Signs of the reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi


The signs of the appearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi are the collection of events that will occur before the coming back of Muhammad al-Mahdi, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imam of the Twelve Imams in Shia Islam. The signs are classified as uncertain or certain signs.
The Certain Signs:
According to some Shia narrations, there are five certain signs that will occur prior of the appearance of the twelfth Imam. The hadith of Ja'far al-Sadiq mentions these signs: "there are five signs for our Dhuhur, the appearance of
Sufyani and Yamani, the loud cry in the sky, the murder of a pure soul, and the earth swallowing in the land of Bayda.

The certain signs

According to some Shia narrations, there are five certain signs that will occur prior to the reappearance of the twelfth Imam. The hadith of Ja'far al-Sadiq mentions these signs: "there are five signs for our Dhuhur, the appearance of Sufyani and Yamani, the loud cry in the sky, the murder of a pure soul, and the earth swallowing in the land of Bayda.

Appearance of Sufyani

According to some narrations Sufyani, one of the descendants of Abu Sufyan, will arise before Muhammad al-Mahdi's reappearance. He has been depicted as an outwardly devout man that will take care to remember Allah at all times. But in reality he will be the most wicked man in the world. He will upraise during the Rajab. After he realizes that Muhammad al-Mahdi has reappeared, he will send away an army to fight him. Some books say that the army of Sufyani before getting to the army of Muhammad al-Mahdi will sink into the earth in the Beyda, the area between Mecca and Medina. The appearance of Sufyani is mentioned in both Shia and Sunni narrations.

Appearance of Yamani

In some narrations, the appearance of Yamani is mentioned as one of the certain signs of twelfth Imam's reappearance. The fifth Shia Imam, Muhammad al-Baqir, described Yamani in detail in a hadith:"... among these individuals the Yamani is the closest to guidance, for he calls the people to join the Muhammad al-Mahdi. When he rises, the trading of weapons will be prohibited for every Muslim. When he rises, join him immediately, for his flag is the flag of guidance and prosperity and no Muslim should oppose it. Any one who does so will go to hell, because the Yamani calls to the right path." Some sources mention that Yamani and Khurasani will be allied against Sufyani.

The loud cry in the sky

The third certain sign that is mentioned in the above narration is the loud cry in the sky. According to tradition two cries will be heard. In the first of them Gabriel will call the name of Al-Qa'im and his father and say that truth is with Ali and his Shia. All people will hear Gabriel's cry in their own language. In a tradition of Ja'far al-Sadiq that is narrated by Zurarah ibn A'yan, it is said that after this cry Satan will call certainly, so and so and their followers are victorious ones and his meaning is a man from Banu Umayya. He adds that the person who make the first cry says the truth.

The murder of Nafse Zakeyyah

A pure soul or Nafse Zakeyyah is one of the descendants of Husayn ibn Ali. He will be murdered and is without any sin or crime. According to many narrations, he is the envoy of Muhammad al-Mahdi to Mecca before his reappearance. When he will arrive to Mecca and say his message, the people of Mecca slay him around the Kaaba.

Earth swallowing (Sufyani's Army) in land of Bayda

The sinking of Sufyani's army into the earth is a certain sign of reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi. In addition to above-mentioned hadith of Ja'far Sadiq, in a hadith Ali ibn Abi Talib mentions that Sufyani's army will sink on the earth.

