Who is Ahmed Al-Hassan?

Who is Ahmed Al-Hassan? 

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan appeared in Iraq in 1999 calling people to pledge allegiance to Imam Mahdi. He is the first of the twelve Mahdis, appointed by name in the will of the Prophet Mohammed, and is also identified as the Islamic eschatological figure known as the Yamani, and the messenger and successor of Imam Al-Mahdi, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Askari.

He is the author of “The Book of Monotheism” and “The Calf” (See below). Ahmed Al-Hassan is the predecessor of the Qaim Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem, who is the second Mahdi and the head of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan is featured as a teacher of Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem in the book “The Goal of the Wise,” which includes many of the two leaders' dialogues. 

His teachings include the message of God's Supremacy, the definition of true monotheism and the doctrine that religious scholars and establishments are enemies of Imam Al-Mahdi. Despite suffering betrayals, threats and attempts on his life causing a period of absence, Ahmed Al-Hassan is still speaking to the people today through his door, Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem. 

Birth and Life

Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan was born on a Thursday on the 21st of March 1968 in Basra in Iraq. He finished his academic studies and received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in the early 90s. He is married and has sons and daughters. After he completed his academic studies, he moved to the city of Najaf to pursue religious studies. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan built a house of prayer in Najaf with his followers and he taught extensively.

Works

The followers of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan compiled his teachings into books, which are translated into English. These texts, along with the sermons of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, are accessible through the official website:

• The Book of Monotheism

“The Book of Monotheism” by Imam Ahmed Al-Hasan is a book that clarifies foundational truths about monotheism, the nature and attributes of God, and the role of divinely appointed caliphs. The book restores and revives the understanding of pure monotheism, emphasizing its importance and the dangers of deviating away from it into polytheism or innovation. It affirms the vital role of God’s appointed successors in preserving the integrity of faith and directing towards true monotheism.

• The Calf

“The Calf” references the trial faced by the Children of Israel when Moses was absent and Samiri led them to worship a golden calf. The book draws on this to illustrate a recurring pattern in the history of divine missions: opposition both from external enemies and internal traitors. It warns of the dangers posed by those within the community who distort or hijack the true message. The book serves as a reminder to remain vigilant against such internal corruption and to uphold the purity of the divine call. 

Ahmed Al-Hassan gave 4 sermons that are available online, the Sermon of Hajj, the Sermon of the Meeting with Imam Mahdi, the Sermon to the Greatest of them Lest They Return, and the Sermon of Advice to the Students of the Hawza.

• Sermon of Hajj

The “Sermon of Hajj” addresses the state of the Muslim community and the importance of upholding the divine authority of God and His appointed representatives. Ahmed Al-Hassan emphasizes the supremacy of God’s appointment over human election, drawing parallels to the revolution of Imam Hussein and warning against the corruption present among religious authorities. He calls believers to reject false leadership, emphasizing the significance of true allegiance and sacrifice for God’s sovereignty.

• Sermon of the Meeting with Imam Mahdi

In this sermon, Ahmed Al-Hassan recounts the experiences and meetings with Imam Mahdi that led to his mission. He describes how a group of students in the Hawza of Najaf pledged allegiance to him after witnessing visions and miracles, affirming his claim as the messenger of Imam Mahdi. The sermon underscores the legitimacy of his call and its divine origins, urging listeners to recognize the signs and support the true representative of the Mahdi.

• Sermon to the Greatest of Them Lest They Return

This sermon is directed to the leading religious scholars. Ahmed Al-Hassan warns the clerical establishment against continuing in their opposition to God’s appointed vicegerent, their rejection of prophetic visions, and their role in spreading corruption and deviation within religious institutions. He warns that their continued opposition will only seal their fate, bringing about their own ruin and that of their followers. The message is a powerful warning of the severe consequences of refusing God’s will.

• Sermon of Advice to the Students of the Hawza

In this sermon, Ahmed Al-Hassan offers advice to the students of the religious seminary (Hawza), giving them guidance for their spiritual and intellectual journey. He urges them to seek sincerity, and true knowledge, warning against the dangers of pride and blind imitation of the non-working scholars. Ahmed Al-Hassan encourages the students to align themselves with the true representative of God, rather than becoming tools of a system that perpetuates injustices, and resists reform and the divine authority.

