The concept of Messiah in Islam & the Anti-Christ
by John Baker

We are living in very interesting and prophetical times. I have studied Islam for over two years now and it never ceases to amaze me the things I discover even still, consider this:

In regards to the Al Mahdi below (or as known in Islam as the Islamic Messiah). If you scroll to the bottom of the article below: “The Concept of Messiah in Islam” where it says “WHO IS THE MAHDI?” it gives his lineage in points 1,2 & 3.

Now there is something very interesting here. The country of Jordan is also known as the “Hashemite Kingdom” or the Hashim Kingdom. This is because they are part of the Arab Banû Hãshim tribe. As seen in point 1 below. And if you go to their Family Web site: http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/rfamily_hashemites.html , their family tree is exactly as is detailed below for the Al Mahdi or Islamic Messiah. (Anti-Christ)

Now what is also interesting is that the Hashemite Family were also at one time the Royal family of Syria and Iraq, this was during and after the first world war when the Turkish empire crumbled and the Arab tribes rebelled, and the Banu Hashim tribe claimed the title “King of the Arabs” based on their claim of being descended from the Prophet Muhammad.

When the British were given the mandate to govern Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, And the French: Lebanon and Syria after World War I, they refused to recognize the claim of the Hashemite’s claim as King of the Arabs. As they did not wanted a single united Arab Kingdom to be set up covering all of the Middle East, and instead the Hashemites settled for the Kingdom of Jordan, and the British partitioned the rest of the Arab territories into the countries we see today, the British did this to ensure no single Arab tribe could dominate the Arab territories: http://www.kingabdullah.jo/main.php?main_page=4&lang_hmka1=1


Now the “little horn” from Daniel 7: “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”

King Hussein of Jordan before he died was always known as the “Great peacemaker” and his son has continued in that tradition. Since Jordan has no oil or great wealth it has relied on being a peacemaker as it is a small weak country and it is bordered on one side by Israel, and the other by Iraq, Iran, & Syria. So in any great Mid-East war it would one of the first crushed. Iran does not consider Jordan as a legitimate country as it was created by the League of Nations (United Nations) out of the old British Palestine mandate. During the war in Ezekiel 38, the Hashemite King is supposed to flee to and find refuge in Israel, ahead of Gog and Magog as they sweep westwards.

The “little horn” The Anti-Christ will come from the Hashemites. It is also interesting that many Scholars consider that Islam was not really a defined Religion during Muhammad’s lifetime but was actually a heretical sect of Judaism, and when the Jewish tribes in Arabia rejected Muhammad as a Prophet he changed his tone towards them and this is where we get the origins of the Hatred of Muslims towards the Jews. When the Jewish Tribes rejected Muhammad he directed his followers to stop praying towards Jerusalem three times a day just as the Jewish tribes did but turn their backs to Jerusalem and he had his followers turn towards Mecca and pray five times a day from then on.

The Al Mahdi, (Anti-Christ) will come to power after peace has been established after Ezekiel 38, he will be accepted as the Al Mahdi by the Arabs and he will be accepted as the “Messiah” by the Jews as he will possibly? Show how Islam and Judaism are actually one and the same. This will also resolve the issue of the Jews wanting to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount but the Muslim Arabs being opposed to it because of the Muslim Dome of the Rock. It seems to say in Bible Prophecy that the Dome of the Rock will be seriously damaged by an Earth Quake, and if that is so, and the Al Mahdi (Anti-Christ) comes to power and joins these two religions then a single temple for both is a very big possibility. And this is where it may seem he is honoring the Jews by rebuilding the Temple in the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation and then at the end of the 3 ½ years, he defiles the temple by entering it and announcing himself as God.

The concept of Messiah in Islam
by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi

INTRODUCTION

Islam, being the youngest of the three great revealed religions, shares many ideas and concepts with Christianity and Judaism because the origin of all three religions is the same God. One of those ideas is that of Messianism, the idea of expecting someone who will came as the savior to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

In today’s talk, let us briefly look at the concept of messiah in Islam.

MESSIANISM IN ISLAM

Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet and messenger of God. Muslims also believe that God will grant total and comprehensive victory to Islam over other religions. The holy Qur’ãn talks about this promise in three different verses. It says:

He (Allãh) is the one who sent His Messenger (Muhammad) with the guidance and the religion of truth so that He may grant victory to it over every religion."

