Page 156 - Portents and Features of the Mahdi's Comingl

PORTENTS AND FEATURES OF THE MAHDI'S COMING

THE MAHDI'S PHYSICAL FEATURES

In addi tion to his moral val ues and strug gle, our
Prophet (saas) described the Mahdi's phys i cal appear -
ance in great detail so that those who see him will
imme di ate ly recog nize him.
One verse reveals that the People of the Book will
recog nize the Prophet (saas) as "they recog nize their
own sons."
Those We have given the Book recog nize it as they
rec og nise their own sons. Yet a group of them know -
ing ly con ceal the truth. (Surat al-Baqara, 146)
In the fig u ra tive sense, this verse refers to rec og ni zing
the Mahdi. When the Mahdi appears, peo ple will recog -
nize him, due to our Prophet's (saas) descrip tions of him,
just as they do their own chil dren. Yet despite this, some
peo ple will pre tend not to recog nize him and will deny him.

HE IS BEAUTIFUL AND RADIANT

He (the Mahdi) is a beau ti ful young man with an attrac-
t ive face. The radi ance of his coun te nance rises to his
head and the black of his hair.
(Mahdisim and Imamate, p. 153)
His face is radi ant, just like a shin ing star.
(Al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, p. 33; Al-Muttaqi
al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 22)
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