A large number of narrations about the wars and the killings at the End of Time are related to the era before the appearance of Imam Mahdi which should not be ascribed to the Imam and the period of his ruling. As for those narrations dedicated to the time of the advent of Imam Mahdi and depict his uprising violently and murderously, they bear a serious problem in terms of the authenticity in their narrators and their texts. These problems occurred in these narrations due to the prominent role of the exaggerators, forgers of narrations, and the carelessness of the weak narrators. Also, some narrations going to the opposite extreme deny the possibility of any war and bloodshed at that time. These narrations are also unacceptable due to lacking the required criteria in their chain of transmitters. Add to it, the occurrence of a battle is one of the natural prerequisites in a universal revolutionary movement.
However, based on the authentic Hadiths, the way of Imam Mahdi’s military confrontation with enemies will be the same as that of his noble ancestor, Prophet Muhammad. Basically he will come to establish justice which is the natural desire and heartfelt wish of human beings; therefore, the Savior cannot behave in such a way that people wish they did not see him. Literally such a person cannot be harsh, ruthless, callous, cruel, and unfair on people. As opposed to this image of the Imam, Islamic narrations depict the infallible Imam as an excellent embodiment of divine grace and mercy. For instance, there is a tradition from Imam Ridā (the eighth imam of Shia) saying,
«...الإمام الأنیس الرّفیقُ و الوالِدُ الشَّفیقُ و الاَخ الشقیق و الاُمُّ البَرَّه بِالوَلَدِ الصَّغیر وَ مَفْزَعُ الْعِبَادِ فِي الدَّاهِيَةِ النَّآدِ.»[1]
“Imam is a close friend, a kind father, a brother of the same blood and a beneficent mother to her baby, and a refuge for people in difficult conditions.”
However, the truth is that Imam Mahdi will emerge at a time when human beings are swamped with tyrannical regimes and counterfeit schools of thought claiming the salvation of humanity. In general, the excess of pervasive corruptions, immorality, oppressions, all kinds of social calamities, crisis, and various social unrests, etc. lay the groundwork for public acceptability of seeking justice so that, when the Imam appears with divine permission, downtrodden people bring themselves to the Imam, and the number of his companions increases from moment to moment, so that in less than a year, with the help of people themselves, the rule of universal justice will be established throughout the earth, and all kind of oppression and tyranny will vanish and humanity will achieve its common and perpetual dream for a worldwide Justice, security, and comfort. Of course, this will not be easy to occur because those who see their illegal benefits endangered will oppose the reformist Imam’s movement. In such a case, Imam Mahdi like all the saints of Allah, firstly will call them to the right path variously and warns them not to break out war. Regarding this, there is a Hadith from Imam Sādiq (the sixth Imam of Shia) to have said,
«... يَدْعُوهُمْ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَ اَلْمَوْعِظَةِ اَلْحَسَنَةِ فَيُطِيعُونَهُ...»[2]
“…Mahdi invites them to accept the truth with wisdom and fair admonition, then many of them obey him…”
However, there will be some obstinate opponents who insist on their stubbornness and oppressive position. Therefore, the Imam will have to resort to a coercive manner to put them in subjection.
