Physical descriptions of Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h)

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Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) is the Imam of believers from all social strata; and on the other hand, naturally, many people are not capable of using the argumentation of Imamology. Hence, for ordinary people, a simple way for having a better understanding of the Imam and making a better image of him in their minds is to know the physical characteristics of the Imam, which have been reflected in Islamic narrations.

Of course, in the case of the Twelfth Imam, the function of corporeal features and bodily signs is more important; because the previous Imams used to introduce and show the next Imam to the believers, but due to the disappearance of Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) and his longevity, the Imams before him are not alive to introduce and confirm him. Whereas in the time of the Imam's occultation which is a time of bewilderment, and a proper opportunity for the false claimants of Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h), it is probable that the reason behind the numerous traditions mentioning the signs of Imam Mahdi's appearance is that people do not lose the right path by holding on the narrations of the infallible Imams. 1 Accordingly, in some Hadiths, physical features of Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) is depicted in the following general frameworks:

According to some Hadiths, Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) is the most similar person to the Prophet (May Allah send blessings and peace upon him and his household). Jābir b. ˈAbd Allah al-Anṣārī (one of the sincere companions of the Prophet) reported from the Prophet to have said, The Mahdi is from my progeny, his name and patronymic is the same as mine. Among all the people he would resemble my characters, physically and spiritually.”2

Ahmad b. Isḥāq b. Saˈd al-Qummī says that he heard Imam Hasan 'Askari have said, Thank Allah that He did not take me away from this world without showing me, my successor. He (my son, Mahdi) is closest to the Prophet in his features and character. ”3

Also, it is narrated from the Prophet to have said, He (Mahdi) most closely resembles me in appearance and behavior than all other people.”4

Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (p. b. u. h) says, He (Mahdi) most closely resembles the Messenger of Allah in character, face, beauty, and appearance. ”5

Imam Riḍā quotes from the Prophet to have said, He (Mahdi) resembles me and prophet Moses.”6

He (Mahdi) most closely resembles Jesus the son of Mary, in his disposition, face, dignity, and awe. ”7

In another narration it is said that Imam Mahdi would bear a striking resemblance to his honorable father Imam Hassan al-ˈAskarī. 8

A few people had succeeded to visit Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) during his childhood; For example, Ḍaw b. Ali, a man from Fars- Iran, in the course of narration, quotes some of the characteristics of the Imam's childhood, . He (Imam Mahdi) was a white fair-complexioned boy . ”9

Ya'qūb b. Manqūsh says, I went to Imam Hassan ˈAskarī. On the right side of the Imam, I saw a room with a curtain hanging on its entrance. I asked the Imam as to who was the Master of the Age i. e. the next Imam. Imam ˈAskarī replied, 'Raise the curtain!' When he raised the curtain, a boy appeared and came and sat on the Imam's lap. The boy seemed to be at age eight to ten; with a sparkling forehead and white complexion, big black piercing eyes, and two broad shoulders. He had a black mole on his right cheek, and his hair was over his shoulders. He sat on the knee of his father Abu Muhammad al-ˈAskarī. Then, Imam ˈAskarī said to me, 'This is your master. ”10

In accordance with Islamic narrations, some bodily features of Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) are as follows:

The Imam's head is proportionately large and round11, and there is a mole or mark on his head. 12

He is handsome and brunet fair complexioned; his face is radiant like a shining star. 13 According to some narrations, he like the Prophet (May Allah convey His salutations and greetings to him and his household), has a reddish-white complexion14 because the Arab complexion is a mixture of red and white. His saintly whitish radiant face is due to keeping vigil at nights to worship Allah the Exalted the Glorified. 15

The effulgence and the awe of Imamate is apparent in Imam Mahdi's face which is like a bright star. 16 His face is soft, and there is a beautiful black mole on his right check. 17

Imam Mahdi's forehead is broad and luminous,18 and there is a mark of constant prostration on his forehead19 (the use of the word “mark” in the hadiths, instead of “mole,” suggests that the mark will be lighter in color than a mole).

The Imam's nose is fine and narrow with a slight protrusion in the middle. 20

He has two moles on his back; one is between his shoulders like the seal of the prophethood of the Prophet (p. b. u. t),21 and another with the color of his skin. Also, there is a mole on his thigh,22 and a mole on his cheek. 23

His hair is neither curly nor straight,24 and there are not any white hairs in his head and beard. 25 As a child, his hair was shiny, black, and curly falling over his shoulders. 26 According to the narrations, his hair color is not completely black, but it has a slight redness; of course, its blackness prevails over its redness. 27

His eyebrows are thick28, close to one another, and curved crescent-like. 29

Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) has round, black, large, and sunken eyes. 30 Perhaps his sunken eyes are due to keeping vigil and staying awake at nights to worship God. 31 Naturally, his beautiful eyes are like kohled eyelashes. 32

He has bright teeth, and there is appropriate space between his front teeth. 33

Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) has a short, copious, and thick beard. 34

The Imam's palms are large35, and there is a mark or mole on his right hand palm. 36

He has a wide abdomen. 37 In his chest, a thin strand of green hair, not black, extends from under his throat to the navel. 38

His thighs would be broad and his bones shall be long39 and there is a mole on his right thigh. 40 It shows that the thighs of the Imam are muscular and thick, which indicates the physical strength of the Imam.

