Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Ṣābūnī (d. 2021 CE) on the Sunni Belief concerning al-Mahdī and the False Claimants
The late renowned Syrian exegete [mufassir] Shaykh Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Ṣābūnī, who lived and taught in Makka for several decades, compiled a treatise on al-Mahdī, first published in 1981 (1401 AH) under the title al-Mahdī wa Ashrāṭ al-Sāʿa, meaning “al-Mahdī and the Signs of the Hour”. He wrote it in response to the seizure of the Sacred Mosque [al-Masjid al-Ḥarām] on 1 Muḥarram 1400 AH (20 November 1979 CE) by a man who claimed to be the awaited Mahdī. In its opening pages (pp. 5 to 11), he stated:
فَإِنَّنِي لَمَّا وَجَدْتُ مَوْضُوعَ الْمَهْدِيِّ قَدْ طَرَقَ أَسْمَاعَ النَّاسِ وَتَحَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَلْسِنَتُهُمْ، لَا سِيَّمَا بَعْدَ الْفِتْنَةِ الَّتِي جَرَحَتْ أَفْئِدَةَ أَفْرَادِ الْأُمَّةِ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةِ بِدُخُولِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَانْتِهَاكِ حُرْمَتِهِ، نَرَى النَّاسَ مِنْ خِلَالِ سَمَاعِهِمْ عَنِ الْمَهْدِيِّ مَا بَيْنَ قَادِحٍ وَمَادِحٍ، وَمُصَدِّقٍ وَمُكَذِّبٍ.
When I found that the subject of al-Mahdī had reached the ears of the people and had become a topic on their tongues, particularly after the tribulation that wounded the hearts of the members of the Muslim community through the entry into the Sacred Mosque [al-Masjid al-Ḥarām] and the violation of its sanctity, we see people, from what they hear about al-Mahdī, divided between the one who disparages and the one who praises, the one who affirms and the one who denies.
فَوَجَدْتُ أَنْ أَكْشِفَ النِّقَابَ عَنْ مَوْضُوعِ أَحَادِيثِ الْمَهْدِيِّ وَمَا وَرَدَ فِيهِ مِنْ [أَحَادِيثَ]، بِاعْتِبَارِهِ وَاحِدًا مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ الَّتِي غَفَلَ عَنْهَا النَّاسُ، وَإِنَّ غَفْلَتَهُمْ مِنْ عَلَامَاتِ السَّاعَةِ، وَوَجَدْتُ أَنْ أُشِيرَ إِلَيْهَا مُؤَيِّدًا ذَلِكَ بِمَا وَرَدَ عَنْ نَبِيِّنَا عَلَيْهِ أَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ وَأَتَمُّ السَّلَامِ، سَائِلًا الْمَوْلَى تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَنْ يَرُدَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ إِلَى دِينِهِمْ وَأَخْلَاقِ نَبِيِّهِمْ، وَأَنْ يُحْسِنَ خِتَامَنَا، وَأَنْ يُعِيذَنَا مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَمِنْ جَمِيعِ الْفِتَنِ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ، إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ مُجِيبٌ. وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.
So, I found it fitting to unveil the subject of the Ahadith of al-Mahdī and what has been reported concerning him [in the way of Ahadith], considering that he is one of the signs of the Hour [ashrāṭ al-sāʿa] of which people have been heedless, and indeed their heedlessness is itself among the signs of the Hour. I found it fitting to point to these matters, supporting that with what has been reported from our Prophet, upon him be the best of blessings and the most complete peace, asking the Sovereign Lord [al-Mawlā], Blessed and Exalted, to return the Muslims to their religion and the character of their Prophet, to grant us a good end, and to protect us from the trial of life and death, from the trial of the false Messiah [al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl], and from all trials, whether outward or inward. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Near and Responsive. And the close of our supplication is that praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
مُقَدِّمَةٌ
Introduction
لَا يَنْبَغِي لِلْمُسْلِمِ أَنْ يَعْتَقِدَ بِكُلِّ مَا يَسْمَعُ، وَلَا أَنْ يُسَارِعَ إِلَى تَصْدِيقِ كُلِّ مُشَعْوِذٍ دَجَّالٍ.
It is not fitting for a Muslim to believe everything he hears, nor to hasten to believe every charlatan impostor.
الْمَهْدِيُّ الَّذِي وَرَدَتْ بِهِ النُّصُوصُ مُؤَيَّدٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ بِالْآيَاتِ الْبَيِّنَاتِ، لَا بِالْقَنَابِلِ وَالرَّشَّاشَاتِ.
The Mahdī about whom the texts have come is supported by Allah with clear signs, not with bombs and machine guns.
