This October, believers of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light are finding creative ways to spread the glad tidings of the Mahdi across the United States. In Michigan, one believer added a personal touch to their missionary efforts by writing handwritten sticky notes carrying the message: “The messenger sent by Mohammed, Jesus, and Elijah has appeared. YouTube channel: The Mahdi Has Appeared.” These notes were placed on doors, cars, and in public spaces, allowing the message to reach new people in an unexpected and personal way. Meanwhile, on the West Coast, a believer in California placed several posters bearing the powerful message “God Is Calling You,” alongside an image of Aba Al-Sadiq, God's Messenger on Earth today. From handwritten notes in Michigan to striking posters in California, these simple yet effective efforts show how the believers are helping the news of the Mahdi to reach new hearts every day.

To know the name of something is not necessarily to know what it is. We may repeat a name, revere it, and even build our lives around it, while remaining strangers to the reality the name is meant to reveal. This is especially true of the name “God.” To explore the difference between knowing the Name and knowing what lies behind it, imagine God as a city—a city whose names, attributes, walls, and doors reveal different dimensions of a reality that cannot be contained by any one of them. What Is the City? When we hear the word “city,” we naturally picture a place with gates, streets, and houses. Yet the city we are speaking of here is not made of stone, nor is it ordinarily visible to the eye—although, in a sense, it can become perceptible. It is a city of meanings and perfect, ideal qualities, where every attribute points to something, and every name serves as a sign. Whenever creation turns toward these names and qualities, it is, in reality, turning toward the city itself. This city is known as “Allah” “God”—a name that is very familiar to us. This well-known name belongs to that wondrous city whose citizens are the divine perfections embodied in the perfect attributes and Most Beautiful Names. However, these citizens do not necessarily define or fully encompass their wondrous city. They strive to do so, especially through their collective effort and cooperation. Yet this wondrous city has a unique essence, distinct from these names and attributes. All of them, whether together or individually, even though they are complete and perfect, cannot comprehend this particular secret or the complete reality. This is because this essence has no counterpart among them. Each of these names reveals one aspect of the city, but none of them encompasses the whole of it. Al-Rahman is not the whole reality, Al-Rahim is not the whole reality, and the Creator is not the whole reality. Yet the closer they come to the center of the city, the more they come together, efface one another, and ultimately efface themselves into the essence, until only “Allah” remains. This divine city must have a wall that surrounds and protects it. And this wall, like every wall, has an inner and an outer side—an inner face and an outer face. The wall is part of the city. The citizens of the city become familiar with and interact with the inner side of the wall from its inner face, while those outside encounter its outer side. The inner face of the city wall is more beautiful than its outer face. Entry into the city is permitted through a single opening in the wall that serves as the door or gate. This door directly faces everyone who is outside. The door also has an outer and an inner side. Its inner side is part of the inner face of the wall surrounding the city, while its outer side is part of the outer face, which confronts those visitors standing at the door seeking entry. It is also part of the city itself. The outer side of this door is “Al-Rahman,” and its inner side is “Al-Rahim.” In other words, the door represents divine mercy through different ways, means, and degrees, yet both belong to and point to the divine nature of mercy. The door appears outwardly as “Al-Wahid Al-Qahhar,” confronting any hostility that may come from some of those standing at the door seeking entry. The apparent is punishment, yet the inner side always remains merciful. This reminds us of the Holy Qur’an, where all the surahs of the Qur’an begin with “Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim,” except for one: Surat Al-Tawbah, which was revealed concerning the hypocrites. At its beginning, the basmala is not written; rather, implicitly, it begins with “Bismillah Al-Wahid Al-Qahhar.” The Qur’an represents the divine city, “Allah,” in the form of a book. And just as the city manifests itself in a holy book, it is possible—indeed, certain—that the city manifests itself in other forms and in different worlds, with its form differing from one world to another. Just as we speak of a divine city in heaven, so too is there one on earth. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, said in the Holy Qur’an: ﴾And He is the One who is [the only] deity in heaven and [the only] deity on earth, and He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.﴿ [Qur’an, Az-Zukhruf 43:84] How, then, can we recognize the divine city on earth, as it is recognized in heaven? Allah, who sent the Qur’an down to us, has placed us in a logical dilemma so that we may reflect and reason. How can we recognize the divine perfections on earth? Just as they are created entities interacting in heaven, they must also be so on earth. He has placed us in an even greater logical dilemma by commanding us to make the worship of Him the central purpose of our lives as human beings. Does this mean that we are to worship a God sitting on a throne in heaven? Most religious people do so, whether they acknowledge it or not. For them, the matter is formal and superficial, even tribal. In reality, they do not truly worship; and even if they do, they do not know what they are worshipping. Allah wants us to worship with knowledge, while these people worship through ignorance. The preceding verse from the Holy Qur’an places everyone in a predicament. As created beings—as human beings—it is difficult for us to perceive what is beyond the reality of our own selves. The Creator is uncreated. Allah resolved this dilemma through what is known as manifestation—a divine method that has become hidden from humanity today, although it has always existed. It is right before their eyes, yet they are heedless of it. He clearly states that just as He is a God in heaven, worshipped by the beings of heaven, He is also a God on earth. Therefore, just as Allah is a city in heaven that gathers the names and attributes, He is also a city on earth that gathers the names and attributes, according to the nature of this earthly world and its causes. And just as the Holy Qur’an was an image of this city in the form of a holy book, the city, Allah, can likewise take the form of a human being—and this is a higher rank than the book. Just as there is Al-Rahman Al-Rahim (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) in heaven, there is Al-Rahman Al-Rahim on earth, in an earthly form, as well as Al-Razzaq (the Sustainer), Ash-Shakur (the Grateful), As-Sabur (the Most Patient), Al-Karim (the Most Generous), Al-Alim (the All-Knowing), and so on. And just as the divine city in heaven has a door, a wall, and an essence, there must likewise be a form or manifestation of these on earth. The manifestation or form that Allah chose as the highest representation of the city and its perfections was the human form. “So God created the human being according to His image. According to the image of God He created him.”[Genesis 1:27] How can human beings recognize God, His Most Beautiful Names, and His divine attributes in the human form, which is subject to the conditions, nature, and laws of the earthly world, so that He may be worshipped? And before that, how can the names and attributes within the human form come to know themselves? And how can God, who gathers them all, know Himself in the form of earth? How can human beings accept the manifestation of divinity and lordship within creation? It is an extremely sensitive matter—one that causes people to hold their breath and provokes campaigns of threats, accusations of disbelief, security persecution, religious persecution, fabricated charges in this world, and threats of eternal torment in the Fire in the Hereafter. This is especially true when such opposition comes from those regarded as sacred, who appear before people in religious roles and titles such as jurists, scholars, and religious authorities. They promote and create doubts about these matters, claiming that they are heresy. Despite the simplicity and clarity of the matter, and its complete harmony with reason, logic, and what is found in their own holy books, the reaction is nevertheless like this. It has a profound effect on people: it frightens them, prevents them from even considering the possibility of thinking for themselves, and can lead them, through their ignorance, to be used and mobilized against anyone who draws their attention to the truth. These are the people who have taught them that God is worshipped through fear and ignorance, rather than through love and knowledge. I advise everyone who has been disturbed by these words to relax, take a deep breath, continue reading, and then download the Book of Monotheism by Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan from our website and read it carefully in order to understand it. For creation on earth to know God and the divine perfections, God wanted these perfections to manifest in them and in their lives. This divine will comes from God’s great love for us. Just as He created us through love and knows us, He wants us to know Him, love Him, and become like Him. The manifestations of His names and attributes within us point us toward Him, bring us closer to Him, and enable us to know Him. And to the extent of our love for Him, we strive to become like Him. No one can deny that every perfection we know, every good we perceive, and every mercy, knowledge, or wisdom whose effects we witness in our lives ultimately originates from God. Nevertheless, our understanding of these names and attributes remains limited. We understand what mercy means, but we cannot encompass all of divine mercy. We know something about wisdom, but we cannot comprehend the perfection of divine wisdom—let alone understand and comprehend all the names and attributes together. The Divine City on Earth Understanding and recognizing these Names and attributes, or the Name of God “Allah”, does not come through merely knowing the words. Rather, it comes through understanding how they are manifested in creation and within ourselves. Mercy, for example, can be seen in a mother caring for her child, in an animal protecting its young, or in a creature caring for one who is weak. These forms do not represent divine mercy in its perfection; rather, they represent a manifestation of it. The mercy that appears in a creature is not independent of God. Rather, it is one of the effects of His mercy and a limited reflection of His attribute. Likewise, knowledge appears in the human being, wisdom appears in some of his actions, beauty appears in nature, and strength appears in some creatures. All of this indicates that the attributes and Names of Allah can manifest in creation to different degrees. The human being is the creature most capable of allowing these divine perfections to shine from his heart, so that they are reflected in his thoughts, words, and actions. This is on the condition that he purifies his heart of selfishness and ignorance, and submit to and obey one who is the most knowledgeable, so that he may acquire his knowledge and become like him. In this way, he becomes more prepared for his heart to radiate these attributes in a purer and more comprehensive manner, until they reach a level close to perfection. The prophets and messengers, the Ulul-Azm messengers, the Imams, and the Mahdis, whom God described as His vicegerents on earth and as His veils through whom He faces creation and through whom He communicates and interacts with them, are examples of those who reached this spiritual elevation and sublimity on earth. Likewise, the true martyrs, the righteous, the saints, and their counterparts among the sincere Companions and Shi'a are the lookalikes of them. The purest and most luminous among them, those who succeeded in reflecting an ideal image of God as a city that gathers all the divine attributes and perfections, are the Ahlul Bayt, whom God purified from every impurity, led by the Messenger Mohammed, the noblest of creation among them. Allah faced creation through them as His ideal image on earth, yet they themselves never departed from the station of perfect servitude to God. Who can deny this? Thus, the proposition concerning the ideal image of God on earth, or the optimal manifestation of God on earth, has become logically acceptable to us. Mohammed was the perfect servant of God who reached the distance of two bow lengths or nearer, and thus effaced himself in the veil of His light and greatness. For he is His servant “Abdullah” and His messenger. The Messenger Mohammed was able to become the most knowledgeable of God, until he became God in creation. He became the manifestation of this ideal divine city on earth, and the Door was Ali, while the inner side of the Door was Fatimah. