In Abu Said Al-Khudri's account, the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: When the antichrist appears, a man [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] from among the believers will oppose him. MANY PEOPLE CARRYING ARMS, PEOPLE BEARING ARMS IN THE CENTERS OF SURVEILLANCE OF THE ANTICHRIST, WILL MOVE AGAINST THAT BELIEVER. (Ibrahim Suleymanoglu, Mehdilik ve Imamiye [Mahdism and Imamate], 37; Sahih Muslim, 11/393)
In this hadith of our Prophet (saas), we are told that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be watched by armed men of the antichrist, that he will be followed and that efforts will be made to neutralize him in this way. In the Qur’an Allah also reveals that similar efforts were made to impede those messengers preaching the true faith by placing them under surveillance in the same way:
He is nothing but a man possessed so wait a while and see what happens to him. (Surat al-Muminun, 25)
However, as our Prophet (saas) has said, these activities on the part of the antichrist will serve no purpose; on the contrary, they will be instrumental in Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) influence and strength increasing still further and of his fame and glory spreading ever wider across the world.
