The Concept of Mahdism in the Qur'an A Reflection on Verse 5 of Surah Al-Qasas

وَ نُريدُ أَنْ نَمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَ نَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَ نَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوارِثينَ

And We desired to show favor to those who were oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders and inheritors [of the earth].(Holy Quran : Surah Al-Qasas, verse 5)

One of the Qur'anic verses cited by Shia scholars to support the belief in the appearance and rule of Imam Mahdi is verse 5 of Surah Al-Qasas. In this verse, God declares:
"Our will is to grant favor to the oppressed on earth and make them leaders and heirs [of power]." According to narrations and the interpretations of Shia commentators, this verse promises the fulfillment of humanity’s long-standing hope through the final Divine Proof — Imam Mahdi — who will rise to establish justice across the earth. The verse foretells that in the end times, leadership, governance, and spiritual authority will be granted to the oppressed.

Conceptual Clarification

Defining key terms in any research serves as a helpful guide for better understanding the concepts and foundations of the study in order to achieve its objectives. Below are the definitions of the relevant terms:

نُریدُ = Noreedu (We Will / We Desire)

The word "noreedu" means to will or to desire. A careful reflection on Qur’anic verses reveals that the Divine will refers to God's command and decree. God possesses two types of will:

Creational Will

Legislative Will

Creational will refers to a kind of divine will through which, once God wills something, it immediately comes into existence. As the Qur’an states:
“Indeed, His command is that when He wills a thing, He says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.”⁽¹⁾ Any failure of what is willed to occur would indicate weakness or inability — which is impossible for an All-Powerful and All-Wise God.

On the other hand, legislative will refers to God’s desire that human beings, through their free will and choice, follow the straight path and uphold divine guidance. If this kind of will is not fulfilled in some cases (such as establishing prayer, giving zakat, or not concealing the truth), no flaw is attributed to God, since it depends on human choice. In the verse under discussion the term noreedu refers specifically to creational will — meaning the event mentioned is certain and must come to pass.

نَمُنَّ = Namuna (We Bestow a Favor)

Namuna is a present-tense verb derived from the root "mann" (م-ن-ن). The original meaning of this root is heaviness or weight, which is why in earlier times, a unit of weight was also called mann. The term "mannah" (favor or blessing) implies a great and weighty blessing.
When it is said that “someone bestowed a favor upon another,” it means he has burdened him with a great blessing.
This word is used in two distinct ways in the Qur’an:

Practical/Actual Favor – as in the verse: “And We desire to bestow a favor upon those who were oppressed…”. Here, it means: We intend to grant them such a great blessing that it will overwhelm them.

Verbal Favor (boasting about a favor) – as in the verse: They regard it as a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. ‘Say Do not regard your Islam as a favor to me.’ .⁽²⁾
In this context, " favor to you " refers to boasting verbally about having done someone a favor. When favor comes from God, it is purely out of grace and wisdom, and when people accept guidance or Islam, they are in fact the ones who have been blessed — not the ones doing a favor.

مُستَضعف = mustad‘af (who were oppressed) :

In truth, the term “mustad‘af” (the oppressed) refers to someone who has been weakened and shackled — not merely a person who is inherently weak or powerless. In other words, a mustad‘af is not someone lacking strength or ability, but someone who possesses both potential and actual power, yet has been subjected to intense pressure and suppression by tyrants and oppressors.
Despite being bound in chains, the true mustad‘af is neither passive nor submissive. He persistently strives to break free from the shackles, seeking liberation, aiming to remove the hands of tyrants, and to establish justice. It is to such individuals that God has promised victory and leadership on earth — not to the helpless and fearful ones who do not even raise their voice in protest, let alone step into the arena of struggle.
The Children of Israel were able to inherit the kingdom of Pharaoh only when they rallied around their leader, Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), united their efforts, and formed a solid front. The remnants of faith inherited from their ancestor Abraham were revived and completed by the call of Moses, who helped them cleanse their minds of superstitions and prepare for a revolutionary movement. There are various types of mustad‘afīn (the oppressed):
Intellectual oppression,
Cultural oppression,
Economic oppression,
Political oppression.
What the Qur'an emphasizes most often are political and moral oppression. Without doubt, arrogant tyrants — in order to solidify their oppressive regimes — first attempt to plunge their victims into intellectual and cultural weakness, and then into economic deprivation, so that no power remains for the oppressed, and they never dare to dream of revolution or leadership.
In five instances in the Qur'an, the term mustad‘afīn is mentioned — and in most of them, it refers to believers under the pressure of tyrants.

