Some Madhi Beliefs

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Although the belief in a coming Madhi is primary part of Shi’ite Islam, some Sunnis also believe it.

The Madhi seems to have similarities to one that the Bible speaks of as the King of the South.

Notice the following:

Rasaullah [Muhammed] said: “There will be four peace agreements between you and the Romans [Christians]. The fourth agreement will be mediated through a person who will be the progeny of Hadrat Haroon [Honorable Aaron — Moses’ brother] and will be upheld for seven years (Richardson J. Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah. Pleasant Word, 2006, p. 48)

The above sounds similar to the seven year (one week in biblical language) agreement discussed in Daniel 9:27 that involves a “prince” who appears to be the one the Bible warns will become the King of the North and apparently the nation of Israel. It certainly would make sense that there would be Muslim representation in a peace deal.

However, the Bible shows that this deal will be broken (Daniel 9:27) and the King of the North will invade Jerusalem (Daniel 11:31) and ultimately the King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43). Notice that this too, however, seems to be consistent with some Islamic prophecy:

…a life of peace as a result of a peace agreement between you and the Banil Asfaar (Romans) which they will break and attack you (Ibn Zubair Ali, Mohammed Ali. The minor signs of Last Days from: The Signs of Qiyamah. http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophecies/minor.html viewed 06/21/09).

Perhaps I should mention here that a preliminary deal to allow the Europeans and Northern Africans to co-operate did begin on July 13, 2008. And this deal involves a president for the North and a president for the South:

New York Times – July 14, 2008 PARIS — Leaders of 43 nations with nearly 800 million inhabitants inaugurated a “Union for the Mediterranean” on Sunday, meant to bring the northern and southern countries that ring the sea closer together through practical projects dealing with the environment, climate, transportation, immigration and policing.

But the meeting was also an opportunity for President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to exercise some highly public Middle East diplomacy…

The union has northern and southern co-presidents — to start, Mr. Sarkozy and President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt…

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who insisted that the Sarkozy project include all European Union members, called the session “a very, very good start for a new phase in the cooperation” between Europe and the south (Sarkozy Helps to Bring Syria Out of Isolation. New York Times, July 14, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/world/europe/14france.html?em&ex=1216094400&en=bfad08e20a1536e6&ei=5087%0A).

Thus, the idea that the Bible first shows cooperation between the Kings of the North and South (Daniel 11:27) appears to be becoming fulfilled in our day. The end of the cooperation is also going to occur (Daniel 11:40).

If the Madhi is supposed to be betrayed, why would any Muslims support him?

There are several reasons for this.

The first is that it is a tenant of Islam to “believe in the last days”, hence the understanding are to be believed (even though most Shi’a and Sunni disagree on the specifics).

The second is that many expect that the Madhi will make the world Islamic:

The Madhi will be victorius and eradicate those pigs and gods and the idols of this time…

The Mahdi…will cause Islam to be the only religion practiced on the Earth (Richardson J. Antichrist: Islam’s Awaited Messiah. Pleasant Word, 2006, pp. 46,50-51)

The third is that certain Muslims believe that Jesus returns after the Mahdi and hence that the Madhi is a necessary step. Notice the following:

The last days, as described in Islam, are marked by the figures of Gog and Magog (Juj wa Jajuj), the Mahdi, the Antichrist (Dajjal), and Jesus…Gog and Magog, representing the forces of chaos, have been kept at bay…At the end of time, chaos will break through the wall of Divinely imposed order, and the world will succumb to “outer darkness”. At the same time, it is believed, there will be a countercurrent, or a brief return to the state of spiritual lucidity and primordial integrity that obtained at the dawn of time. This is the reign of the Mahdi, the “rightly guided one”…

The reign of the Mahdi will be followed by that of the Antichrist… once the Antichrist has led away his followers, Jesus will then come to destroy the Antichrist in the closing moments of the cosmic drama.

Belief in the Mahdi has been rejected by noted Sunni authorities… (Glasse C. New Encyclopedia of Islam: A Revised Edition of the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, 3rd edition, 2008, pp. 143, 316).

Some in Islam seem to essentially understand that the reign of the Beast and Antichrist will happen after the Mahdi’s death. Now this is true, for the Arab lands. However, the Beast (King of the North) and the False Prophet (Antichrist) will rule in Europe and in some of the American lands, though, prior to the European reign over Arab lands.

A major leader from Arabic stock (Psalm 83) is prophesied to rise up (Daniel 11:27), but ultimately be defeated (Daniel 11:40-43) (some Muslims seem to agree with that, while others disagree that he will be defeated before making the entire world Muslim).

Perhaps I should add that I heard a speech from the President of Iran a few years ago where he stated that the goal of the revolution in Iran was to help lead to the rise of this Mahdi leader.

Sunni and Shi’a Muslims need to be careful not to fall for such a leader.

Two articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?