Author: Mohammad Date: 2015-07-17

I have questions:

First: Is Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, physically growing, or is he always young by the power of God Almighty?

Second: Is Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, married and has children or not?

Third: A Shia scholar in Iran said that Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, married an Iranian girl in Tehran. What do you think of his saying?

Thank you for your great efforts. May God grant you success.

Answer to question: 3 Date: 2015-07-17

Please note the following:

1. Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, according to the rule ﴿إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ[1]; “I am only a human being like you”, is a human being like other people in terms of body, and therefore, he is affected by natural harms; as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the Prophets before him were affected by them, to the extent that the wife of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said: ﴿يَا وَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا ۖ إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ[2]; “Woe to me! Shall I give birth to a child while I am an old woman and my husband is an old man?! This is surely a strange thing”, and the brothers of Yusuf, peace be upon him, said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الْعَزِيزُ إِنَّ لَهُ أَبًا شَيْخًا كَبِيرًا[3]; “O noble chief, he has a very aged father”, and Zakariyya, peace be upon him, said: ﴿رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا[4]; “O Lord! Indeed, my bones have weakened and my head has turned hoary with age”, and said: ﴿رَبِّ أَنَّى يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا[5]; “O Lord! How can I have a son when my wife is barren and I have reached infirm old age?!”. Yes, it is imperative that Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, be strong in carrying out the affairs of leadership when he appears; as there are Hadiths from the Ahl al-Bayt indicating that he appears in the form of a young man despite his old age; as it has been narrated from Hasan ibn Ali, peace be upon them, that said: «يُطِيلُ اللَّهُ عُمُرَهُ فِي غَيْبَتِهِ، ثُمَّ يُظْهِرُهُ بِقُدْرَتِهِ فِي صُورَةِ شَابٍّ دُونَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً، ذَلِكَ لِيُعْلَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ»[6]; “God will prolong his life in his absence; then He will have him appear as a young man under forty years old by His power”, and it has been narrated from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon them, that said: «لَوْ قَدْ قَامَ الْقَائِمُ لَأَنْكَرَهُ النَّاسُ، لِأَنَّهُ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَابًّا مُوَفَّقًا، لَا يَثْبُتُ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا مَنْ قَدْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَهُ فِي الذَّرِّ الْأَوَّلِ»[7]; “When Qa’im rises, people will deny him; for he will return to them as a healthy young man. Only those with whom God made a covenant on the Day of Alast will stand firm in belief in him”, and said in another Hadith: «وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْبَلِيَّةِ أَنْ يَخْرُجَ إِلَيْهِمْ صَاحِبُهُمْ شَابًّا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَهُ شَيْخًا كَبِيرًا»[8]; “And one of the greatest problems is that their owner will come to them as a young man, while they think he should be an old man”, and said in another Hadith: «يَغِيبُ غَيْبَةً فِي الدَّهْرِ وَيَظْهَرُ فِي صُورَةِ شَابٍّ مُوَفَّقٍ ابْنِ اثْنَيْ وَثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً، حَتَّى تَرْجِعَ عَنْهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، يَمْلَأُ الْأَرْضَ قِسْطًا وَعَدْلًا كَمَا مُلِئَتْ ظُلْمًا وَجَوْرًا»[9]; “He will disappear for a long time and appear as a young man of thirty two years old, and a group of people will abandon believing in him. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it has been filled with oppression and cruelty”, and it has been narrated from Ali ibn Musa, peace be upon them, that said: «إِنَّ الْقَائِمَ هُوَ الَّذِي إِذَا خَرَجَ كَانَ فِي سِنِّ الشُّيُوخِ وَمَنْظَرِ الشُّبَّانِ، قَوِيًّا فِي بَدَنِهِ حَتَّى لَوْ مَدَّ يَدَهُ إِلَى أَعْظَمِ شَجَرَةٍ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ لَقَلَعَهَا، وَلَوْ صَاحَ بَيْنَ الْجِبَالِ لَتَدَكْدَكَتْ صُخُورُهَا»[10]; “Qa’im is the one who, when rises, will be of the age of the old and look like the young; he will be so powerful that if he stretches out his hand to the biggest tree on the earth, he will uproot it, and if he shouts among the mountains, their rocks will be crushed”, and said in another Hadith: «عَلَامَتُهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ شَيْخَ السِّنِّ، شَابَّ الْمَنْظَرِ، حَتَّى أَنَّ النَّاظِرَ إِلَيْهِ لَيَحْسَبُهُ ابْنَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً أَوْ دُونَهَا، وَإِنَّ مِنْ عَلَامَاتِهِ أَلَّا يَهْرَمُ بِمُرُورِ الْأَيَّامِ وَاللَّيَالِي حَتَّى يَأْتِيَهُ أَجَلُهُ»[11]; “His sign is that he is old in terms of age and young in terms of appearance, to the extent that whoever looks at him thinks that he is forty years old or younger, and one of his signs is that he does not become decrepit with the passage of time, until his time comes”, but these Hadiths, if authentic, do not conflict with the fact that he is a human being like other people; because an old human also looks young if he has a good character, a moderate temperament, a strong body and pure sustenance. Moreover, this may be a dignity for him and a sign from God; as it has been narrated that Amr ibn Ḥamiq al-Khuza‘i gave water to the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, the he said: «اللَّهُمَّ مَتِّعْهُ بِشَبَابِهِ»; “O God! Bless him with his youth”, then eighty years passed from his life, without a single strand of his hair turned white[12]. Anyway, there is no doubt that Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, will be strong to carry out the affairs of leadership when he appears, whether he is in the form of a young man or in the form of an old man, ﴿وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ[13]; “And God has power over all things”.

