Life of Ahmad — Page 232
CLAIMS TO BE THE MESSIAH as as 232 appearance of the Mahdi, apart from the Messiah, was never really meant. M a lik rh , Bukh a r i rh and Muslim rh are the earliest and the greatest authorities on Hadith, but it is most significant that they do not mention the appearance of the Mahdi at all in any of their collections. They speak of the advent of the Messiah only. And Ibni M a jah makes the point clear when it reports the saying of the Holy Prophet sa i. e. there is no Mahdi but ‘ I sa as. Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal also records: 'Abu Huraira says that the Holy Prophet as said: It is just possible that, he who lives of you might meet Jesus the son of Mary who is the Mahdi and a just judge; he will break the Cross and kill the Swine. ' It is clear from these words of the Holy Prophet sa that he means the advent of only one individual who is given two different names (‘ I sa and Mahdi). Having established the fact that the Mahdi is no other than the Messiah promised to Muslims, let us now turn to the authentic traditions which speak of the advent of the Messiah. Bukh a r i records a saying of the Holy Prophet sa through Abu Huraira as follows: