[Zhulfiqar]

Assalâmu 'Alaikum wa RahmatulLâh,

Some claim;

Ahl al-Sunnah believes that Imâm Mahdi will be chosen as Leader by Allâh Most High and not by Shurâ.

If this Divine appointment is believed in, why is it impossible that there is no Divine Appointment of Rulers by Allâh Most High after the Last Prophet (صلى الله تعالى عليه واله وسلم)?

Is it true, that Imâm Mahdi will be chosen by Allâh Most High as leader when he will be born near Day of Judgement?

[DefendingIslam]

Salam Alaykum,

It depends on what they mean by Allah having chosen someone, since according to the Ahl us Sunnah every action done by the creation has been willed by Allah. So perhaps some of our 'Ulama may have said that such-and-such ruler was chosen by Allah and they meant it in a way totally different than what the Shias claim.

Also, while it is not intrinsically impossible for Allah to have chosen the rulers or Imams for the Ummah, leaders with the qualities mentioned by the Shias is something alien to Islam and has no basis.

In the case of the Mahdi, what I heard is that the people would look to give him allegiance and he will refuse, until it is said from the heavens that the Mahdi is the true ruler (what I heard was to this effect, but I do not remember exactly). If this is what they are refering to, then it has nothing to do with the claims of the Shias, for obvious reasons.