InIslamic eschatology, theMahdi is aMessianic figure who, it is believed, will appear on Earth before theDay of Judgment, and will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny. People claiming to be the Mahdi have appeared across theMuslim world and throughout history since thebirth of Islam.
A claimant Mahdi can wield greattemporal, as well as spiritual, power: claimant Mahdis have foundedstates (e.g. the late 19th-centuryMahdiyah in Sudan), as well asreligions andsects (e.g.Bábism, or theAhmadiyya movement). The continued relevance of the Mahdi doctrine in the Muslim world was most recently emphasised during the 1979seizing of the Grand Mosque inMecca, Saudi Arabia, by at least 200 militants led byJuhayman al-Otaibi, who had declared his brother-in-law, Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani, the Mahdi.
Traditionally interest in "apocalyptic speculation", (with the appearance of the Mahdi being central), has been strongest among mainstreamTwelver Shia,Isma'ili, and Sunni Muslims living on the "doctrinal and geographic margins" – such as present day Morocco or Sudan – but was weaker in the heartland of Sunni Islam.[1]
While at least inShi'a Islam, waiting for the Mahdi "is hailed as a form of worship; joining him when he appears and fighting under his banner to fill the world with justice is an everyday aspiration of the faithful", so that more pious Muslims are naturally attracted to support for someone convincingly claiming to be a Mahdi, there is sometimes considerable clash between a claimant on the one hand, and orthodox believers and Islamic scholars on the other. In Iraq claimants have been condemned as "infidels, charlatans and liars",[2] while in Iraq one self-proclaimed mahdi,Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim,[3][4][5] andAhmad al-Hassan, who claims the mahdi has appointed him his representative (wassi),[6] both with militias, have both vigorously attacked Ayatollahs of Shi'i Islam.
Mahmoud Pargoo offers the explanation that according to Shīʿa hadiths, the mahdi "will bring a new religion, a new book and a new law"; making hard won Islamic learning and beloved, established religious rituals and institutions "redundant".[6]
Ṣāliḥ ibn Ṭarīf, the second leader of theBerghouata, proclaimed himself prophet of a new religion in the mid 8th century (secondIslamic century). He appeared during the caliphate of the Umayyad CaliphHisham. He established laws for his people, which called himSalih al-Mu'minin ('Restorer of the Believers'), and the final Mahdi.
Islamic literature considers his belief heretical, as several tenets of his teaching contrast with orthodox Islam, such as capital punishment for theft, unlimited divorces, fasting of the month of Rajab instead of Ramadan, and ten obligatory daily prayers instead of five. Politically, its motivation was presumably to establish their independence from the Umayyads, establishing an independent ideology lending legitimacy to the state. Some modern Berber activists regard him as a hero for his resistance to Arab conquest and his foundation of the Berghouata state.
Abdallah ibn Mu'awiya was a descendant ofJa'far ibn Abi Talib. At the end of 127 AH / AD 744 Shias of Kufa set up him asImam. He revolted againstYazid III, theUmayyad Caliph, with the support of Shias of Kufa andCtesiphon. He moved to west of Iran and Isfahan andIstakhr. He managed to control the west of Iran for two years. Finally, he was defeated by the caliph armies in AD 746–7 and fled toHarat inKhurasan. He allegedly died imprisoned byAbu Muslim, his rival. His followers did not believe his death and said that he went to occultation and he would return as Mahdi.[7]
Muhammad ibn Isma'il (740–813 CE), son ofIsma'il ibn Ja'far (for whomIsma'ili sect of Islam was named),[8] did not claim to be a Mahdi, and most Isma'ili believe the line of Imams continued through his sonAhmad al-Wafi (Abadullah ibn Muhammad), but after his death was revered by his followers as "the seventh and last imam ... whose return was awaited under the signs and powers customarily ascribed to the Mahdi."[8]