(The Qur’ãn 9:33; 48:28; 61:9)

When and how will this promise of God be fulfilled?

According to the unanimously accepted saying of the Prophet Muhammad, God will bring about a saviour before the end of time to establish the global domination of Islam over all religions. In other words, the saviour will establish the Kingdom of God on this earth. In Islamic traditions, that saviour is known by the name of "al-Mahdi".

The establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth at the hand of the righteous people has been clearly mentioned in the holy Qur’ãn. God says:

We would like to bestow a favour upon those who have been oppressed in the earth and make them leaders and make them inheritors (of the world)." (The Qur’ãn 28:5)

He again says,

Certainly, We wrote in the Psalms (Zabur)...`As for the earth, surely My righteous servants shall inherit it.’" (The Qur’ãn 21:105)

Even the present version of Psalms has this promise of God in chapter 37:1-29 where it says: "And just a little while longer, and the wicked ones will be no more...But the meek ones shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace...The righteous themselves shall inherit the earth."

This shows that the belief in the saviour is not unique to the Muslims. The Christians and the Jews are also are waiting for him: the Christians are looking forward to the second coming of the Christ while the Jews are still waiting for the Messiah.

MAHDI IN ISLAM

The belief in al-Mahdi —as the embodiment of the messiah or the saviour who will appear at the end of time— is a belief in the fulfillment of God’s promise. It is a belief common to all Muslims based on the unanimously accepted sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.).

Ibn Khaldun, the 14th century historian famous for his pioneering work in philosophy of history, writes in his Muqaddima:

"It has been (accepted) by all the Muslims in every epoch, that at the end of time a man from the family (of the Prophet) will, without fail, make his appearance, one who will strengthen Islam and make justice triumph. Muslims will follow him, and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called the Mahdi."

Ibn Khaldun clearly states that Muslims in each generation have accepted the belief in the Mahdi. The unanimity of this belief among the Muslims is furthered strengthened by the fatwa issued from the General Secretariat of the World Muslim League in Mecca on the 11th of October 1976. This fatwa was written by Shaykh Muhammad al-Muntasir al-Katani and approved by a committee consisting of four other scholars.

After listing the names of twenty companions of the Prophet who have narrated the Prophet’s statements on the Mahdi, and after giving the names of the scholars who have written exclusively on al-Mahdi, the fatwa says:

"The memorizers and scholars of hadith have verified that there are reliable and acceptable reports among the ahadith on the Mahdi; the majority of them are narrated through numerous authorities. There is no doubt about their status as mutawatir and sahih reports.

"And the belief in the appearance of the Mahdi is obligatory, and that it is one of the beliefs of the people of the sunna and jama’ah; and none denies it except those who are ignorant of the sunna and innovators in doctrine.

WHO IS THE MAHDI?

In trying to identify the person who will be the Mahdi and the Saviour, the only source we have is the Prophet of Islam. According to his sayings, the basic characteristics of Mahdi are as follows:

1. He will be an Arab, from the tribe of Banû Hãshim.

2. He will be from the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad

through his daughter Fatima.

3. He will be the descendant of Husayn, son of Fatima and ‘Ali.

4. He will appear in Mecca.

5. Finally, one of the most interesting thing that we find in the sayings of the Prophet

is that Imam al-Mahdi will be helped by Prophet Jesus.

We are told that Jesus will descend to the earth soon after the appearance of the Mahdi; he will join the Mahdi in establishing the Kingdom of God on earth; and he will pray behind Imam al-Mahdi. The true Christians will follow Jesus in accepting Imam al-Mahdi as the leader at the time and become Muslims.

Let me share with you a thought that I heard from my father:

In the Qur’ãn, God has selected Abraham and his descendants and preferred them over the others. Abraham’s children were from his two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. From the line of Isaac, we have all the great prophets of the Israelites (Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon and, finally, Jesus). From the line of Ishmael, we the Prophet of Islam and the Imams from his family, the last being Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi.

God has, by His decree, preserved the last representatives from both lines of Abraham for the establishment of His Kingdom. At the end of time, He will bring Imam al-Mahdi and Prophet Jesus together for the fulfillment of His plan.

This is the optimistic outlook that we have towards human history; and incidentally it also shows how closely the destiny of the Muslims and the Christians is linked together.

http://msnusers.com/14MASUMEEN/mybanner.msnw

http://www.islamicentre.org/articles/messiah.htm

http://www.islamicentre.org/articles/mahdi1.htm