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Mahdi

The Mahdi (Arabic: ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, romanized: al-Mahdī, lit. 'the Guided') is a prominent figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the End of Time to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad, who will appear shortly before Jesus and will lead the Muslim Ummah to rule the entire world.[1]

This article is about the concept of an eschatological messianic savior in Islam. For other uses, see Mahdi (disambiguation).

The Mahdi is mentioned in several canonical compilations of hadith, but is absent from the Quran and the two most-revered Sunni hadith collections, Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Thus, some Sunni theologians have questioned the orthodoxy of the Mahdi.[2] The doctrine of the Mahdi seems to have gained traction during the confusion and unrest of the religious and political upheavals of the first and second centuries of Islam. Among the first references to the Mahdi appear in the late 7th century, when the revolutionary Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd (c. 622 – 687) declared Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya, a son of caliph Ali (r. 656–661), to be the Mahdi. Although the concept of a Mahdi is not an essential doctrine in Islam, it is popular among Muslims. Over centuries, there have been a vast number of Mahdi claimants.


The Mahdi features in both Shi'a and Sunni branches of Islam, though they differ extensively on his attributes and status. Among Twelver Shi'as, the Mahdi is believed to be Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, twelfth Imam, son of the eleventh Imam, Hasan al-Askari (d. 874), who is said to be in occultation (ghayba) by divine will. This is rejected by most Sunnis, who assert that the Mahdi has not been born yet.

Etymology[edit]

The term Mahdi is derived from the Arabic root h-d-y (ه-د-ي), commonly used to mean "divine guidance".[3] Although the root appears in the Qur'an at multiple places and in various contexts, the word Mahdi never occurs in the book.[4] The associated verb is hada, which means to guide. However, Mahdi can be read in active voice, where it means the one who guides, as well as passive voice, where it means the one who is guided.[5] In the doctrinal sense, Mahdi is the title of the end-times eschatological redeemer in most Islamic sects.

Historical development[edit]

Pre-Islamic ideas[edit]

Some historians suggest that the term itself was probably introduced into Islam by southern Arabian tribes who had settled in Syria in the mid-7th century. They believed that the Mahdi would lead them back to their homeland and re-establish the Himyarite Kingdom. They also believed that he would eventually conquer Constantinople.[4] It has also been suggested that the concept of the Mahdi may have been derived from earlier messianic Jewish and Christian beliefs.[6][7] Accordingly, traditions were introduced to support certain political interests, especially anti-Abbasid sentiments.[7] These traditions about the Mahdi appeared only at later times in ḥadīth books such as Sahih al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Abu Dawud, but are absent from the early works of Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj.[8]

Origin[edit]

The term al-Mahdi was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet ("the guide") and without any messianic significance. As an honorific, it was used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), Abraham, al-Husayn, and various Umayyad caliphs (هداة مهديون, hudat mahdiyyun). During the Second Muslim Civil War (680–692), after the death of Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680), the term acquired a new meaning of a ruler who would restore Islam to its perfect form and restore justice after oppression. Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, who laid claim to the caliphate against the Umayyads and found temporary success during the civil war, presented himself in this role. Although the title Mahdi was not applied to him, his career as the anti-caliph significantly influenced the future development of the concept.[3] A hadith was promulgated in which Muhammad prophesies the coming of a just ruler.[9][a]

In Islamic doctrine[edit]

Sunni Islam[edit]

In Sunni Islam, the Mahdi doctrine is not theologically important and remains as a popular belief instead.[35][36] Of the six canonical Sunni hadith compilations, three—Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, and Tirmidhi—contain traditions on the Mahdi; the compilations of Bukhari and Muslim—considered the most authoritative by the Sunnis and the earliest of the six—do not, nor does Nasai.[37][38] Some Sunnis, including the philosopher and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), and reportedly also Hasan al-Basri (d. 728), an influential early theologian and exegete, deny the Mahdi being a separate figure, holding that Jesus will fulfill this role and judge over mankind; Mahdi is thus considered a title for Jesus when he returns.[39][4] Others, like the historian and the Qur'an commentator Ibn Kathir (d. 1373), elaborated a whole apocalyptic scenario which includes prophecies about the Mahdi, Jesus, and the Dajjal (the antichrist) during the end times.[40]


The common opinion among the Sunnis is that the Mahdi is an expected ruler to be sent by God before the end times to re-establish righteousness.[4] He is held to be from among the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, and his physical characteristics including a broad forehead and curved nose. He will eradicate injustice and evil from the world.[41] He will be from the Hasanid branch of Muhammad's descendants, as opposed to the Shi'a belief that he is of the Husaynid line.[42] The Mahdi's name would be Muhammad and his father's name would be Abd Allah.[43] Abu Dawood quotes Muhammad as saying: "The Mahdi will be from my family, from the descendants of Fatimah".[44] Another hadith states:

Comparative religion[edit]

Buddhism[edit]

The Mahdi figure in Islam can be likened to the Maitreya figure of Buddhism. Both are prophesied saviors sharing a messianic-like quality, and both are predicted to exert a form of world rulership.[104][105][106]

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Voices of Islam