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan explained this in detail in the Book of Monotheism, which is in complete agreement with the hadith of the Messenger Mohammed when he said: “I am the City of Knowledge, and Ali is its door; whoever seeks knowledge, let him come through the door.”Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn, vol. 3, p. 126 The Wall of the City We return to the Wall of the city that surrounds its boundaries—that great Wall erected to define its scope and separate it from what lies outside it. Everything within the city is part of it, and the Wall itself is part of it. It is the veil and boundary of the city; it protects it and separates its inhabitants from those who live outside it. And this Wall, as we have said, has an outer side and an inner side. Whoever stands outside it does not see the city as the one who has entered it sees it. He sees the Wall first, and thus the Wall becomes, for him, the outward image of the city. As for the one who has entered it, he sees the inner side of the Wall, and through it he sees what those standing outside cannot see. From within the city, the Wall is beautiful, decorated, and welcoming. Plants grow upon it, colors cover it, and it brings tranquility and security to its people. But from the outside, it appears severe and rough, fortified, with spears protruding from it to repel invaders. Thus, its outward side is torment for the one standing outside it in hostility, while its inner side is mercy for the one living safely within it. This means that the face that confronts those who are hostile is not the same face that confronts those who possess allegiance and faith. Perhaps the clearest depiction of this meaning is found in this verse of the Qur'an: ﴾So a wall will be placed between them, having a gate; its interior contains mercy, while its exterior faces the torment.﴿[Qur'an, Al-Hadid 57:13] This verse almost describes the Wall of the city itself: its inner side is mercy, while its outer side is torment. What is meant is not that mercy and torment are two contradictory things in the Wall. Rather, they are two manifestations of the One, appearing to each human being according to his position and station in relation to it. This is what we see in the stories of the prophets. Moses was the Name that directly dealt with the Children of Israel and confronted Pharaoh. He was the Wall. His outward side, in confronting Pharaoh, was strength and torment; the one who stood before him in hostility saw nothing but the signs and punishments that descended upon Pharaoh and his people. As for the Children of Israel, who entered into obedience to him and established the commandments and the law, they saw the other face of the same self: they saw mercy, care, and salvation. He brought them out from Pharaoh, parted the sea for them, shaded them with the clouds, and provided them with manna. Then came Jesus, and he was the Name and the Wall that faced creation. He performed miracles, spoke with wisdom, completed the Law, and called people to God through what appeared to them through him. Thus, he was a veil between them and what lay beyond him, and a sign pointing to the city into which they had not yet entered. Then came Mohammed, and he was the Wall that surrounded the city of Medina. He came with the law and rulings, established the boundaries of religion, protected the city from its enemies, and repelled whoever sought to storm it or destroy it. Therefore, when Mohammed said, “I am the City of Knowledge,” the city is not only what lies behind the Wall; the Wall itself is part of it. Mohammed is the Name, and he is the Wall and the veil that faces the world and protects the city filled with knowledge, treasures, and secrets. A person may accept the apparent aspect of what Moses brought, believe in what Jesus brought, and follow the law of Mohammed, yet within him there remains a thirst that the apparent aspect of religion alone cannot quench. He wants to know more. He wants to know Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed more deeply, and to know the God of Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed more deeply, and to move beyond the apparent aspect of the Name to the inner aspect and the Essence that surpass the perfections themselves. Such people do not want to destroy the Wall or overcome it by force. Rather, they want to enter the center of the city. They want to know what lies beyond the outward, and to reach the inner side of the city and its secrets. But the Wall cannot be crossed from just any place, and the city does not open its gates to everyone who stands at its boundaries. So who will take these people by the hand from the boundaries and bring them into the heart of the city? Who will lead them from the outward side of the Wall to its inner side, and from knowing the Name to knowing the Meaning? The Door The Door is what provides these people with the opportunity. As we indicated, the Door of the city is part of its Wall, through which those seeking entry enter the city. Its function is not to protect the inhabitants of the city from those entering it, but rather to provide safe passage for those whose intention is good. Thus, the Door becomes the passage through which a person can move from being outside the city to becoming one of its inhabitants, and from being a person standing outside to becoming a citizen among the people of the city. It gives him the possibility of moving from seeing the outer side of the Wall to seeing its inner side, and from seeing the city from outside to entering it. After submitting a request at the Door, people can reach the correct understanding of religion and attain a higher knowledge that takes them beyond the Sharia and its rulings. It takes them from the outward and leads them to the inward. It is a link between the outside and the inside, and between the outward and the inward. For what is intended by the Door is not a door to the Name, but rather a door to the Meaning. In the time of the Messenger Mohammed, the Door was, at certain times, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and at other times it was Salman. Likewise, Simon Peter was, for a time, the Door to Jesus, and Joshua son of Nun was the Door to Moses. The Meaning The Meaning is the very Essence of the city from within. It is deeper than what we have come to know about the Name of the city, which is the Name “Allah.” This Essence has nothing like it and cannot be described, so it is referred to as "He," or "Huwa." Yet it also manifests. Just as He is in heaven, He is also on earth. Not only Allah and the Most Beautiful Names. Rather, He manifests in a way that people can understand and reach. The Meaning “Huwa” is the greatest manifestation of God “Allah” in creation that people can attain, but they cannot attain it directly. Rather, they must pass through “the Door.” Just as the Door takes a person from the outside to the inside, it also takes him from the Name to the Meaning. And when this meaning manifests, it does not appear to people in the form of an abstract idea or written knowledge, but rather in the form of another human being. He comes in the form of the most perfect disciple, the successor of the Name, the one who lived his entire life receiving all the teachings of the Messenger, both the apparent and the gnostic teachings, and absorbing them until those teachings were no longer merely words or rulings for him, but became something that flowed within his very existence. He absorbs the true meanings hidden behind the actions and teachings, and understands them all, until they manifest within him and he becomes these meanings. Here, he transforms from merely a follower of the message into the Essence of the message. He does not need to spread the same message that the Veil, the Name, or the Wall spread. The apparent message has become accessible to everyone; everyone knows it, and it has become clear and defined. Rather, his role has become to enable people to reach what is higher: that which the “Wall” knew because he was part of the city—indeed, he was the city itself—but which he did not confront people with. The Meaning in the Time of Moses Moses was the one who conveyed the commandments and the law from Allah to the Children of Israel. His young companion was Joshua son of Nun, who remained with him at all times, overseeing his service, carrying out what he assigned to him, and learning from him. We must not forget that he also learned from Moses' teacher, Al-Khidr, the righteous servant. He was the ideal disciple and was a Door for Moses for some time after the death of Aaron. However, he advanced through the degrees of manifestation from the Door to the Essence and the Meaning. Moses was the Wall, and he was the one who made the Children of Israel acquainted with the rulings and the law—that is, the apparent aspect of the message. Through this law and the apparent aspect of the message, generations of the Children of Israel in the wilderness were trained and refined. But Joshua son of Nun was charged with realizing the objective of Moses' apparent message: preparing and laying the groundwork, through power and knowledge, for the Kingdom of God with a qualified generation of the Children of Israel. He possessed the knowledge and secrets through which he was able to accomplish this. To lead the new generation of Israel from the wilderness to the Promised Land. The Meaning in the Time of Jesus In the time of Jesus, the Meaning was Simon Peter. Jesus used to say that he spoke in parables, and the apparent aspect of his words did not represent the entire message. There were hidden gems and meanings that he revealed only to those close to him. We have a few examples of this in the Gospel. Among them is the event of the Transfiguration, where Simon Peter was present, and he was acquainted with much of Jesus' esoteric knowledge. He learned from him many secrets and matters that the general public did not learn. Therefore, it is natural that the message of Simon Peter would be different from the message of Jesus. Jesus is very famous throughout the world. He came with a particular message and conveyed it. As for Simon Peter, who came after him, very few people know much about him or followed his explanations and teachings. Even the sources that have reached us do not contain much about him; indeed, a large part of the New Testament of the Bible was not written by Simon Peter. The Meaning in the Time of the Prophet Mohammed In the time of the Prophet Mohammed, the Meaning was Ali. He was the Door at one point, but he advanced to become the Meaning. This was evident in the Pledge of Ghadir Khumm, when the Prophet Mohammed appointed Imam Ali as the “Wali”. The Wilayah is the Essence and inner aspect of the message of the Prophet Mohammed. There was no need for Ali ibn Abi Talib to go out and repeat to the Muslim community everything that Mohammed had brought concerning the apparent aspect. Nor was his function to teach people that there was something called the Qur'an, or to teach them about ablution, prayer, fasting, zakat, charity, and pilgrimage. All these outward acts belonged to the external part of the Wall, that is, to the Name. That was the function and role of the Name. As for what can be reached through Ali ibn Abi Talib, it is the inner meaning hidden behind these acts of worship, as well as other knowledge and secrets. The Trinity System Thus, manifestation in the human vessel is the presence of God in creation in three ranks that work together as one system. The first is the apparent Name, which faces people and reaches them. The second is the Essence and Meaning hidden behind this apparent aspect. The third is the link between them, which takes the believer from the apparent to the inner, and from the manifest to the hidden: the Door. These roles are not necessarily fixed in one person at all times. A person may perform more than one role at different times, and this does not affect the system in any way. What changes are the roles and the persons, while the system remains as it is. All of them are from one light that divides itself to perform specific assignments, each serving the other and guiding people to the knowledge and the purpose of their creation: that they become like God, so that they may not be slaves, but rather free. Whoever knows the Name has begun the journey. Whoever enters through the Door has gone beyond the apparent. And whoever reaches the Meaning has known the truth.

