Some religious scholars claim that Hazrat Mahdi (as) should have been immediately recognized as of the year 1400, the date of his coming, and that since the first quarter of the 1400s has passed, the appearance of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will take place in another century. The fact is, however, that Scholar Sayyid Muhammad Ibn Rasul Al-Husayn Al Barzanji of Medina, the great Sunni mujaddid (restorer of the faith) of the 11th century (1040-1103 according to the Islamic calendar) makes the following statement on page 301 of the 10th edition of his expanded work “Al-Isha'at li Ashratis Saa'at' ie”  (Portents of Doomsday):

“Or four, five or even ten of the first hundred years may be counted. Accordingly, Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) appearance seven, nine or thirty years before the hundredth year cannot prevent his coming at the beginning of the century... Even if he appears after that time, the situation will still be the same.”
 






Al Barzanji thus states that even 4, 5 or 10 years after the year 1400 according to the Islamic calendar can be accepted as the early 1400s, which the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will happen in, In other words, the fact that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be recognized 7, 9 or even 30 years before or after the year 1400 is no obstacle to Hazrat Mahdi (as) the greatest guide there has even been, coming in the year 1400. Even if these situations do prevail, the greatest and last guide, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will have emerged at the beginning of the 1400s but will not initially be recognized.



Master Said Nursi, the greatest mujaddid of the 13th century, also says that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not be recognized when he first appears: 

 

 
However, as we said, this world is the arena of trial. The door is opened to the reason, but the will is not taken from the hand. SO, WHEN THOSE INDIVIDUALS [Hazrat Mahdi (as) and Hazrat ‘Isa (as)], AND EVEN THE TERRIBLE DAJJAL, APPEAR, MANY PEOPLE AND EVEN HIMSELF WILL NOT KNOW TO START WITH THAT HE IS THE DAJJAL. Those individuals [Hazrat Mahdi (as) and Hazrat ‘Isa (as)] of the end of time will be known through the insight and the light of belief.

The Words / Twenty-Fourth Word - Third Branch - p.355


In one hadith our Prophet (saas) cites an example from the life of the Prophet Yusuf (as) in describing how Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not be recognized immediately after his appearance and how people will not know that he is Hazrat Mahdi (as) even though he is among them:
 

... THEN IT IS CERTAIN THAT HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) RESEMBLES THE PROPHET YUSUF (AS) AND THAT HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILLL SEE PEOPLE BUT PEOPLE WILL NOT SEE HIM [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] and that as Hazrat Ali (ra) states, HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILL NOT BE SEEN UNTIL A VOICE CALLS FROM THE SKY.

(Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Nomani, al-Ghaybah al-Nomani p. 167)





For these reasons, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not be known when he first appears, and people will not know that he is Hazrat Mahdi (as), even though he will go among them in the streets and markets. Therefore there will be some people that will come out against him. Some ignorant hodjas will then appear and say that this person has killed our religion. Some crude, fanatical and ignorant hodjas of the time will oppose Hazrat Mahdi (as) and stand against him. They will not at first know that he is Hazrat Mahdi (as) of the End Times. Since people will not recognize Hazrat Mahdi (as) he will be exposed to duress and mistreatment from the supporters of the Dajjal who oppose the moral values of the Qur’an, and there will be times of imprisonment and seclusion, and efforts will be made to exclude him from society because nobody knows him and his students. Our Prophet (saas) reveals that nobody in that society will realize the worth of Hazrat Mahdi (as) and his students:


He said: "Look for them at the edges of the world. Their lives are simple, their homes are on their backs, even if present they are not recognized, IF THEY ARE LOST NONE WILL LOOK FOR THEM, IF THEY ARE SICK NONE WILL VISIT THEM, and if they wish to marry none will come to them. If THEY DIE, NONE WILL ATTEND THEIR FUNERALS. They share their possessions equally among them and visit one another’s graves; their wishes are all the same, even if they are in different cities."

(Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Nomani, al-Ghaybah al-Nomani, p. 23)


If, as some religious scholars maintain, Hazrat Mahdi (as) were to be recognized the moment he appeared in 1400, then he would not be exposed to duress and mistreatment as described in the hadith of our Prophet (saas), but would immediately be known and followed. 

The fact is that, as our Prophet (saas) sets out in the hadith. The life of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will resemble that of the Prophet Yusuf (as). Like the Prophet Yusuf (as), Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be imprisoned by the supporters of the system of the Dajjal, and there will be a time when he disappears from sight:


"Abu Basr says: I heard Imam Muhammad Baqr (as) say:" “HE WHO POSSESSES THIS OCCULTATION [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILL HAVE THE SUNNA OF FOUR PROPHETS.  :... I SAID, WHAT IS THE SUNNA OF YUSUF (AS)? AND HE SAID: IMPRISONMENT AND DISAPPEARANCE. "...

(Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Nomani, al-Ghaybah al-Nomani, p. 190)





The slanders stated in the Qur’an uttered by their peoples against true believers and the prophets sent as messengers bear a very close similarity to those described in the hadith of our Prophet (saas) as being made against Hazrat Mahdi (as). Our Prophet (saas) states that the life of Hazrat Mahdi (as), the last guide of the End Times, will be one of oppression, torture, imprisonment and the struggle against injustice.
 

 
"Hazrat Mahdi (as) is one of us, from the Ahl al-Bayt."

Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 14

 
 

 
… We are such a household that Allah has preferred the Hereafter for us over this world.  It is certain that after me my ahl al-bayt (my line) will suffer disasters, kidnappings and exile. After me, my ahl al-bayt (my line) will be confronted by troubles and difficulties and suffer heavy blows.

Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, Ali Ibn Husamaddin al-Muttaki, p. 14
 
 
 

... He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will perform two complete prayer (namaz). When he turns round from the namaz he will say:  "O People! The Ummah of Muhammad and especially his ahl al-bayt have suffered great troubles and we have been exposed to suffering and injustice.”

Al-Burhan fi Alamat al-Mahdi Akhir al-Zaman, p. 55
 
 
 

He will continue his struggle until people return to the truth.

Al-Qawl Al-Mukhtasar Fi alamat Al-Mahdi Al-Muntazar, p. 23

 
 

When the one who believes [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] sees the Dajjal, he will say, “O People! This is the Dajjal of whom Rasulullah (saas) speaks.” The Dajjal will immediately issue his command regarding him, and that person will be stretched out on his stomach, and from behind him he will say, “Take him and wound him.” That person’s back and stomach will be expanded by beating. This time he will seize him by his two hands and feet and cast him away. People will imagine that the Dajjal has cast him into a fire. But he will really have been cast into paradise.

The Mahdi and the Imam, Ibrahim Suleymanoglu, p. 40

 
 

After you, the most auspicious of Muslims [the community of Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will emerge to strive against them, and they are the people who feel no condemnation from any critic nor any backbiting on the path of Allah…

Sunan  Ibn Majah, 10/259


As the authentic hadith of our Prophet (saas) clearly state, Hazrat Mahdi’s life will not be an easy one; he will encounter difficulties and strive against the duress, oppression and cruel practices of the system of the Dajjal. There is no question, therefore, of his being recognized as soon as he appears, as some religious scholars suggest. On the contrary, the system of the Dajjal will attempt to hinder him because of his belief in Allah, he will be the victim of slanders and they will attempt to keep him out of the public eye.

Verses of the Qur’an states that the prophets, the true, genuine Muslims who followed them and their guides and the Companions were all subjected to groundless slanders by the deniers. We are told in the Qur’an, for example, that the Prophet Musa (as) was falsely accused of lying, seeking power and self-interest and threatening public peace and security. The Prophet Yusuf (as) and Hazrat Maryam (as) were falsely accused of being unchaste, while our Prophet (saas) was falsely accused of madness and sorcery.




SOME OF THE VERSES OF THE QUR’AN REGARDING THE FALSE ACCUSATIONS MADE AGAINST THE PROPHETS:


She brought him to her people, carrying him. They said, ‘Maryam! You have done an unthinkable thing! Sister of Harun, your father was not an evil man nor was your mother an unchaste woman!’ (Surah Maryam, 27-28)


Pharaoh said, ‘Have you believed in him before I authorized you to do so? This is just some plot you have concocted in the city to drive its people from it. (Surat al-A‘raf, 123)
 

The ruling circle of his people said, ‘We see you in flagrant error.’ (Surat al-A‘raf, 60)
 

They said, ‘Have you come to us to turn us from what we found our fathers doing, and to gain greatness in the land? We do not believe you.’ (Surah Yunus, 78)
 

Equally, no Messenger came to those before them without their saying, ‘A magician or a madman!’ Did they bequeath this to each other? Indeed they are an unbridled people. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 52-53)


They say, ‘You, to whom the Reminder has been sent down, are clearly mad. (Surat al-Hijr, 6)
 

But he turned away with his forces, saying, ‘A magician or a madman!’ So We seized him and his armies and hurled them into the sea, and he was to blame. (Surat adh-Dhariyat, 39-40)
 

