To obey and to follow the last of all Prophets, Muhammad ^PBUH is made obligatory for all men and women by Allah^SWT as it is evident from the following verses of the Holy Qur’an:                                                                  

                       The Holy Qur’an has made it clear that obedience to the  Messenger^PBUH  is in-fact and in effect obedience to Allah ^SWT.

                    The above verses of Holy Qur’an make it quite clear that whatever the  Prophet ^PBUH said is to be believed and whatever he asked the UMMAH to do must be done.  

                    The Prophet of Allah^SWT, used to receive two kind of revelations (Wahi) from Allah. One was called Wahi-e-Matlu (revelation to be recited) and the other was called Wahi-e-Ghair Matlu (direct revelation without any medium).

                      Wahi-e-Matlu was the kind which was revealed to the Prophet ^PBUH through the angel Jibreel^AS. This was dictated by the Prophet^PBUH as it was revealed, preserving every word of it. This became the Holy Qur’an, the last of all Holy Books sent by Allah^SWT. On the other hand Wahi-e-Ghair Matlu is the kind of revelation which was also recorded or by-hearted by the companions of the Prophet^PBUH, which was in the Prophet’s ^PBUH own words, unlike the first one. This was by and large the explanation of the first kind of revelation, they are called   Ahadiths. So whatever, tradition (Hadith) is related to the Prophet^PBUH correctly is to be accepted and followed by the Muslims. This is because the Holy Qur’an asks Muslims to:

                          The Prophet ^PBUH made it clear in several traditions (Ahadiths) that there was no Prophet going to come after him.  

 LA NABI-YA BA-DY (Al-Hadith) this is supported by the Holy Qur’anic verse:

                           In the light of the above verse whoever claims to be a Prophet of God after Prophet Muhammad^PBUH is an imposter. On the other hand, the Prophet ^PBUH himself prophesied that a Caliph of God will appear amongst his UMMAH, whose name would be his own name and his fathers name too would be Prophets Fathers name. He will belong to the progeny of the Prophet’s daughter Fatima ^RZ and he would walk on the foot prints of the Prophet^PBUH and will not falter. The Prophet^PBUH called this Caliph of God AL-MAHDI (The Guided One).  

                        A very large number of traditions (Al-Hadith) describing Imam MAHDI^AS and his attributes have been reported by the early scholars of the traditions. All the Muslims from the companions of the Prophet^PBHU up to the present day Muslims have believed in this doctrine. However, there is a lot of confusion about the signs to identify Imam MAHDI^AS.  Moreover, the doctrine has been exploited by so many imposters for political gain. This has further complicated the issue.  

                            The confusion and complication have led some people to reject the very doctrine. They say that there is no MAHDI to come.  The solution lies in accepting only such traditions which are sound and reliable. Especially the traditions which have been categorized as Mutawatir (un-broken series, having numerous chains of narrators). These traditions are narrated through four or more channels of narrators in every generation. The sign of Imam MAHDI^AS to belong to the progeny of Fatima ^RZ has been accepted as Mutawatir by its meaning.  

                       Ordained by Allah, the most High, HAZRAT SYED MUHAMMAD^AS (847-914 Hijri) claimed himself to be the Promised MAHDI. He belonged to the line of Fatima ^RZ   both from his fathers and mothers side. He presented his perfect following of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet MUHAMMAD^PBUH  as his two evidences to prove his claim. He asked people to compare his words and deeds with the Holy Qur’an and his perfect following of the Prophet^PBUH. He said that he might be accepted only if there is conformity otherwise he should be imprisoned and killed.  

                        People belonging to different races and countries accepted him only on account of his perfect following of the Holy Qur’an and the Messenger^PBUH of Allah^SWT. He asserted that his religion was Holy Qur’an and following of the Prophet Muhammad^PBUH.  

                         Moral excellence is in fact the most important identification of Imam MAHDI^AS because there are several traditions of the Prophet^PBUH which say that the coming Khalifatullah (Caliph of God) will have similarity with the Prophet^PBUH  in moral excellence especially because he will walk on the foot- prints of the Prophet^PBUH without a flaw. This is proved from a number of historic evidences for instance he was called by people as Syed-ul-Awliya (Chief of the Saints). Even a bitter enemy of him could not find a defect in his following of the Holy Qur’an and the words and deeds of the Prophet^PBUH .He presented these two attributes as his evidences of being true MAHDI. He wrote letters to Kings and others in position of power to verify the truth of his claim in the light of his following of the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet^PBHU .He asked them to arrest him or kill him if he was found wrong.  Imam MAHDI^AS said:

                         Followers of Hazrat Syed Muhammad  the Promised Mahdi ^AS, who are known as MAHDAVIS, are found in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Middle-
East, Europe, United States and Australia living peacefully along with people of different  cultures and faiths. 

                      We shall In’sha-Allah (God willing) continue to give more details of the words and deeds, the message and teachings of the promised MAHDI^AS in our subsequent submissions.