The source for many fitnah would be the East, warned Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Narrated Ibn `Umar: I heard Allah (SWT)’s Messenger (PBUH) while he was facing the East, saying, “Verily! Afflictions are there, from where the side of the head of Satan comes out.” (Sahih al-Bukhari:7093)
Shah Isma‘il was the founder of Iran’s Safavid dynasty. He was a controversial figure, “claiming to be a messiah figure and identifying himself variously with Alexander, ‘Ali and even God. His Turkoman tribal followers, members of a rustic Sufi tradition of which Isma‘il was leader, believed him to be invincible, even immortal” [1].
Before the rise of the Safavid Empire in 1501 AD, Sunni Islam was the dominant religion, accounting for around 90% of the population at the time. Safavids invited Shi’a Muslims from the Middle East to migrate to their empire while at the same time persecuting the Sunnis [2]. Now 90% of Iranians are Shi’a.
Only 9% of the Iranians are Sunnis. Although they do not have reserved seats in the Parliament, they are elected from Sunni-dominated areas such as Balochistan [3]. The Iranian parliament does have five reserved seats for minorities, including Jews and Zoroastrians. The total number of Iranian Jews may be more than 300,000 [4].
It is mind-boggling that Persians would persecute and hound out the Sunnis but not other indigenous groups such as the Jews, until you include the Antichrist in the equation. The presence of Jews in Iran is very important. The Antichrist will first appear in Isfahan, Iran. Was this the reason Abbas I, of Persia, chose Isfahan as the capital of the Safavid Empire in 1598? [5]. In the Sahih Muslim Hadith it is mentioned that.
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah (SWT)’s Messenger (PBUH) said: The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls. (Sahih Muslim:2944)
Persia holds a unique status in the Muslim world because of its Shia-dominated population; remaining on the periphery of mainstream Islam. However, since 9/11, Iran has been actively involved in regional conflicts through their proxies, causing mayhem and destruction in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. It was Iran that provided on the ground intelligence to the Americans, during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Iran’s behaviour as a Muslim state is odd to say the least as it has never shown any interest in helping to rebuild any of those communities that it helped destroy by being involved in their civil conflicts. A behaviour not too dissimilar to that of the Zionist State, Israel. The foreign policy of both states has been a curse for the Arab population in the region. Maybe they are fulfilling the prophecy, according to a hadith:
Narrated Umm Sharik: that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “The people will flee from the Dajjal such that they will go to the mountains.” Umm Sharik said: “O Messenger of Allah! Where will the Arabs be that day?” He said: “They will be few.” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi:3930)
Persians are obsessed with spreading their ideology all over the Middle East. In pursuit of their ideology, they are willing to pay any cost, including setting the region on fire – exactly what the Antichrist would want to see happen. They wished to establish the Greater Persia that once existed during the time of Cyrus, who ruled from 576 to 530 BC, and Khosrow, who ruled from 590 to 628 AD. This puts them in the same boat as the Zionist state that is waging wars in the region to establish Greater Israel. Both states are strongholds of the Antichrist. It is four states, Hindu zealots are dreaming of a Greater Indian empire too, and Turks wish to revive the Ottoman’s legacy.
Persia was selected by the Antichrist as a prime candidate to split the Muslim world. Persia has a colourful history and had mighty empires. For Persians, the end of the reign of Khosrow was a turning point. They still hold a grudge against the Arabs for the war the Persians lost nearly 1400 years ago. Arab armies brought an end to the rule of Khosrow in Persia. Persians have not forgotten nor forgiven. It is most probable that Persians would have chosen to become Sunni had the Arabs been Shi’a-dominated.
There had been other Shi’a Islamic states before the Persians. The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi’a dynasty that ruled from the 10th to the 12th centuries AD. Persia is unique, it persecuted the Sunnis and invited the Shi’a Muslims into their land. After 1501, Persia officially carved a new identity for itself. That identity was later weaponised to create fitnah at home and abroad – a fitnah no different than that created by their cousins in Arabia, i.e., Wahhabism. Both sides funded Shi’a-Wahhabi sectarian terrorism in Pakistan.
It seems Persia followed the Antichrist’s scheme to bring as many Shi’a as possible in one place. To deceive the Shi’a and separate them from the Muslim Sunni brothers, especially the Arabs. The Arabs and the Persians have used sectarianism (Shi’aism-Wahhabiism) to promote their political agendas. Looking at the huge animosity between Persia and the Arabs since the days of early Islam, one cannot help wondering if the two sides would be able to reconcile their differences before the arrival of the Mahdi.