He’ll Tell You What You Don’t Want to Hear. People are waiting for a savior who comes to take them in his arms. A comforter who heals the wounds of the world with gentle words. A Mahdi who wins hearts with a radiant face and a melodious voice. They imagine how he comes on a white horse, how the crowd cheers him, how the powerful kneel before him. But anyone who really reads the traditions of the Ahlulbayt, who explores the depth of the hadiths, comes across an image that breaks with all clichéd expectations. The Mahdi will not come to comfort. He will come to tell the truth. And the truth is unbearable. It is a pattern that runs through the entire history of salvation like a red thread of suffering. The prophets before him were not popular orators who gathered the masses around them with sweet words. They were outsiders, persecuted, hunted. They were the ones who said what no one wanted to hear. They were the lonely, the rejected, the hated – and that is exactly what the Mahdi will be. The prophet Amos stood before the people of Israel and spoke a message that shook the Kingdom to its foundations. He did not say what the people wanted to hear. He did not say, "Everything will be fine. God loves you. You are chosen." No. He said: "Jeroboam will perish by the sword, and the people of Israel will be driven out of the land and led into exile." The words burned like fire in the ears of the powerful. The priest Amaziah ran to the king and shouted: "Amos is stirring up a rebellion against you, and in the midst of Israel he is making unbearable speeches. The land can no longer stand this!" (Amos 7:10) Unbearable speeches. That was the crime of Amos. He told the truth. And the truth was unbearable. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, stood alone against the lying prophets of his day. They came in droves, these false prophets, and they said what the people wanted to hear: "Peace, peace!" – and yet it was no peace. They told each other their dreams, the dreams of their deceitful hearts, and the people believed them. But Jeremiah interjected: "How much longer? Will these prophets who prophesy lies, the prophets of their own deceitful hearts, make my people forget my law by their dreams that they tell one another?" (Jeremiah 23:25-26) He was alone. He was the only one who spoke the truth. And for that they hated Him. They threw him into the dungeon. They let him down into a cistern, where he sank into the mud. They persecuted him until the end of his life. For the truth can be unbearable – especially for those who live by lies. And then Jesus came. The Son of Mary. The Messiah. He could have come with a sword of fire, with heavenly hosts, with a kingdom that would crush the Romans. But what did he do? He sat down and spoke words that exposed the religious leaders of his day to the bone. He looked them in the eye—these pious men with their long robes and their broad phylacteries—and said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which seem beautiful on the outside, but are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness on the inside." (Matthew 23:27) Imagine that. He called them hypocrites. He told them to their faces that they were like graves – beautiful on the outside, but full of decay on the inside. He took off their masks. He showed the people who these men really were. And the powerful could not bear these words. They could not bear that someone should come to see through their façade. So they killed him. They nailed him to the cross. Because the truth is unbearable – especially for those who sit on the lie. But before Jesus went to the cross, He spoke a word to His disciples that is like a key to everything the Mahdi will do. He said to them, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12) Not to endure. The truth was too heavy for them. They were not ready. Their hearts were not yet wide enough. Their souls were not yet strong enough. So Jesus was silent. He did not say everything. He kept the deepest truths for a time when people could endure them. And this is where the Mahdi comes in. The traditions of the Ahlulbayt teach us that the Mahdi will be the one who will finally say what the people could not bear before. He will break the silence. He will bring to light the hidden truths that the prophets held back out of mercy – because the people would not have endured them. Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari once said: "If Allah allows us to speak, the truth would spread and falsehood would disappear and be pulled away from you." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 25, p. 183) The Mahdi will not be silent. He will not wait until the people are ready. He will tell the truth – and the people will either endure it or break it because of it. However, the traditions of the Ahlulbayt go even further. They speak of a truth that is so difficult that it cannot even be borne by angels or prophets alone – unless they pass it on. In a hadith narrated in the sources, it is reported that someone wrote to Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari: "It is narrated by your fathers: 'Our hadith is heavy and is felt to be heavy; no angel close to him, no sent prophet and no tested believer can bear it.'" (Wasail al-Shia, Hadith no. 33423) The Imam's response was as surprising as it was profound. He said, "The meaning is only that the angel cannot bear it until he brings it out to an angel like him; and no prophet endures him until he brings him out to a prophet like him; and no believer endures him until he brings him out to a believer like him. The meaning is only that he does not endure him in his heart – because of the sweetness of what is in his breast – until he brings him out to another." (Wasail al-Shia, Hadith no. 33423) The wording is breathtaking. Not even an angel can keep this truth to himself – he has to pass it on to another angel. Not even a prophet can lock it up in his heart – he has to pass it on to another prophet. And even a believer, no matter how pious, can only bear it if he passes it on – to another believer like him. This is the unbearable truth of the Mahdi: it is like a fire that burns until it is passed on. It is like a burden that crushes until it is shared. Whoever closes it within himself will break because of it. Whoever passes it on will endure it – but only if he has first been put through his paces. The Qur'an expresses this principle in all clarity. God says: "And God confirms the truth with His words, even if it is repugnant to the evildoers." (Surah Yunus 10:82). Even if it is repugnant to the evildoers. Even if they hate it. Even if they kill the Prophet for it. God confirms the truth – and the truth is always hated by those who live by lies. The Mahdi is the heir of these prophets. He is the one who will speak the unbearable word. Prophet Mohammed commanded his companions to follow a principle that the Mahdi will live to perfection: "Speak the truth, even if it is bitter." (Hadith narrated in Saheeh Ibn Hibban, Hadith No. 361; also in Abu Dawud, Hadith 3252) Bitter. The word literally means: it tastes like bile. It burns on the tongue. It leaves a taste that cannot be shaken. This is the truth that the Mahdi will speak. Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said of the Qaim: "Our Qaim will concentrate the intellectual forces and lead their knowledge and wisdom to the summit of perfection." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 336) But before it leads to perfection, it must first reveal the imperfection. It must show people how low they have fallen. It must hold up their own dark abysses to them – and that is the most unbearable thing of all. For nothing is harder to bear than the truth about oneself. But the traditions go even further. They speak of the Mahdi coming with a new matter, a new teaching that people cannot bear. In Bihar al-Anwar it is narrated that "the Mahdi will come with a new matter, a new book, a new Sunnah and a new judgment. It will be hard for the Arabs." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 192) A new book. A new Sunnah. This is the most unbearable thing of all: the Mahdi does not come to confirm the existing order – he comes to destroy it and replace it with something completely new. People will say, "This is not the Islam we know!" And they will be right. Because the Islam they know is a falsified Islam, an Islam of the scholars, the powerful, the hypocrites. The Mahdi brings the true Islam – and it will be unbearable for all those who have clung to the counterfeit all their lives. In another narration from Bihar al-Anwar, it is said that Mohammed ibn Al-Hasan Al-Askari himself says: "Verily, justice is with us and in us and no one else says it except a liar and a swindler." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 53, p. 191) The Mahdi will not only tell the truth – he will live it. He will be the living embodiment of the truth. And this is exactly what will drive people mad. Because when the truth is in front of them in the flesh, they can no longer run away. They can no longer say, "The truth is relative." They can no longer say, "Everyone has their own truth." No. They will face the truth – and they will have to decide. People are waiting for a Savior who will come to save them. They will get one who will come to destroy them—not physically, but spiritually. He will shatter their illusions, expose their lies, tear off their masks. And then, when they stand naked and naked before the truth, then—and only then—will He rebuild them. But first comes the sword of the Word. First comes the unbearable truth. The Mahdi will be the loneliest person on earth. The powerful will hate him because he exposes their power. The scholars will curse him because he exposes their hypocrisy. The people will turn away from him because they cannot bear the truth. He will say what no one wants to hear – and for that they will cast him out, as they rejected Amos, as they persecuted Jeremiah, as they crucified Jesus. The prophets and messengers before him walked the same path. He will finish it. 2. He’s Not Here to Erase Other Faiths People expect a Savior to affirm their own religion and exalt it above all others. Muslims expect Him to let Islam triumph. Christians expect Him to affirm Jesus as the true Messiah. The Jews expect Him to rebuild the Temple and restore the Torah in all its glory. The Zoroastrians expect the Saoshyant to free the world from the rule of evil. They all expect the Mahdi to come to confirm their truth and refute the others. But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt paint a picture that shatters all these expectations in a single, powerful gesture. The Mahdi does not come to elevate one religion above another. He comes to bring to light the denied truths of all religions – and that will be the most unbearable of all. It is a pattern that runs through the entire history of salvation. Every time God sent a new revelation, people falsified it. They added what did not belong. They deleted what they did not like. They made the pure message of God an instrument of power, of control, of self-righteousness. The Torah was changed. The Gospel was changed. The teachings of Zoroaster were changed. Even the Qur'an – as much as Muslims insist that it is unadulterated – has been falsified and so distorted in its interpretation that people no longer recognize what God has really said. The Bible states this principle very clearly. The prophet Jeremiah lamented, "How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? Behold, the lying scripture of the scribes has made it a lie." (Jeremiah 8:8) The scribes—the scholars, the guardians of the law—had falsified the Word of God. They had covered it with their own interpretations until the original message was barely recognizable. The Qur'an makes the same accusation against those who changed the earlier revelations. God says, "Woe to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, 'This is from God,' to sell it for a small price." (Surah al-Baqara 2:79) With their own hands. It was not God who made these changes – people did. The scholars, the priests, the rabbis, the magicians – they all rewrote the Word of God to suit their own purposes. The Mahdi does not come to ignore the falsifications. He comes to expose them. He comes with the original, unadulterated Scriptures – the true Torah that Moses received, the true Gospel revealed to Jesus, the true Psalms that David sang, and the original teachings that Zoroaster received. He will bring them out of the caves and mountains where they were hidden, and He will present them to the people – not to humiliate them, but to show them what they have lost. In one of the most profound traditions of the Ahlulbayt, it is said that Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "The Lord of the matter was called Mahdi because he leads to a hidden matter. He will bring out the Torah and the other books of God from a cave in Antioch. He will judge between the followers of the Torah according to the Torah, between the followers of the Gospel according to the Gospel, between the followers of the Psalms according to the Psalms, and between the followers of the Qur'an according to the Qur'an." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 51, p. 29) The wording is breathtaking. The Mahdi will not replace the Torah with the Qur'an. He will judge the people of the Torah with the Torah. He will judge the people of the gospel through the gospel. He will hold up to the followers of each religion their own scripture - but not the falsified version they hold in their hands today, but the original, unadulterated version as revealed by God. But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt go even further. They speak not only of the three Abrahamic religions, but of all the religions that God has revealed. In a profound narration narrated by Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq, it says: "By God, O Mufaddal, the distinction between religions and beliefs will be abolished, and the religion will be completely one, just as God, the Exalted, says: 'Verily, the religion with God is Islam.'" (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 53, p. 4) This is the unbearable truth: The Mahdi supports freedom of religion. The Goal of the Wise clearly states this. Furthermore, the Mahdi does not simply come to elevate Islam above the other faiths, he comes to show that all true religions come from one source. The Qur'an states this principle very clearly. God says: "Verily, the religion with God is Islam" (Surah Al'Imran 3:19) But Islam is not what people made of it. Islam is the original religion of all the prophets – the religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Zarathustra and Mohammed. The Mahdi will restore this original religion – not by abolishing the other religions, but by returning them to their original source. He will show the Jews the true Torah that they have lost. He will show Christians the true gospel that they have falsified. He will show the Zoroastrians the true teachings of Zarathustra, which they have forgotten. And he will show Muslims the true Islam that they have distorted. People are expecting a Savior who will affirm their own religion. They will get one who will show them that their religion is corrupted. They will expect a leader who will defeat the other religions. They will get one who will bring the truth to light in all religions. The Mahdi will not come to comfort the Muslims, confirm the Christians, or exalt the Jews. He will come to bring them all back to a single religion – not by coercion, but by the power of truth. He Comes With a New Covenant People expect a Savior to come to save. They expect him to reform the existing structures, to improve the old, to put things right. They expect a sage who will repair the damage of the world with a gentle hand. But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt paint a picture that shatters all these expectations in a single, powerful gesture: The Mahdi does not come to repair. He comes to destroy. And out of the rubble he creates something completely new. It is a pattern that runs through the entire history of salvation. Every time God wanted to make a new covenant with mankind, the old had to die first. Noah – the flood as a new beginning. Mankind was corrupt. "And when the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great on earth" (Genesis 6:5), he decided to destroy everything. The flood came. It killed almost everything. Only Noah and his family survived. Out of the ruins of the old world a new one arose. Destruction was the prerequisite for a new beginning. Jesus – death before the resurrection. Jesus himself taught this principle. He said to his disciples: "Verily, verily, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24) Death must come before new life can arise. Destruction is the seed of resurrection. Islam – the destruction of idols. When Prophet Mohammed returned to Mecca, he destroyed the idols in the Kaaba. He did not have them rebuilt or renovated. He smashed them with his own hand. The old idols had to die so that pure monotheism could live. The destruction was the act of liberation. The Qur'an teaches that God did not just create the world – He recreates it again and again. "The day when We roll up the heavens like a scroll for the Scriptures" (Surah al-Anbiya 21:104). The world as we know it is only a temporary creation. In the end, it is rolled up and replaced by something new. The Mahdi is the one who brings this principle to earth. He rolls up the old order – the order of oppression, hypocrisy, false scholarship – and replaces it with something that people cannot even imagine. But before the Mahdi can come, the world must reach a state that makes any new beginning not only possible but necessary. Prophet Mohammed described this state with shocking clarity. He said: "Soon a time will come upon the people when nothing will be left of Islam but its name, and nothing will be left of the Qur'an except its scripture. Their mosques will be magnificent, but they will be empty of true guidance. Their scholars will be the worst beings under heaven; from them comes the confusion, and to them it returns." (Khalqu Af'al al-'Ibad of al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 252) This is the world into which the Mahdi comes: a world in which Islam is only an empty label, the Qur'an is only a dead scripture, the mosques are only magnificent shells without spiritual content, and the scholars are the worst people – not guardians of truth, but authors of confusion. The Mahdi does not come to confirm an intact religion – he comes to revive a dead religion. He comes to restore the content of Islam where only the name remained. He comes to restore the meaning of the Qur'an where only the Scriptures remained. He comes to rid the mosques of their outward splendor and fill them with inner guidance. And he comes to disempower the scholars who have caused the confusion. The Mahdi does not come to confirm the existing order. He comes to destroy it and replace it with something completely new. In one of the most profound narrations of the Ahlulbayt, narrated by Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir, it says: "When the Qaim arises, he will come with a new matter, a new book, a new Sunnah and a new judgment." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 192) But what does it mean that the Mahdi comes with a "new book"? The novelty of these programs, methods and judgments is not that it brings a new religion, but that it takes Islam out of the thicket of superstitions and false interpretations to such an extent that it appears as an entirely new and fresh religion. The Mahdi not only destroys the spiritual falsifications, he also destroys the physical symbols of corruption. A narration narrated in Bihar al-Anwar states: "Al-Qaim will tear down the holy mosque in Mecca to its foundations and tear down the mosque of the Messenger in Medina to its foundations." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 338) The Mahdi will not spare the Kaaba. He will tear it down – not out of hatred, but out of love for the truth. For the Kaaba where it stands today is not the true Kaaba that Abraham built. It has been changed and falsified by the people. The Mahdi will return it to its original place – where God commanded Abraham to do so. The destruction is radical. It is uncompromising. It knows no sanctuaries, no taboos, no red lines. For truth is uncompromising – and the Mahdi is the living embodiment of truth. The most radical destruction that the Mahdi brings is the destruction of the hearts. Before he leads the hearts of the people to perfection, he must first break them. He must free the people from what holds them captive – their desires, their self-deceptions, their illusions. The traditions speak of a transformation of hearts that is so radical that it makes people unknowable. Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "When our Qaim arises, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, will make the hearts of our Shi'a like pieces of iron." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 316) The hearts become like iron – not out of malice, but out of unshakable steadfastness. The Mahdi destroys the softness of complacency and forges hearts into weapons of truth. He who cannot bear this will break. He who endures it will move mountains. But the transformation of hearts is not only a transformation of strength – it is a transformation of the entire existence. In a narration narrated by Imam Ali, it is said: "When our Qaim arises, the sky will pour down its rain and the earth will bring forth its plants, and the hearts of the people will be drawn to the truth." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 338) Hearts will not only become strong – they will be attracted to the truth like iron to a magnet. People will no longer have to struggle to know the truth – they will seek it instinctively because their hearts themselves desire the truth. This transformation is the deepest destruction of all: the destruction of indifference, the destruction of rejection, the destruction of the heart that closes itself to the truth. The narrations also speak of a spiritual transformation so profound that it encompasses the entire creation. In Bihar al-Anwar, it is narrated that Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "When our Qaim arises, Allah will take away all diseases from the Shi'ites and make their hearts like pieces of iron." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 316) Physical healing is only a symbol of spiritual healing: the hearts will be freed from all diseases – from envy, from hatred, from greed, from self-deception. They will be pure, like iron that has been purified in fire. And this purity is the prerequisite for the new world that the Mahdi will create. He will free the hearts of men from lusts and forge them into iron. He will make them independent of everything that holds them captive. And then, when they stand naked and naked before the truth, then—and only then—will He rebuild them. But first comes destruction. First comes the new covenant. His Weapon Against Tyranny Is Unity People expect a Savior to confirm the existing communities and defend them against their enemies. Perhaps Muslims are expecting the Mahdi to lead the Muslims against the "infidels," to turn the oppressed against the oppressors, to pit the "good" against the "evil." But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt paint a picture that shatters all these expectations in a single, powerful gesture: The Mahdi does not come to lead one community against another. He comes to tear down the walls between all communities and create a single, true community – and in doing so he shatters tyranny in all its forms. Both are a single act of liberation: he frees people from external chains and from inner walls at the same time. It is a pattern that runs through the entire history of salvation. Every time God sent a new prophet, the message was appropriated by the people and turned into an instrument of division. The Torah was declared the exclusive possession of the Jews. The Gospel was declared the exclusive possession of Christians. The Qur'an was declared the exclusive possession of Muslims. The one message of God became many religions, many sects, many enmities. The Torah itself warns against this misuse of the divine message. "You shall not judge wrongly. You shall not look upon the person of the lowly, nor honor the person of the great; in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor." (Leviticus 19:15) Justice knows no partiality. It knows no favoritism for the rich, no discrimination against the poor, no distinction between friend and foe. This radical equality is the foundation of the true community that the Mahdi will establish. The prophet Isaiah speaks of a time when tyranny will come to an end: "The tyrant shall be no more, and the scoffers shall cease, and all who are intent on causing mischief shall be cut off—those who condemn a man with words, and set a snare against him who confronts them in judgment, and overthrow the righteous for a word's sake." (Isaiah 29:20-21) The Mahdi will be the finisher of this promise. He will not only defeat the tyrants – he will destroy the entire system that makes tyranny possible. The Qur'an expresses this principle in all clarity. God says: "Verily, this community of yours is one community, and I am your Lord, so serve Me." (Surah al-Anbiya 21:92) A single community. Not many, not separated, not quarrelling. A single community oriented towards a single lord. But this unity is not a matter of course – it must be fought for. It must be freed from the chains of tyranny that separate people from each other. In Surah ash-Shuraa it says: "And those who, when tyranny strikes them, defend themselves." (Surah ash-Shuraa 42:39) Defense against tyranny is not just a right – it is a duty. But this defense is not the defense of one group against another. It is the defense of justice itself – against all those who oppress it. The Mahdi will bring this defense to completion by not only fighting against the tyrants, but by destroying the entire system of tyranny that separates people from each other. In another narration from the Ahlulbayt, it is said that Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir recited the verse from Surah al-Qasas: "But we will do good to those who have been kept weak in the land, and make them examples, and make them heirs." (Surah al-Qasas 28:5) Then he said: "With God, those described in this verse are we, the Ahlulbayt, and God will fulfill what is said in the verse through a man from among us who is the Mahdi of this community and of whom the Prophet said: 'Even if there is only one day left on earth, God will prolong it until He brings forth a pious man from among my posterity, whose name is like my name, and he will fill the earth with justice and equity, as it was filled with oppression and tyranny.'" (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 51, p. 47) The Mahdi will not elevate one community above the other. He will restore the original message of all communities – and thus unite the communities themselves. The Jews will recognize the true Torah, the Christians the true Gospel, the Muslims the true Qur'an – and all will realize that they have received one and the same message. Prophet Mohammed himself described the community of the Mahdi in a narration narrated in Sunan Abi Dawood: "The world will not end until a man of my family (Ahlulbayt) and by my name rules the world, when the earth will be filled with injustice and tyranny." (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4282) The rule of the Mahdi is not the rule of one group over others – it is the rule of justice over tyranny. Another narration says: "He will fill the earth with justice and equity, as it was filled with oppression and tyranny." (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4285). The Mahdi will not let the Muslims triumph over the infidels – he will let justice triumph over injustice. And justice knows no religious affiliation. But the narrations of the Ahlulbayt go even further. They speak of the radical consequence of this union: the destruction of tyranny in all its forms. It is narrated in Bihar al-Anwar that Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "The Qaim will not rise except in a time of fear and terror." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 338). This fear and terror is not the fear of the Mahdi – it is the fear that tyranny has caused in the hearts of the people. And the Mahdi will destroy this fear. Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "The Riser (al-Qaim), peace be upon him, will not rise except in a time of great anguish among the people... until there is not a single house of clay and not a tent of animal hair left that has not been invaded by injustice, tyranny and fear." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 268) And it is into this world of fear and sorrow that the Mahdi comes – not to confirm it, but to end it forever. In a narration narrated by Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir, it says: "The Mahdi will rise up at a time when the reins of affairs are in the hands of tyrants." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 338) The world before the Mahdi is a world in which the tyrants rule. The righteous will be oppressed, the truth will be persecuted, the religion will be falsified. The Mahdi will not reform these tyrants – he will destroy them. One narration says: "(At the end of time) a noble man with wealth and children will wish for death because of the suffering and affliction he experiences from the rulers." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 51, p. 49) This is the world to which the Mahdi is coming – a world so full of tyranny that people prefer death to life. And it is precisely this world that the Mahdi will destroy. Prophet Mohammed said of the time before the Mahdi: "At the end of time, my community will suffer a great catastrophe, greater than any that has ever been heard of, so that the vastness of the earth will become narrow for them, and the earth will be filled with injustice and despotism, so much so that the believer will find no place to take refuge." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 51, p. 79) The believers will not find a place where they are safe. Tyranny will be omnipresent. And it is precisely at this moment that the Mahdi will appear – not to comfort the believers, but to destroy tyranny once and for all. But the traditions do not only speak of the destruction of tyranny – they also speak of the establishment of the true community. People will not be united by coercion – they will be united by the power of truth. Their hearts will be drawn to the truth as iron is drawn to a magnet. They will no longer see the walls between them – they will see only the one truth that unites them all. People are looking for a Savior who will affirm their own community and defend it against the others. They will get one who will break down the walls between all communities and establish a single community of truth. They will have a leader who will defeat the tyrants and exalt the righteous. They will get one who will destroy tyranny in all its forms—political tyranny, religious tyranny, spiritual tyranny. The Mahdi will not come to comfort the Muslims, to confirm the Christians or to exalt the Jews. He will come to break down all the walls that separate people from each other – the walls of religion, race, nation, class. And he will smash the tyranny that has built these walls. He will not come to lead one side against the other – he will come to lead one side of the truth against the side of the lie. And on this side will stand all those who seek the truth – regardless of their origin, their religion, their nation. 5. He Shows You How to Recognize the Mahdi People like to think of the Mahdi's arrival as a grand staging. He appears in Mecca, and everyone recognizes him immediately. The crowd flocks, the believers throw themselves at his feet, and between the Black Stone and the Maqam of Ibrahim, allegiance is sworn to him. A reluctant king who is elevated to the throne by the crowd – so the popular imagination goes. But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt paint a picture that shatters all these expectations in a single, powerful gesture. The Mahdi is not simply recognized – he is revealed. And his recognition is the greatest test ever demanded of the believers. It is a pattern that runs throughout salvation history. The prophets before him were misunderstood by their own peoples. Noah was declared mad when he built the ark. Abraham was rejected by his own father. Moses was hunted by the Egyptians. Jesus was not recognized by the Jews who were waiting for the Messiah – they crucified him because they thought he was a deceiver. Prophet Mohammed was ridiculed by the Quraysh when he proclaimed the revelation. Acknowledging the Messenger of God was never a matter of course – it was always the most severe test. The Torah warns that man's heart can harden so that he no longer knows the truth. "But I will harden his heart, that he will not let the people go." (Exodus 4:21) Hardening of the heart is the greatest barrier to the acceptance of the truth. The prophet Isaiah lamented, "For the heart of this people is hardened, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I will heal them." (Isaiah 6:10) People see the signs, but they do not recognize them. They hear the truth, but they do not understand it. Their hearts are closed – and it is precisely this closed heart that the Mahdi will have to break open. The Qur'an expresses this principle in all clarity. God says: "We will show them Our signs on the horizons and in their own selves until it becomes clear to them that He is the Truth." (Surah Fussilat 41:53) Recognizing the Mahdi is not a matter of seeing – it is a matter of the heart. In a hadith narrated by Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir and Imam Ja'far Al-Sadiq, it says: "A servant cannot be a believer unless he has recognized Allah, His Messenger, all the Imams and the Imam of his time, turns to him (attributes things to him) and submits completely to him." (Al-Kafi, Volume 1, p. 446) The recognition of the Imam of the time is not an optional additional service – it is the basis of faith itself. Whoever does not recognize the Mahdi does not recognize Allah or the Prophet. Prophet Mohammad himself said: "Whoever does not acknowledge al-Mahdi does not recognize the prophets before me or myself." (Kanz al-Fawa'id, pp. 151-152) But this recognition is not a matter of course – it is the most difficult thing that is required of the believers. Imam Mohammed Al-Baqir said: "Verily, if a man were to spend his nights in prayer, spend his days fasting, give all his possessions as charity and perform Hajj all his life (every year), but does not know the guardianship (wilayah) of the Advocate of God (Waliullah) to follow him, and thus base all his deeds on his guidance – then he would have no right to any reward before Allah, nor would he be one of the people of faith (the believers)." (Wasail al-Shia, Volume 1, p. 90) The recognition of the Mahdi is more important than all the good deeds combined. Without them, prayers, fasting and alms are worthless. But how is the Mahdi recognized? The traditions of the Ahlulbayt give a clear answer to this: He is known by what he brings – not by what he is, but by what he holds in his hands. The first sign is the banner. The black banners are not simply flags – they are the visible sign of the divine mission. A narration of the Ahlulbayt says: "Verily, we Ahlulbayt have a banner, whoever runs ahead of it has strayed, and whoever follows it has perished, and whoever follows it has followed us. It is written: 'Allegiance to Allah.'" (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 34, p. 121) The banner of the Mahdi is not of this world – it is a banner of truth that strengthens the hearts of the believers and fills the hearts of the disbelievers with fear. Imam Al-Sadiq said about this banner: "He will unfurl the banner of the Messenger of God, whose rod is from the foot of the divine throne and the rest is of divine triumph. He will not confront anything with this banner without God Almighty destroying it. When he raises the banner, the hearts of all believers will become strong as pieces of iron." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 328) Imam Ali said: "When he unfurls his banner, it will illuminate the distance between East and West." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 51, p. 35) The banner is not just a symbol – it is a miracle that forces people to look. The second sign is the public testament – the documented evidence of its legitimacy. Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq narrated: "I heard Abu Abdillah [Imam as-Sadiq], peace be upon him, say: The lord of this matter [the Mahdi] is recognized by three qualities that do not come together in any other human being except him, in that he is the one who is closest to the one before him, he possesses the weapons [of the Messenger of God], and he is the owner of the public, manifest will (al-Waṣiyya aẓ-Ẓāhira), which is of such a nature that if you were to come to Medina and ask the common people and the children, 'To whom did so-and-so address his will?' they would all say, 'To so-and-so, the son of so-and-so.'" (Al-Kafi, Volume 1, p. 284) The Mahdi will not just be there – he will come with the proof in his hand. He will use the writings of the Imams, the prophecies that are being fulfilled in him. He will not beg for recognition – he will demand it, with the will of Ahlulbayt as his seal. The third sign is the divine knowledge – the Ilm al-Ladunni, the knowledge that God inspires directly into the hearts of His chosen servants. In the traditions of the Ahlulbayt, it is said that the Mahdi will possess the knowledge of the letters (Ilm al-Huruf) and the secrets of the Abjad calculation. He will decipher the hidden meanings of creation and possess insights that remain hidden even to the greatest scholars. This knowledge is not a learned one – it is a one-breathed directly from God. One narration says: "I heard Abu Abdillah [Imam as-Sadiq], peace be upon him, say: When our Author (al-Qaim) arises, Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, will strengthen (expand) the hearing and vision of our Shi'a to such an extent that there will be no postman between them and the Messenger; he speaks to them, and they hear him and look at him while he remains in his own place." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 336) The believers will not only see the Mahdi with their eyes – they will know him with their hearts, because God will give them the ability to do so. But this is exactly where the greatest test lies. The Mahdi will not appear with a sign on his chest that says, "I am the Savior." He will come at a time when sixty liars will have appeared before him – all of them claiming to be the Mahdi. People will be so desperate about false messiahs that they will no longer be able – or want to – recognize the true one. A narration narrated in Bihar al-Anwar states: "People will deny Imam Mahdi at his appearance because they expect to find an old man, but they will see a young man who has returned to them." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 152) They are expecting a wise old man, and they are getting a young man. They are expecting someone who looks like a king, and they are getting someone who looks like an ordinary man. "I heard Abu Abdillah [Imam Al-Sadiq], peace be upon him, say: Verily, the greatest of the trials concerning the Lord of this matter is that he returns to them as a young man, while they thought he was an old man, and verily, no one will stand firm in this except those from whom Allah has taken the covenant in the first book (Al-Dharr)." (Bihar al-Anwar, Volume 52, p. 287) The recognition of the Mahdi is a test that challenges people to the utmost. They must look beyond their own prejudice, beyond their own expectations, beyond their own comforts. They must be willing to acknowledge what they did not expect – and this is the most unbearable of all. But the traditions of the Ahlulbayt go even further. They speak of a spiritual connection between the Mahdi and the believers that goes beyond mere sight. People will not know the Mahdi because they see him – they will know him because their hearts will be drawn to the truth, like iron to a magnet. This attraction is not an external one – it is an inner transformation that the Mahdi brings about in the hearts of the believers. The believers will have an immediate connection to the Mahdi – a connection that transcends space and time. They will see him even if they are far away from him. They will hear him even if he is silent. This connection is the gift of recognition – and it is what distinguishes the believers from the unbelievers. People are expecting a Savior who will come to save them. They will get one who will come to test them. They are expecting someone they will recognize immediately. They will get someone they can only know with a pure heart. The Mahdi will not come with a shield on his chest. He will come with a banner that will enlighten the hearts of the believers – and fill the hearts of the unbelievers with fear. He will come with the public testament – and the scholars will deny it. He will come with the divine knowledge on his lips – and people will cover their ears. Recognizing the Mahdi is not a matter of seeing. It is a matter of the heart. He who has a pure heart will know him – not because he carries a shield, but because the truth echoes in his heart. He who has a corrupt heart will not recognize him – even if he stands before them and cries out the truth. People will not recognize Him – not because He is hiding, but because their hearts are closed. He will say what no one wants to hear – and for that they will cast Him out, as they rejected Noah, as they crucified Jesus, as they persecuted the prophets before Him.

Mersin, Turkey – A believer of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light took to the streets of Mersin, Turkey, putting up posters displaying the Holy Will of Prophet Mohammed, translated into Turkish. Preserved in Islamic narration books for centuries, the Holy Will names the successors of Prophet Mohammed up until the present day. According to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, the rightful claimant mentioned in the Will is Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, the Mahdi. This message holds particular significance in Turkey, a Muslim-majority country where Islam remains central to the lives of much of the population. This inspiring outreach serves as a powerful reminder that even the smallest acts of faith can carry a great message, reaching hearts and spreading the truth far beyond a single street.

