Imam Mahdi was born in 255 A.H. and till now, he is around 1183 and is in the second millennium of his life. Apparently, he should bear a physical resemblance to a very aged man, but there are some narrations that say otherwise, for instance:
1- Imam Bāqir says:
«هُوَ شَابٌ بَعْدَ كِبَرِ السِّنِ»[1]
“Although he is totally aged, he is still young.”
2- Imam Sādiq says,
«َ لَوْ خَرَجَ الْقَائِمُ لَقَدْ أَنْكَرَهُ النَّاسُ يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَابّا»[2]
“When the Upriser appears, some people reject him since he will come to them as a young man.”
3- Imam Ridā also says,
«إِنَّ الْقَائِمَ هُوَ الَّذِي إِذَا خَرَجَ كَانَ فِي سِنِ الشُّيُوخِ وَ مَنْظَرِ الشُّبَّانِ قَوِيّاً فِي بَدَنِه»[3]
“Certainly, the Upriser is a man when appearing, he has as long age as the elderly, but looks like the young and is physically strong.”
4- It is narrated from Imam Ali bin Abī Tālib to have said,
«المَهدی مولِدُه بِالمَدینه مِن اَهل بَیتِ النّبی... یَبعث و هوَ ما بینَ الثّلاثین والاَربعین»[4]
“Al-Mahdi will be born in Medina and he is from the Household of the Prophet… He will arise while he is around thirty or forty.”
5- Abū Basīr narrates from Imam al-Sādiq to have said,
«لَيْسَ صَاحِبُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ مَنْ جَازَ أَرْبَعِين»[5]
“The Owner of this Matter (Imam al-Mahdi) won't look like a man over the age of forty.”
It is worthy of noting that although some narrations refer to different number of age, there is no contradiction between them since they try just to say that the Imam has a similar appearance to a young man who is around thirty or forty and these numbers do not represent the exact age of the Imam.
