The Birthday of the Imam Mahdi: The King of the South?
Name of the Imam as Found in the “Mosque of the Prophet” (Karim)
The ‘birthday’ of the Imam Mahdi is observed by Shia/Shi’ite Muslims:
Date in the current year: May 1, 2018
Birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi is a public holiday in Iran observed on the 15th day of the Islamic month of Sha’ban. Mahdi is believed by Shias to be the final Imam of the Twelve Imams.
The Mahdi is the term in Islamic eschatology which refers to the prophesied ultimate savior of humankind. It will emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) before the Day of Judgment and will bring peace and justice to the world. Muhammad al-Mahdi is believed to be this person.
Muhammad al-Mahdi was the son of Hasan al-Askarin, the eleventh Imam of the Twelver Shia Muslims. He assumed Imamate after his father’s death being only five years old at the moment. He only contacted his followers through The Four Deputies.
Shia Muslims believe that al-Mahdi didn’t die. Allah concealed him from mankind for various reasons. This event is referred to as The Occultation. https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1303
Notice the following:
What is Imam Mahdi birthday Holiday?
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi (Arabic: مهدي / ISO 233: mahdī / English: Guided One) is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years (according to various interpretations) before the Day of Judgment (yawm al-qiyamah / literally, the Day of Resurrection) and will rid the world of evil. Isa (Jesus Christ) will return to aid Mahdi, or the guided one, against Masih ad-Dajjal, the false messiah, and his followers.He will descend at the point of a white arcade, east of Damascus, dressed in yellow robes with his head anointed[citation needed]. He will then join the Mahdi in his war against the Dajjal. Isa will slay Dajjal, and unite humanity. Sahih Muslim, 41:7023 Sahih al-Bukhari, 3:43:656: Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until the son of Maryam descends amongst you as a just ruler; he will break the cross, kill the swine, and abolish the Jizya tax. Wealth will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it.” Jesus Christ has been foretold to return at near the end of the world. The Qur’an says: “And [Isa] shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): therefore have no doubt about the (Hour), but follow ye Me: this is a Straight Way.
Celebrations also tend to take place in parts of Europe (e.g . http://www.abna.ir/english/service/europe/archive/2014/06/08/614489/story.html).
Here is some of what Wikipedia reported about him:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī (Arabic:محمد بن الحسن المهدي) (born c. July 29, 869 (15 Sha‘bān 255 AH), in Occultation since 941) is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams. Twelver Shī‘a believe that al-Mahdī was born in 869 and did not die but rather was hidden by God in 941 (this is referred to as the Occultation) and will later emerge with Isa (Jesus Christ) in order to fulfill their mission of bringing peace and justice to the world.
The top leaders of Iran have stated that the Imam Mahdi is currently around and has been a factor in such events as the Arab Spring and will protect Iran should it become involved in armed conflict with Israel or the USA.
Notice also the following:
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that victory of the Islamic Revolution is an example for reappearance of Lord of the Time Imam Mahdi…
Imam Khamenei made the remarks while touring Darolhadis book exhibition at Imam Khomeini Hosseinieh.
The Supreme Leader made clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran enjoys divine support vis-a-vis the systematic conspiracies of the United States to topple the revolutionary government in Iran since 1979. http://www.abna.ir/english/service/important/archive/2014/06/11/615223/story.html
Iran’s top leader is claiming that the Imam Mahdi has given Iran protection for decades. In the past he has also indicated that the Imam Mahdi would give his country victory over the USA as well as Israel.
The current president of Iran has credited the Imam Mahdi for his election.
The Iranians are predominantly Shi’ite Muslims and their views differ from the Sunnis, which are the biggest group of Muslims. Here is some of what Wikipedia reported about the Sunni view:
Sunnis believe that the Mahdi has not yet been born, and therefore his exact identity is only known to Allah. Aside from the Mahdi’s precise, genealogy, Sunnis accept many of the same hadiths Shias accept about the predictions regarding the Mahdi’s emergence, his acts, and his universal Khilafat. Sunnis also have a few more Mahdi hadiths which are not present in Shia collections.
Basically, while I do not believe that any in the COGs believe that the Imam Mahdi is in some type of suspended animation that the Shi’ites tend to believe, groups like the Continuing Church of God believe that the leader that the Bible refers to as the final King of the South may very well hold the title of Mahdi (but more like the Sunni version).
