Page 150: Part 2: Intermediate Signs that Have Appeared and Continue to Unfold

Explanation of certain expressions mentioned in the description of al-Mahdi

In another narration: "[His age is] between thirty and forty; humble before Allah like the humility of an eagle folding its wings; wearing two Qatwani cloaks; resembling the Prophet (ﷺ) in moral character (al-khuluq, with dammah), not in physical appearance (al-khalq, with fathah)."

Let us mention the explanation of some of these expressions:

His saying, "Adam" (wheat-colored / brown-complexioned): It means brown or deeply tanned, or someone whose complexion resembles the color of the soil of the earth (adim al-ard), and after which Adam (peace be upon him) was named.

His saying, "Darbun min al-rijal" (a slender man): It refers to a man who is light of flesh, lean, and lithe.

His saying, "Rab'ah" (medium height): It denotes a person of medium stature, neither tall nor short.

His saying, "Ajla al-jabhah" (having a prominent forehead / receded hairline): It refers to someone with sparse hair at the sides of the forehead, or someone whose hairline has naturally receded from his forehead.

His saying, "Aqna al-anf" (having an aquiline nose): The term al-qana regarding the nose refers to its length and the slenderness of its tip. It is said: a man who is aqna, and a woman who is qanwa'.

His saying, "Ashamm" (having a high-bridged nose): It is said, "So-and-so is ashamm al-anf," when the bridge of his nose is elevated.

His saying, "Azajj ablaj" (having arched and unjoined eyebrows): Al-zajaj refers to an arch in the eyebrow accompanied by length and extension at its outer edge, and so-and-so is described as azajj when his eyebrow is of that form.

And "al-ablaj" means radiant, bright, and luminous in complexion; "al-ablaj" also refers to one whose space between the eyebrows is clear, such that they do not meet. The noun is al-balaj, with a fathah on the letter lam.

His saying, "A'yan akhal al-'aynayn" (large-eyed with naturally dark eyelids): Al-a'yan means possessing wide, prominent eyes; a female is termed 'ayna', and the plural is 'in.

From this is the statement of Allah the Exalted: {And fair maidens with wide, lovely eyes (Hur 'In)}.

And "al-kahal" (with two fathahs) is a natural blackness in the eyelids without the application of kohl. The man is described as akhal, and the woman as kahla'.

His saying, "Barraq al-thanaya afraquha" (having glistening, parted front teeth): meaning, they possess luster and radiance due to their extreme whiteness, along with a natural gap between them.