particular stage of advancement in the Sufi path while some claim that he even gave them a garment to seal their initiation. I asked my teacher who is Al khidr? ‘He is a servant of Allah some said he is Prophet Halliru. He does not die because he drank from the fountain of life. The Qur’an tells us that the  fish that Prophet Musa’s servant was carrying for their meal was cooked and ready for eating but when they got to where Al Khidr was supposed to meet them, the cooked fish came alive and disappeared into the sea.’  I told him that someone in Kaduna told me that he met Al Khidr in Kaduna after Hajj in 2013. My teacher, always a restrained person laughed heartily and said ‘what will Al khidr come here for?’
There is too much sin and injustice in this city and there’s no one deserving of such honour around here!!’ I responded that in the midst of all the sin and inequity, there will always be servants of Allah who will remain steadfast on the path of truth. They will not be known because they will not advertise themselves but they will remain a source of support and guidance to the Ummah. He agreed with me on that and wanted to know the person who had the encounter with Al khidr. I told him I had no permission to reveal the person’s identity. The discussion ended there but it paved the way for our discussion on Imam Mahdi which was the purpose of my visit to his study group. I told him I just listened to a lecture on Imam Mahdi delivered by Sheikh Hamzah Muhammad Lawal the leader of Al thaqalayn Foundation. I summarized the lecture he delivered in Hausa on Imam Mahdi and added the last part where he said ‘there are certain events that will precede the appearance of Imam Mahdi. They are, the coming of Jesus Christ, Prophet Isa AS the Son of Maryam, the thunder, the event in Yemen, Qum and Khorasan.
The followers of the Imam Mahdi will be knowledgeable and frank. Imam Mahdi is actually a nickname. Defined simply, Imam Mahdi means the guided leader. No one knows more about Imam Mahdi than the Prophet Muhammad SAW so what we know about the Imam comes from the sayings of the Prophet (hadith). It states that at the end of time, the majority of Muslims will only recite the Qur’an without understanding it or living it whereas it was revealed to guide the Ummah.  In the midst of this deviation, the Imam Mahdi will emerge, reunite the Ummah and end schism. This is because Allah will protect His religion and His faithful servants. Imam Mahdi will lead the group of people who are guided by Allah through His Book (the Qur’an) and they will spread goodness in the world.’
Sheikh Hamza who made his articulate presentation without reading any paper or even short notes said ‘the current situation reflects the period of jahilliyyah with very proud, arrogant, ignorant and extremist people arrogating powers to themselves and oppressing Muslims all over the world simply because they believe in Allah and insist on following His law. It is easy to triumph over the enemies of Allah if we follow the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet SAW. When that system of Islamic rule (caliphate) will be established again, the people will recognize and follow the Mahdi.’
After the summary of Sheikh Hamza’s lecture, I asked my teacher about his views on Imam Mahdi. Is he alive now or will he be born when the time is due?  My teacher is a direct descendant of Sheikh Usman Danfodio, the nineteenth century Islamic reformer and the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. After a glorious public service career and high profile and sometimes controversial engagement with policy, he has retired into advancing the frontiers of Islamic knowledge. He does this by translating the writings of Sheikh Danfodio and his brother Sheikh Abdullahi of Gwandu and publishing them for public dissemination. He told me that discourse on the Imam Mahdi will be a lengthy one and will require several study group sessions. As a prelude to our study group sessions on the topic, he gave me several books he produced from the work of Sheikh Danfodio.
On Imam Mahdi, he recommended that I should read one titled Tambihul Ummati which is about enlightening the ummah on the coming of  Alkiyama, the last day. The book is translated from Arabic into Hausa. I read it and obtained the following information: At the end of time, Imam Mahdi will emerge from among the followers of Prophet Muhammad SAW and be his descendant. He will unite those who believe in Allah and His Messenger.
He will fill the earth with justice and equity and also encourage and lead people to believe in the Qur’an to implement its laws.  Imam Mahdi will lead for about 7 or 8 or 9 years. During his leadership Imam Mahdi will lead Muslims to fight against tyranny, injustice in all its ramifications. After gaining victory, Imam Mahdi and his team will fight the devil dajjal and his followers.
One of the scholars cited in Sheikh Danfodio’s book narrated the story of a devotee who prayed for several years to gain knowledge of Imam Mahdi and he had an encounter with Imam Mahdi. His story and what Sheikh Danfodio said will be shared in the next article.