In the tenth century the Isma'ili sect split into two – the Salamiyids, headquartered inSalamiyah and led byAbdullah al-Mahdi Billah; and the Qarmatians, centred inal-Hasa (Eastern Arabia) – each proclaiming a Mahdi. The Qarmatians broke away from the Salamiyah afterAbdullah al-Mahdi Billah (Salamiyid leader) proclaiming himself mahdi. About 30 years later, Qarmatian leaderAbu Tahir al-Jannabi, proclaimed his own Mahdi, a "young prisoner",Abu'l-Fadl al-Isfahani.[8]
In 899 CE,Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah (born Abdullah Sa'id) (r. 909–934), the head of theIsma'ili sect at the time, declared himself to be theMahdi.[8] The firstcaliph of theFatimid state, established in 909, was one of only two claimants who succeeded in establishing a state. (SeeMuhammad Ahmad below).His authority as Mahdi was invoked to seize central Syria in 903, but were crushed by Iraqi troops.[9] His preacher/Da'iAbu 'Abdullah Al-Husayn Al-Shi'i helped secure for him parts of north Africa using the support of the Berber locals some years later. The date of the apocalypse that was to follow the arrival of the Mahdi was "indefinitely postponed",[9] and Abdullah was unable to deploy any of the supernatural powers he (in theory) possessed as Mahdi – those who insisted he use them were dismissed and sometimes put to death.[9]
TheFatimids eventually "abandoned millenarian rhetoric" completely and devoted themselves to empire building.[9] They builtCairo as capital in Egypt and their descendants continued to rule as Caliphs. The sixth caliph,Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, was known for "unpredictable commands" (destruction of churches, nocturnal ceasefires, liquidation of all dogs, prohibition of music) carried out with extreme violence – and occasionally rescinded with equal suddenness". His impulsiveness was believed by some to be divinely inspired and inspired theDruze religion,[10] adherents of whom believe he is in occultation and due to return as Mahdi on Judgment Day.
The dynasty ended when Salah-ud-Din Ayubi (also calledSaladin) took over Egypt and ended the Fatimid state. He imprisoned the last Fatimid Caliph and his family in the Fatimid Palace until death.
A youngKutama Berber, al-Mawati was proclaimed as the Mahdi by disillusioned adherents of al-Mahdi Billah, in the aftermath of the purge ofAbu Abdallah al-Shi'i and anti-Kutama riots in the cities ofIfriqiya. The Fatimid heir-apparent,al-Qa'im was given command of an army sent against the rebels. On 21 June 912, the Fatimid army decisively defeated the rebels near Mila. The anti-Mahdi al-Mawati and the other rebel leaders were soon captured, and prominently featured in al-Qa'im's triumphal entry into Kairouan in autumn.[11]
Abu'l-Fadl al-Isfahani, also known as theIsfahani Mahdi, was a youngPersian man who in 931 CE was declared to be "God incarnate" byQarmatian leader ofBahrayn,Abu Tahir al-Jannabi. This newapocalyptic leader, however, caused great disruption by rejecting traditional aspects ofIslam, and promoting ties to the old Persian religion ofZoroastrianism;[12] "urging his followers" to denounce Abrahamic prophets and "celebrate fire" as Zoroastrians did. Abu Tahir disavowed him as an "imposter" and had him put to death.[8]
In the summer of 945, during theKharijite revolt ofAbu Yazid against theFatimid Caliphate, a man claiming to be anAbbasid prince rose in revolt against Abu Yazid atBéja. He used a black banner and claimed to be the Mahdi, with the name Muhammad al-Mahi Billah. Very quickly he was arrested by Abu Yazid's son, Ayyub, and interrogated. After he was tested about his knowledge ofBaghdad and proved to be unable to respond, he was crucified in front of the city gate.[13]
Muhammad ibn al-Mustakfi was the son and designated heir of theAbbasid caliphal-Mustakfi, he assumed the mantle of the Mahdi in a conspiracy to overthrow theBuyidEmirs and their puppet caliph,al-Muti.