اَلوارِثین = Al-Warithīn (The Inheritors) :

The term al-wārithīn means “the inheritors.” In general, inheritance (warāthah) refers to the transfer of ownership — especially of wealth or possessions — without purchase or exchange.<ذق> In the context of this verse, “al-wārithīn” refers to how God made Prophet Moses and his people the inheritors of what once belonged to Pharaoh and his followers. They inherited not only the land and wealth but also leadership and authority after the downfall of the tyrants.

The Narrative of the Event

During the reign of Pharaoh in Egypt, he compelled the people of that land to worship him. For this reason, he oppressed the inhabitants of the land, including the Children of Israel. Based on a dream that his throne would be destroyed by a descendant of the Israelites, he immediately ordered the murder of all newborn Israelite boys. However, the Almighty protected Moses from the danger of death after his birth and commanded his mother to place her infant in a chest and cast it into the Nile River. Through this, the Almighty bestowed His favor upon Moses and the Children of Israel, and all aspects of Moses' life and the events surrounding him unfolded in a miraculous manner.
After Moses attained the station of prophethood, by the command of the Almighty, he was dispatched to Pharaoh, the king of the Copts and the land of Egypt. For several years, he repeatedly invited Pharaoh and the Copts to worship God, and to support his claims, he presented numerous miracles.
However, each time, Pharaoh and his entourage rejected him. Consequently, by divine instruction, Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt at night, aiming to liberate them from the captivity of the Copts.
Pharaoh learned of the event and, along with his courtiers and a vast army, pursued the Children of Israel, hastening towards the banks of the Nile to prevent their escape and return them to Egypt. He reached the Nile bank at the very moment the Children of Israel were crossing a passage that Moses, by the command of the Almighty, had opened in the Nile River with his staff.
Despite witnessing this great divine miracle with their own eyes, Pharaoh and his companions, in pursuit of Moses and the Children of Israel, entered the path opened in the depths of the Nile. At the moment the Children of Israel exited the Nile passage from the eastern bank, the surging waves of the river suddenly engulfed the path. Pharaoh and his companions were left in the depths of the Nile and were all drowned and perished.
As a result, they lost the magnificent structures, gardens, and agricultural lands of the vast land of Egypt. The treasures, reserves, and immense wealth that Pharaoh's confidants, courtiers, army, and he himself possessed were instantly lost without any struggle against an enemy. The land of Egypt, along with its natural resources and wealth, was handed over to the Children of Israel.⁽³⁾

The Verse's Indication of Mahdism

The mentioned verse, verse 5 of Surah Al-Qasas, does not at all speak of a specific, localized program related to the Children of Israel. Rather, the verse articulates a universal law for all times and eras, and for all peoples and societies: "We intended to bestow Our favor upon those who were deemed weak [in the land] and to make them inheritors [of the earth]."
The meaning of the verse is a prophecy concerning the victory of truth over falsehood and faith over disbelief. This is a glad tiding for all free humans who desire the establishment of justice and equity, and the eradication of oppression and tyranny throughout all ages.
One example of the realization of this divine will was the rule of the Children of Israel and the downfall of the Pharaohs' dominion. A more complete example was the rule of the Prophet of Islam and his companions after the advent of Islam; the rule of the barefoot, the penniless, the faithful, and the pure-hearted oppressed, who were consistently belittled and ridiculed by the Pharaohs of their time and were subjected to pressure, oppression, and tyranny.
Ultimately, through these very people, God opened the gates of the palaces of the Khosrows in Persia and the Caesars in Rome, bringing them down from their thrones of power and humbling the arrogant. A broader manifestation of this is the emergence of the rule of truth and justice throughout the entire globe through the appearance of Imam Mahdi.
This verse is among those that clearly herald the advent of such a government. Thus, in Islamic traditions, we read that the Imams, in their interpretation of this verse, referred to this great advent.
In the precious book of Nahj al-Balagha, it is narrated from Imam Ali that:
"The world, after its stubbornness and rebellion, will turn to us like a camel that refuses to yield milk to its milker, but reserves it for its calf..." He then recited verse 5 of Surah Al-Qasas. According to another hadith from the same revered Imam, in interpreting the mentioned verse, he stated:
"These are the People of the House of Muhammad (Ahl al-Bayt). God will raise their Mahdi after the hardship and pressure they endure, and He will grant them honor, and His enemies He will disgrace and humiliate."
Also, in a hadith from Imam Zayn al-Abidin Ali ibn al-Husayn (the fourth Shiite Imam), it is stated: "By Him Who sent Muhammad with truth as a bearer of good tidings and a Warner, the righteous among us, the People of the House, and their followers are like Moses and his followers, and our enemies and their followers are like Pharaoh and his followers. Ultimately, we will prevail, and they will be destroyed, and the rule of truth and justice will be ours."
Of course, the global rule of the Mahdi in the end will not preclude the rule of Islamic governments on a more limited scale beforehand by the oppressed against the oppressors. Whenever the conditions are met, the certain promise and divine will concerning them will be realized, and this victory will be theirs.