انْتِهَاكُ حُرْمَةِ الْكَعْبَةِ الْمُشَرَّفَةِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ عَمَلٌ إِجْرَامِيٌّ لَا يَصْدُرُ مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ.
Violating the sanctity of the Honoured Kaʿba and the Sacred Mosque [al-Masjid al-Ḥarām] is a criminal act that does not come from a Muslim who believes in Allah.
يَنْبَغِي التَّفْرِيقُ بَيْنَ الْبُغَاةِ الْخَارِجِينَ عَلَى الدِّينِ، وَبَيْنَ الدُّعَاةِ الْمُصْلِحِينَ.
A distinction should be made between the rebels who rise against the religion and the reforming callers to Allah.
الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ، وَهُوَ مُصْلِحٌ دِينِيٌّ، لَا سَفَّاكٌ لِلدِّمَاءِ يَأْتِي بِالْخَرَابِ وَالدَّمَارِ.
Al-Mahdī is one of the signs of the Hour [ashrāṭ al-sāʿa], and he is a religious reformer, not a shedder of blood who brings ruin and destruction.
مِنْ حِينِ مَا شَاهَدْتُ الْمَهْدِيَّ الْمَزْعُومَ مُدَجَّجًا هُوَ وَأَنْصَارُهُ بِالسِّلَاحِ عَرَفْتُ أَنَّهُ دَجَّالٌ.
From the moment I saw the alleged Mahdī, he and his supporters fully armed, I knew that he was an impostor.
تَتَرَدَّدُ بَيْنَ حِينٍ وَآخَرَ أَنْبَاءٌ غَرِيبَةٌ عَنْ ظُهُورِ مَهْدِيٍّ مَزْعُومٍ، وَلَا يَكَادُ عَصْرٌ أَوْ زَمَانٌ يَخْلُو عَنْ دَعْوَى خُرُوجِ مَهْدِيٍّ جَدِيدٍ، يَلْبَسُ لِبَاسَ التُّقَى وَالصَّلَاحِ، وَيُخْفِي مَا فِي نَفْسِهِ مِنَ الزَّيْغِ وَالضَّلَالِ، وَيَجِدُ لَهُ مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ الْمُدَجِّلِينَ وَالْأَعْوَانِ الْمُهَوِّسِينَ مَا يَضْحَكُونَ بِهِ عَلَى عُقُولِ السُّذَّجِ الْبُسَطَاءِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ.
From time to time, strange reports circulate of the appearance of an alleged Mahdī, and scarcely any age or time is free of a claim that a new Mahdī has emerged, clothed in the garb of piety and righteousness while concealing within himself deviation and misguidance. He finds for himself among the deceiving supporters and the frenzied helpers those who mock the minds of the simple and naive among men.
وَلَقَدْ أَضْحَى مِثْلُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ الْغَرِيبِ مَأْلُوفًا عِنْدَ النَّاسِ، وَغَدَا شَيْئًا طَبِيعِيًّا بِسَبَبِ بُعْدِهِمْ عَنْ تَعَالِيمِ الْإِسْلَامِ.
Such a strange matter has become familiar to people and has come to seem natural because of their distance from the teachings of Islam.
وَكُلَّمَا بَعُدَ النَّاسُ عَنِ الدِّينِ كُلَّمَا ظَهَرَتْ فِيهِمُ الْبِدَعُ وَالْخُرَافَاتُ، وَفَشَتْ فِيهِمُ الْأَسَاطِيرُ وَالْخَزَعْبَلَاتُ، وَالنَّاسُ مُغْرَمُونَ بِكُلِّ غَرِيبٍ وَجَدِيدٍ، حَتَّى لَقَدْ أَضْحَى حَدِيثُ الْمَهْدِيِّ «مُوضَةَ» كُلِّ عَصْرٍ.
Whenever people grow distant from the religion, innovations and superstitions appear among them, and myths and absurdities spread among them, and people are enamoured of everything strange and new, until the talk of al-Mahdī has become the fashion of every age.
فَكُلُّ مَنْ فَاتَهُ رَكْبُ الشُّهْرَةِ وَالتَّقَدُّمِ تَقَمَّصَ شَخْصِيَّةَ الْمَهْدِيِّ، وَالنَّاسُ بَيْنَ مُصَدِّقٍ وَمُكَذِّبٍ، أَوْ مَفْتُونٍ بِكُلِّ مَا يَرَى وَيَسْمَعُ.
Everyone who has missed the caravan of fame and advancement assumes the persona of al-Mahdī, while people are divided between those who believe and those who deny, or are beguiled by everything they see and hear.