In the late eleventh century, as the Fatimid dynasty relinquished any supranatural claims or interest in millenarianism, theIsma'ilis suffered another split. The head of the Fatimid army (Al-Afdal), sidelined the son designated heir (Abu Mansur Nizar) of the deceased caliph for a more compliant son-in-law.[10] A revolt led by Nizar was crushed, but in Iran the commander of Isma'ili forces,Hasan-i-Sabbah, broke from the Fatimids in Cairo andcommenced a reign of terror against both leaders of theSunniAbbasids and the Fatimid court in Cairo from his citadel in Alamut.
In the middle ofRamadan in 559 AH (1164 CE), a successor of Hasan-i-Sabbah, Hassan II gathered his followers and announced to "jinn, men and angels" that theHidden Imam had freed them "from the burden of the rules of Holy Law". With that, the assembled took part in a ritual violation of Sharia, a banquet with wine, in violation of the Ramadan fast, with their backs turned towards Medina.[14] Hassan II explained that he had abrogated the exoteric practice ofSharia and stressed on the esoteric (batini) side of the laws. And "while outwardly he was known as the grandson of Buzurgumid", in this esoteric reality, Hasan claimed "he was theImam of the time" (the last Imam of Shia Islam).[15] Observance of Islamic rites was punishable by the utmost severity; Resistance was nonetheless deep, and Hasan was stabbed to death by his own brother-in-law. Islamic law was reintroduced after the death of his son.[16]
In Sunni Morocco, Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibnIbn Tumart (c. 1078/1080 – c. 1130), sought to reformAlmoravid decadence in the early 12th century. Rejected in Marrakech and other cities, he turned to hisMasmuda tribe in the Atlas Mountains for support. Because of their emphasis on the unity of God, his followers were known asAl Muwahhidun ('unitarians', in English;Almohads in the corrupted Spanish form).[17] Ibn Tumart rejected all other Islamic legal schools, and saw in the lax morality of the ruling Almorvid dynastysigns of that The Hour of Judgement was nigh.[18]
Although declaredmahdi by his followers in 1121 CE,[19] and calling himselfimam andmasum (literally in Arabic: innocent or free of sin), ibn Tumart consulted with a council of ten of his oldest disciples, and conform traditional Berber representative government, later added an assembly of fifty tribal leaders.[citation needed] The Almohad rebellion began in 1125 with attacks on Moroccan cities, including Sus and Marrakech.[citation needed]
His failure to capture Marrakech in 1130 "undermined his messianic pretentions to invulnerability", and he died shortly after designatedAbd al Mumin his successor with the title ofCaliph.[19] Abd al Mumin claimed universal leadership in Islam – and placed members of his own family in power, converting the system into a traditional sultanate.[19]
With the Mongol invasion of the eastern Muslim world in the 13th century, many Muslims were killed, and Iran and Iraq came under Mongol control. By the early 14th century Shi'a in Iran and Iraq began "clandestine dissidence". For example, inHilla, a center of Shi'i learning in central Iraq, each day from afternoon to evening prayer, 100 townsmen participated in a ritual appealing to the Mahdi to reappear. Drums were beaten, trumpets and bugles blown, a saddled horse for the Mahdi led to the sanctuary of the 'Master of the Hour' where the Shiʿa townsmen would cry: 'In the name of Allah, Master of the Hour, in the name of Allah, come, for disorder is rampant and iniquity rife! This is the moment for you to appear! Through you, Allah will make known the true [and separate] from the false!" Similar messianic events occurred in Iran.[20]