The ruling circle of those of his people who were unbeliever said, ‘We do not see you as anything but a human being like ourselves. We do not see anyone following you but the lowest of us, unthinkingly. We do not see you as superior to us. On the contrary, we consider you to be liars.’ (Surah Hud, 27)
 

Thamud denied the warnings. They said, ‘Are we to follow a human being, one of us? Then we would truly be misguided, quite insane! Has the Reminder been given to him of all of us? No indeed! He is an impudent liar.’ ‘They will know tomorrow who the impudent liar is. (Surat al-Qamar, 23-26)


And then when he became a full-grown man, We gave him knowledge and right judgment too. That is how We reward all doers of good. The woman whose house it was solicited him. She barred the doors and said, ‘Come over here!’ He said, ‘Allah is my refuge! He is My lord and has been good to me with where I live. Those who do wrong will surely not succeed.’ She wanted him and he would have wanted her, had he not seen the Clear Proof of his Lord. That happened so We might avert from him all evil and lust. He was Our chosen slave. They raced to the door. She tore his shirt at the back. They met her husband by the door. She said, ‘How should a man whose intention was to harm your family be punished for what he did except with prison or painful punishment?’ (Surah Yusuf, 22-25)


But Allah protects and absolves those who turn to Him with a sincere heart from the slanders and lies of the deniers.  Allah reveals in verses how He absolves the Prophet Musa (as) from the slanders of Pharaoh and the deniers: 


You who believe! Do not be like those who abused Musa. Allah absolved him of what they said and he was highly honored with Allah. You who believe! have taqwa of Allah and speak words which hit the mark. (Surat al-Ahzab, 69-70)





MASTER SAID NURSI, THE MUJADDID OF THE 13TH CENTURY, RESPONDS TO SOME RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS


Another response to some religious scholars’ false claim that Hazrat Mahdi (as) should be recognized as soon as he appears, so the coming of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not take place in the year 1400 (according to the Islamic calendar), and that it will therefore be postponed to a later century comes from Master Said Nursi, the mujaddid of the 13th century.  In his Risale, the Master Said Nursi says that Hazrat Mahdi (as), the greatest guide and restorer of the faith there has ever been, will have three great duties in the End Times:


AS I HAVE INDICATED MANY TIMES IN MY LETTERS, THE COLLECTIVE ENTITY OF THE HOLY COMMUNITY REPRESENTED BY MAHDI AL RASUL HAS THREE DUTIES. If Doomsday does not happen soon and if all people do not turn from the path, then we may expect from the divine mercy that his community and the sayyid (the descendants of the Prophet (saas)) will perform those three tasks. And he will have three great duties.

(Emirdağ Addendum, p. 259)


But the master says that the most important of these three duties of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be the first. So much so that even the other duties of this great guide, those in the world of governance and politics, will come after this first duty.


Some verses and hadith speak in allegorical terms OF THE GREATEST RENNOVATOR, WHO WILL APPEAR IN THE END TIMES. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE THREE DUTIES OF THAT INDIVIDUAL WHO WILL COME AND HIS COMMUNITY, and that which appears on the surface to be the smallest, is to salvage faith and illuminate the truths leading to faith like a Sun…

(Tilsimlar Magazine, p. 168)


This duty will be to intellectually neutralize materialism and Darwinism, the philosophies which will have the worst impact on people of the system of the Dajjal in the End Times, by telling people of the proofs of Allah’s creation. 

In his Emirdag Addendum, Master Said Nursi says that Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) first task will be instrumental in people turning to faith by describing the signs leading to faith in opposition to materialism and Darwinism, which will have a huge impact in the End Times:
 

FIRST: Under the effect of SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY, and the contagious plague known as ATHEISM AND MATERIALISM, and its spread among people, he will first of all save the faith in such a way as to silence PHILISOPHY AND MATERIALISM.

(Emirdağ Addendum, p. 259)


Hazrat Mahdi (as), the great mujaddid of the End Times will perform this task in the best possible manner. But since the necessary intellectual research will have to be done and prepared, and since people will have to be educated and made aware on these subjects, and since, finally, the intellectual neutralization of these two philosophies known as materialism and Darwinism, will require the most careful work, this activity on the part of Hazrat Mahdi (as) will take much more time than imagined, and this will hinder his being recognized.  For these reasons, Hazrat Mahdi (as) will begin to be recognized by people quite some time after the date of his appearance, the year 1400 according to the Islamic calendar (AD 1979), between the years 2011 and 2021. (Allah knows the truth).