Does relinquishing lead of fajr salaat to 'Eesa bin Maryam by Mahdi an indication that ameer ul mumineen need not be from progeny of Ali and Fatima?

Question

Hudhayfah reported that the Prophet (S) said, “Al-Mahdi will turn his face to Jesus when he descends as if water were dropping from his hair, and will say to him, ‘Go ahead and say the prayer.’ Jesus will say, ‘The prayer has been set up only for you.’ So, Jesus will pray behind a man who is among my sons. Sirat-al-mustaqim 257, a shia source.

While their Imaam will have advanced to pray the Fajr prayer with them, 'Eesa, the son of Mary may Allaah exalt his mention will descend [at the time of the Fajr prayer]. The Imaam will draw backward so that 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention would go forward and lead the people in prayer. However, 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention would put his hand between his shoulders and say to him: "Go forward and pray, as it is for you that the call for the prayer was called, so their Imaam would lead them in prayer."

[Ibn Maajah]

Al-Munaawi may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book entitled Faydh Al-Qadeer:

He (i.e. 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention) would descend at the time of Fajr prayer at the white minaret east of Damascus and he would find the Imaam (of prayer) Al-Mahdi wanting to establish the prayer. When he realizes that 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention is present, he would draw backward so that 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention would advance (to lead the people in prayer) but 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention would put him forward to lead the prayer and he would pray behind him. So, this is a great favor and honor for this nation. Thus, what is mentioned in this Hadeeth does not contradict what is mentioned in other narrations that 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention will lead Al-Mahdi in prayer. This was authoritatively asserted by Sa'd At-Taftaazaani who considered 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention to be better, as it is possible to reconcile (the narrations) that 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention would first pray behind the Mahdi in order to show that he ('Eesa) descended to be a follower of our Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) ruling by his [Prophet's] Sharee'ah (law). Then the Mahdi would be led by 'Eesa may Allaah exalt his mention on the basis of the principle that the one who is less important is led by the one who is better and more important.

Question: Does relinquishing lead of fajr salaat to 'Eesa bin Maryam by Mahdi an indication that ameer ul mumineen need not be from progeny of Ali and Fatima?

Answer 1

Sunni view

From a Sunni point of view, the hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah 36/152 you are referring to is considered a weak (da'eef) hadith.

In fact, from Fayd Al-Qadeer, right after the quote in your question, the author says that the hadith has weakness (وفيه ضعف).

Since there are hadtihs that are either authentic (sahih) or good (hassan) that describe Al-Mahdi to us, there is no justification to try to deduct from another hadith a different view than what is explicitly stipulated. From a Sunni point of view, there are several hadiths that clearly say that Al-Mahdy will be the ruler and will be a descendant of the Prophet (ﷺ). This hadith tells us the lineage (from the offsping of Fatima), but does not specify whether descendants from Al-Hassan or Al-Hussain:

الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنْ وَلَدِ فَاطِمَةَ

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: "Mahdi will be one of the descendants of Fatimah."

_{— Sunan Ibn Majah 36/161}

The following hadith gives a brief description of some of Al-Mahdi's facial features, then it describes his impact on this world as a ruler:

الْمَهْدِيُّ مِنِّي أَجْلَى الْجَبْهَةِ أَقْنَى الأَنْفِ يَمْلأُ الأَرْضَ قِسْطًا وَعَدْلاً كَمَا مُلِئَتْ جَوْرًا وَظُلْمًا يَمْلِكُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ

The Mahdi will be of my stock, and will have a broad forehead a prominent nose. He will fill the earth will equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.

_{— Sunan Abi Dawud 38/7}

The hadith below tells us his name:

لاَ تَذْهَبُ الدُّنْيَا حَتَّى يَمْلِكَ الْعَرَبَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي يُوَاطِئُ اسْمُهُ اسْمِي

The world shall not pass away until a man from the people of my family rules the Arabs whose name agrees with my name.

_{— Jami' Al-Tirmidhi 33/73}

From the hadiths above, Al-Mahdy will be:

1. From the lineage of the Prophet (ﷺ) through his daughter Fatima (Sunni view does not specify with certainty whether this will be from the descendants of Al-Hassan or Al-Hussain).
2. His name will be the same as the Prophet (ﷺ): Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah.
3. Al-Mahdy will rule the Arabs, and fill Earth with justice.

When talking about the ruler at large, the Sunni view is that there is scholarly consensus that the ruler be from Quraish (conditional), but need not be from the descendants of the Prophet (ﷺ):

لاَ يَزَالُ هَذَا الأَمْرُ فِي قُرَيْشٍ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ النَّاسِ اثْنَانِ‏

It has been narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: The Caliphate will remain among the Quraish even if only two persons are left (on the earth).

_{— Sahih Muslim 33/4}

Then, from this hadith, too, the condition is clearly stipulated (sticking to the rules and regulations of Islam):

إِنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ فِي قُرَيْشٍ، لاَ يُعَادِيهِمْ أَحَدٌ إِلاَّ كَبَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ مَا أَقَامُوا الدِّينَ

This matter (of the caliphate) will remain with the Quraish, and none will rebel against them, but Allah will throw him down on his face as long as they stick to the rules and regulations of the religion (Islam).

_{— Sahih Al-Bukhari 93/3}

Answer 2

Is the surrender of the Fajr duty to Isa Ibn Maryam by the Mahdi a sign that the Amir al-Mu'minin should not be from the descendants of Ali and Fatima? Islamic sources accurately and clearly know the birth and personality of the nobleman and the descendants of Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH) and the eleventh Imam from the children of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) and the ninth child of Hazrat Aba Abdullah Al-Hussein (AS) as well as from the generation and descendants Imams Huda (AS) and the fourth child are the children of Imam Ali Ibn Musa Al-Reza (AS) until the end.

At the time of the advent of that Imam, Christ (pbuh) will descend and will pray in the footsteps of that noble man and behind that noble man. Respect and Christ (AS) says, there is no one who seeks precedence over the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) and the right of precedence is with you. [1] )1(. Safi Golpayegani, Lotfollah, Selected Works, p. 290 onwards.

Ref: https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5103282