What to Avoid: False Claimants and Predictions

False claims about the Mahdi: Because people long for Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf), some people over history have claimed to be him, or claimed to meet him, or claimed to know the date of his reappearance. Shia teaching is clear: do not believe them.

What to avoid: Three things to avoid:

• False claimants: Anyone who says "I am the Mahdi" is false. The Mahdi is Imam Muhammad, son of Imam al-Askari (as), and no one else.
• False deputies: Anyone who says "I am the special deputy of the Imam" in the Major Occultation is false. The line of special deputies ended in 329 AH.
• Date-setting: Anyone who gives a date or a year for the reappearance is false. Only Allah knows the time. The Imams (as) themselves taught that those who fix a time are lying.

The right answer: If someone makes such a claim, the right answer is calm and simple: we follow the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt (as) and trustworthy scholars, and we do not follow claimants.

Example

Check with the school: If a stranger on the street says "I am the headteacher of your school," you would not believe him without proof — you would check with the school. In the same way, do not believe claims about the Imam (ajtf) without true proof, and check with trustworthy scholars.

Key Terms

• Mudda'i / Claimant (مدعی) — one who makes a false claim
• Tawqit / Date-setting (توقیت) — fixing a date for the reappearance, which is forbidden
• Kadhhab / Liar (کذاب) — in this context, one who lies about the time of the reappearance

Quran or Hadith

No Quran verse or Hadith text is quoted in this topic. The rule against date-setting and false deputyship follows well-known Shia teachings (including a tawqee' attributed to Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf) through the fourth deputy). — to be checked; wording and source to be verified.

Fresh diagram to be drawn: A simple "Do Not Believe" chart — three red boxes: "I am the Mahdi", "I am his deputy", "The date is..." — each crossed out.