arthra

On another forum I posted some information that may be of use to those studying the origins of the Faith..

Mahdi: In Islamic eschatology, a messianic deliverer who will bring justice to the earth, restore true religion

also please read the following:

According to the Shia and Sunni versions of the Islamic eschatology the Mahdi (مهدي Mahdī, also Mehdi; "Guided One") is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on earth seven, nine, or nineteen years (depending on the interpretation[1]) before the coming of the day, Yawm al-Qiyamah (literally "Day of the Resurrection" or "Day of the Standing").[2] Muslims believe the Mahdi will rid the world of error, injustice and tyranny alongside Jesus.[3] The concept of Mahdi is not explicitly mentioned in the Qu'ran nor in the Sunni hadiths such as Sahih al-Bukhari which only mention the second coming of Jesus.[4][5] It is only one of the six books of hadīth. Some orthodox Sunnī theologians accordingly question Mahdist beliefs[5], but such beliefs form a necessary part of Shīʿī doctrine.[4]

Article on Mahdi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

this expectation as I noted above was one of the elements that fueled early Babism in Iran around the early 1840s.

Here is an example of the expectation in Hadiths:

Harun Yahya asked:

In his hadiths the Prophet (saas) told us that the Mahdi will be opposed to terror and violence, and that the anarchic environment and all acts of terror will come to an end in his day.

The hadiths state that in the time of the Mahdi all weapons will fall silent and wars will come to an end:

War will lay down its burden (arms and the like). (Sunan Ibn Majah, 10/334; Imam Sharani)

No Blood Will Be Shed in the Time of the Mahdi

Again according to the hadiths, the Mahdi will bring justice to the whole world, but not one single drop of blood will be shed. The Mahdi will be opposed to terror and violence. War and conflict will come to an end. Yet the Mahdi will follow a very peaceful path as he does all this. This attribute of the Mahdi is set out as follows in the hadith:

In the same way that bees gather round the queen, so people will gather round the Mahdi. He will fill the world, once filled with oppression, with justice instead. Such will be his justice that the sleeping man will not be awakened and no blood will be shed. The world will return to the Age of Happiness. (al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar, pp. 29 and 48)

Also as I noted above there was the expectation of the Return of the Twelth Imam whose disappearance occurred in 260 AH.. this was the last Imam according to the twelver school of Shiah Islam and animated the Shayke School of Iran around the 1830's.

Sayyid Kazim i Rashti a leader of the Shayke movement told his followers to expect the Mahdi:

He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, after study of the Islamic writings told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.

Sayyid Kazim Rashti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So this is the historical background of the beginning of the Baha'i era which began in 1844 with the declaration of the Siyyid Ali Muhammad (the Bab) in Shiraz on May 23, 1844 and later in November 1844 in Mecca itself..and this is a parallel between the Messianic expectation of Messiah at the time of Jesus and the Mahdi in 1844.

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arthra

To understand this issue of the Shiah/Sunni I think we need to look at a few articles .. and they concern Ali Ibn Abu Talib the cousin of Prophet Muhammad and the one who first recognized His Revelation..

See:

Shi'a view of Ali - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and there is a "thumb nail" summary of the Imamate the Twelve Imams here:

The Twelve Imams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You'll note the Twelfth Imam at the bottom of the list.. His return is connected with the expectation of the Mahdi and Jesus..

It was in this climate that the Baha'i era began in 1260 AH or 1844 CE.

The article below cited gives a complete description o fhow we Baha'is see the fulfillment of prophecy from Islamic perspective:

Baha'u'llah: The Great Announcement of the Qur'an

To answer the question how the Bab fulfilled the expectations we need to know more about the prophecy itself...

Generally there are several elements though in the prophecy of the Return of the Twelfth Imam.

Al-Baqir:

"When the Qa'im from the family of Muhammad may God bless Him and His family arises He will set up encampments and He will teach the people the Qur'an as it was revealed by God the Mighty and High. The greatest difficulty will be for those who have learnt it as it is today because it differs from its (original) composition."

The Bab revealed commentaries on the Surihs that differed form those of the well schooled Mullahs of His time.

One is that he would be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad..

The Bab was a Sayyid and wore the green turban symbolizing His descent..

The term Sayyid as an honorific title, is given to males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophetMuhammad (primarily by Shi'ite Muslims) through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, who were the sons of his daughter Fatima Zahra and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib

Sayyid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another was that black standards would herald His advent from Khorasan..

It was fulfilled by the followers of the Bab carrying the Black Standard from Khorasan.

Jafar al- Sadiq:

"When the Qa'im arises peace be upon Him, He will come with a new commandment (from God) just as the Apostle of God, may God bless Him and His family summoned (men) to a new commandment (from God) at the beginning of Islam".

The Bab revealed new commandments and set aside many practices and laws of the Islamic dispensation as fulfillment of this prophecy.

So this will I think give a perspective as to the Baha'i view and how it relates to Islam and as I mentioned earlier this week there are similarities in terms of Messianic expectation with the origin of Christianity.. Also simultaneously with the Shayke movement in Shiah ISlam was the Millerite movement primarily in the United States that expected the Return of Christ in 1844.. these two movements were on opposite areas of the globe and differed greatly in culture but expected the same year (1260 AH- 1844 CE) as the fulfillment of prophecy.
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