Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 716
FUTURE OF REVELATION different titles. The exact words of the tradition run as follows: 5 لَا الْمَهْدِيُّ إِلَّا عِيْسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ. There would be no Mahdi other than Isa (Jesus). . This can only mean that the promised Mahdi himself is referred to as Jesusas. However, Al-Mahdi is to be born within the Ummah, according to most traditions. How then, could he be the person of Jesus as if Jesus as is to descend from heaven after him? This can only happen if Jesus is a mere title which Al-Mahdi would possess together with his own so that no separate Jesus would descend from the heavens. His role will be performed by Al-Mahdi instead. It ensues that the prophet Jesus as would be born metaphorically, as Al-Imam Al-Mahdi within Islam. This leads us to the issue of determining the real status of AlMahdi. As will be shown presently, his status has to be that of a non-law-bearing subordinate prophet though the mainstream Ulema do not refer to him as such. In the case of Jesusas, they can freely refer to him as a prophet because of the reasons mentioned above; but in the case of AlMahdi they cannot do so lest this admission should clearly clash with their Doctrine of Finality. . Their strategy regarding the Mahdi is completely different. For them, he will remain an uncrowned prophet to whom all attributes of a prophet are freely granted except for the title. It is like defining a man without calling him one, while calling him by any other name would not make him less than a man. The Ulema must realize that the status of Al-Mahdi must be determined by virtue of his attributes. . His entitlement to the status of a prophet cannot be denied him as long as he functions as one. If the prerequisites of a prophet are combined in any person, then call him by 674