The essential thing is to neutralize the intellectual system, of the antichrist and Hazrat Mahdi (as) will do that

Through the revelation he received from Allah, our Prophet (saas) has given Muslims detailed information about the events that will take place in the End Times. He has described in comprehensive terms the position Muslims will occupy at that time, what events will befall them, what they need to pay attention to and what the solution is. As in all periods through history there will be a great intellectual struggle between the minions of satan and the friends of Allah. The antichrist (dajjal) with be greatest devilish force in the End Times but by Allah’s leave, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will eliminate all the havoc wreaked by the antichrist.

The hadiths describe how an individual known as the “Messiah Antichrist” will appear in the End Times, how he will be blind in one eye, how he will rule with shaytans, will use those shaytans to hypnotize people, how he will claim to be divine (surely Allah is beyond that) and will employ various hypnotic and hallucinatory tricks. This hypnosis worked by the antichrist will prevent the great majority of people from seeing the truth and grasping the most evident realities, and because of that hypnosis the great majority of people will be in a kind of sleep state. By Allah’s leave, it is the Prophet Jesus (as) who will eliminate the hypnosis of the antichrist. So much so, that the physical appearance of the Prophet Jesus (as), and “even his breath,” will be enough to put an end to the hypnosis of the antichrist and “the antichrist will dissolve like salt in water” in the face of the Prophet Jesus (as).

Before that, however, there will be a great intellectual struggle aimed at eliminating the corruption caused by the antichrist. And that will be the main and essential struggle of the End Times. Our Prophet (saas) says that the corruption of the antichrist will be the worst corruption in the history of mankind:

Therefore, the real danger facing mankind is not the person of the antichrist, but his corruption. And it is Hazrat Mahdi (as) who will neutralize that terrible corruption. The antichrist will wreak widespread destruction by using Darwinism, the religion of irreligion; in other words, the corruption of the antichrist will be the Darwinist, materialist and atheist system he has set up.

As we know, Darwinism indoctrinates people with the idea that human beings are (supposedly) a species of highly developed animal and have no responsibility to anyone, and that conflict is the only means of progress. Darwinism has therefore led to the emergence of selfish, ruthless, loveless, uncompassionate and aggressive generations. This unscientific idea led to the loss of some 350 million lives during the First and Second World Wars and has inflicted terrible suffering right up to the present day through terror, anarchy, conflict and civil wars. It gave rise to a system in which everyone is wary of everyone else, peace and security have totally vanished and people are practically afraid to step out of their front doors. Under this system victory goes to the strong, not to those in the right, joy and happiness are replaced by unhappiness and doubt, most people regard “distrusting even their own fathers” as perfectly normal, the idea prevails that one has to be ruthless to survive while affection, helping others, and being protective and compassionate is regarded as a kind of foolishness. As a result, societies have emerged that are defective and sick both physically and psychologically.

Hazrat Mahdi (as) will do away with that sickness and degeneration. Bediüzzaman said that one of Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) most important tasks will be to completely silence Darwinism and materialism, the system of the antichrist, using scientific methods:

Therefore, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will respond to Darwinism and materialism with knowledge, science and irrefutable evidence. He will prove that Darwinism is a hollow and outdated theory and destroy the Darwinist dictatorship erected by the antichrist. With the collapse of Darwinism, the pressure on people’s minds will be lifted, and people freed from prejudice and capable of thinking freely and making clear judgments will turn to religious moral values in droves.

When Hazrat Mahdi (as) has eradicated the influence of the antichrist though his intellectual activities, when the corruption of the antichrist has ceased and when religious moral values begin to reign, the Prophet Jesus (as) will appear in physical form and will neutralize the Messiah antichrist. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will wage a great intellectual campaign that neutralizes the system of the way of the antichrist and will totally silence that corruption. Meanwhile, the Prophet Jesus (as) will eliminate the magic spell and mass hypnosis worked by the antichrist. Bediüzzaman has said that only a prophet such as Jesus (as), capable of working miracles, can neutralize the hypnosis of the Messiah Antichrist:

As a result of Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) great intellectual campaign, people will begin to experience the warmth and beauty of religious moral values. With the lifting of the hypnosis of the antichrist by the Prophet Jesus (as), they will awake as if waking out of a nightmare, and the world will be filled with peace, justice, calm and security. In this way, the whole world will once again witness the truth of Allah’s promise and that victory will always go to His supporters. 

Allah has written, ‘I will be victorious, I and My Messengers.’ Allah is Most Strong, Almighty.  (Surat al-Mujadala, 21)