If the transmission from Zuhri were proven, then the mutawatir (mass transmission) would be proven without doubt or suspicion.
Regarding the narrators of the Mahdi's hadiths who were wronged in their judgment: Examples include: Nu'aym ibn Hammad, Ka'b al-Ahbar, Wahb ibn Munabbih. Although these men have been vouched for by more than one scholar, they have been wronged to the point that they are now considered unreliable. Among those who vouched for Nu'aym: Ibn Hajar, Ibn Ma'in, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn Abi Hatim. And among those who vouched for Ka'b al-Ahbar: Al-'Ijli, Al-Nasa'i, Abu Zur'ah, Ibn Hibban. As for Wahb, he was narrated from by: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Al-Nasa'i, Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah. And the mere fact that these scholars narrated from him is the greatest authentication for him.
Did the idea of the Mahdi lead to sedition and wars? And this is like its predecessors; it is clung to by those who have no religion or intellect. For many liars have used the idea of the Mahdi as a pretext to attain power. So, can these people be a proof for the truth? And it is self-evident that wars and sedition will result from their thinking and call. This action is rejected by them, and they bear the responsibility for everything that results from it. As for he who emerges for the sake of... (illegible) ... he cannot claim to be the Mahdi by any means, except by lying and falsehood against them. And if the Mahdi comes and people fight him, do we consider the truth to be with the Mahdi, that his affair is from heaven, and the Muslims pledge allegiance to him, and this is what is sought and this is the truth? Or is his affair like those who oppose Allah and His Messenger and the Muslims, so we deny him? Far be it from Allah, how can you judge!!?? And this matter is like the wars that the Messenger, peace be upon him, fought, for they establish the truth and refute falsehood.
Does the matter of the Mahdi contradict sound intellect? This is among the fatwas that were issued by (Ahmad ibn Hanbal) and others, and after them, a group of people who deny the established truth used it as evidence. And those whose hearts have a disease, this doubt clings to them, so they cling to it. The answer: When did the idea of the Mahdi (the savior) contradict sound intellect? And what is there in it that does not conform to sound intellect? Rather, it is all good and contains goodness from Allah Almighty. Abu Dawud narrated in his Sunan the saying of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: "Indeed, Allah will send for this Ummah, at the head of every hundred years, someone who will renew its religion for it." So, is this a gift to the Ummah or ideas that contradict intellect? And the Mahdi, as most scholars say, comes at the head of a Hijri year to renew its religion. But this does not mean that the time of the Mahdi's emergence is at the beginning of a Hijri year, but rather during a Hijri year when the Ummah is in need of a renewer whom Allah will make subservient.
The hadiths of the Mahdi are not all weak. This has been proven previously and in other studies. This doubt collapses merely by relying on the correction or authentication of... (illegible) ... many hadiths.
Those who deny the idea want power. Just as many who claimed to be the Mahdi coveted power, so too those who deny it aim for power. Likewise, there will come those who fight the Mahdi for the sake of power. And whoever studies the narration that Nu'aym ibn Hammad transmitted in Al-Fitan, stating: "From Ka'b al-Ahbar: The banner of the Mahdi will have written on it, 'Allegiance is to Allah.'" He knows that this means there will be a struggle for power at the time of the Mahdi's emergence. So this slogan will be raised to let people know that the matter is for Allah and for the Muslims, and no one has the right to seek it except he who conforms to the Sharia. Similarly, the previous hadith: "Three will fight at your treasure, all of them the son of a caliph, then it will not belong to any of them." And through the text, without delving into interpretation, we know that the three will fight each other for the sake of dominion and power, then it will not belong to any of them. Rather, Allah will raise the affair of the Muslims who choose the Mahdi.
The truth is that the matter of the Mahdi or the savior is a divine idea. And the proof of this, in brief, is its existence in all heavenly religions, and even in pagan and secular religions, this idea exists. And this is nothing but an influence of the ancient heavenly religions, from the scrolls that were revealed to Adam (peace be upon him) to the religion of Islam.