It is revealed in many of the hadiths reported from our Prophet (saas) that once the Prophet Jesus (as) and Hazrat Mahdi (as) have eradicated the intellectual system of the antichrist, a holy time in which, by Allah’s leave, Qur’anic moral values rule the whole world will be experienced. According to the information contained in the hadiths, this period, known as the Golden Age, will last for more than half a century and will resemble the Age of Bliss experienced during the time of our Prophet (saas). The reason why this age will be known as Golden is that our Prophet (saas) has described it as having similar features to Paradise. By Allah’s leave, it will contain all the conditions necessary for people to be able to live in peace and security. All forms of corruption, disorder and trouble experienced during the first stages of the End Times will come to an end, together with the strings of great disasters, wars and suffering. The degeneration, spiritual emptiness and moral corruption caused by philosophical systems that deny Allah will give way to an age which all believers have longed for over a period of hundreds of years, when Qur’anic moral values rule the world. Our Lord will rescue all mankind from the terrible disorder of the End Times and bestow on them the blessing of plenty, abundance and justice.
The matchless nature of the blessings that will be enjoyed in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as) during the Golden Age is described in great detail in the hadiths. According to these, the Golden Age will be a time of great plenty and abundance, wealth and well-being. The needy will be given many times more than they require, nothing will be counted out or measured, and there will be not the slightest difficulty, poverty or hunger. All the wealth in the Earth will be brought forth, and more products will be obtained from the soil than ever before.
Some of the hadiths that impart the glad tidings of this plenty and abundance that will be experienced in the Golden Age read as follows:
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come among my community. His life span will be seven years if short, or eight, or nine years. In his time my community, the good and bad, will be blessed with incomparable blessings, the sky will cause plentiful rain to fall and the earth will hold nothing back. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 9)
Ibn Abi Shayba, says in his book the Musannaf that Abu Sa’id al-Khudri related that the Messenger of Allah (saas) said: Hazrat Mahdi (as) will come from my community. If his life span is extended or shortened, his reign will last for seven, or eight or nine years. And he will fill the world, previously full of oppression, with justice. The sky will send down rain, the earth will bring forth abundance, and the community will prosper in his time as never before. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 9)
The earth will cast forth the treasures inside it. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 45)
... The earth will cast forth all the riches hidden in it in the form of ingots of gold and silver. (Al-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 464)
People will reap seven hundred measures of wheat when they sow one measure… A man will sow a few handfuls of seed and reap 700… Although much rain falls, not a drop will be wasted. (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 164; Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 24)
In addition, the moral degeneration and injustices present in society will be eliminated in the Golden Age. There will be an end to rampant theft, fraud, cheating, neglect of the needy and injustices such as only a very small part of the community living in a state of plenty. In this period when Qur’anic moral values reign supreme, there will be equality among people from all sections of society, and a climate of peace and security. As a result of this climate of justice, people will have nothing to do with cheating, evil or what is unlawful. This climate so full of justice is described as follows in hadiths:
Hazrat Mahdi (as) ... will fill the earth with justice when it was formerly full of oppression. In the time of his succesion the dwellers in the earth and sky, and even the birds in the air, will be delighted with him. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 24)
In the same way that bees gather round the queen, so people will gather round Hazrat Mahdi (as). He will fill the world, once filled with oppression, with justice instead, the sleeping man will not be awakened and no blood will be shed. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 11)
... He will fill the world with truth and justice as it is now filled with oppression and torture. (Sunan Abu Dawud, 5/93)
He will fill the world with justice, instead of oppression and torture. (Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 163)
... The world will be filled with justice... (Imam Rabbani, Letters of Rabbani, 1/251)
Justice will be so plentiful that everything taken away by force will be restored to its owner, and things will be given back to their owners, even if it is just something caught between someone’s teeth… The earth will be filled with security, and a handful of women will easily be able to go on the hajj even if unaccompanied by any men. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
He will distribute goods fairly. His justice will prevail everywhere. The world, now full of cruelty and evil, will overflow with justice after his coming… In the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as), justice will be so plentiful that everything taken away by force will be restored to its owner, and everything will be given back to its owner, even just something caught between someone’s teeth... The world will be filled with security and even just a few women will easily be able to go on the hajj unaccompanied by any men. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
According to this information supplied in the hadiths, the main distinguishing features of this period will be abundance of products and goods of all kinds, the establishment of security and justice, peace and happiness, all material resources being used for people’s ease, comfort, joy and happiness, nobody being left in need, and those who ask being given many times more than they require. Additionally, it is also revealed in the hadiths that “weapons will fall silent,” which imparts the glad tidings that the Earth will be filled with peace in this age. People who were previously in a state of disagreement with one another will enjoy great brotherhood during the Golden Age, and conflict of all kinds will be replaced by peace, friendship and love.
