A Study of the Approach of Shiite and Sunni thinkers regarding the Antichrist (A Case Study of Rashid Reza's Analysis)

The Antichrist, as one of the apocalyptic figures representing evil versus the savior of the greatest justice, is one of the common and challenging concepts in Islamic and Christian theology. With the difference that in the Bibles, the Antichrist is explicitly mentioned, while in the Quran, it is not mentioned; This may be the first reason for the differences and challenges surrounding the Antichrist and related issues. In the meantime, many details about the Antichrist have been narrated in narrative sources, especially in Sunni hadith communities. Muslim thinkers do not have the same views about the personality and physical characteristics of the Antichrist, the time and place of his departure and the events related to it, according to the basics of understanding the hadith. In the meantime, Rashid Reza, despite his attachment to the intellectual foundations of Salafism, has a critical approach to hadith and introduces rationalism as the most important component of measuring the narrations. He considers the hadiths of the Antichrist to be flawed and ultimately fake due to their conflict with other narrations, opposition to the Qur'an and rational reasons. The present study tries to paint a general picture of the subject of the Antichrist among Imami and Sunni thinkers using the content analysis method and then critiques it while accurately conveying Rashid Reza's point of view.