Let's Talk About the Al-Mahdi:

[Aquila]

Islam is a religion comprised of more than just a philosophy. Islam possesses eschatological prophecies that many Muslims believe whole heartedly. Perhaps the most disturbing prophetic teaching they have is that of their savior, the Al-Mahdi. It is believed that the Al-Mahdi will appear at a time when the world is in great turmoil and Islam is engaged in heated battle. The Al-Mahdi appears and unites the Islamic world into a final Caliphate that will extend the power and teachings of Islam throughout the world. Millions of Islamic fundamentalists are praying for the Al-Mahdi’s appearance as you read this. In the Hadiths and Koran we have a prophetic outline of what this Al-Mahdi will do to achieve this. Let’s take a look at what Islamic Eschatology teaches about the Al-Mahdi:

• He will be Islam's deliverer.
• He is to be a descendent of Muhammad.
• He is to bear the name or some variant name of Muhammad.
• He will look like a Bani Israel.
• He will lead the Muslims and wage jihad against them rest of the world.
• He will re-establish the Caliphate and rule over the world.
• He will cause Islam to be the only religion in the world and rule with Islamic Law.
• He will cause the world to embrace the Islamic calendar.
• He will be much loved by the world.
• He will conquer the Jews and slaughter them.
• He will set up his seat of authority in Jerusalem.
• He will rule for seven years (or 8, or 9).
• He will make a treaty of seven years with a person of priestly lineage.
• He will possess and distribute wealth to the Muslims.
• He will discover a new Torah, Gospel, and the Ark, and will use them to argue and persuade Jews and Christian, and cause many people to follow him into Islam.
• He will have Isa (Islamic version of Jesus) to assist him.
• His assistant, Isa, will kill the ad-Dajjal (Islamic version of the antichrist) who exercises miracles that will torment the world.
• He will mark all men to distinguish Muslims from the infidels, the Muslim's face will then shine while that of a non-Muslim will become black.
• During his rule, there will be good rain, great harvest and crops.
• He will not work miracles; rather the working of miracles is attributed to Isa (the Islamic Jesus) who testifies to the world that Al-Mahdi is Savior.

So... what are some thoughts regarding the al-Mahdi?