Appointment

Ahmed Al-Hassan was named in the will of the Prophet Muhammad, which he left on the night of his death. He is the first of the twelve Mahdis, alongside Abdullah Hashem, who is the second of the twelve Mahdis. They are the only ones to have ever claimed to be the Ahmed and the Abdullah in the will:

“O Father of Al-Hassan, bring me a pen and a paper’, so the Messenger of Allah dictated his Will until he came to this position where he said: ‘O Ali, there will be twelve Imams after me and after them there will be twelve Mahdis. So you, O Ali, are the first of the twelve Imams, Allah The Exalted has named you in His heavens Ali Al-Mortadha (Ali the Content), Amirul Mo’mineen (the Commander of the Believers), Al-Siddiq Al-Akbar (the Greater Truthful), Al-Farouq Al-A’tham (the Greater Judge and Differentiator between truth and falsehood), Al-Ma’moun (the Trusted), and the Mahdi (the Rightly Guided). These names may not be attributed to other than you. O Ali, you are my Vicegerent/Guardian on my own family, their living and their dead, and upon my women: Whomever I kept, she shall find me tomorrow, and whomever I divorced, I am innocent of her, I will not see her and she will not see me on the Day of Resurrection. And you are my Successor (Khalifa) on my nation after me. If death comes to you, hand it over to my son Al-Hassan, the Righteous and Benevolent. Then if death comes to him, let him hand it over to my son Al-Hussein, the Martyr, the Pure and Murdered. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, the Master of Worshippers, Dhul Thafant (the one with hard skin on his knees) Ali. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammad Al-Baqir (the Revealer of Knowledge). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ja’far Al-Sadiq (the Truthful). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Musa Al-Kadhim (the Patient). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al-Ridha. If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammad Al-Thiqa Al-Taqqi (the Trustworthy, the God-Fearing). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Ali Al-Nasih (the Advisor). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Al-Hassan Al-Fadhil (the Meritorious). If death comes to him, let him hand it over to his son, Muhammad the Safeguarded of the Family of Muhammad, peace be upon them. Those are the twelve Imams. 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 (Servant of God), and Ahmad (the Praised), and the third name is Al-Mahdi (the Guided) and he is the first of the believers.” (Ghaybat Al-Tusi, Al-Shaikh Al-Tusi, Vol. 1, p. 174; Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 53, p. 148)

The Yamani

In 1999 Ahmed Al-Hassan announced that he is the prophesied Yamani, who is a central character in Islamic eschatology. 

Imam Al-Baqir said: “There is no banner which is more guided than the banner of the Yamani, it is a banner of guidance because he calls to your companion. If the Yamani emerges then selling weapons becomes impermissible upon the people and every Muslim, and if the Yamani emerges then rise and go to him for verily his banner is a banner of guidance, and it is not permissible for any Muslim to go against him, whoever does so is from the people of hellfire, because he calls to the truth and to the straight path.” (Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 52, p. 232)

The appearance of the Yamani is one of the signs of the appearance of Imam Mahdi.

Imam Al-Sadiq said: “The Call is from the things that must come to pass, and the Sufyani is from the things which must come to pass, and the Yamani is from the things which must come to pass, and the killing of the pure soul is from the things which must come to pass, and a palm which appears in the sky is from the things which must come to pass.” (Kitab Al-Ghayba, Al-Numani, Vol. 1, p. 260)

The Yamani is one of three characters that appear at the same time before the emergence of the Qaim/Riser and they are the Khorasani, the Yamani, and the Sufyani.

Imam Al-Sadiq said: “The emergence of the Sufyani and the Yamani and the Khorasani takes place in one year, in one month, in one day, in order like the order of beads, one following the other.” (Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 52, p. 232)

History

Meeting with Imam Mahdi Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Askari

In the year 1999, in the mausoleum of the two Imams Al-Hadi and Al-Askari, the first meeting between Imam Al-Mahdi and Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan in the physical world took place. The meeting is described in the “Sermon of the Meeting with Imam Mahdi”:

“And the story of this meeting was that one day I was asleep and in my sleep, I saw a vision. And the Imam Mahdi was standing near the mausoleum of Sayyed Mohammed, the brother of Imam Al-Askari. And he ordered me to meet him and after that, I woke up and it was 2 a.m. And I prayed 4 Raka’s of the Night Prayer. And I went to sleep and saw another vision also having Imam Mahdi in it asking to meet me. And I woke up and it was 4 a.m., and so I finished my night prayers and then prayed Fajr. Then after two days of these visions, I traveled to Samarra where I found the two Imams Al-Hadi and Al-Askari. Then I returned to Balad where I found Sayyed Mohammed, then I went to Baghdad where I found the Imams Al-Kadhim and Al-Jawwad. Then I went to Karbala where I found Imam Al-Hussain and the martyrs. And I met Imam Mahdi at night in the mausoleum of Imam Al-Hussain. Then I met with Imam Al-Mahdi in the morning in the Maqam of Imam Mahdi, which is in Karbala at the end of Al-Sidra Street. So we sat in the Maqam alone, which was almost empty of people, with the exception of the servant (of the Maqam) who was standing in the women’s prayer area away from us.“ (Excerpt from “The Sermon of the Meeting” by Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan)

The Beginning of the Call

In the last days of the year 1999, per the command of Imam Al-Mahdi, Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan began the call, criticising the falsehood of the Hawza in Najaf, demanding scientific, practical and monetary reform.

Eventually a movement emerged to address financial corruption; however, it fell short of genuine reform, resulting only in minor changes to the monetary policies of certain Shia scholars while the corrupt and lavish lifestyles largely continued.