After the Mongol khanate disintegrated after the death ofAbu Sa'id Bahadur Khan in 1335, itinerant brotherhoods propagated "popular spirituality", with the "foremost" group, the Shaykhiyya-Juryya, announcing the imminent coming of the Mahdi and calling on Shia to prepare for his arrival by taking up arms. They were subdued byTimur from 1381 to 1392. Messianic agitation was taken up in 1386 by a dream interpreter by the name of Fazlallah al-Astarbadi who proclaimed himself the "manifestation of divine glory" and possessing the attributes of the "master of the Age", including the ability to discern hidden meanings of letters of the alphabet (hurūfiyya). He was executed in 1394, but his disciples "venerated him as a divine incarnation" and awaited his return under the signs of the "Master of the Sword". This sect was "hounded on all sides for heresy" in Iran and Syria, and gradually assimilated into theSufi brotherhood of theBaktashis in Anatolia.[21]
A generation after the execution of Fazlallah al-Astarbadi in the early fifteenth century, Ishaq al-Khuttalani, a Sufi master of theKubrawiyya order in what is now Tajikistan, proclaimed one of his followers, Nurbakhsh (the Gift of Light), the awaited Messiah (i.e. Mahdi). This movement "grew in size and influence", staged an unsuccessful revolt, whereupon Khuttalani and dozens of followers – but not Nurbakhsh – were executed in 1425. Nurbakhsh eventually established his own order inKurdistan "but was forced to publicly renounce any claims to the imamate."[22]
Another example of how a "millenarian insurrection " gave rise "to a new dynastic power"[23] isMuhammad ibn Falah (1400–1465/66). He proclaimed himself thewali (friend) of the Mahdi circa 1415 CE. (The first Imam, Ali is regarded by Shiʿa as thewali of Allah.) By 1436 his following had grown in southwestern Iran and he now claimed to "the seventh imam's ultimate incarnation" and delivered "an address of the Mahdi".[22] His sect became known asMusha'sha'iyyah. Opponents of his heresy arose in holy cities of Iraq, but his power was such that he destroyed theHilla andNajaf, even desecratingAli's tomb. He also established an emirate in Khurzestan passed on to his descendants, who became provincial governors after the emirate was conquered by theSafavids in 1508.[24]
Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri (1443–1505) was born inJaunpur (modern-dayUttar Pradesh,North India).[25] His father, Syed Muhammad Abdullah was a descendant of theseventh imam,Musa Al-Kazim.
He (Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri) claimed to be the Mahdi-e-Maoud on three occasions:
His fivedeputies were:1) Bandagi Meeran Syed Mahmood also known as Sani-e-Mahdi, 2) Bandagi Miyan Syed Khundameer also known as Siddiq-e-Vilayat, 3) Bandagi Miyan Sha-e-Neymath also known as Miqraaz-e-Biddath, 4) Bandagi Miyan Sha-e-Nizam also known as Dariya-e-Wahdath-o-Ashaam, 5) Bandagi Miyan Sha-e-Dilawar also known as Maqbool-e-Mahdi.
Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri died in 1505 AD, aged 63, atFarah, Afghanistan. His followers, known asMahdavis, continue to exist and are centred around the Indian city ofHyderabad, although there are Mahdavi communities in other parts of the world migrated from Hyderabad IndiaGujarat,Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh andMaharashtra, as well as inPakistan and overseas in theUnited States,Canada,Australia,United Arab Emirates,Qatar,Saudi Arabia,Kuwait,Africa and theUnited Kingdom.[25]
Sheikh Bedreddin (Ottoman Turkish:شیخ بدرالدین; 1359–1420), full name Sheikh Bedreddin Mahmud Bin Israel Bin Abdulaziz, was an influential mystic, scholar, theologian, and revolutionary. He is best known for his role in a 1416 revolt against theOttoman Empire, in which he and his disciples posed a serious challenge to the authority of SultanMehmed I and the Ottoman state.
