IS THE HADITH OF THE 12 MAHDIS AUTHENTIC?

﷽

It has been narrated from Abu Abdullah Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father al-Baqir, from his father Zaynu'l-Abidin, the master of the worshipers, from his father al-Husayn the pure martyr, from his father Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon them), who said:

قال رسول الله (صلَّى الله عليه وآله وسلم) -في الليلة التي كانت فيها وفاتُه- لعليٍّ (عليه السلام): يا أبا الحسن أحضر صحيفة ودواة. فأملى رسولُ الله (صلَّى الله عليه وآله وسلم) وصيته حتى انتهى إلى هذا الموضع فقال: يا عليُّ إنَّه سيكون بعدي اثنا عشر إماماً ومن بعدهم اثنا عشر مهديَّاً، فأنت ياعليُّ أوَّلُ الاثني عشر إماماً سمَّاك اللهُ تعالى في سمائه: عليَّاً المرتضى، وأميرَ المؤمنين، والصديِّقَ الأكبر، والفاروقَ الأعظم، والمأمونَ، والمهدي، فلا تصح هذه الأسماء لأحدٍ غيرك. يا عليُّ أنت وصيي على أهل بيتي حيِّهم وميتهم .. وأنت خليفتي على أُمتي من بعدي. فإذا حضرتْك الوفاةُ فسلِّمها إلى ابنيَ الحسنِ البَرِّ الوصول، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنيَ الحسينِ الشهيد الزكي المقتول، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاة فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه سيِّد العابدين ذي الثفَنات عليٍّ، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه محمَّدٍ الباقر، فإذا حضرته الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه جعفرٍ الصادق، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه موسى الكاظم، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاةُ فليسلمها إلى ابنِه عليٍّ الرضا، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه محمَّدٍ الثقةِ التقي، فإذا حضرتْه الوفاة فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه عليٍّ الناصح، فإذا حضرته الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه الحسنِ الفاضل، فإذا حضرته الوفاةُ فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه محمَّدٍ المستحفظ من آل محمد عليهم السلام. فذلك اثنا عشر إماما، ثم يكونُ من بعده اثنا عشر مهديَّا، (فإذا حضرته الوفاة) فليسلِّمها إلى ابنِه أوَّلِ المقرَّبين، له ثلاثة أسامي: اسمٌ كاسمي واسم أبي وهو عبد الله، وأحمد، والاسمُ الثالث: المهدي، هو أوَّل المؤمنين

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said on the night of his passing to Ali (peace be upon him): "O Abu al-Hasan, bring me a sheet of paper and an inkpot." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) dictated his will, and when he reached this point, he said: "O Ali, after me there will be twelve Imams, and after them, twelve Mahdis. You, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams, whom Allah has named in the heavens: Ali al-Murtada, Amir al-Mu'minin, al-Siddiq al-Akbar, al-Faruq al-A'zam, al-Ma'mun, and al-Mahdi. These names belong to none other than you. O Ali, you are my trustee over my family, both the living and the deceased, and you are my successor over my Ummah after me. When death approaches you, deliver it to my son al-Hasan the righteous and rightful. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to my son al-Husayn the pure martyr who will be killed. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son, the master of the worshipers, Zaynu'l-Abidin Ali. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Muhammad al-Baqir. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Ja'far al-Sadiq. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Musa al-Kadhim. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Ali al-Rida. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Muhammad al-Thiqah al-Taqi. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Ali al-Nasir. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son al-Hasan al-Fadhil. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son Muhammad al-Mustahfaz from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them). This completes the twelve Imams, and after them, there will be twelve Mahdis. When death approaches him, let him deliver it to his son, the first of the closest ones, who has three names: one is the same as mine, and the name of my father, which is Abdullah, and Ahmad. The third name is al-Mahdi, the first of the believers." [1] 

What is the authenticity of this narration? And what is its correct interpretation?

As for the chain of transmission of the aforementioned narration, it was cited by Shaykh al-Tusi in his book al-Ghaybah. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "A group informed us from Abu Abdullah al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Sufyan al-Bazufari, from Ali ibn Sinan al-Mawsili al-Adl, from Ali ibn al-Husayn, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khalil, from Ja'far ibn Ahmad al-Masri, from his uncle al-Hasan ibn Ali, from his father, from Abu Abdullah Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father al-Baqir, from his father Zayn al-Abidin Sayyid al-‘Abidin, from his father al-Husayn al-Zaki al-Shahid, from his father Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon them), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said on the night of his passing to Ali (peace be upon him)."

It is clear that the chain of transmission (Isnad) of this narration is weak, as it includes several unknown individuals. In fact, most of the narrators in this chain are unknown, and they are:

1. Ali ibn Sinan al-Mawsili al-Adl

2. Ali ibn al-Husayn

3. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Khalil

4. Ja'far ibn Ahmad al-Masri

5. His uncle al-Hasan ibn Ali

6. His father

None of these individuals have been authenticated in the books of Rijal (biographies of narrators), and some of them have no mention whatsoever, making their identities unknown. As a result, the narration is very weak and falls outside the bounds of reliability.

