Page 108 - Portents and Features of the Mahdi's Comingl

PORTENTS AND FEATURES OF THE MAHDI'S COMING
ALLAH WILL PERFECT HIM IN A SINGLE NIGHT

The Mahdi is from us, from the Ahl al-bayt. Allah will
per fect* him in a night. (* i.e., will for give him, or give
him suc cess and the inspi ra tion of wis dom and gui -
dance)
(Sunan Ibn Majah, vol:10, Bab: 34, p.348)

Islamic schol ars have explained this had ith as fol -
lows:
The bet ter ment of the Mahdi in a sin gle night refers to
his being given emi nent sta tus. He can not obtain this
sta tus by work or endeav or. As stat ed by Almighty Allah
in the Qur'an, this bless ing bestowed on the Prophet
(saas) has also been given to the Mahdi. In verse 52 of
Surat ash-Shura, Almighty Allah has said: "Accordingly
We have revealed to you a spir it (Ruh) by Our com mand.
You had no idea of what the Book was, nor belief.
Nonetheless, We have made it a Light by which We
guide those of Our ser vants We will. Truly you are guid -
ing to a Straight Path." The Mahdi is the most vir tu ous
and the most per fect per son of his time in mat ters of
reli gion. This shows his great ness, the exalt ed nature
of his sta tus, and the great ness of his rank.
(Ali b. al-Sultan Muhammad al-Harawi al-Hanafi,
Risaletul Mesreb)

106