His knees, because of their greatness and largeness, tends to be fallen appropriately. 41

The Imam has thin muscular shins, which indicates his training. 42

He is so strong that if he hits the biggest trees on earth, he would knock it down and if he shouts between the mountains, he would break its stones. 43

He is a well-rounded man with an average body44; his stature is that of the men of the Children of Israel, firm and robust. 45

His shoulders are wide46 and stout47; and he has a mark on his back between his shoulders; and under his left scapula, there is a mark resembling a leaf in shape like the leaves of the "Myrtle"48 tree. 49

At the time of his advent, and despite his advanced age, Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h) looks like to be a young man50 about forty years old at the time of his appearance.

Another sign is that the passage of time will not render him old, by the will of Allah, till such time that his life would end; so that the power of God may be known, and also there is a Divine examination for people; because of this, some believers turn away from Imam Mahdi (p. b. u. h). 51

1. Ibn Bābwayh Qummī, Muhammad b. Ali b. Ḥusayn b. Mūsā, (Sheikh al-Ṣadūq), Kamāl al-Dīn wa Tamām al-Ni`mah, research by Ali Akbar Ghaffārī, Tehran, Islamiyyah Publications, 2016.
2. Ibn Bābwayh, Muhammad b. Ali b. Ḥusayn b. Mūsā, (Sheikh al-Ṣadūq), Maˈāni al-Akhbār, research by Ali Akbar Ghaffārī, Mudarresin (Teachers) Association of Qom Seminary, Qom, 1982.
3. Ibn Ḥayūn, Nuˈmān b. Muhammad al-Maghribī, Sharḥ al-Akhbār fī Faḍāil Aimmat al-abrār, 3 volumes, research by Muhammad Hussein Hosseini Jalālī, Mudarresin (Teachers) Association of Qom Seminary, Qom, 1988.
4. Ibn-e Shahrāshūb, Muhammad b. Ali, Manāqib Āl-e Abī Ṭālib, ˈAllāmah, Qom, 1959.
5. Ibn-e Ṭāwūs, Ali b. Mūsā, Falāḥ al-Sāil wa Najāḥ al-Masāil, Būstān-e Kitāb, Qom, 1985.
6. Ibn-e Ṭāwūs, Ali b. Mūsā, Al-Malāḥim wa al-Fitan fī Ẓuhūr al-Ghāib al-Muntaẓar, Al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, Qom, 1977.
7. Ibn Manẓūr, Muhammad b. Mukarram, Lisān al-ˈArab, Dār Ṣādir, Beirut, 1993.
8. Irbilī, Ali b. ˈīsā, Kashf al-Ghummah Fī Ma'rifat al-A'immah, research by Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī, Banī Hāshimī, Tabriz, 2002.
9. Jaˈfarī, Jawād, Jamāl-e Yār, Scholarly-Research Quarterly Journal of Intizār-e Muwˈūd (Awaiting The Promised), No. 5, Second Year, Fall 2002.
10. Khurāsānī, Muhammad Jawād, The awaited Mahdi, research by Sayyid Jawād Mīr Shafīˈī Khānsāri, Nūr al-Aṣfīa scholastic cultural researches foundation, Tehran, 2000.
11. Ṭabarī, Muhammad b. Jarīr, Dalāil al-Imāmah, Biˈthat, Qom, first edition, 1992.
12. Ṭūsī, Muhammad b. Hassan, Al-Ghaybah, research by ˈIbād Allah Tehrani & Ali Ahmad Nāṣiḥ, Dār al-Ma'ārif al-Islamiyyah, Qom, 1990.
13. Qundūzī, Sulayman b. Ibrahim, Yanābī' al-Mawaddah li Dhawi al-Qurbā, 4 volumes, research by Ali b. Jamāl Ashraf Husayi, Dār al-Uswa for printing and publishing, Qom, 2001.
14. Al-Kulaynī, Muhammad b. Ya'qūb, Al-Kāfī, 8 volumes, research by Ali Akbar Ghaffārī & Muhammad Ākhundī, Dār al-Kutub al-Islamiyah, Tehran, 1996.
15. Maˈārif al-Islāmi Foundation, Mu'jam Ahādīth al-Imam al-Mahdi, 8 volumes, Holy Mosque of Jamkarān, Qom, 2^nd edition, 2007.
16. Nuˈmānī, Muhammad b. Ibrahim, Al-Ghaybah, translator: Muhammad Jawād Ghaffārī, Dār al-Kutub al-Islamiyah, Tehran, 2011.