2. The marriage of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, is possible intellectually and religiously, but it is not proved, and therefore, there is no point in talking about it.

3. The marriage of Imam Mahdi, peace be upon him, to a girl from Tehran is merely a claim with no reason for it, and therefore, it is unlikely that a Muslim scholar has made such a claim, and if he has done so, he is wrong. You are expected to rely on certain and definite information, and do not be concerned with conjectural and illusory information; because conjectural and illusory information have no validity and are examples of superstitions and rumors.

↑[1] . Al-Kahf/ 110
↑[2] . Hud/ 72
↑[3] . Yusuf/ 78
↑[4] . Maryam/ 4
↑[5] . Maryam/ 8
↑[6] . Kamal al-Din Wa Tamam al-Ni‘mah by ibn Babawayh, p. 316; Kifayah al-Athar by al-Khazzaz, p. 226; I‘lam al-Wara Bi A’lam al-Huda by al-Tabarsi, vol. 2, p. 230
↑[7] . Al-Ghaybah by al-Nu‘mani, p. 219; al-Ghaybah by al-Tusi, p. 420
↑[8] . Al-Ghaybah by al-Nu‘mani, p. 194; Aqd al-Durar Fi Akhbar al-Muntazar by al-Maqdisi, p. 42; Yanabi‘ al-Mawaddah by al-Qunduzi, p. 420
↑[9] . Dala’il al-Imamah by al-Tabari al-Imami, p. 376; al-Ghaybah by al-Nu‘mani, p. 195; al-Ghaybah by al-Tusi, p. 420
↑[10] . Kamal al-Din Wa Tamam al-Ni‘mah by ibn Babawayh, p. 316; I‘lam al-Wara Bi A’lam al-Huda by al-Tabarsi, vol. 2, p. 240; Kashf al-Ghummah by al-Irbili, vol. 3, p. 331
↑[11] . Kamal al-Din Wa Tamam al-Ni‘mah by ibn Babawayh, p. 652; I‘lam al-Wara Bi A’lam al-Huda by al-Tabarsi, vol. 2, p. 295; al-Khara’ij Wa al-Jara’ih by al-Rawandi, vol. 3, p. 1170
↑[12] . Musannaf of ibn Abi Shaybah, vol. 6, p. 322; Amal al-Yawm Wa al-Laylah by ibn al-Sunni, p. 426; Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah by Abu Na‘im al-Asbahani, vol. 4, p. 2006; Usd al-Ghabah by ibn al-Athir, vol. 4, p. 205
↑[13] . Al-Baqarah/ 284