Apocalisse islamica, messianismo e influenze persiano-cristiane

The concept of Apocalypse in Islam has been a source of confusion among the scholars as there is not a clear description about Apocalypse in Quran. In other terms, the Islamic Apocalypse has been mostly developed after the death of the Prophet of Islam Mohammad in 632 A.D., which is mostly based on the interpretations and elaborations of the Sunna. In this article, we examine how these interpretations of the Islamic scholars have been influenced by the historical and social contexts, which particularly influenced the first two centuries of the Islamic History. The rise of Omayyad dynasty in Damascus and later on the rise of the Abbasids in Baghdad significantly influenced the concept of Apocalypse in Islam. The Omayyad dynasty was partially influenced by the Christian and Jewish traditions while in the Abbasid dynasty, the Persian-Zoroastrian philosophy and culture played a major role in some aspects of Islamic thoughts and philosophy. This article highlights how these two historical eras impacted the Apocalypse narratives by suggesting two messianic figures, Jesus and Mahdi. The first one, mostly representing the Christian influence through Damascus heritage and the second one representing the Persian heritage. The latter will be then supported by a section on the Arab communities belonging to the Prophet Mohammad’s family such as the ruling elite of the Abbasids and the Shiite imams. A copresence of two messianic figures in Islamic Apocalypse highlights the ambiguity and, at the same time, the fascination of this topic within the Islamic studies.