In 1509, the Banū Saʿdid, a family claiming ancestry from Muhammad and aided with the military support of theShaziliyya, "the most powerful brotherhood in the region", took control ofSous. It leader, born Muhammad al-Mahdi, was proclaimed sovereign, and his followers "saw in him the realization" of a famous hadith stating that "a descendant of the Prophet, bearing the same name, Muhammad, will come to restore justice on earth."[17] The dynasty of Banū Saʿdid went on with the help of firearms to rule Morocco for most of the following century.[26]
Unsuccessfully challenging the Saʿdid dynasty was another figure making use of Mahdi title, Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli (Arabic:ابن أبي محلي); n (1559–1613). A MoroccanImam and theSufi leader, who proclaimed himself Mahdi in 1610 after denouncing his Sufi master as an innovator and reviling the rulingSa'did dynasty for alleged religious laxness and failure to attack Western colonialists.[27] He was took[clarification needed] the city ofMarrakesh in the south of Morocco, but after he was killed in combat in 1613 his followers saw "their faith in his invincibility disproven" and fled. His head was severed and hung from the city ramparts until it disintegrated, but despite this graphic evidence "part of the population" in the region refused to accept his death and believed that he "had hidden himself from public view."[28]
Nurbakhsh influence was felt in theSafavid dynasty (1501–1736). The dynasty was named after a Sufi order (Safaviyya) that converted to Shiʿism in the fifteenth century, (although the dynasty was "probably of Kurdish origin"). The Safavids depended for military power on "fanatical Turkmen tribes", known as "Qizilbash", who were accused of paganism and shamanism and even ritual cannibalism. After its leader (Haydar) died in combat, he was succeeded by his twelve-year-old sonIsmail I.[23]
"Strongly influenced" by one of Nurbakhsh's disciples, Ismail used eschatology to justify the savagery of Qizilbash, claiming he was the Mahdi.[23] The ferocious Qizilbash took successivelyBaku,Tabriz,Isfahan,Shiraz,Baghdad, but were routed in 1514 by the Ottoman artillery.
"Unable any longer to pose as the Mahdi, he now claimed to be an ambassador of the Hidden Imam. The Anatolian origins of the Safavid family were conveniently forgotten and replaced by a prophetic ancestry that allowed the dynasty to represent itself as the instrument of the twelfth imam during the course of the Great Occultation. A minority of the Qizilbash nonetheless continued to consider the shah to be the Mahdi himself."[17]
This heresy was suppressed by Ismail's son and successor.[23] Today, he is revered by many Azeris, Turkmen and Kurds, especially by theAlevi sect ofIslam and in the religious practice of theShabaks.
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The Mahdi and final Prophet ofZikrism who has revealed new Scriptures as Ta'wil of Quran and Other Scriptures called Burhan or Kanzul Asrar and was born in 1570, nothing is known about his life to scholars but Zikris have a hidden Scripture about his life called Mahdi Nameh in Balouchi, they have many other hidden Scriptures about the lifes of Prophets and their teachings which all are secretive and hidden and scholars today have only few sources about them.
Ahmad al-Mansur (1578–1603), sultan of Morocco. The jurist Ahmad bin Muhammad bin al-Siddeeq wrote a treatise exclusively on the Mahdi, presenting a hundred arguments in support of the Mahdism of al-Mansur.[29][30]
Ahmed ibn Abi Mahalli (1559–1613), from the south of Morocco, was aQadi and religious scholar who proclaimed himself mahdi and led a revolution (1610–13) against the reigningSaadi dynasty.
Agha Muhammad Reza, aShia Muslim ofIranian ancestry living in theSylhet region ofBengal rose to prominence as aSufi pir. He gained a large following of thousands and started a movement in 1799 by invading theKachari Kingdom and claiming independence from the British. Declaring himself theMahdi, he was defeated after a number of battles against theEast India Company. He escaped but was later caught and sent for lifetime imprisonment inCalcutta.
The 19th century provided several Mahdi claimants, some of whose followers and teachings survive to the present day.
One Mahdi who did not aim to reinvent Islam but to uphold it againstkafir invaders, was Bu Ziyan. In 1849, Muhammad appeared to him in a series of dreams, commanding him "three times" to "assume the duties of the Mahdi" and drive the French colonists from Algeria. Bu Ziyan had served as representative of the Anti-French leaderAbd al-Qadir, but now led an uprising with the help of many members of the strongest Sufi brotherhood, Rahmaniyya. The French besieged their headquarters at the oasis of Zaʿatsha for 52 days, breaking through and annihilated the population. Bu Ziyan's head was mounted on a pike at the village entrance, but "word spread through the Sahara that the Mahdi – or at least one of his sons had escaped alive."[31]
Alí Muḥammad (1819–1850) claimed to be the Mahdi in 1844, taking the name the Báb and founded a religious movement known asBábism. He was laterexecuted by firing squad in the town ofTabriz. While Bábism was violently opposed and has very few members in modern times, it continued in the form of theBaháʼí Faith, whose followers consider the Báb as a central figure of their own.