As for the content of the narration, up until the point where it says: "Then he should deliver it to his son Muhammad al-Mustahfaz from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them). So, these are the twelve Imams," it aligns with the widely transmitted (mutawatir) narrations that explicitly list the names of the twelve infallible Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), starting with Ali ibn Abi Talib and ending with Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar (the awaited Imam). Therefore, this portion of the narration is supported and affirmed by these widely accepted and consistent narrations.

As for the parts of the narration that do not align with the widely transmitted (mutawatir) narrations, they are two paragraphs:

The first: His statement at the end of the narration: "Then after him, there will be twelve Mahdis, and when death approaches him, he should deliver it to his son, the first of the closest ones, who has three names: one is the same as mine, and the name of my father, which is Abdullah, and Ahmad, and the third name is Al-Mahdi, the first of the believers."

Regarding this paragraph: it has not been established with a correct chain of transmission, nor does it align with the widely transmitted narrations. Therefore, it lacks authority and is discarded in terms of credibility. Moreover, it contains some confusion in its meaning. It states that the first of the Mahdis has three names – and the speaker in the narration is the Prophet (peace be upon him), who is the one giving the will. The first name of the first Mahdi matches the name of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which means his name is Muhammad, and his father's name is Abdullah. Hence, the name of the first Mahdi would be "Muhammad ibn Abdullah," which would be the same as the Prophet’s name and his father’s name. This implies that the first Mahdi cannot be the son of the twelfth Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him), since the name of the twelfth Imam Mahdi is Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. Therefore, the first Mahdi should be named Muhammad ibn Muhammad. How, then, could it be correct to claim that the first Mahdi is the son of the twelfth Imam and at the same time his name be Muhammad ibn Abdullah?!

If it were said that the name of the first Mahdi is Muhammad and the second name is Abdullah, then Abdullah would not be the name of his father, but rather his second name. If that were the case, the third name would have to be Ahmad. However, the narration explicitly states that the third name is Al-Mahdi, as it says: "And the third name is Al-Mahdi." This creates a clear inconsistency.

Even if we were to accept that his names are Muhammad, Abdullah, Ahmad, and Al-Mahdi, this would imply that the first Mahdi has four names, which contradicts the explicit wording of the narration, which says: "He has three names." Either "Al-Mahdi" would be the fourth name, or "Abdullah" would be the name of his father, not one of his names. Both possibilities are unacceptable. If "Abdullah" is his father's name, then this contradicts the claim that he is the son of the twelfth Imam, as the narration clearly states that he is his son. If "Abdullah" is one of the names of the first Mahdi, this would mean that he has four names, while the narration explicitly states that he has three, not four. Therefore, the narration is inconsistent and cannot be relied upon.

Moreover, there is another possible interpretation of the narration, which is that the pronoun in the phrase "he has three names" refers to the twelfth Imam, given that all the pronouns preceding this one refer to the twelfth Imam. Thus, the pronoun in "he has three names" could also refer to the twelfth Imam. This would make the meaning of this portion of the narration that the one with three names is the twelfth Imam (peace be upon him), with the first name being Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the second name Ahmad, and the third name Al-Mahdi. However, this interpretation also contradicts what is stated in the widely transmitted narrations, which specify that the father of the twelfth Imam is Imam al-Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him). This further confirms the confusion in the meaning of the narration and undermines trust in its authenticity, suggesting that it is either fabricated or that the narrator misunderstood and transmitted it incorrectly. In either case, the narration should be dismissed, especially considering that it combines a weak chain of transmission, as discussed earlier, with an inconsistent text.

The second paragraph: His statement at the beginning of the narration: "And after them, there will be twelve Mahdis." Although this content has been mentioned in other narrations, they are ahad (isolated) narrations, and ahad narrations cannot serve as the foundation for a doctrinal belief. Furthermore, most, if not all, of these ahad narrations have weak chains of transmission. They also contradict the narrations regarding the raj'ah (the return of the Imams) which have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission), and they contradict what is established as a necessity, namely, that there are twelve Imams after the Prophet (peace be upon him), that the twelfth Imam is Imam al-Mahdi ibn al-Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him), who is the final Imam, the final successor, and the final Mahdi. These narrations also contradict what has been confirmed, which is that the earth will never be devoid of an Imam from among the twelve Imams (peace be upon them) until God inherits the earth and everything upon it. Therefore, the narrations about the Mahdis after Imam al-Mahdi ibn al-Hasan (peace be upon him), in addition to being weak in terms of their chain of transmission, contradict all these established categories of narrations, which further discredits them.

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

References

[1] Kitāb al-Ghayba, Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī, Book 1, Chapter 26, Ḥadīth 11  

The original text in Arabic can be found here

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The Question

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