Our Prophet (saas) has revealed in the hadiths that some people will leave the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as), which will in any case number very few people. This is again a miracle from Allah. These people will depart from his side even though they are closely acquainted with Hazrat Mahdi (as), witness his attributes as revealed in the hadiths and also witness Hazrat Mahdi (as) performing deeds that we are told only he can perform. This means that, like the great majority of people, these people with such an opportunity to come to know Hazrat Mahdi (as) from close up will also not be properly aware of him.
This is how the hadiths reveal that some people will leave Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) community:
The army of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will suffer defeats from time and will be inclined to relax and not assume that hard task, and there will be those who abandon them for various reasons, such as fear for their lives, goods or rank... (Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 476 [from Sunan Ibn Majah])
Those who leave and those opposed to him will be unable to harm him. Despite those who abandon him, they will continue on the path of victory. (Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 487 [from At-Tabarani’s al-Mu'jam al-Kabir])
It is narrated from Muawiya ibn Kirra that: A group from my community will continue to receive help until the Day of Judgment. The departure of those who abandon them will do them no harm. (Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 472)
A group from my community will continue to act under Allah’s command. Since the truth is with them, those who abandon them and those who oppose them will do them no harm until the Day of Judgment... (Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 472 [Muawiya Ibn Kirra (ra)])
However, it is revealed in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas) that there is something good and auspicious in these people’s leaving the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as). With the unmasking of insincere people who infiltrate that community of the truth, the mutual devotion of the members of that community will, by Allah’s leave, be further enhanced, and the departure of the wicked will strengthen them still further.
It is revealed in verses of the Qur’an that there will be people with a hypocritical mindset in every Muslim community. These are people who act together with the faithful, claim to share the same beliefs, but who are in fact insincere. These people, who live among those who live solely for Allah’s approval, and who appear on the surface to be just like them, are never actually true believers. Allah reveals the position of these people in the Qur’an:
Among the people there are some who say, “We believed in Allah and the Last Day,” when they are not believer. They think they deceive Allah and those who believe. They deceive no one but themselves but they are not aware of it. There is a sickness in their hearts and Allah has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment on account of their denial. (Surat al-Baqara, 8-10)
The hypocrites think they deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. When they get up to pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only remembering Allah a very little. They vacillate between the two – not joining these or joining those. If Allah misguides someone, you will not find any way for him to go. (Surat an-Nisa’, 142-143)
When they are told, “Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger,” you see the hypocrites turning away from you completely. (Surat an-Nisa’, 61)
When the hypocrites and people with sickness in their hearts said, “What Allah and His Messenger promised us was mere delusion.” and a group of them said, “People of Yathrib, your position is untenable so return!” some of them asked the Prophet to excuse them, saying, “Our houses are exposed,” when they were not exposed; it was merely that they wanted to run away. (Surat al-Ahzab, 12-13)
In the same way that such people have been present in all communities of true believers throughout the course of history, they will also be present in the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as). According to what is revealed in the hadiths, those who leave the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as), despite having spent years in it, will subsequently turn in the direction of the unbelievers. These people, who lack the same faith and sincerity as Muslims, who show no loyalty to Allah and the Qur’an, and whose fear of Allah is weak, may depart from Hazrat Mahdi (as) in the event of a situation that conflicts with their own interests.
The fact that there will be people who leave Hazrat Mahdi (as), despite his services in such a difficult period as the End Times and despite seeing his superior moral virtues, may also prevent other people in society from seeing the true facts. After abandoning Hazrat Mahdi (as), these people may spread lies and slanders about him and cause a great many other people to be unable to appreciate Hazrat Mahdi (as) or even misunderstand him entirely. A great many people will be taken in by the lies and baseless imputations of the hypocrites, for which reason they may be reluctant to support Hazrat Mahdi (as). (Allah knows the truth.)
In fact, this state of affairs is exceedingly important in terms of understanding just what a tumultuous period the End Times will be. Despite witnessing countless portents and other similar phenomena, the hypocrites in question leaving Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) side show just how far people will have turned away from the moral values of the Qur’an. The emergence of such people even from among those who know Hazrat Mahdi (as) well, at a time when good is replaced by evil and the lawful by the unlawful, indicates what a troubled time this will be. It is revealed in the hadiths that the End Times are a period when people who lack genuine faith, who do not fear Allah as they ought, will lose their beliefs:
The Day of Judgment will not happen until fitnah [tribulation, trial] appears like the parts of dark nights. People will rise as believers and go to bed as unbelievers, or go to bed as believers and rise as unbelievers. They will sell the faith for worldly gain. (Sahih Muslim; Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 388)
There will be such fitnah [trial] in the future that apart from people Almighty Allah protects and preserves with His knowledge, a man will be a believer in the morning and an infidel in the evening and will abandon the faith. (Tabarani, Sunan Ibn Majah; Muhammet Sevgili-Hasan Akdag, Son Zamanlarla ilgili Hadisler [Hadiths about the End Times], pp. 36-37)
A great many people will fail to recognize Hazrat Mahdi (as) on account of all the reasons we have been considering in this section. However, when the time appointed by Allah comes, everything will change completely. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will appear and everyone will know that he is a blessed personage appointed by Allah for the End Times. According to the hadiths, a period in which Hazrat Mahdi (as) is clearly known and when nobody will be able to deny him will, by Allah’s leave, be born:
A man [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will be called by name from the sky, and proof will not deny him and the despicable will not hinder him. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 52)
A voice will come from the sky, and no evidence will deny him [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] nor will he be prevented from being evidence. (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 200)
A voice from the sky will call him by name and no one will doubt that he is Hazrat Mahdi (as). (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 47)
A hand will reach out from the sky, and people will look at and see him [Hazrat Mahdi (as)]. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 55)
With the dawning of this age, the years of disorder, trouble and difficulty will come to an end and a “Golden Age” will begin. The Golden Age will be a time of abundance of goods and products of all kinds. Trust and security, social justice, well-being, peace and happiness will be its main distinguishing features. Hadiths reveal the glad tidings that this age will be one when the world is full of peace. Technological progress will reach a peak during this phase of the End Times, and people will be able to enjoy all the blessings of technology. People will be so content with their lives in the Golden Age that they will be unaware how time passes and will beg Allah to prolong their lives so that they can enjoy more of this beauty. This delightful age, which will be ushered in by the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as), is described as follows in hadiths:
There would be a successor in the last (period) of my community who would freely give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it. (Sahih Muslim, Book 41, 6961)
... The younger ones wish they were grown-ups, while the adults wish they were younger. ... The good become even better, and even the wicked ones are treated well. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 17)
Everywhere food will cook in pots, unseen prosperity will dominate, and material wealth will be disregarded. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 66)
At that time, my community, the good and the bad, will be blessed with blessings more numerous than they have ever seen. Allah will send them much rain. The earth will hold nothing back. Goods will be despised. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 16)
Like the cup fills with water, so will earth fill with peace. There will be no enmity left between any people. All hostility, fighting, and envy will disappear. (Sahih Muslim, 1/136)
Since their causes will disappear, there will be no hatred or dispute among people... (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 242-243)
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