English Translation

'Abd al-Razzaq told us, Ja'far told us, from al-Mu'alla ibn Ziyad, saying: al-'Ala' ibn Bashir told us, from Abu al-Siddiq al-Naji, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "I give you glad tidings of the Mahdi. He will be sent forth in my nation amid discord among the people and earthquakes, and he will fill the earth with fairness and justice as it was filled with oppression and injustice. The dweller of the heavens and the dweller of the earth will be pleased with him. He will distribute wealth equitably." A man said to him, "What does 'equitably' mean?" He said, "Equally among the people." He said, "Allah will fill the hearts of the nation of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with sufficiency, and his justice will encompass them, until he orders a caller to announce, saying, 'Whoever has need of wealth, let him come forward'; and no one from among the people will rise except a single man, who will say, 'Go to the guardian' - meaning the treasurer - 'and say to him, \"The Mahdi commands you to give me wealth.\"' He will say to him, 'Scoop up as much as you want.' When he has placed it in his lap and brought it out, he will regret it and say, 'I have been the greediest in spirit among the nation of Muhammad - did what sufficed them fail to satisfy me?' He said: So he will return it, but it will not be accepted from him, and it will be said to him, 'We do not take back anything we have given.' And this will continue for seven years, or eight years, or nine years; then there will be no good in life after that" - or he said, "then there will be no good in living after that."