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The Mahdi (also Mehdi or Mihdi), in Islamic eschatology, is a prophecy about a redeemer of Islam, who will change the world into a perfect society just before Yaum al-Qiyamah, literally meaning the "Day of Resurrection" (the end times).
In a hadith widely regarded as authentic, Muhammad said:
- "Even if the entire duration of the world's existence has already been exhausted and only one day is left before Doomsday (Day of Judgment), Allah will expand that day to such a length of time, as to accommodate the kingdom of a person out of my Ahlul Bayt who will be called by my name. He will then fill out the earth with peace and justice as it will have been full of injustice and tyranny before then."
- Sahih Tirmidhi, V2, P86, V9, P74-75.
The exact nature of the Mahdi differs between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims.
The Mahdi in Sunni traditions
The exact nature of the Mahdi is not completely clear, but according to Sunni traditions a basic overview is as follows:
The Mahdi will appear during the last days of the world, and will precede the second coming of Jesus, whom Muslims believe to be the messiah. The two are different individuals, but they will work together to fight evil in the world and to cement justice on Earth. Mahdi means "the guided one" and he will apparently come from Mecca and rule from Damascus. He will not defeat the false Messiah or anti-christ, known as the Dajjal (liar); that will be done by Jesus. Once the Dajjal is defeated, Jesus and the Mahdi will live on Earth for many years. According to some traditions, Jesus will get married and have a family, and then die. There are claims that a grave is dug for him next to Muhammad's in the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, but this is not a universal Sunni belief.
Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph, reported that the Prophet Muhammad said, "Even if only a day remains for Qiyamah (Day of judgement) to come, yet Allah will surely send a man from my family who will fill this world with such justice and fairness, just as it initially was filled with oppression."
Features of the Mahdi
According to other reported sayings of Muhammad some of the features of al-Mahdi are:
- He will be tall
- He will be fair-complexioned
- He will have a broad forehead and a pointed (prominent) nose. ...
- His facial features will be similar to those of the Prophet Muhammad
- His character will be like that of the Prophet Muhammad
- He will be a member of the Prophet Muhammad's Ahlul-Bayt Household.
- He will be a descendent of Hazrat Hassan(ra) or Hussein(ra)
- His father's name will be Abdullah
- His name will be "Muhammad"
- He will speak with a slight stutter
- He will occasionally hit his hand upon his thigh when he stutters
- His age at the time of his emergence will be forty years (like Muhammad)
- He will be born in Medina (literally a city or township)
- He will receive knowledge from Allah
The Mahdi in Shiite traditions
Twelver Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi is the last (i.e. 12th) of the Imams.
The Mahdi was actually born in 868, but went into occultation when he was five. See also: Muhammad al-Mahdi
As in the Sunni tradition, Shiites believe that the Mahdi will return to Earth at the end of times and will usher in a new age of peace and help defeat the false messiah.
Many of the prophecies concerning the Mahdi come from Hadiths, which can vary greatly between Sunni and Shi'a traditions. Shi'a Muslims have references to the Promised One from the Imams, which aren't accepted by Sunni Muslims.
Claims of being the Mahdi
Syed Mohammad Jaunpuri
Syed Mohammad Jaunpuri (1443 - 1505), another historical claimant was born in northeastern India, in Jaunpur, in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Jaunpur is known for its Islamic universities, which have produced numerous Islamic scholars.
Siyyid Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad
In 1844, Ali Muhammad declared to be the promised Mahdi in Shiraz, Iran, taking the title of "the Báb" (Gate).
He was preceded by Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i, who started the Shaykhi movement in preparation for the coming Promised One. Almost all the Shaykhis accepted the Báb, who was executed 6 years later by the Persian government. An estimated 20,000 followers of the Báb were also killed in government sponsored massacres across the Persian Empire.
The religious tradition continued into what is today the Bahá'í Faith.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
The Punjabi Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Movement within Islam in 1889.
According to a Hadith and the Ahmaddiya movement, one of the signs which will indicate the emergence of the Mahdi will be that in the month of Ramadan prior to his emergence, a solar eclipse, followed by a lunar eclipse will be visible from the East and the West. These signs were visible right after the claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the promised Mahdi. These claims are disputed by many non-Ahmadi Muslims.
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad, who founded a short-lived empire in Sudan in the late 19th century made a claim of being the promised Mahdi. His troops laid siege to Khartoum starting on March 13, 1884 against the defenders led by British General Charles George Gordon. The heavily damaged city fell to the Mahdists on January 26, 1885. Omdurman, a suburb of Khartoum, was the scene of the bloody battle (September 2, 1898) in which British forces under Sirdar Horatio Kitchener defeated the Mahdist forces defending the city.
Mohammed bin Abdullah
Mohammed bin Abdullah, the "Mad Mullah" of Somaliland. He gave the British and Italian authorities no end of trouble from 1900 to 1920.
Juhayman ibn-Muhammad ibn-Sayf al-Utaibi
In November of 1979 the Grand Mosque in Mecca was seized by a well-organized group of 1,300 to 1,500 men under the leadership of Juhayman ibn-Muhammad ibn-Sayf al-Utaibi. A former captain in the Saudi White Guards (National Guard), he declared himself to be the Mahdi, the redeemer of Islam.
Most of the 6,000 pilgrims taken hostage rallied to support him, and joined the fight. After the two week long siege of the Mosque by Saudi special forces, foreign paramilitary troops from France and Pakistan were brought in to end the fight.
Wallace Fard Muhammad
Wallace Fard Muhammad, is said to be the Mahdi by the Nation of Islam
The Mahdi in fiction
Several authors have used the concept of the Mahdi in fictional stories. Perhaps the best known is Frank Herbert, whose Dune science fiction novels centered on the character of Paul Atreides, who was proclaimed by his followers, the Fremen, to be the Mahdi. Paul's Fremen name, "Muad'Dib", is also from Arabic, meaning "teacher of adab (manners and respect)".