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah (1844–1885) was a Sudanese Sufi sheikh of the Samaniyya order. Expelled for puritanical outbursts of anger, he founded his own order amidst Sudanese popular protest and millenarian unrest over Anglo-Egyptian rule.[32] In June 1881 he declared himself Mahdi, announcing he had dreamt that he had been enthroned by Muhammad. He established control over the province ofKordofan and went on to lead asuccessful military campaign against theTurko-Egyptian government of Sudan, defeating the Anglo-Egyptian army andcapturing the Sudanese capital,Khartoum in 1885. He predicted he would soon say prayers in Mecca, Medina, Cairo, and Jerusalem, but died a few months after his victory.[32] TheMahdist State continued under his successor,Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, until 1898, when it fell to theBritish Army following theBattle of Omdurman.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908) claimed to be both the Mahdi and the second coming of Jesus in the late 19th century inBritish India. He founded theAhmadiyya religious movement in 1889, which, although considered by its followers to be Islam, is not recognized as such by the majority of mainstream Muslims. In 1880, Ahmad claimed to be the Mahdi in his book Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya, where he claimed to have received revelations. In 1974, the Pakistani parliament adopted a law declaring the Ahmadis to be Not-Muslims. Since Ghulam Ahmad's death, the Ahmadiyya community has been led by hissuccessors.
Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani (1935–1979) was proclaimed Mahdi by his brother-in-law,Juhayman al-Otaibi, who led over 200 militants toseize the Grand Mosque in Mecca on 20 November 1979. The uprising was suppressed after a two-week siege in which at least 300 people were killed.
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (born 1941) is the founder of the spiritual movementsMessiah Foundation International (MFI) andAnjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam.[33][34][35] He is controversial for being declared the Mahdi, Messiah, andKalki Avatar by the MFI.[36] Shahi's supporters claim that his face became prominent on the Moon, Sun, nebula star and theBlack Stone in Mecca. Shahi disappeared from public view in 2001. There have been claims that he died in that year or in 2003, but these are unconfirmed.
Ariffin Mohammed (born 1943), also known as "Ayah Pin", the leader and founder of the bannedSky Kingdom, he was born in 1943 in Beris, Kampung Besar Bachok inKelantan, Malaysia. In 1975 a spiritual group was formed in Bagan Lebai Tahir,Butterworth, Penang. He claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus, as well as Muhammad,Shiva, andBuddha. Devotees of Sky Kingdom believe that one day, Ayah Pin will return as the Mahdi.
Mouhammadou Limamou Laye (1843–1909) was the founder of theLayene Sufi order, based in Senegal.[37] After the death of his mother he declared himself to be the Mahdi on May 24, 1884. This caused controversy with the French and many orthodox Muslims. His message emphasized cleanliness, prayer, alms, and social justice.
In 2006,Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, announced he was the awaited Mahdi and organized an armed group called "theSoldiers of Heaven". According to official reports, in late January 2007, Kadim marched towards the Shiite holy city of Najaf planned to execute the Shiite authorities and Grand Ayatollahs there and "take over their hawzas." Alerted to this menace, Iraqi forces surrounded Kadim and killed him,[2] and "263 terrorists" in the2007 Battle of Najaf.[38] Unofficially, Iraqi and American forces are accused of wiping out the entire community of the Soldiers of Heaven, including women and children, at a "camp in Zarga, north of Najaf",[38]
According to seminary expert, Mehdi Ghafari, some dozens of Kurdish Sufis who claimed to be the Mahdi were imprisoned in Iran in 2012.[39]
According to at least Shi'i beliefs, before the hidden imam or the Mahdi himself appears, "a messenger that represents him and serves as an intermediary between him and the people" will appear, conveying his commands and carrying out some of his tasks.