Critique of the 17th Hadith from the Book “Forty Hadiths on the Mahdiyeen” – Refuting the False Claims of the Alleged Yamani (Ahmed Al-Hasan)

Dar al-Hidayah | Nidham Al-Aqili, one of the official representatives of the alleged Yamani (Ahmed Al-Hasan), has authored a book titled “Forty Hadiths on the Mahdiyeen and the Children of the Qa’im (AS)” to prove his group’s belief in the existence of 12 Imams from the children of Imam Mahdi (AS), known as the Mahdiyeen. In this book, he claims to cite forty hadiths proving the existence of twelve Imams after Imam Mahdi (AS).

Nidham Al-Aqili asserts:

• Imamate is not limited to twelve Imams.
• The Mahdiyeen, after Imam Mahdi (AS), hold the station of Wasayah (successorship) and Imamate.
• The Mahdiyeen are the Itrat (progeny) and children of Imam Mahdi (AS).

The 17th Hadith on the Mahdiyeen

Another hadith that Nidham Al-Aqili cites as his 17th proof in “Forty Hadiths on the Mahdiyeen and the Children of the Qa’im (AS)” to support his three claims is presented as follows:

Allamah Majlisi, in one of the Ziyarat (visitation prayers) of Imam Mahdi (AS), states: “…Then perform the prayer of visitation, the method of which has been explained in the first visitation. When you have finished, say: ‘O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the People of his House—the guiding, the Mahdiyeen, the knowledgeable, the truthful, the appointed successors, the well-pleased, the pillars of Your religion, the foundations of Your monotheism, the interpreters of Your revelation, Your proofs over Your creation, and Your vicegerents on Your earth… O Allah, send blessings upon Your guardian, the reviver of Your Sunnah, the establisher of Your command, the caller to You… O Allah, grant him, his progeny, his Shia, his subjects, his elite, his common folk, and all the people of the world that which delights his eyes and pleases his soul…’”

Source: Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 99, p. 100

First Point: The General Nature of the Supplication

This supplication is general, addressing his progeny, all his Shia, and even the nation under his spiritual leadership. It prays for the well-being and joy of this entire group. Therefore, it neither specifically refers to the children of Imam Mahdi (AS) nor indicates the station of Imamate for them. Hence, Nidham Al-Aqili’s claim that this supplication proves the Mahdiyeen are the children of Imam Mahdi (AS) and hold Imamate is baseless.

Second Point: Presence vs. Future Birth

The most that Nidham Al-Aqili can deduce from this supplication is that Imam Mahdi (AS) will have progeny. However, whether these progeny exist currently or will be born in the future is not understood from this supplication at all.

Third Point: The Term “Mahdiyeen” Refers to the Twelve Imams (AS)

Upon careful examination of the phrases within this supplication—which Nidham Al-Aqili conveniently omits—it becomes clear that the term “Mahdiyeen” is actually applied to the Twelve Imams (AS). Consider the following phrases from this same Ziyarat:

“Peace be upon you, O vicegerent of Allah on His earth, and vicegerent of His Messenger, and upon your forefathers, the infallible Imams, the Mahdiyeen… O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the People of his House—the guiding, the Mahdiyeen…”

Here, the phrase explicitly refers to the infallible Imams (AS) as the “Mahdiyen.” Nidham Al-Aqili makes no mention of this clear and crucial point, deliberately misleading his followers to support the Ahmed Al-Hasan Mahdiyeen false claims.