There are many stories, fables, exaggerations, myths and legends, as well as confusions surrounding the Mahdi. Moreover, many theories have emerged that have no basis in any text while some theories are based on distortion and twisting of texts. Varying people have employed different means to understand the subject while lacking internal consistency in the approach. In this book, we look at who or what the Mahdi is, how he looks like, what he will do and when he will come; special care has been taken to distinguish authentic sources from the inauthentic ones.
This book attempts to understand the Hadiths pertaining to the Mahdi in an organized and systematic manner to sort out the fact from the fiction, to present a sequence of events, and to address criticisms and clarify misunderstandings.