After learning of his association with Imam Mahdi, a number of students from the scientific Hawza pledged allegiance to Ahmed Al Hassan but went back on their pledges and turned on him in fear after Saddam Hussein began to pursue him.

Imam Ahmad Al-Hassan returned to his home again after the people left him, and only a few of the Hawza students and believers remained with him. In July 2003, a group of believers came to him, renewed their pledges and brought him out of his house, and the call started anew.

In November 2003, Imam Al-Mahdi Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Askari commanded him to start addressing the people of the world and to announce a revolution against the oppressors.

Exposure of Religious Scholars  

Ahmed Al-Hassan taught the people that the religious scholars were the enemies of Imam Mahdi, and he reminded people that they had been the enemies of all of the prophets and messengers all along.

Imam Al-Sadiq said: “His (the Qaim’s) enemies are the religious scholars of Taqleed, they enter under his rule in fear of his sword and authority and in desire of what he has, the ones who know God from the people of truth pledge allegiance to him... ” (Aʿyān al-Shīʿa, Al-Sayyid Muhsin Al-Amin, Vol. 2, p. 54)

Imam Al-Sadiq said: “And he abolishes the Jizya (taxing the non-Muslim citizens of the country) and he calls to God by the sword and he abolishes all the different sects from the Earth and there shall not remain except for the pure religion because of the enmity from the religious scholars who do Taqleed, the people of Ijtihad...” (Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Ibn Arabi, Vol. 3, p. 327; Majma al Nurayn, Al Marandi, p. 345)

The scholars had been propagating the idea of Khomeini, the “Rule of the Jurisprudence,” which gave them the same authority over the people as the Prophets and Messengers. They had also been teaching that imitation of scholars was obligatory, and if Muslims did not choose a scholar to follow, then God would not accept their prayers, fasting, or charitable acts.

Ahmed Al-Hassan taught that the imitation of scholars is false and not a part of the true religion. He also taught that the Khums should not be given to the religious scholars but to Imam Mahdi himself. These teachings eradicated the authority of the religious scholars who had appointed themselves as Imams over the people.

The Betrayal of Ahmed Al-Hassan 

Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan's criticism of the religious authorities and the scholars caused them to oppose him. They plotted against him due to the perceived threat to their authority. In 2007, Shia Scholars began issuing religious decrees against Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan and his followers declaring them as heretics and declaring Ahmed Al-Hassan to be a Dajjal. The religious institutions pushed the Iraqi security forces to raid the homes, arrest and attack the followers of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan. 

Many believers were innocently killed, arrested without just cause, and jailed without due process. The Shia militias and followers of the scholars were looking for Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, wanting to kill him, because he spoke against the religious scholars which they considered to be heretical.

This is the last known photograph of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan taken in 2007 before his disappearance from Iraq.

Ahmed Al-Hassan went into hiding because of threats to his life, including an attempt to assassinate him. After he left Iraq, many of his followers were killed or imprisoned. Although the Iraqi government and Shia religious leaders tried, they could not prove that Al-Hassan or his followers had committed any crimes.

Because of this, the government was forced to allow the remaining followers to practice their faith openly. This included opening offices, centers for worship, running a satellite channel, and publicly sharing their beliefs. However, these activities were closely monitored and controlled by the Iraqi government.

The Calf and the Samiri

The religion was infiltrated by Iraqi and Iranian special forces, and some members of the faith were recruited by them. An impersonator of the voice of the Imam was used to record a false sermon called the sermon of Muharram. These infiltrators opened a Facebook page and set up a special office, claiming that this office was the only representative and door to Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan. He was never photographed or seen in public since 2007, but the impersonator's voice was used, and until 2015, the believers believed that Ahmed Al-Hassan was behind the voice.

The false office redirected the movement without input from Ahmed Al-Hassan, according to their own desires, interpretations, and directions of their leaders in the government of Iraq, away from the true message of Ahmed Al-Hassan—namely, calling people towards the supremacy of God, true monotheism, and the values of justice and equity.

The false office was exposed by the successor of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq. Abdullah Hashem publicly declared his innocence of the office and warned the Ansar about the deception. He continued to spread the original message of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, distinguishing it from the manipulated narrative propagated by the false office.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light is led by Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, who is not only the successor of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan but also the door to him, as Aba Al-Sadiq is the one who faces the people on behalf of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan. It adheres to the teachings of Ahmed Al-Hassan and is a monotheistic religion that teaches the supremacy of God. 

The Star of David (the six-pointed star) was chosen as the symbol of the call, stating it was part of the inheritance of the Prophets and Messengers and that it carried the same meaning as “God is Great” in the Iraqi flag. Ahmed Al-Hassan also taught that the shape of the star mirrors the shape of the universe.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light officially obtained church status in the United States of America on June 6, 2019.

The religion has been officially declared a persecuted religious minority by the UN and has received support from several major human rights organizations.

Statue of Ahmed Al-Hassan at the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in the UK