The Yamani: A Glimpse into the Life of Ahmad Al-Hassan

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, born as Ahmed Ismail, is the First of the Twelve Mahdis and the promised Yamani. He publicly emerged in 1999 in Basra, Iraq, as the Messenger and successor of Imam Mahdi. Before his divine appointment, he was an ordinary man living a normal life—he studied engineering at university and was married with children.

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan at the University in Iraq, where he studied to become an engineer

Meeting with Imam Mahdi

Many years before his public call began, Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan had a series of dreams in which he met Imam Mahdi standing at the Mausoleum of Sayyed Mohammed, the brother of Imam Al-Askari. In these dreams, Imam Mahdi told him to meet him in the physical world. Two days after the first of these dreams, Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan went on a pilgrimage to several mausoleums of the Imams. Eventually, he met Imam Mahdi physically for the first time at the Mausoleum of Imam Al-Hadi and Imam Al-Askari. 

The Shrine of Imam Al-Hadi and Imam Al-Askari, where Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan met Imam Mahdi for the first time

During these initial meetings, Imam Mahdi also informed Ahmed Al-Hassan of who he truly was, that he was the First of Twelve Mahdis mentioned in the will of the Prophet Mohammed and the prophesied Yamani.

"Then there will be twelve Mahdis after him, so if death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the first of the close ones, he has three names, one like mine and my Father’s and it is Abdullah, Ahmad, and the third name is Al-Mahdi, and he is the first of the believers.” (Ghaybat Al-Tusi, Vol. 1, pp. 174-175; Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 53, p. 148)

Before this revelation, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan never thought that his profession would have anything to do with religion, and he had not heard that there were Twelve Mahdis, believing there to be only the character of Imam Mahdi himself. 

After this meeting, he had other meetings where Imam Mahdi clarified many things to him, teaching him godly morals and manners, and imparting crucial knowledge to him.

In December 1999, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan had more visions where he saw Imam Mahdi again. He directed him to travel to various holy sites before meeting Imam Mahdi at night in the Mausoleum of Imam Al-Hussein in Karbala and again the next morning in the shrine of Imam Mahdi. In these meetings, Imam Mahdi instructed him to begin his public call within the Hawza of Najaf to present the truth to the religious establishment.

After these meetings, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan travelled to Najaf to the Hawza, where he set out to inform the organisation of what he had come to know from Imam Mahdi. 

His Message 

The main message that Ahmed Al-Hassan was tasked with bringing forward was the supremacy of God: this forgotten core foundation of religion that only God has the right to appoint a leader, as is stated in the Qur’an, where God says,

“Indeed, I am appointing a caliph on the earth.” (Qur’an 2:30)

Up until 2007, Ahmad Al-Hassan continued to repeat this message. He called people back to the belief that authority and leadership must come from God, and that the purpose of religion is that people are not permitted to choose their own leader and that anyone who does so is betraying Mohammed and the Family of Mohammed.

Corruption in the Hawza

Imam Mahdi woke him up to the corruption in the Hawza (the Shia Institution in Iraq), which was an awakening that he described as a “very painful” process and a reality that he only fully grasped after being enlightened by Imam Mahdi. He used the metaphor of "the corruption of salt," explaining that while the Hawza, as the source of education for Shia Islam, was intended to be the "salt" that preserves and fixes a corrupted world, if the salt itself goes bad, there is nothing left to fix corruption. From 1999, when he was sent forward, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan attempted to reform these corruptions within the religious institution.

Democracy

The most severe corruption was the Hawza's abandonment of that core foundation of religion- the Supremacy of God. He accused the scholars of trading the divine right of appointment for American-style democracy and elections, which he labeled as the "Saqifa” of the non-working scholars - a modern repeat of the betrayal of Imam Ali.

Democratic elections in Iraq had become the norm, sanctioned by the Islamic State of Iran. Ali Al‑Sistani issued religious fatwas urging Iraqis to participate actively in elections, framing participation as both a civic and moral responsibility. 

In the Hawza, the scholars all became pro-democracy replacing the Imams and the vicegerents of God with other people, meaning there was no difference between the Shia in Iraq and Iran and the rest of the world. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan warned against the dangers of democratic elections and called the people back to the divinely appointed leader. 

Non-Working Scholars 

He labeled the corrupt clerics from the Hawza as "non-working scholars," describing them as “treacherous,” “silent idols”, and that they do not want the appearance and rise of the Mahdi, as that would mean the end of their status as Marjas.

He warned the people that the religious establishment would be the primary enemy of the Mahdi upon his rise, referring to narrations from Mohammed and the Family of Mohammed stating that the scholars of the End Times are the "most evil religious scholars under the shadow of the sky."

In addition to this, he criticized Wilayat Al-Faqih (Rule of the Jurisprudent), which gives scholars religious and political leadership in the absence of Imam Mahdi, arguing that scholars had falsely claimed the same authority as Prophets and Messengers in order to centralize power and money. He also declared that the system of Taqleed, which requires laypeople to blindly follow a scholar, is a false innovation used to strip away the authority of the Imam and make the scholars themselves into "idols" or "gods." 

Financial Hypocrisy

During his time in the Hawza, he observed a stark contrast between the luxury and extravagance enjoyed by high-ranking scholars and the misery, hunger, and sickness of the general society. He noted that while the scholars preached patience and asceticism to the poor, they themselves lived lavishly. He taught that the Khums (religious tax) was being stolen by scholars under the guise of religion, when it rightfully belongs only to Imam Mahdi or his divinely appointed successor.

