The ahaadeeth about the Mahdi and the descent of the Messiah (peace be upon him) areno excuse not to strive and do good deeds

Some people understandfrom the ahaadeeth about the Mahdi and
thedescent of the Messiah 'Eesa ibn Maryam (Jesus the son of Mary,
peace be upon him) that these are an excuse not to strive for Islam,
so they should sit and wait until the Mahdi appears or the Messiah
descends forthe glory of Islam and the Muslims to be restored. What is
your opinion on this understanding?.
Praise be to Allaah.
This miserable state that the Muslim ummah is in nowadays is very
shameful. All the Muslimsare responsible for setting things straight,
but some Muslims fail to strive, relying on their hopes and avoiding
correcting the sorry state of the ummah on the grounds that this was
caused by those who came before us andwill be set right by thosewho
come after us. So they do not strive to support the religion of
Allaah, on the grounds that the Mahdi is the onewho will do that.
This is escaping into hopes whilst failing to put into effect the
means prescribed in sharee'ah. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"It will not be in accordance with your desires (Muslims), nor those
of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), whosoever works
evil, will have the recompense thereof, and he will not find any
protector or helper besides Allaah"
[al-Nisa' 4:123]
This negativity which some of the Muslims are suffering from nowadays
can have no basis in the texts of sharee'ah; rather it is due to
misunderstanding, helplessness and laziness, and evasion of
responsibility.
Allaah has commanded the Muslims to strive andwork for this religion,
tocall people to Allaah, to debate with the kuffaar and call them with
wisdom and beautiful preaching, and to fight them until there will no
longer be any shirk on earth. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and
polytheism, i.e. worshipping others besides Allaah), and the religion
(worship) will all be for Allaah Alone [inthe whole of the world]. But
if they cease (worshipping others besides Allaah), then certainly,
Allaah is All-Seer of what they do"
[al-Anfaal 8:39]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Here Allaah commands us to fight the kuffaar until there is no more
fitnah i.e. shirk, and the religion (worship) is all for Allaah, i.e.,
until the religion of Allaah prevails over all other religions.
This command does not apply only to some timesand not others, rather
the Muslims of all times and places are commanded to do this.
Undoubtedly working for Islam and to establishit on earth requires the
Muslims to strive hard and pursue the means that lead to that.
Some people misunderstand the ahaadeeth that have been narrated about
theemergence of the Mahdi and the descent of the Messiah 'Eesa ibn
Maryam (peace be upon him), so they are passive and do not strive, and
they sit and wait for the Mahdi to appear or the Messiah to come down,
and they do not call people to Allaah or striveto make the word of
Allaah supreme. But Allaah and His Messenger(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) have commanded us to take the appropriate means
and strive hard on earth.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O you who believe! Take your precautions, and either go forth (on an
expedition) in parties, or go forth all together"
[al-Nisa' 4:71]
"And make ready againstthem all you can of power, including steeds of
war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of
Allaah and your enemy"
[al-Anfaal 8:60]
"He it is Who has made the earth subservient to you (i.e. easy for you
to walk, to live and to do agriculture on it); so walk in the path
thereof and eat of His provision. And to Him will be the Resurrection"
[al-Mulk 67:15]
"and for this let (all) those strive who want tostrive"
[al-Mutaffifeen 83:26]
"For the like of this let the workers work"
[al-Saaffaat 37:61]
"And whoever desires the Hereafter and strivesfor it, with the
necessaryeffort due for it (i.e. does righteous deeds of Allaah's
obedience) while he is a believer (in the Oneness of Allaah Islamic
Monotheism) — then such are the ones whose striving shall be
appreciated, (thanked and rewarded by Allaah)"
[al-Isra' 17:19]
"And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best
provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)"
[al-Baqarah 2:197]
Allaah commanded Maryam to take the appropriate means when she was at
her weakest, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):
"And shake the trunk of date palm towards you, it will let fall fresh
ripe dates upon you"
[Maryam 19:25]
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to prepare for everything and draw up plans, as happened during
the Hijrah (migration to Madeenah). He preparedthe mounts and a guide,
and he chose a travellingcompanion, and chose a place to hide until
the search for him had died down, and he protected all of that with
secrecy. This is how he conducted himself in all his battles and
military campaigns, and this is how he trained his companions. They
used to meet their enemies equipped with all kinds of weapons. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
entered Makkah (at the conquest) with a helmet on his head, even
though Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): "Allaah will
protect you from mankind"
[al-Maa'idah 5:67]
When he traveled for jihad or Hajj or 'Umrah, he took his provisions
and more with him.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Strive
for that which will benefit you and seek thehelp of Allaah, and do not
feel helpless." Narrated by Muslim, 2664.
We can imagine the state in which the call and the ummah would have
ended up if the previous generations had responded to the calls to
give up until the Mahdi comes. Would they have been able to defeat the
Tatars and Crusaders, and conquer Constantinople?
This mistaken understanding of the shar'i texts that have been
narrated concerning the Mahdi and the Messiah (peace be upon him) has
been criticized by many scholars, daa'iyahs and writers.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible for the Muslims to give up working for Islam and
for the establishment of the Islamic state on earth because they are
waiting for the Mahdi and the descent of 'Eesa (peace be upon them
both), because they feel despair or they think that it is not possible
to achieve any such thing before they come. This isa false and
desperate notion. Neither Allaah nor His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) toldus that Islam will not regain
power on earth before their time. It is possible that that may be
achieved before then if the Muslims avail themselves of the means that
lead to that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"If you help (in the causeof) Allaah, He will help you, and make your
foothold firm"
[Muhammad 47:7]
"Verily, Allaah will help those who help His (Cause)"
[al-Hajj 22:40]
We have to believe in the ahaadeeth which speak of the descent of Eesa
(peace be upon him) etc, and reject the false notions of those who say
that we should not work and strive and prepare to do that which must
be done at all times and in all places. End quote.
Professor 'Abd al-'Azeez Mustafa said:
Jihaad against the kuffaar, no matter who they are, where they areor
in what time they exist is obligatory according to sharee'ah; this
ruling has not been abrogated. This is an established truth of Islam.
This jihad is obligatory when its conditions are met and the relevant
rulings apply. It is not one of these conditions or rulings that jihad
should be delayed until what is promised comes to pass. This is not
the way in which the first Muslims understood it and how they acted.
Indeed, when they were told that Allaah would destroy the power of
Chosroes with their swords they did not stay in their houses waiting
for the news to come true and for that event to happen without any
effort on their part. No, rather they prepared themselves for that and
made themselves ready until victory came and thus the promise
coincided with the decree of Allaah. But some of the Muslims nowadays
say no: jihad against the Jews must wait until the Dajjaal appears.
Perhaps this is part of the trial (fitnah) of the Dajjaal in this
world.
This negative talk has affected some of the Muslim youth, so they
donot feel any kind of responsibility towards al-Masjid al-Aqsa, the
environs of which Allaahhas blessed. It has even led many of them to
believe more foolish ideas, namely that the Islamic state and the
caliphate will not be established until the Mahdi comes.
I wonder about those who propagate such ideas. It is as if they are
saying to the Jews: Be harsh towards your enemies… and to the
Christians: Carry on with your aggression… and tothe Muslims: carry on
being fragmented and disputing and being useless until the Mahdi comes
to you. I do not know on what their argument is based, or how they
imagine that the Mahdi will come to people who are doing nothing or
will support people who are apathetic. End quote.
See: Al-Mahdi wa Fiqh Ashraat al-Saa'ah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn
Ismaa'eel, p. 710-722.
We ask Allaah to bring the Muslims back to theirreligion.
And Allaah knows best.