الْمَهْدِيُّ الْمُزَيَّفُ
The False Mahdī
وَبِمُنَاسَبَةِ ظُهُورِ الْمَهْدِيِّ الْمُزَيَّفِ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا، الَّذِي سَمَّى نَفْسَهُ مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْقَحْطَانِيَّ، وَرَوَّعَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي بَلَدِ اللَّهِ الْأَمِينِ، هُوَ وَشِرْذِمَتُهُ الضَّالُّونَ، فَسَفَكُوا الدِّمَاءَ، وَقَتَلُوا الْأَبْرِيَاءَ، وَدَنَّسُوا حُرْمَةَ الْبَيْتِ الْعَتِيقِ، أَطْهَرِ الْبِقَاعِ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ، وَقِبْلَةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فِي مَشَارِقِ الْأَرْضِ وَمَغَارِبِهَا.
On the occasion of the appearance of the false Mahdī in this age of ours, who named himself Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Qaḥṭānī [1]and terrified the believers in the land of Allah, the Trustworthy, he and his misguided band, so that they shed blood, killed the innocent, and defiled the sanctity of the Ancient House, the purest of places on the face of the earth and the direction of prayer of the Muslims in the east and west of the earth.
أَقُولُ: بِمُنَاسَبَةِ ظُهُورِ هَذَا الدَّجَّالِ الَّذِي زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ الْمُنْتَظَرُ، أَرَى لَازِمًا عَلَى أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ، الَّذِينَ جَعَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَنَارَاتٍ لِلْهُدَى، وَأَعْلَامًا لِلْحَقِّ، وَمَصَابِيحَ يُسْتَضَاءُ بِهِمْ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْفِتَنِ، أَنْ يَكْشِفُوا لِلنَّاسِ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ هَذِهِ الْفِتْنَةِ الْعَمْيَاءِ، الَّتِي أَشْعَلَ فَتِيلَهَا الْغَوْغَاءُ، مِمَّنْ أَعْمَى اللَّهُ بَصَائِرَهُمْ، حَتَّى اسْتَبَاحُوا الْكَعْبَةَ الْمُشَرَّفَةَ حِمَى الرَّحْمَنِ، وَسَفَكُوا الدَّمَ الْحَرَامَ فِي الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ، وَمَا أَعْظَمَهُ مِنْ إِجْرَامٍ
I say: on the occasion of the appearance of this impostor who claimed that he was the awaited Mahdī, I see it as obligatory upon the people of knowledge, whom Allah has made beacons of guidance, banners of truth, and lamps by which one is illuminated in the darkness of tribulations, to disclose to the people the reality of this blind tribulation, whose fuse was lit by the rabble, those whose insight Allah blinded, until they treated the Honoured Kaʿba, the sanctuary of the Most Merciful, as lawful, and shed forbidden blood in the sacred month. How immense a crime it is!
وَلَقَدْ سَأَلَنِي الْكَثِيرُونَ مِنْ طُلَّابٍ وَعَامَّةٍ عَنِ الْمَهْدِيِّ: هَلْ هُوَ حَقِيقَةٌ أَمْ أُسْطُورَةٌ؟
Many students and laypeople have asked me about al-Mahdī: is he a reality or a legend?
فَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أُسَطِّرَ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَاتِ لِيَكُونَ الْمُسْلِمُ عَلَى بَصِيرَةٍ مِنْ أَمْرِ دِينِهِ، حَتَّى لَا يَلْتَبِسَ الْحَقُّ بِالْبَاطِلِ، وَلَا يَخْتَلِطَ الْخَبِيثُ بِالطَّيِّبِ.
So, I wished to set down these words so that the Muslim may have insight into the matter of his religion, so that truth is not confused with falsehood, nor the vile mixed with the good.
مَذَاهِبُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي الْمَهْدِيِّ
The Positions of the Scholars concerning al-Mahdī
هُنَاكَ مَذَاهِبُ ثَلَاثَةٌ فِي أَمْرِ الْمَهْدِيِّ الْمُنْتَظَرِ نُلَخِّصُهَا فِيمَا يَلِي
There are three positions concerning the matter of the awaited Mahdī, which we summarise as follows:
أ. مَذْهَبُ أَهْلِ التَّحْلِيلِ الْفِكْرِيِّ: وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ يَعْتَمِدُونَ عَلَى الْفَلْسَفَةِ الْفِكْرِيَّةِ وَالتَّحْلِيلِ الْعَقْلِيِّ، دُونَ أَنْ يُكَلِّفُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ عَنَاءَ الْبَحْثِ وَالْجُهْدِ الْعِلْمِيِّ، فَيُنْكِرُونَ كُلَّ مَا يُخَالِفُ أَفْكَارَهُمْ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَرُقْ لِذَوْقِهِمْ، وَيَرُدُّونَ جَمِيعَ الْأَخْبَارِ وَالْآثَارِ الْوَارِدَةِ فِي هَذَا الشَّأْنِ، حَتَّى وَلَوْ كَانَتْ صَحِيحَةَ الْأَسَانِيدِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ رَأَوْا مِنَ الْمُشَعْوِذِينَ وَالْمُضَلِّلِينَ مَنْ يَزْعُمُ أَنَّهُ الْمَهْدِيُّ الْمُنْتَظَرُ.