One of the main reasons for this climate when all mankind enjoys great peace, security and comfort will be Muslims’ proper moral values. The most important feature of the Golden Age will be that it is a period when people have complete devotion to the Qur’an and fully live according to Qur’anic moral values. Since people will fear Allah and be aware that they will be held to account for all their deeds in the Hereafter, they will scrupulously avoid such vices as selfishness, corruption, unjust earnings, lying, harboring evil intentions towards others or taking bribes. Instead of these, virtues such as honesty, helpfulness, self-sacrifice, wanting the best for others, thinking of their health, comfort and security, love, respect, compassion, devotion and loyalty will prevail. This excellent morality that will be experienced in the Golden Age is described as follows in the hadiths of our Prophet (saas):
... In the same way that Almighty Allah began Islam with me, so He will bring it to an end with him. In the same way that they were freed from polytheism and enmity with me and their hearts were filled with friendship and love, so it will be with him. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 20)
... The goodness of good men will grow, and even the bad will be treated well. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 17)
In addition to all this, technological advances will reach a peak in this phase of the End Times, and people will be able to make all possible use of these technological blessings. Enormous strides will be made in medicine, agriculture, industrial technology and transportation.
The plenty, wealth, beauty and progress that will dominate all spheres of life in the Golden Age will also be reflected in the field of art. Great artistic advances will be made, and ever lovelier works will be produced in the fields of music, painting and others. The wide horizons and profound thought that faith in Allah bestows will lead the way in all branches of art. In this period people everywhere will be confronted by beauty and, just like their moral values, the homes they live in, their gardens, the decoration of their homes, their clothing, the music they listen, their forms of entertainment, theatres, pictures and conversation will also become ever more delightful.
People will be so pleased with their lives in the Golden Age that, as one hadith puts it they will “be unaware of the passing of time and will ask Allah to prolong their lives so they can take greater advantage of these delights.” In other hadiths it is revealed that everyone will wish to live in the Golden Age:
... The younger ones wish they were grown-ups, while the adults wish they were younger... (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 17)
Nuaym narrates from Tawus: I begged not to die before seeing Hazrat Mahdi (as). Because the goodness of good people will grow in his time, and even the bad will be treated well. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 17)
Nuaim Ibn Hammad narrates from Ibn Abbas that: Hazrat Mahdi (as) is a young one from our Ahl al-Bayt. Our elderly will not reach him whereas the young ones will hope for him… (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 173)
All these good aspects of living in the time of Hazrat Mahdi (as), a most valuable human being who will be a means whereby people attain salvation in this world and in the Hereafter, are indicated by our Prophet (saas), telling people to “follow him, even by crawling over snow:”
... A man from my family appears to fill Earth with justice, just as it has been filled with corruption. So whoever reaches that [time] ought to come to them, even if crawling on the ice/snow, since among them is the successor of Allah al-Mahdi. (Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir az-Zaman, p. 14)
People will enjoy all these delights the tidings of which Allah imparts to His faithful servants in the Qur’an, in this age. Allah reveals in verses that He will give faithful believers delightful lives in this world:
What is with you runs out but what is with Allah goes on forever. Those who were steadfast will be recompensed according to the best of what they did. Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give them a good life and We will recompense them according to the best of what they did. (Surat an-Nahl, 96-97)
It is emphasized in the Qur’an that those environments in which people live according to Allah’s commandments will turn into the Abode of Peace. People possessed of such moral values will enjoy great delights in this world and also be rewarded with the endless life of Paradise in the Hereafter:
Allah calls to the Abode of Peace and He guides whom He wills to a straight path. Those who do good will have the best and more! Neither dust nor debasement will darken their faces. They are the Companions of the Garden, remaining in it timelessly, forever. (Surah Yunus, 25-26)