Recitation of the Verse After Birth

Hakimah Khatun, the daughter of Imam Jawad, recounts: Imam Hassan Askari sent a messenger to me, requesting that I attend his home on the night of his son's birth during iftar, so that God might grace me with the sight of His proof and the successor after that Imam. That night, I went to the home of Imam Hassan Askari. I stayed there until the child was born. The next day, I came to my niece; however, I did not see the child. When I inquired about him, they said, 'We have entrusted him to the One to whom the mother of Moses entrusted her child.'
Seven days later, upon the Imam's command, I went to his house. My niece, holding her child in her arms, said to him, 'My son! Speak.' The child then began to speak and recited this verse:
'And We intended to bestow Our favor upon those who were deemed weak [in the land] and to make them inheritors [of the earth].'⁽⁴⁾

The Resemblance of Imam Mahdi to Prophet Moses

The recitation of this verse by Imam Mahdi at the moment of his birth can be seen as an announcement of his reformist agenda. The content and message of the aforementioned verse indicate that God Almighty has divinely willed to liberate the oppressed from the clutches of the arrogant oppressors, making them inheritors of the earth and entrusting them with the rule of justice and equity. Thus, Pharaohs will be permanently eradicated from the stage of life and the expanse of the world. The selection of this noble verse, which speaks of the confrontation between the oppressed and the oppressors, and its recitation by the blessed Imam Mahdi, signifies that this divine will will be realized through his capable hands.
The Imam's agenda will not be limited to expounding religious rulings; rather, his program, like that of Moses the Interlocutor of God, will be a struggle against the oppressive infidels. Similarly, the resemblance of the Imam to Prophet Moses during his gestation and birth bears witness to the similarity in his agenda and method of uprising.
History testifies that the children of Israel were killed by Pharaoh due to the possibility of the birth of Prophet Moses, as every child was slain on the assumption that he might be Moses. Thus, although Prophet Moses ultimately triumphed, and the Pharaohs were caught in the depths of the sea and drowned: "So We seized him and his soldiers, and We cast them into the sea"⁽⁵⁾
This victory was not achieved without cost. Alongside the opportunism, comfort-seeking, and excuses of the Children of Israel, there were steadfast men and women who, through patience and perseverance, paved the way for the emergence and uprising of Prophet Moses.
The blessed existence of the Mahdi of the Progeny of Muhammad, like Moses the Interlocutor of God, will shatter the backs of the tyrants and Pharaohs of his time. The society, weary of injustice and inequity, will behold the light of the sun of kindness and justice in the countenance of the Mahdi.

Footnotes

1. The Holy Quran, Surah Ya-Sin, Verse 82
2. The Holy Quran, Surah Al-Hujurat, Verse 17
3. Muhammad Husayn Husayni Hamadani, _Anwar al-Dorakhan_, vol. 12, pp. 185-188.
4. Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Babawayh, _Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni'mah_, vol. 2, p. 425.
5. The Holy Quran, Surah Al-Qasas, Verse 40

The Twelfth Imam