4b] Ramadan 2012, The 24th Day

4b]
For a long time after Hazrat Mahdi (as) begins work after his
appearancein the early Hijri 1400s, only a very few people will know
that he is Hazrat Mahdi (as). Our Prophet (saas) received the
prophethood at the age of 40, but very few people knew that he was a
prophet at that time. The same thing applies to many prophets.
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi also says that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not be
recognized when he first appears. He says that initially even Hazrat
Mahdi (as) himself will be unaware that he is the Mahdi of the End
Times. Inthis passage, he says that only a very few believers of deep
faith can recognize the Prophet Jesus (as), Hazrat Mahdi (as) and the
antichrist, whom he refers to as the personages of the End Times.
However, as we said, this world is the arena of trial. The door is
opened to the reason, but the willis not taken from the hand. SO, WHEN
THOSE INDIVIDUALS, and even the terrible antichrist, APPEAR, MANY
PEOPLE AND EVEN HIMSELF WILL NOT KNOW TO START WITH THAT HE IS THE
ANTICHRIST. THOSE INDIVIDUALS OF THE END OF TIME WILL BE KNOWN THROUGH
THE INSIGHT AND THE LIGHT OF BELIEF. (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Words /
Twenty-Fourth Word - Third Branch, p. 355)
The great scholar and mujaddid Sayyid Muhammad ibn Rasul al-Hussein
al-Barzanji of Medina makes the following statement in hisexpanded
work "Al-Isha'at ul Ishraat us Saa'at" (Portents of the Judgment Day),
referring to Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar by Ibn Hajar al-Haythami: "ALL THESE
TRADITIONS ARE TRUE IN TERMS OF THEIR OCCURRENCE AND SOUNDNESS." In
other words, ALL THE DIFFERENTTIMINGS SET OUT IN THE HADITHS ARE TRUE,
AND THESE TIMINGS REFER TO DIFFERENT PERIODS IN THELIFE OF HAZRAT
MAHDI (AS), WHO, BY ALLAH'S LEAVE, WILL HAVE A LONG LIFE, as reported
by the Prophet (saas).
Hazrat Mahdi (as) will possess certain characteristics of earlier
prophets. Among these is his being long-lived, LIKE THE PROPHET ADAM
(AS) AND THE PROPHET NOAH (AS)." (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51, Ansariyan
Publications, collected by: Muhammad Baqr al-Majlisi, Iran-Qum, 2003,
p. 217)/