On Jan 16th, 2011 Mawlana Shaykh Nazim declared that the Helpers of Imam Mahdi (as) are from Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jam’ah, but believe he is the son of Imam Hasan al-Askari (rad). However, in this video, he clearly states that the Mahdi will come from amongst the Turks:
Q. How do you reconcile both of these apparently conflicting statements?
A. In his book Fasl al-Khitab in the chapter Ahwal al-Aqtab: Fadhail Khulafa wa Ahlul Bayt p. 592, the venerable Khwaja Muhammad Parsa states,
“Imam Hasan al-Askari (rad) is the father of Abul Qasim Muhammad al-Muntadhar (rad)…the birth of al-Muntadhar (rad) was on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban, 255…his mother’s name is Narjis”[Fasl al-Khitab [Arabic]: Fadhail Khulafa wa Ahlul Bayt, p. 592, Khwaja Muhammad Parsa].
The wife of Imam Hasan al-Askari (radhi Allahu anh), Malika Narjis (radhi Allahu anha) embraced Islam on his hands, and was the granddaughter of Bardas (d. 866), the brother of Byzantine Empress Theodora. Bardas engineered Theoktistos’ fall and became the regent for his nephew, Michael III (r. 842–867), who was just two years old when he succeeded as sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Bardas rose to the rank of Caesar and was the effective ruler of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, for ten years.
The capital of the Byzantine Empire was Constantinople, known today as Istanbul, Turkey.
According to early Ottoman traditions, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, el-Fatih (the Conqueror) agreed to capture Constantinople only after being convinced by his spiritual advisor Aksemseddin that Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar was hidden in the conquering army.
Following the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmet II, el-Fatih, the Conqueror, assumed the title “Kayser-i-Rûm” (Caesar of the Roman Empire). The adoption of the title implied that the Ottoman state considered itself the continuation, by absorption, of the Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, a view not shared in the West.
When al-Mahdi comes, he will continue, through absorption, the Roman Empire as the Ottomans did, as well as the Rightly Guided Caliphate of the Ishmaelites, in addition to the ancient Egyptian monarchy.
This is why Mawlana Shaykh Nazim said, “he (al-Mahdi) will come from you, he will come from you” to the Turks. Mawlana was not referring to the Turks as an ethnic group, rather to the people of Turkey, meaning he will rise from Constantinople; Istanbul.
Over thirty-two nations will establish their ancestral relation to the bloodline of Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar when he appears, including the Persians and the Pakistani’s through Abraham. This is why the earth will expel its treasures after his arrival, not only because his time will be one of abundance of wealth for mankind, but also to establish the archaeological evidence linking nations by blood to Mahdi al-Muntadhar.