London, United Kingdom – October 4, 2026. On October 4, believers of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light took to the streets of London to share a bold message with the public: “The Mahdi Has Appeared.” The believers distributed flyers and engaged in meaningful conversations with local residents, introducing them to the teachings and principles of their faith. At the heart of their message was a profound belief: “Humanity First” — the understanding that human beings and their well-being are more important than religious labels or differences. This principle reflects the beautiful words of Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him Is Peace), who stated in The Goal of the Wise: “Religion is good treatment of others, and whoever doesn’t treat others well has no religion.” The outreach provided an opportunity to introduce the people of London to the message of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, while encouraging open dialogue and meaningful human connections. It was a powerful day of spreading the message of the Mahdi—a message of peace, love, and humanity—reminding the world that true faith begins with how we treat one another.

The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) said: “The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever.” — Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2956 The teachings of the Prophets and Messengers reveal this world as a kind of prison: a place in which humanity has become trapped, separated from the reality we were created to know. To be freed is not simply to escape from our circumstances, but to break the chains that keep us spiritually bound. This is the time of liberation. It is the time of the rise—the time of the Riser, Aba Al-Sadiq, who comes to break those chains and lead humanity towards freedom. It is the time that generations have been waiting for: the moment when those who seek liberation can begin to leave behind the prisons that have held humanity captive. How Did Humanity End Up So Trapped? God has always extended a rope to humanity. He appoints a human being to guide us, giving us a means by which we can free ourselves. When God appointed Adam as the first caliph, Iblis could not accept his appointment. Driven by envy and arrogance, he refused to accept Adam as an intermediary between himself and God. He rebelled against God's command and declared that he would lie in wait on the straight path in order to misguide humanity. God granted him respite to do so until an appointed time. Iblis sought to lead humanity into the same error that caused his own fall: rejecting the caliph appointed by God. In our time, that means rejecting the caliph whom God has appointed for us. When we turn away from God's appointed representative, we repeat the path of Iblis and move further away from the guidance that can free us. The further we allow ourselves to be misguided, the deeper we become trapped within the prison of this world. The Chains of Jurisprudence Religion itself became hijacked when Iblis misguided humanity. The religions that exist today enslave us rather than free us. Many have placed too much importance on jurisprudence and rituals, when these were only ever meant to be the eggshell of religion. The core of religion is to follow the vicegerent of God, and this is what actually helps us to become free. Jurisprudence was there to help us crack through the shell and reach what is inside. But when Iblis guided humanity away from the man appointed by God, he also guided us away from that core. Religious scholars who were not appointed by God began making their own rulings, issuing fatwas and claiming authority that belongs to God. In doing so, they moved people further away from the truth and replaced living divine guidance with rules and rituals. The narrations state that the Qaim comes with a new jurisprudence and a new religion. Aba Al-Sadiq has revealed that true worship is not simply about outward physical movements. It is the prostration of the heart and our spiritual allegiance to the living vicegerent of God in our time. Through this prostration of the heart, the believer can reach the degree of the free. As they progress in their spiritual ascension, the chains of lower jurisprudence begin to fall away. This is not freedom from submission, but freedom through complete submission and certitude in the living Vicegerent of God. The more the believer submits their will to God and follows the one He has appointed, the more they are freed from the things that have kept them spiritually trapped. Freedom From Tyranny In the Bible, Jesus refers to Satan as the “Prince of this World.” Satan offers Jesus rulership over the world if he will bow down and worships him. The reality is that if we do not follow the leader that God has appointed for us, we are following one appointed by Satan. Humanity is now living under oppressive and tyrannical systems. These systems of power are man-made, with leaders appointed by the people. We have modern-day Pharaohs and tyrants who enslave us, and we have chosen and enabled them. The Mahdis bring back the forgotten core of religion: the Supremacy of God—the belief that only God has the right to choose and appoint leaders for humanity. Throughout history, man-made political systems, including democracies, monarchies and autocracies, have placed humanity under the rule of leaders and systems that can become tyrannical and corrupt. Democracy, where human beings appoint their own leaders, can give us the impression that we are free. On the surface, it appears fair, but human beings are easily manipulated and make choices that lead to oppression. History has given us examples of people electing leaders such as Hitler and Mussolini, and even of a crowd choosing Barabbas over Jesus Christ. We can be physically harmed by the people we choose to put into power, but we can also be harmed spiritually. According to this understanding, the system itself was designed by Satan to bury humanity in negative karma. When we endorse leaders and give them power through our votes, the consequences of what they go on to do become part of our own karma. Like Moses came to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, the Qaim comes to gather the believers who are scattered around the world and remind us of what we have forgotten: that our allegiance is to God. We do not have to continue living within a system that takes us away from God. The Qaim frees us from this system by raising the prophesied black banner of the Mahdi, bearing the words, “Allegiance is to Allah.” This marks the end of a cycle of injustice and karmic consequences. It brings an end to leaders appointed by the people or placed in power by force, and brings God's justice and peace to the world. In this way, the Qaim offers freedom from the systems that have kept humanity trapped and brings us under the leadership of God's appointed representative, who knows what is best for us and seeks to build a world free from oppression, poverty and suffering. Freedom From the Rat Race The Qaim is a builder of communities. The Divine Just State, which is currently a prototype, is growing and expanding rapidly. It will eventually become its own country before spreading throughout the world and spreading the light of the Supremacy of God to all of humanity. This way of life not only frees us from tyranny, but also from the survival mode that human beings are stuck in. Being forced to spend so much of our time worrying about how we will sustain ourselves and living paycheck to paycheck prevents us from seeing clearly and spiritually elevating ourselves. God has provided enough for every human being to live a safe and comfortable life, and with God's justice implemented in our lives, we have no problem getting by. In the Divine Just State, Aba Al-Sadiq stated that every member of the Divine Just State is entitled to a house, a car and their sustenance. When we do not have to worry about our basic needs, our minds are freed from that constant pressure. We can spend our lives doing what we were made to do: draw closer to God. He Frees Us From the Illusion This physical reality is not a creation of God. The Prophets and Messengers described it as a dream, a matrix, an illusion and a trap—a poor imitation of a much greater reality. Souls reincarnate here to be tested, and by following the Qaim, we can pass the test, end the cycle of reincarnation and reach a much better place. This idea is demonstrated by Plato in his Allegory of the Cave. In the allegory, prisoners have lived their entire lives chained inside a cave. Unable to turn around, they can only see shadows projected onto a wall by objects passing in front of a fire. Because they have never experienced anything else, they believe these shadows are reality. One prisoner eventually escapes the cave. When he reaches the outside world, the brightness of the light hurts his eyes. But as his eyes adjust, he begins to see the real objects that he previously knew only as shadows. He discovers a reality far greater and more complete than the two-dimensional images he had accepted as real. When he returns to the cave to bring the other prisoners out, they refuse to believe him and even fight against him. They cannot comprehend that there could be another reality beyond the one they have always known. The cave represents our current reality. Philosophers, Prophets and Messengers taught that there is a true reality beyond this one—a world of forms unlike the dense and temporary physical world in which our souls are currently trapped. This physical world is constantly changing and is ultimately impermanent. It is a place where we are tested, but it is not our true home. The realm of the hereafter, by contrast, is permanent and unchanging, where death and decay do not exist. Our senses can easily deceive us, causing many to mistake fleeting material shadows for true existence. The Messenger comes from the light world to bring that light into our reality. He has the key that can bring us out of this prison if we choose to follow him. To be freed, the believer must learn to trust the Messenger's eyes over their own eyes, his ears over their own ears and his mind over their own mind. By following the guidance of the Qaim Aba Al-Sadiq, learning from him and submitting to him, believers can begin to wake up from this dream before their physical death. He Frees Us From Our Mental Prison and Lifts the Veils of Ignorance. The greatest prison we face is not an external one but an internal one—a prison of the mind. The ultimate idol is the ego, whose insatiable demands keep us trapped. The ego is a false sense of self. It is made up of emotions and impulses which, if we allow them to, can take the driver’s seat and push us in whatever direction they want. If we let the ego take control for too long, it can trap our true essence, which is the soul, and make us subject to its every desire. The more we give in to what the ego wants, the stronger it becomes and the more control it has over us. The Prophets and Messengers all taught us to deny ourselves for this reason: to weaken the ego. The way to overcome this inner tyrant is to submit ourselves to God through His appointed Messenger. The more we deny the ego, the more we can free ourselves from the qualities that entrap our hearts, such as jealousy, anger, greed, and hatred. These veils of ignorance like thick black smoke that cover the heart can be removed by submitting our will to the will of God. This frees the heart from these obstacles and allows the light of God to shine through. The ideology of Iblis is “me first,” to follow the impulses of the self, put ourselves first, and forget other people. This keeps humanity self-centred, divided, and unaware of our spiritual captivity. When we break through the prison of the self we can begin to see that we have been one all along, that the separation of human beings is an illusion. The Time of the Qaim Is the Appointed Time The time for humanity to be freed is now. This is the appointed time that Satan was given to misguide humanity—the time of the Qaim, the Riser, Aba Al-Sadiq. He has come to break humanity’s chains and lead those who wish to be free towards paradise, both in this life and in the hereafter. The freedom that the Qaim brings is not simply freedom from an external system. It is freedom of the soul: freedom from ignorance, from the ego, from false authority, and from the illusions that keep us asleep and separated from God. By submitting to the one whom God has appointed, the believer begins to break free from these prisons and return to the forgotten foundation of religion: the Supremacy of God and allegiance to His appointed representative. The time of the Qaim is therefore a time of liberation. The chains are being broken, the veils are being lifted, and the light is beginning to shine through the darkness. What humanity has been waiting for through generations is no longer something distant. The Qaim has come to lead those who wish to be free out of the prison and towards the reality, justice, peace, and closeness to God for which we were created. What we have been promised has arrived.

