DR. KIRMANI’S CORNER

This section is developed through the weekly reflections of Dr. Sayed Shabbir Kirmani, our respected resident scholar. Each week, Dr. Kirmani will share his thoughts on faith, current affairs, and community matters, offering valuable insights on how Islamic teachings relate to both global and local events.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Awaiting the Mahdi: A Universal Promise of Peace and Justice

This Thursday, the 15th of Sha‘ban, we celebrate the birth of Imam al-Mahdi (aj), the awaited savior whose mission is not confined to a single nation or faith but speaks to the universal longing for justice, peace, and righteousness. His coming is not a distant myth—it is the divine promise of a world where oppression crumbles, truth prevails, and humanity unites under the banner of justice.

Have we not all, at some point, felt the weight of injustice? Have we not longed for a world where truth is not drowned out by the voices of the powerful, where the innocent do not suffer at the hands of the corrupt? The Qur’an gives us hope: “And We wanted to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them inheritors” (28:5). The Mahdi’s mission is the fulfillment of this divine promise. He will not come with a sword of destruction but with a vision of restoration—where the dignity of every human being is honored, where peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of justice.

This is no passive waiting. The Qur’an commands us: “Indeed, Allah commands justice, good conduct, and giving to relatives, and forbids immorality, bad conduct, and oppression” (16:90). If we yearn for his arrival, we must embody his mission now. We must be the torchbearers of justice in our families, our communities, and our societies. To wait for the Mahdi is not to sit idly by—it is to prepare, to build, to reform, so that when he comes, we are ready to stand beside him, not merely as spectators, but as soldiers of truth.

Imagine that moment: a world no longer ruled by greed, where the oppressed do not cry out in vain, where the hungry are fed, and the fearful are safe. A world where the words of the Qur’an ring true: “And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to perish’” (17:81). That world is not a dream—it is a destiny, one we must help shape.

So as we gather this 15th of Sha‘ban, let our prayers be filled with hope, our hearts with determination, and our actions with purpose. Let us not just await the Mahdi—let us be among those who prepare the way for him. For the dawn of justice is near, and the question is not whether he will come, but whether we will be ready.