Notice also the following:
But who is the “king of the south”?…in verse 40 we skip to “the time of the end”…The verse undoubtedly found partial fulfillment in the offensive of 1896…But Mussolini did not finish the prophecy…Just as there is yet to be a final “king of the north”…there may very well emerge in the same manner a final “king of the south”–an overall leader of an Arab-Moslem confederation, possibly bearing the very title Mahdi…a prophetic psalm (Psalm 83) provides additional insight into the Mideast picture. Germany (Assyria in Bible prophecy) and perhaps the rest of Europe will be in league in the future with a union of Arab nations…But in the end, this European-Arab alliance will prove short-lived…And the king of the north shall come against him [the king of the south]…Daniel 11:40-41…The Arab-Moslem Confederation will, of course, be thrown into chaotic disarray in the fact of invasion. (Stump K. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979, pp. 11-12).
Interestingly, within Islam, there is a belief that someone who sounds like the biblical “King of the South” of Daniel 11…, who they tend to call the Mahdi or 12th Imam will participate in a deal like the one in Daniel 9:27… Some in Islam seem to believe that the reign of the Beast and Antichrist will happen after the Mahdi’s death. Now this is true, to a degree, for the Arab lands. However, the Beast (King of the North) and the final Antichrist (False Prophet) will rule in Europe and in some of the American land, prior to the European reign over Arab lands (hence the final Antichrist will have power prior to the death of the biblical King of the South, who seems to be the Islamic Mahdi). (Thiel B. 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect. Nazarene Books, 2009, pp. 83, 135)
An Islamic leader of a coming Islamic confederation, whether called a Caliph, Imam Mahdi, Sheik, Prime Minister, President, and/or King will rise up.
Some in Islam have taught several things about the Mahdi that suggest that he is the King of the South of the Bible. 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; see also The ‘Peace Deal’ of 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:
5 General anarchy and bloodshed, that no Arab household will be spared from it 6 Then 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 with a force consisting of eighty flags and under each flag will be an army of twelve thousand men. (Ibn Zubair Ali, Mohammed Ali. The minor signs of Last Days from: The Signs of Qiyamah. http://www.islamawareness.net/Prophecies/minor.html viewed 08/11/12).
Notice that not only biblical and Catholic prophecy indicate that the King of the South/Great Arab will be betrayed, even Islam indicates that the Roman “Catholics” will turn against the Madhi (and then the powers of Antichrist, according to another Islamic writing, will reign–see below).
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–and while Hosni Mubarak is likely no longer considered to be the co-president from the South, a structure for European and North African cooperation is in place. But according to the Bible, 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 is that Islamic prophecies 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)
(Although this will not happen, it is likely that more of certain regions of the world will embrace Islam for a while).
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) will rule in Europe and in some of the American lands prior to his reign over Arab lands as the Great Tribulation begins with Daniel 11:39, and not Daniel 11:40 when the Kings of the North and South fight.
Though the birthday of the Imam Mahdi is not something that anyone needs to celebrate, the fact that various ones do shows that some expect his intervention.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Differences Between Islam and the Continuing Church of God What are some of the main differences? Are there any similarities? A video of related interest is titled: Islam: Any Christian Concerns or Similarities?
The Prophesied ‘Islamic’ Confederation Where is an Islamic caliphate prophesied? Will one happen? Should you be concerned about it? A related video is Will an Arabic Calphiphate Destroy the West?
Is the Future King of the South Rising Up? Some no longer believe there needs to be a future King of the South. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi or Caliph? What does the Bible say? A YouTube video of related interest may be: The Future King of the South is Rising.
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Rise of the King of the South The Bible tells of the formation of a power of nations that are in the Middle East and North Africa that are part of the final “King of the South” (Daniel 11:40-43) The Muslim Brotherhood wishes to have an Islamic empire with basically the same nations. This YouTube video explains what to expect from such a confederation.
The Arab and Islamic 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? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria. This is a YouTube video.
Egypt in Prophecy Does Egypt have a special role in end time prophecy? Will Egypt rise up and then be defeated. What does God teach will happen to those in Egypt? Here is a link to a YouTube video titled Egypt and End Time Prophecy.
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There is also a YouTube video titled Iran in Prophecy. Here is a related video Iran In Prophecy.
Is There an Islamic Antichrist? Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays? Did biblical era Jews celebrate birthdays? Who originally celebrated birthdays? When did many that profess Christ begin birthday celebrations?
 |
Tweet |
|