Who Is Mahdi
Praise to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime and may Allah bless Muhammad and Aale Muhammad (a.s.).
It is mentioned in Al-Irshaad of Shaykh Mufeed that the Holy Imam (a.s.) was born on 15th Shaban, 255 A.H. He was born on Friday, when half the month of Shaban had passed of the year 255. Imam Mahdi (As) is the twelfth Imam , the son of Imam Hassan Al-Askari (a.s.)
Names | Kunniyat | Titles
Names, titles and agnomens of His Eminence Mahdi (a.s.), which are mentioned in the Holy Quran, and other heavenly books, reports of Ahle Bayt (a.s.), sayings of tradition reporters,and books of traditions, biographies and narrators of traditions are mentioned authentically like the names of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) and the Holy Imams (a.s.).
Birth
Various objections have been raised regarding the birth of Imam Mahdi (a.s.). Read articles on the Birth of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) in the light of various books and traditions.
Characteristics & Attributes
Allah the Most High has blessed the Imam of the time Hazrat Wali-e-Asr (a.t.f.s.) with innumerable noble traits and distinctive characteristics. This shows the special position held by Imam (a.t.f.s.) near Allah, the Almighty. It is not even possible to list all of these attributes. We have listed some of these special characteristics.
Geneology & Lineage
Know about the Lineage of Imam Mahdi (a.s.)
Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.):
مَنْ مَاتَ وَ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ اِمَامَ زَمَانِهٖ مَاتَ مِيْتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً
Whosoever dies without recognizing the Imam of his time, dies the death of paganism (i.e. he dies an infidel).
Occultation
Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.) ‘What will be your condition at that time when you shall be without an Imam or guide and you will be disgusted with each other. At that time you shall be severely examined and you shall be differentiated and sieved.’
(Kamaluddin, pg. 348)
Deputies
In the initial stages of the minor occultation, some very special and selected people among the Shias had the permission to meet their master whenever the need arose. They presented the problems of the Shias in the service of Imam who provided answers to them and conveyed them back to the people. Such selected people were called as special representatives, deputies, doors of Imam etc.
Longetivity
The 12th Imam and longevity: In our point of view the 12th Imam longevity isn’t a problem; it’s just a surprising subject but Shia opponents see this surprising matter as a problem and exaggerate that till using his longevity as a reason for denying him.