Page 164: Part 2: Intermediate Signs that Have Appeared and Continue to Unfold

Notice: Clarification of a Benefit and a Difficulty Found in the Preceding Hadith

He says to him: 'O cousin, I am more entitled to this matter than you; I am the descendant of al-Hasan, and I am al-Mahdi.' Al-Mahdi says to him: 'Rather, I am al-Mahdi.' The Hasani then says: 'Do you possess a sign so that I may pledge allegiance to you?' Thereupon, al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) gestures toward a bird, and it falls into his hands; and he plants a dry branch into a plot of land, and it instantly turns green and sprouts leaves. The Hasani then says: 'O cousin, it rightfully belongs to you.'

Notice

In this hadith, there is both a benefit and a difficulty:

As for the benefit, it indicates that al-Mahdi is from the lineage of al-Husayn, that his cousin here is from the lineage of al-Hasan, and that he assumes the Caliphate belongs to the descendants of al-Hasan, as he proclaims: 'I am the descendant of al-Hasan.'

His basis for this claim, and Allah knows best, rests upon two matters:

First, al-Hasan was appointed Caliph; hence, his descendants would be more entitled to it.

Second, he stepped down from it solely to prevent the shedding of Muslim blood, so Allah recompensed him with the Caliphate among his descendants.

However, both premises are countered:

As for the first, the pledge of allegiance to al-Hasan was given by only a portion of the people, namely the inhabitants of Iraq, the East, and Yemen, excluding the people of the Levant, the West (Maghreb), and Egypt; moreover, some of them had also pledged allegiance to al-Husayn.

As for the second, al-Hasan relinquished his right after having attained it, whereas al-Husayn did not attain what he intended; hence, his right remained unfulfilled, and thus Allah granted it through his lineage.

As for the difficulty, if this Hasani is the same individual who arrived with the black banners, it has already been mentioned that he sent the pledge of allegiance from Kufa and did not travel to the Hijaz, but would only meet him in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem).

And if he were someone else, how could he dispute with him after all the people of the Hijaz had already pledged allegiance to him, as had the people of the East and Iraq?

The answer is that if we say that the one who comes with the banners is his brother, as related in some narrations, then this is another person. In that case, the basis of his claim is that the pledge of allegiance was designated for al-Mahdi from the Ahl al-Bayt, whoever he might be. It was thus a pledge to the one described with those attributes, not to a specific person by name. Hence, he claimed the pledge belonged to him believing he was al-Mahdi, not out of mere rivalry for the Caliphate. When it became evident to him that he was not al-Mahdi, he willingly pledged allegiance to him.