Haqiqatul-Wahi (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation) — Page 55
CHAPTER III 55 the extent that they were no longer in agreement even regarding such beliefs as the appearance of the Mahdi and the coming of the Messiah. For example, the Mahdi of the Shias is hidden in a cave and he has the original Holy Quran. He will appear at a time when the Companions, Allah be pleased with them, will also be brought back to life, and he will take revenge from them for the usurpation of the Khilafat [from Hadrat 'Alia]. Likewise, with reference to the Mahdi of the Sunnis, based upon their statements, it is not certain that he will be born to a particular family, nor is it certain that he will appear in the time of ‘Īsā. Some say that he will be born from among the Fatimids, and some say that he will be from among the Abbasids. Still others opine, on the basis of a hadith, that he is a man from the ummah in general. Then again, some say that the advent of the Mahdi must occur in the middle period, and the Promised Messiah will come after him and they quote aḥadīth to support this. Others that the Messiah and Mahdi are not two distinct individuals, but that very Messiah is the Mahdi. To validate this contention they quote the hadith [There is no Mahdi except Īsā]. say As for the Dajjal, some are of the view that Ibn Ṣayyād, indeed, is the Dajjāl and he is in hiding, and shall emerge in the Latter Days; when in truth that poor fellow had converted to Islam and died a Muslim, and his funeral prayer was offered by the Muslims. * And some say that the Dajjal is imprisoned in a church; meaning that, he is detained in some chapel and will ultimately emerge from it. This last statement was indeed correct, but it is regrettable that its meanings, despite being very obvious, were distorted. Is there any doubt that the Dajjal, which refers to the demon of Christianity, has remained incarcerated within the Church for a long time, and has withheld its deceptive machinations, 1. It is an established fact that Ibn Ṣayyad was a Muslim and he also performed the Hajj, but, despite performing the Hajj and being a Muslim, he could not escape being labelled the Dajjal! (Author)