As many as 85% of the Shi’a population in Iran are Twelvers, who believe in the 12 imams, the descendants of Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib [6]. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet. According to the Twelvers’ belief, Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī is the 12th or the last imam. He entered a state of occultation [7]. The Shi’a are waiting for the return of their Imam Mahdī.
Although it is not mentioned in any hadith, there is a strong chance of false Mahdi also appearing: a Sunni Mahdi and a false Shia Mahdi. The Sunni Mahdi would appear in the city of Makkah, while the false Shia Mahdi would be their 12th Imam, and he would appear in Isfahan. False Mahdi have appeared in the past, for example, Abdallah ibn Mu’awiya whose believers say he will return as the Mahdi; Muhammad Ahmed from Sudan declared himself Mahdi in 1881; Muhammad bin Abdallah al-Qahtani who led the siege of the Kabah in 1979.
To clarify the issue of false Mahdi, there is no difference of opinion between Shia and the Sunnis. The above discussion should not be seen through the religious context but rather through the politics of the region and the role Persia has played during the last 500 years. The truth is there is only one Mahdi in Islam. It is mentioned in Hadith that he would be from the family of the Prophet (PBUH), a descendant of Fatimah (RA).
It was narrated that Sa’eed bin Musayyab said: “We were with Umm Salamah and we were discussing Mahdi. She said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (PBUH) say: “Mahdi will be one of the descendants of Fatimah.” (Sunan Ibn Majah:4086)
The Mahdi would be tasked with uniting the region and bringing justice. This could mean the dismantling of the Sykes and Picot borders, created during the First World War. However, as the hadith below indicates, it will not be a straightforward job for Mahdi.
Abu Nadra reported: “We were in the company of Jabir b. ‘Abdullah that he said it may happen that the people of Iraq may not send their qafiz and dirhams (their measures of food stuff and their money). We said: Who would be responsible for it? He said: The non-Arabs would prevent them. He again said: There is the possibility that the people of Syria may not send their dinars and mudds. We said: Who would be responsible for it? He said this prevention would be made by the Romans. He (Jabir b. Abdullah) kept quiet for a while and then reported Allah (SWT)’s Messenger (PBUH) having said there would be a caliph in the last (period) of my Ummah who would freely give handfuls of wealth to the people without counting it. I said to Abu Nadra and Abu al-‘Ala: Do you mean ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-Aziz? They said: No (he would be Imam Mahdi). (Sahih Muslim:2913a)
Muslims are encouraged to not only give support to the Mahdi but also not oppose Muslim armies.
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar: Allah (SWT)’s Messenger (PBUH) said, “Whoever takes up arms against us, is not from us.” (Sahih al-Bukhari:7070)
The hadith below clarifies why we should not fight with each other.
Ahnaf b. Qais reported on the authority of Abu Bakra that Allah (SWT)’s Messenger (PBUH) said: When two Muslims confront each other with their swords, both the slayer and the slain are doomed to Hell-Fire. (Sahih Muslim:2888b)
A similar message is delivered by another Hadith.
Narrated Ibn `Umar: I heard the Prophet (PBUH) saying, “Do not revert to disbelief after me by striking (cutting) the necks of one another.” (Sahih al-Bukhari:7077)
The Shi’a and the Sunni are not the only two groups waiting for a chosen one to appear. It seems like the whole world is waiting for the appearance of a special figure based on their beliefs. Thus, it is likely that when the Antichrist appears in his physical form, he may try to convince each group that he is the one for whom they have been waiting.
- To Zionist Christians, he will claim to be their Jesus (the second coming).
- To Zionist Jews, he will claim to be their Messiah.
- To Hindus, he will claim to be their Kalki, the tenth and final incarnation of the god Vishnu.
- To Buddhists, he will claim to be their Maitreya Buddha.
The imposter shall try to deceive everyone.
References
[1] R. M. Eaton, India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765, Penguin , 2020.
[2] “Sunni Clerics in the Crosshairs of Islamic Republic Repression,” 15 08 2023. [Online]. Available: https://iranhumanrights.org/2023/08/special-report-sunni-clerics-in-the-crosshairs-of-islamic-republic-repression/.
[3] “Iranian Parliament religious minority reserved seats,” 11 10 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Parliament_religious_minority_reserved_seats.
[4] “Jews of Iran,” 14 10 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/jews-iran.
[5] A. Zeidan, “Eṣfahān,” 07 08 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.britannica.com/place/Esfahan.
[6] “Twelver Shi’ism,” 08 10 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelver_Shi’ism.
[7] “Muhammad al-Mahdi,” 17 10 2024. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Mahdi.