Experience

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan spent three years from 1999, when he was first sent forward, attempting to reform the Hawza. While some students agreed with his statements about financial corruption, no true reform occurred. A few financial policies of certain scholars were adjusted, but changes were minimal, and luxury and extravagance continued among many scholars and those connected to them, while the majority of society remained in poverty. Although some Hawza students supported him, many did not, leading to heated arguments and the severing of ties by numerous students.

In 2003, groups of students from the Hawza began pledging allegiance to him after witnessing dreams and visions confirming that he was indeed a Messenger from Imam Mahdi. They began pledging allegiance to him and promising to ransom themselves and their money and children to him; however, after the forces of Saddam Hussein began to pursue Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, many went back on their pledges.

Backlash 

After many supporters left, he returned home with only a few Hawza students and some believers with him. In 2004, a group of believers returned and renewed their pledge, and the call began again. 

In November 2004 Imam Mahdi commanded him to address the people of the earth and announce a revolution against the oppressors, to act quickly and plan the necessary steps, to call people to support the truth and establish justice, to raise the declaration “There is no God but Allah” During this time the call entered an intensive phase of global outreach and public confrontation with both the political and religious establishments as Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan took many key steps to progress the truth.

He officially identified the political elections taking place in Baghdad during the American occupation is the “Minor Shura” (consultation) and that this event was actually the fulfillment of a prophecy by the Prophet Mohammed who warned that:

“As for the Minor Elections, they shall be set in the major occultation in Al-Zawraa’ (Baghdad) to change my sunnah/way and replace my laws.” (250 Signs until the Appearance of Imam Mahdi, Muhammad Ali Tabatabai, p. 130)

He argued that by adopting a democratic system where the people chose their own leader, the nation was once again rejecting the Supremacy of God. During this period, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan intensified his critique of the religious establishment, specifically identifying Ali Sistani as the "Dajjal of Sijistan" mentioned in end-time narrations. He accused Sistani of aiding the "Greater Dajjal" - The American political system, by issuing fatwas that made it a religious obligation for the Shia to participate in the democratic elections and support man-made laws and leaders who were chosen by the people, not by God. He started breaking the Idols that the scholars had become, highlighting their hypocrisy and pointing out the way they were usurping the rights of the Family of Mohammed, He warned the Iraqi people that they would face a “loss in this world and the hereafter” for following the non-working scholars and predicted that the democratic experiment would lead to a period of darkness and chaos. 

He also wrote letters to a number of world leaders informing them of the appearance of Imam Mahdi. One of these letters was sent to Ali Khamenei, in which he identified himself as a Messenger from Imam Mahdi and requested an audience with him to call on him to hand over the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Imam Mahdi. Another letter was sent to the former President of the United States, George Bush, warning him about the consequences of his actions in Iraq. He also addressed the people of Iraq, calling on them for support. As his message spread and began to be seen as a threat to the authorities, a campaign was launched against him and his call. This revolutionary period caused many believers to fall away due to fear of the tyrants.

In 2007, the tension between Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan and the religious authorities reached a breaking point. Scholars began issuing fatwas against him and his followers, declaring them heretical and accusing him of being a “dajjal” or a “magician”, even declaring his blood “halal.”

The religious authorities also pressured Iraqi security forces to act against his followers. Homes were raided, believers were arrested, and some were killed despite having committed no crime. Shia militias and followers of the religious establishment began searching for Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan with the intention of killing him because of his criticism of the religious scholars and institutions.

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan had previously warned that such events would occur. In his Sermon of Hajj, he also warned that “a new Karbala” will take place. After attempts were made to kill him and his followers, Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan disappeared from public view.

The Fitna of the Calf 

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan predicted in his book “The Calf” that a trial would occur, known as the “Fitna of the Calf”; he warned his followers that infiltration and corruption would take place from hypocrites inside the call in a direct parallel to the story of Moses. When Moses was absent from his people, they were led astray and began to worship the Golden Calf, turning to an idol in his absence. This event is described in the Qur'an and serves as a comparison to how deviation occurred within the movement when its leader is momentarily absent.

This prediction came true after Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan disappeared from the public eye, and the call was infiltrated by Iraqi and Iranian special forces who recruited some of the believers. An impersonator was then used to imitate the voice of the Imam and record a false sermon known as the “Sermon of Muharram.”

These infiltrators created a Facebook page and established a special office in Najaf, claiming that it was the only official representative and the sole gateway to Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan. Since 2007, Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan had not been photographed or seen publicly. As a result, the voice used in these recordings was widely believed by followers to be his.

The office then began redirecting the movement without the input of Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan, shaping its direction according to their own interpretations and the influence of leaders within the government of Iraq. This shift moved the movement away from the original message of Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan—calling people toward the supremacy of God, true monotheism, and the principles of justice and equity.

The last known picture of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan was sent forward to humanity at a time when the true message of religion had become corrupted, when the rights of Mohammed and the Family of Mohammed had been usurped by corrupt religious scholars and tyrannical rulers. 

His message shook the very foundations of modern-day religion. Despite the intense backlash and persecution he faced from authorities, his story marks the long-awaited re-emergence of a forgotten core principle of religion: that supremacy and allegiance belong to God alone, and that true guidance comes only through divine appointment—not through human choice.