They showed up in Crewe with their suitcases, having left behind their homes and familiar lives in France. What drew them there—and what have they found since arriving? In the aftermath of the raid on Abdullah Hashem and his community in the UK, believers from different parts of the world felt called to come, help the community in its time of need, and stand in support of the Qaim of the Family of Mohammad. Among those who boarded a flight to the UK were seven brothers from France. In the months since, they have become part of the community and begun a new chapter of their lives. So, who are they? What made them pack their bags and come—and how has life changed since they arrived? Let’s meet them. Yacine As soon as he heard about the raid, he called some brothers and asked them if they wished to pack their bags and go to the UK to support the Qaim and his community. Among the brothers who answered the call, two decided to stay permanently with the community. These two brothers are Rayane and Mehmet, whom we will meet shortly. Yacine had lived with the ansar in the UK for a few months last year, while also spending periods of time in France. He previously worked as a bus driver and a physical trainer. He is also a boxing coach and animator, but first and foremost he is a truth seeker. He went from Sunnism to the Shia faith. He even spent some time as an active member of the ‘Centre Zahra,’ a renowned Twelver Shiia centre in northern France. When he read The Goal of the Wise, his vision of religion changed completely, and he decided to introduce others to the book by reading it live on TikTok. Many people followed his educational approach to religion. Since joining the Mahdi's community in Crewe, Yacine has been very proactive. He shares his boxing skills with his brothers and also gives his time to patrol the property and help keep it secure during these difficult times, amid numerous demonstrations and incidents of violence in front of Webb House. Throughout it all, he remains peaceful and calm, helping to protect everyone. Rayane “I swear that I love you all as I love Aba Al-Sadiq…” Rayane is a young Frenchman of Moroccan origin. He discovered the dawa two years ago and spent much of his time distributing flyers and doing missionary work to people in France. He decided to migrate or make "hijra" after the arrest of Aba Al-Sadiq. It was then that he decided to give up everything and stand by his guide, who was in danger and being attacked from every side. Since arriving, Rayane has truly changed. He went from being a very introverted and shy young man to someone lively, active, smiling and full of joy and always ready to help anyone. He has now been living with the Qaim’s community for four months, and he is extremely proud and happy to be there. In one of his latest messages in the group of believers, he spoke with passion: “Months before the raid, I had sent a message to Aba Al-Sadiq [from him is peace]. God knows to what extent I was still immersed in the dunya, and I didn't really have any idea of the moment when I would come. He replied to me in this message that soon I would be among his own. It was the happiest day of my life. I was convinced that what Aba Al-Sadiq [from him is peace] had said was not just words in the wind. Today, I understand more and more that Aba Al-Sadiq [from him is peace] is revelation itself. Subhanallah, Aba Al-Sadiq delivered me from modern slavery and from a life without purpose. Aba Al-Sadiq made me a free man with a real goal. And because of this, it has been four months that I feel my existence truly serves a purpose, whereas before, I felt useless. It has now been four months that I am among the best community in the world, that I am with the messengers and prophets, that I am with my true soul family. Four months in which I am a dignified man participating in the State of God and not the state of Iblis. I wanted to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, that I love you like I love Aba Al-Sadiq [from him is peace], and that I wish to die for you as I wish to die for Aba Al-Sadiq. And I am making this message out of gratitude towards Allah, remembering this word of Allah: "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in blessing]," and to remind the believers of the truthfulness of all the words of Aba Al-Sadiq. Aba Al-Sadiq promised it: we will triumph. Let us simply be united and everything will work out for the best…” Mehmet A few days after the raid, another brother from France followed Yacine and Rayane to England. As soon as the brothers heard about the raid, they decided to come to England to protest alongside and help the community. Mehmet is one of the most determined brothers who came from France. He came to help, and from his first day, he has not stopped supporting the community: building furniture, painting, fixing things, and doing anything he can to help those who were displaced and forced to leave their homes after the raid. Mehmet tells us about his first months: “I am now in my fifth month of living within this community…” For me, having the chance to be at the service of the Messenger of God of our time is something wonderful. But what perhaps affects me even more is being able to share this path with my brothers and sisters. Here, I have learned a lot of things...but above all, I have learned to question myself. To look at my own faults, to become more humble, wiser, more patient. I understood that serving is not only acting... it is also learning to obey, to give of oneself and to remain determined, even when things become difficult. And then there is love. I see love and sincerity in my brothers and sisters. I feel a peace that I have trouble explaining with words. And in the middle of all this, I feel a light...a light that grows in me. These months spent here have shown me that this community is not just a place where I live. It is an experience that transforms me every day, that teaches me to love more, to serve with sincerity and to move forward with determination. From the bottom of my heart, I thank God and Aba Al-Sadiq, from him is peace, for this experience, for everything I learn here, and for the chance to move forward on this path with love, peace and light.” These three brothers inspired others to come. Martin Martin is one of the most kind-hearted brothers who has come to join the community. His story is also an example of the transformations taking place within the community. Martin comes from a difficult background. He had lived on the streets for years. When he encountered the dawa, he was in a difficult situation. He had to break away from it and escape, as the narration states: O Amer, if you hear the black banners of the East and you are in a locked box, then break this lock and this box… That is what Martin did. One day, he flew to join his Imam, leaving France behind and dedicating his life to the Mahdi. Martin was a heavy smoker, but decided to stop in order to be in good health for the sake of God. He has now almost completely quit smoking and is very proud and happy about it. He helps around the religious centre, sometimes making coffee in the café, and is always there to lend a hand to anyone who asks. “I have been with my family for two and a half months now. I feel deeply good with my siblings. I left a lot of things behind me in order to follow what I consider my destiny and to move forward on this path with sincerity. I thank all the brothers and sisters from the bottom of my heart who welcomed me among them, who opened their doors to me and who allowed me to find a real family. I also thank my guide, my Imam, the one I consider my true prayer and my path to Allah: Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him.” Salim and Alexandre Salim and Alexandre were with Martin in France before he came to the UK. They wanted to help the ansar in France. Alexandre decided to open his door to any ansar in need of a place to stay for a few weeks. After meeting the ansar of Aba Al-Sadiq and hosting them with such generosity that word of his hospitality reached the community in England, he and Salim decided to join the community and fly to England to support Aba Al-Sadiq in person. Here is how Alexandre came to this dawa: “One day in 2024, I took the time to listen to one of Aba Al-Sadiq’s videos, The Clarification Sermon. That day, I was overwhelmed; my body shook. I had heard my Father’s voice. I had heard, for the first time, a man named Abdullah who claimed the Will of RassoulouLlah. I immediately believed his words. Everything sounded true. From there, I began investigating seriously, listening to the videos again and reading The Goal of the Wise. The ansar often talked to me and supported me throughout this journey, until November 25, 2025, when I pledged allegiance to Allah.” About his life within the community, he says: “It is simply the best of all the communities in the world: magnificent brothers and sisters, full of faith and with an unshakeable conviction. I learn to be of service to my brothers and sisters. I learn every day to love them and be with them at all times. We take the time to talk, dialogue and get to know each other, and also to see the great qualities that we all have. I see a united people even in difficulties. After more than a month, I feel a change in myself. I grow closer to God every day. However little I do, I try to act righteously and combat the soldiers of ignorance within myself. I love all my brothers and sisters. I love you, my Father.” Alexandre and Salim arrived two months ago and have been remarkably devoted, working day and night for the dawa, even though no one asked them to. They have also brought their knowledge and ideas to a number of online dawa projects. Alexandre is a website designer, and he has built an entire online platform for the dawa that has just been released. As soon as he arrived, he also put his car at the disposal of the community, which was much needed as the community adapted to new living arrangements following the raid. Salim has also created a blog for the online dawa and is working on a project to automatically translate videos into different languages, which is particularly useful for a dawa with ansar from all over the world. Aside from that, Salim also helps in the kitchen when he has free time, as he was a cook and has a lot of experience. This new chapter is particularly significant for him because he lives with a rare illness that struck him a few years ago. He too was in a difficult and complex situation, but he decided to take a big step and join the Qaim and his community. After having spent much time organising marches and protests in France, he is now with us and is surely one of the happiest and most cheerful people here. He says: “Since I joined the family, I have been getting to know each of these beautiful souls, but above all, I am learning to know myself. I am learning to look within myself with more sincerity. This path teaches me that the greatest struggle is inside: gradually crushing the ‘me first’ to leave more room for the soldiers of the intellect and become, day after day, a better version of myself.” Raphael A few days ago, another French brother, Raphael, decided to join the community. He felt he could no longer remain in France while his Imam and the community were facing such difficult circumstances. He wanted to come and offer his support, and dedicate his life to this cause. Raphael was born in the Comoros in 1984. He then lived in France and became a baker and a father of five. He was already divorced when he encountered the call, and his decision to leave France meant making the painful choice to live apart from his five children in order to join the community. This choice was difficult for him, as it has been for others with children, such as Salim, but these brothers have made a choice they do not regret. He tells us about his arrival: “I left France on September 8. By the grace of God, the journey went smoothly. My arrival in my holy family was magnificent. I was welcomed by about twenty of my brothers and sisters, who showed me great love and made me feel the joy they felt at seeing me join them. God is witness that I was very happy and very proud to finally belong to this holy family. May Allah never again turn my eyes away from you. I love you.” He has only just arrived, but he has already made an impression through his goodness, humility and kindness. His happiness at being here is clear to see. These seven brothers heard the call. When they learned what Aba Al-Sadiq and the ansar were facing in a foreign country, they packed their bags and came to stand beside them. For them, this is the beauty of the call: a community whose members are willing to cross borders to support one another. Their lives are dedicated to one another and to the service of the Qaim of the family of Mohammed. This is the life they have chosen: one of brotherhood, service and devotion. And it is the life they say they would choose again—for the community they now call family and for Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem, from him is peace.

In Ivory Coast, a growing community of believers is putting down roots—quite literally. In Ivory Coast, believers of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light have come together in a spirit of unity and cooperation, working and farming on their own land as they build a foundation for their growing community. Believers from Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone joined together in this effort, cultivating the land while preparing to welcome more believers in the future. Step by step, they are building a community based on faith, unity, and supporting one another.

