The Reality of Khilafah — Page 73
Chapter Two—About the Mahdi 73 person is the Mahdi [Guided One], who is guided by the Lord of the worlds, gains knowledge from Him, and invites people to the spiritual banquet that brings salvation to them. His likeness is that of a table laid out with all kinds of foods, such as milk which is pleasant to drink and meat that is well roasted; or like a winter fire for one stricken with cold; or like a large, golden dish laden with sugar and pure honey, so that whoever comes to him will partake of the delicious food and whoever turns away will be seized and thrown into a blazing fire, despite all his excuses. Thus, it has been established that the Mahdis are the pillars of the Religion. Their light appears when the darkness of Satan has spread, and they are surrounded by many groups of people, like the corona encircling the moon. Since the advent of the Mahdis, for the most part, occurs only when the wrongdoers and those who have gone astray are in the majority, they are given this name as a sign that Allah, the Lord of Glory and Generosity, has exonerated them of the objections of those who disobeyed and disbelieved, and has deliv- ered them, by His own Hand, from every kind of darkness into light, and out of falsehood into perfect truth. He has made them the inheritors of prophetic knowledge and bestowed upon them a good portion of it. He has expanded their perception and has Himself taught them, guiding them to possibilities beyond their comprehension and showing them paths that would be inconceiv- able to them without Allah’s guidance. Therefore, these people are called Mahdi. As for the Promised Mahdi—the Imam of the Latter Days and whose advent is expected at the time when the winds of transgression rage—do understand that the term ‘Mahdi’ carries