A. The position of the people of intellectual analysis: they are those who rely on intellectual philosophy and rational analysis, without troubling themselves with the toil of research and scholarly effort. So, they deny everything that contradicts their thinking because it did not, please their taste, and they reject all the reports and narrations that have come on this matter, even if their chains of transmission are sound, because they saw among the charlatans and deceivers those who claim to be the awaited Mahdī.
وَعَلَى رَأْسِ هَؤُلَاءِ أَحْمَدُ أَمِينٌ فِي كِتَابِهِ ضُحَى الْإِسْلَامِ، وَسَعْدُ مُحَمَّدٌ حَسَنٌ فِي كِتَابِهِ الْمَهْدِيَّةُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ.
At the head of these are Aḥmad Amīn in his book Ḍuḥā al-Islām, and Saʿd Muḥammad Ḥasan in his book al-Mahdiyya fī al-Islām.
وَهَذَا مَذْهَبٌ بَاطِلٌ لِأَنَّهُ يَعْتَمِدُ عَلَى الْفِكْرِ وَحْدَهُ، وَلَا يَسْتَنِدُ عَلَى الْأُسُسِ الْعِلْمِيَّةِ الصَّحِيحَةِ.
This is a false position because it relies on thought alone and is not founded on sound scholarly principles.
ب. مَذْهَبُ الْبَاطِنِيَّةِ وَأَهْلِ التَّشَيُّعِ: وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ يُثْبِتُونَ الْمَهْدِيَّ، وَيَسْرُدُونَ فِيهِ أَحَادِيثَ لَا زِمَامَ لَهَا وَلَا خِطَامَ، وَيَعْتَقِدُونَ أَنَّهُ هُوَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ الْعَسْكَرِيُّ، وَقَدْ وُلِدَ وَغَابَ، وَهُوَ الْآنَ مُخْتَفٍ فِي سِرْدَابٍ وَلَا يَدْرِي أَحَدٌ مَتَى يَخْرُجُ، إِلَخْ.
B. The position of the Bāṭiniyya and the people of Shiʿism [ahl al-tashayyuʿ]: they are those who affirm al-Mahdī and recount concerning him Ahadith that have no rein or halter, that is, no restraint or basis. They believe that he is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī, who was born and then disappeared, that is, went into occultation [ghayba], and that he is now concealed in an underground chamber [sirdāb], and no one knows when he will emerge, and so on.
وَهَذَا الْمَذْهَبُ لَا يُعَوَّلُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ يَعْتَمِدُ عَلَى الظُّنُونِ وَالْأَوْهَامِ.
This position is not to be relied upon because it rests on conjectures and delusions.
ج. مَذْهَبُ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ: وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ يَعْتَمِدُونَ عَلَى الرِّوَايَاتِ الصَّحِيحَةِ الثَّابِتَةِ بِأَسَانِيدَ مَوْثُوقَةٍ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، أَوْ عَنِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ، وَبِالطُّرُقِ الْعِلْمِيَّةِ السَّلِيمَةِ الَّتِي تَقُومُ عَلَى الْحُجَّةِ وَالْبُرْهَانِ، وَلَا تُعَارِضُ الْفِكْرَ وَالْعَقْلَ السَّلِيمَ.
C. The position of the People of the Sunna and the Jamāʿa [Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jamāʿa]: they are those who rely on sound narrations established by trustworthy chains of transmission from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, or from the Companions and the Successors, and by sound scholarly methods that rest on proof and demonstration, and which do not contradict thought and sound reason.”
[1] See here for more details on this impostor and the events that unfolded on the 1st of Muharram 1400 AH/20th of November 1979 – https://www.darultahqiq.com/the-militant-pseudo-salafi-siege-of-makka-full-audio-book-20-11-19791-1-1400/
Compiled by: Abul Hasan Hussain Ahmed
From his work: The Awaited Mahdī in the Ḥanafī Tradition: From Imam al-Ṭaḥāwī (d. 321 AH) to Later Sunni Authorities)
October 21st 2026
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