IMAM MAHDI A.S. IN THE VIEW OF
WAHABIS:

After
propounding Oura'nic and
traditional arguments there remains no
doubt amongst any Muslim, irrespective of his being
Sunni, Shia,
Wahabi or Non-Wahabi,
regarding the belief in Imam Mahdi (A.S.) and it is proved beyond doubt that
it is a genuine Islamic belief. But since the Wahabi sect is having a very
narrow-minded belief about some of the concepts of
Islam hence from its very inception, it has been a butt of rebuke from the
Muslim scholars. In this brief article we will analyze the viewpoint of
Wahabis regarding Imam
Mahdi (A.S.).

Intact
the following proofs will clarify that like other Muslim scholars even Wahabi
Scholars believe in Mahdaviyat and they
regard this belief as the culmination of the Islamic creed.

1- The
Wahabi sect is an offshoot of the Ahle-Sunnah
and like other Muslims, believe in Qur'an
and traditions. They also have faith in the traditions of
Sehah-e-Sittah and other authentic books.
Since the traditions pertaining to Imam Mahdi (A.S.) are quoted from the Holy
Prophet (S.A.) and are found in abundance
in the books of traditions, hence they do believe in Imam Mahdi (A.S.).

2-
Ibn Taimiyyah
(exp. 728 A.H.)
was a Hanbali scholar of 7th- 8th century
who is also known as the ideological leader of Wahabis. In his book
'Minhaajus-Sunnah' (which was a vehement
assault on Shias), he considers the
traditions regarding Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) as
authentic and says about him in the
following words :

"Those traditions by which the
advent of Imam Mahdi (A.S.) is expostulated are correct which are recorded by
Abu Dawood,
Tirmidhi, Ahmed
Hanbal, and other
traditionalists. For instance, the
tradition of the Holy Prophet (S.A.) related by Ibn
Mas'ud that:

"Even if a single day will remain from the eve of
doomsday, Allah the Almighty will prolong that day to such an extent till He
raises a man from my Ahle
Bait (A.S.)."

3-
Shamsuddin
Mohammad bin Abi
Bakr, popularly known as Ibn
Qayyum-e-Jauzi (exp. 751 A.H.),
a noted celebrity of the Hanbali sect and an ardent follower and preacher of
Ibn Taimiyah's ideas, has compiled an
entire book
on the
topic of Imam Mahdi (A.S.). He has adorned
his book with the title of 'Al-Mahdi'.

The same scholar has
written another book by

the name
of 'Al- Munaar
Al Munif
Fis-Sahih Waz
Zaeef which is infact an explanation
of Ibn Jauzi's book
'Al-Mauzoo'aat'. In this book in the 15th
Chapter from Pg. 326 to 344, he has quoted
some traditions regarding Imam Mahdi (A.S.) along with the discussion on the
authenticity of the traditions. He has
concluded that traditions pertaining to Imam Mahdi (A.S.) are genuine and a
part of the Islamic tradition. In the same book, he has written, while quoting
from the book of 'Abdul
Husain Aberi
' that: "The traditions regarding Imam
Mahdi (A.S.) are plenty (Mutawatir) and
abundantly prove that he will be from the
progenyofthe Holy Prophet (S.A.) ."

4-
Allama Mohammad bin Ali
Shaukani (exp. 1250 A.H.) was formerly a
Zaidi who later on converted to
Wahabism to become its prolific
preacher in
Yemen. He
was such a staunch believer in Mahdaviyat that he wrote one whole book on the
subject by the name of 'Al-Tauzeeh
Fi Tawatir
Ma Ja'aa
Fil-Mahdi
wal-Dajjal wal
Maseeh

This book has been a major source of
reference of most scholars. The following sentence from this book deserves
attention :"Those traditions which are
narrated regarding Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) are plenty. It is sufficient for him
who possesses little faith and justice."

5-
Shaikh Abdul
Mohsin bin Ahmad
Abbad, an erudite professor of the
Wahabi university of Medina, has written a
book by the name of 'Aqidato Ahle-Sunnat
wal-Asar Fil
Mahdi Al-Muntazar' in which he has debated
that the belief in Mahdaviyat is not confined
only to Shias but is a pure Islamic belief.
The traditions regarding Mahdaviyat are continuous and believing in Hazrat
Imam Mahdi (A.S.) is essential. Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.) is from the progeny of
Fatema Zahra
(S.A.) and will reappear in the last era of the world. Moreover, he has
enlisted the names of one twenty six companions who have quoted the traditions
regarding Imam Mahdi (A.S.), thirty eight
names of celebrated scholars and traditionalists
who have related the traditions, of which four are compiler of the
Sehahs. Then he has mentioned the names
often great Sunni scholars who have written
books on this subject.

Shaikh Abbad has written another book as a refutation to the book of his
contemporary scholar from
Kuwait
whose name was Shaikh Abdullah bin
Zaid who made some very strident objections
on the belief. This book is called :"
Ar-Raddo Ala
Man Kazeba bil
Ahadith As
Sahiha fil Mahdi."

In this article, first the vitriol
objections of the Kuwaiti writer are quoted verbatim then he has
them and later
and later given fittings replies.

Keeping these facts in mind, is there any
Muslim who
can doubt the veracity of this belief ? Is
it possible that someone claims to be a Muslim but does not believe in this
fundamental creed ?

May Allah helps us in following the right
path