Uncertain signs

There are many signs in the tradition whose occurrence is dependent on certain conditions. These signs are uncertain signs.
Some of them:
  1. Solar eclipse in middle of the month of Ramadhan and lunar eclipse in the end of that month
  2. Seeing fire in the sky
  3. Successive wars and death of many people in the world
  4. Creation and development of science and knowledge in Qom
  5. Increasing injustice and corruption in the world
  6. The coming of fitna and removal of khushoo'
  7. The coming of 30 Dajjals, each one of them presuming himself an apostle of God.
  8. A person passing by a grave might say to another: I wish it were my abode.
  9. The loss of honesty, and authority put in the hands of those who do not deserve it.
  10. The loss of knowledge and the prevalence of religious ignorance.
  11. Frequent, sudden, and unexpected deaths.
  12. Increase in pointless killings.
  13. Acceleration of time.
  14. Rejection of Hadith.
  15. The spread of riba, zina, and the drinking of alcohol.
  16. Widespread acceptance of music.
  17. Pride and competition in the decoration of mosques.
  18. Women will increase in number and men will decrease in number so much so that fifty women will be looked after by one man.
  19. Abundance of earthquakes.
  20. Frequent occurrences of disgrace, distortion, and defamation.
  21. When people wish to die because of the severe trials and tribulations that they are suffering.
  22. Jews fighting Muslims.
  23. When paying charity becomes a burden.
  24. Nomads will compete in the construction of very tall buildings.
  25. Women will appear naked despite their being dressed.
  26. People will seek knowledge from misguided and straying scholars.
  27. Liars will be believed, honest people disbelieved, and faithful people called traitors.
  28. The death of righteous, knowledgeable people.
  29. The emergence of indecency and enmity among relatives and neighbours.
  30. The rise of idolatry and polytheists in the community.
  31. The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold.
  32. The land of the Arabs will return to being a land of rivers and fields.
  33. The Romans will form a majority amongst people.
  34. People will increasingly earn money by unlawful ways.
  35. There will be much rain but little vegetation.
  36. Evil people will be expelled from Al-Madinah.
  37. Wild animals will communicate with humans, and humans will communicate with objects.
  38. Lightning and thunder will become more prevalent.
  39. There will be a special greeting for people of distinction.
  40. Trade will become so widespread that a woman will help her husband in business.
  41. No truly honest man will remain and no one will be trusted.
  42. Only the worst people will be left; they will not know any good nor forbid any evil.
  43. Nations will call each other to destroy Islam by any and every means.
  44. Islamic knowledge will be passed on, but no one will follow it correctly.
  45. Muslim rulers will come who do not follow the guidance and tradition of the Sunnah. Some of their men will have the hearts of devils in a human body.
  46. Stinginess will become more widespread and honorable people will perish.
  47. A man will obey his wife and disobey his mother, and treat his friend kindly while shunning his father.
  48. Voices will be raised in the mosques.
  49. The leader of a people will be the worst of them.
  50. People will treat a man with respect because they fear the evil he could do.
  51. Much wine will be drunk.
  52. Muslims shall fight against a nation who wear shoes made of hair and with faces like hammered shields, with red complexions and small eyes.
  53. The emergence of the Sufyani within the Syria region.
  54. The truce and joint Roman-Muslim campaign against a common enemy, followed by al-Malhama al-Kubra, a Roman vs. Muslim war.
  55. The Black Standard will come from Khorasan, nothing shall turn them back until it is planted in Jerusalem.
  56. Quran will be forgotten and no one will recall its verses.
  57. All Islamic knowledge will be lost to the extent that people will not say "Lā ilāha illā llāh", but instead old people will babble without understanding, "God, God".
  58. People will fornicate in the streets "like donkeys".
  59. The first trumpet blow will be sounded by Israfil, all that is in heaven and earth will be stunned and die except what God wills, and silence will envelop everything for forty undetermined periods of time.
  60. There will be disagreement concerning succession. Then a man will emerge from Madina. He will hurry to Makkah, and the people of Makkah will come out to him and urge him and try to force him to accept the Bai'aa.
  61. Mecca will be attacked and the Kaaba will be destroyed.
  62. A pleasant breeze will blow from the south that shall cause all believers to die peacefully.
  63. The Moon will split in two, but non-believers will insist it isn't happening for real.
  64. There are two groups of ummah whom God will free from the fire: The group that invades India, and the group that will be with Isa bin Maryam.