On October 3, 2026, a believer of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light carried out missionary work in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, publicly displaying the symbols and teachings of the faith. The believer raised a banner bearing the words “Allegiance is to God” and proudly displayed the books of Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan. The believer also displayed jewelry featuring the six-pointed star, a symbol of the faith. The public display took place despite the restrictions faced by the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Malaysia, where the faith faces persecution. Nevertheless, the believer stood publicly with the banner raised high, openly proclaiming the message of the faith and the words “Allegiance is to God.” The missionary effort was public expression of religious conviction in the face of restrictions, bringing the message of the Qaim into the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

“If God exists and He is a Good God, then why is there so much suffering in this world?” Everyone has heard this question at least once in their lifetime. The atheist uses this question to discredit God or His existence, while many believers in God quietly contemplate it in their beds at night. The believer who loves God and trusts in His Wisdom says that suffering is a test for the believer. We hear sermons in churches, synagogues, and masjids all over the world encouraging believers to stay patient and endure, knowing that after death, the suffering will finally stop. While this may be true for some people, it brings us to the next question: Why does God test us with suffering if He is a Merciful God? There is a simple answer to this question. But because of the confusion and darkness of ignorance that the world has been wrapped in for thousands of years, that simple answer requires a deeper explanation. The simple answer is this: The Merciful God does not want us to suffer. The entire reason we are suffering is because we do not want God. How can I say such a thing when there are billions of people around the world praying, crying, worshipping, and trying so hard to please God? To understand, we have to return to the very beginning of our creation. When God created Adam, God blew into him the Spirit of God, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. “And when your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing in the earth a Vicegerent (Ruler),’”— Qur’an 2:30 “When I form him perfect, and blow in him of My Spirit, then you must fall down before him in prostration.” — Qur’an 15:29 This Spirit from the All-Merciful was meant to be a piece of God dwelling with humanity, guiding them and ruling over them, ensuring that they lived in Paradise and happiness. Adam and Eve lived in bliss. They took care of the planet and enjoyed all kinds of fruits that God had given them for free. The animals obeyed Adam. They had no complicated governments, systems, or laws. There were only two simple commands: be fruitful and multiply, and do not approach the Tree. Then everything changed. All hardship on earth began with one simple but enormous sin: Satan rejected the rulership of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit of God was blown into Adam, Satan refused to obey him because he rejected the Vessel that God had chosen for His Spirit to dwell in. Satan failed one single test, and that failure began an entire cycle of suffering and disobedience that would span thousands of years and continue all the way to the present age. The test was simple: Obey the Holy Spirit in the Vessel which God chooses. You might think this test belongs to the distant past. It does not. The Scriptures show humanity being given the same test again and again. God chooses a Vessel. The Holy Spirit guides through that Vessel. Humanity is commanded to obey, but instead they reject him. The root of this failure lies in the creation of two bloodlines on earth. When Adam and Eve are banished from Paradise, Eve is deceived by Satan, who comes to her in a beautiful angelic form, and she gives birth to his son, Cain. Adam and Eve also have a son, Abel, who becomes the successor of Adam and the next Vessel of the Holy Spirit. Just like his father Satan, Cain rejects obeying Abel. Envy grows into jealousy, and jealousy grows into murder. Cain kills Abel. Cain then goes on to have children of his own, following in the footsteps of their father Satan. They spread corruption on the earth and reject the rightful Vessels of the Holy Spirit, thereby rejecting the rulership of the Holy Spirit Himself. They build cities and governments of their own. They invent weapons of war, currency, and borders, keeping people separated and forcing them to compete over resources that God had originally given them for free. After Abel is killed, Adam and Eve have another son, Seth, who becomes Adam’s successor and the next Vessel of the Holy Spirit. But Seth, too, is rejected. The children of Cain refuse to allow him to rule over them, while they begin oppressing and threatening the children of Adam. Once again, humanity is presented with the same choice: Will God rule over them through His Spirit? They choose Satan instead of the Holy Spirit. They reject God as their Ruler. And the suffering continues. The Holy Spirit continues choosing Vessels and remains upon the earth, trying to guide humanity. Yet His Vessels are oppressed, rejected, and fought against, while suffering increases until the earth becomes engulfed in darkness and ignorance of God. The Qur’an repeatedly calls the reader to remember the nations of the past that rejected the Holy Spirit, chose to obey Satan, and were ultimately destroyed by the works of their own hands. Then we come to the time of Moses. God chooses Moses as His mouthpiece and chooses a Vicegerent for him: Aaron. “Then the LORD said to Moses, your brother Aaron will be your prophet.’” ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.’”— Exodus 7:2 Here we see the story of Adam repeating itself all over again. Moses is now as God to the people and stands against the tyrant Pharaoh, who is the likeness of Satan in that time. Moses appoints Aaron as his Vicegerent on the earth and commands the people to obey him. Once again, God places a Vicegerent upon the earth. Once again, humanity is commanded to obey him. And once again, he is rejected. Pharaoh rejects Moses and Aaron and fights against them. Then the people of Israel themselves follow in Satan’s footsteps. They reject the Vicegerent Aaron, turn toward the Samiri and the Golden Calf, and abuse and oppress Aaron just as Satan and his children rejected and oppressed the chosen Vessels from the beginning. Different people. Different age. The same test. And because the Holy Spirit is rejected, the suffering continues. Fast forward to the time of Samuel. Samuel is now the Spokesperson of God, while the Holy Spirit dwells with the Israelites in the Ark of the Covenant. The people of Israel come to Samuel and demand a human King because they want to be like the disbelieving nations around them. The Holy Spirit tells Samuel: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”— 1 Samuel 8:7 The Spirit of the LORD tells the Israelites that He will give them the king they are asking for, but He warns them that this king will eventually become a tyrant. He will take from them, rule over them, and increase their misery until their cries rise up to God. Still, they insist. They choose human rulership over the rulership of God. Yet because God is Merciful, He still chooses the King for them. He gives the King of Israel a soul and strengthens him with His Spirit as long as that King obeys His Voice. But the pattern repeats, and God’s warning comes to pass. The King disobeys the Holy Spirit and becomes a tyrant. The Holy Spirit eventually leaves the nation, and the people are captured, oppressed, enslaved, and exiled. Their misery and suffering increase because of their choices. But God, being Merciful, does not abandon humanity. He gives them the same test again. In the time of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus comes as the Vessel of the Holy Spirit and establishes a small Kingdom of followers. Most people reject him, following the same pattern of Satan, while some accept him as their God and Savior. But accepting Jesus is not the end of the test. God presents His followers with the same test that humanity has faced since Adam. He appoints a Vicegerent: Simon Peter. He commands the disciples and believers to obey His Vicegerent. You can guess what happens next. The followers again reject the Holy Spirit in Simon Peter and instead follow the Pharisee Paul and other false prophets. The enemies of God and the Holy Spirit spread around the world, oppressing and enslaving the world population. And the suffering continues. Then we come to the time of Mohammed. Mohammed establishes his prophethood and a small kingdom. The majority of the people on the earth reject Mohammed as the Prophet of God, while a small group chooses to believe in him and follow him. But once again, accepting the Prophet is not the final test. God chooses a Vicegerent on the earth: Ali ibn Abi Talib. The small group of followers and believers is presented with the same command humanity has heard throughout history: Obey My Vicegerent. Obey Ali. And again, the people failed the test. They followed in the footsteps of Satan. The suffering increased, and violence came to dominate the world. Ali then appoints his Vicegerent, Imam Al-Hassan. The line of Vicegerents continues. Imam Al-Hassan appoints his successor and is killed. His successor appoints his Vicegerent, Imam Al-Hussein, who is also killed. Generation after generation, the Vessels of the Holy Spirit are rejected, oppressed, and killed. The pattern continues until the 12th Imam, Mohammed ibn Hassan Al-Askari, disappears from the eyes of the people. He continues ruling behind the scenes and sending Messengers, who are then faced with the same rejection. Over and over again, humanity is given the same test. Over and over again, humanity fails it. And the suffering in the world becomes greater and greater. Wars. Disasters. Enslavement. Oppression. Ignorance. Division. After seeing this pattern throughout history, it becomes increasingly difficult to blame God for the suffering in this world. Now we can finally return to the original question. Why does God test us with suffering? The Truth is that suffering is a test, but the suffering itself is not the test. The test is obeying the Holy Spirit. For 10,000 years, humanity has been rejecting the Holy Spirit and failing one simple test. Adam was rejected. Abel was rejected. Aaron was rejected. Samuel was rejected. Simon Peter was rejected. Ali was rejected. The Imams were rejected. In their rejection, they were actually rejecting God. Different people. Different religions. Different nations. Different centuries. The same test. All the lives lost and all the suffering humanity has endured are the consequences of repeatedly failing that one simple test. So perhaps we have been asking the wrong question. Instead of asking: “Why does God make us suffer?” We should ask: “Why does humanity keep rejecting the One who can end its suffering?” The heavy, bitter truth is that if humanity had chosen to obey the Holy Spirit in His chosen Vessel, we would not be living in the world we see today. We would not live under endless wars, oppression, poverty, greed, division, exploitation, and violence. We would be living in bliss and peace. God does not like suffering. He never put you on the earth to suffer. At the same time, God is not a tyrant. He created His creation with free will: the freedom to choose whether to obey Him and love Him. Otherwise, He would not be Just. God will not force you to love Him. But you are not free from the consequences of your choices. The suffering that follows does not have to be a punishment sent directly by God; rather, it arises naturally from humanity’s refusal to trust Him to rule. Humanity chooses greed, and poverty follows. Humanity chooses division, and war follows. Humanity chooses power over justice, and oppression follows. Humanity rejects God's ruler and chooses rulers according to its own desires, and tyranny follows. Then humanity looks toward Heaven and asks God why He allows suffering. But God has been sending the answer from the beginning: Obey My Spirit. And despite humanity failing this test again and again, all hope is not lost. God is Merciful. He has given humanity yet another opportunity to repair what generations before us have broken. He has again chosen a Vessel. He sent the Mahdi Abdullah Hashem and set up His Kingdom and Banner, upon which it is written: “Allegiance is to God.” And now the choice that has faced humanity from the beginning stands before us again. You are not tested on whether you believe God exists. The test is not simply whether you pray or call yourself a Christian, Muslim, Jew, or believer. Humanity has claimed to believe in God many times before while simultaneously rejecting His authority. The real test has always been the same: Will you obey the Holy Spirit in the Vessel God chooses? That was Satan’s test. It was the test of Cain, Pharaoh, the Israelites, the followers of Jesus, and the followers of Mohammed. And it is our test today. For thousands of years, humanity has made the same choice. And for thousands of years, humanity has suffered the consequences. It is time to make a different choice - the better choice that will stop the suffering. Choose God. Pledge allegiance to God. Obey His Spirit. Together, we can return this world to the Paradise God always intended for us to live in.

Paris, France — September 26, 2026. As hundreds of thousands gathered in the heart of Paris for Pope Leo XIV’s open-air Mass, French Ansar took the opportunity to spread their message among the crowds. The papal event drew an estimated 800,000 people to the Champs-Élysées and surrounding areas. The believers distributed flyers declaring the message, “Allegiance is to Allah,” bringing their call directly to those attending one of the largest Catholic gatherings in France. According to those present, French police arrested one member while he was carrying the flyers and the “Allegiance is to Allah” banner. Despite the incident, the French Ansar continued their missionary efforts, carrying their message into the streets of Paris at a moment when hundreds of thousands had gathered to reflect on God, faith, and spiritual guidance.

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, a believer named Hassan took to the streets of London to spread the message “The Mahdi Has Appeared.” Flyers carrying the declaration were placed around the city, inviting people from all walks of life to investigate the claims and evidence concerning Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq. The missionary effort comes amid growing media interest in the subject, making this message particularly timely. For those encountering this call for the first time, the outreach carried a simple invitation: research, examine the evidence, and decide for yourself. Through this effort, the message reached the heart of London: The Mahdi Has Appeared.