Mahdi: Difference between revisions

'''Mahdi''' means the one who is guided by [[God]]. In Islamic [[hadith]]s, “Mahdi” is a title of the Islamic savior, and according to [[Shiite]] beliefs, this is the title of the [[Twelfth Imam (a)]] who is going to fill the earth with justice. Since the [[Prophet (s)]] prognosticated the emergence of a savior called “Mahdi” from his own household, since few days after the [[demise of the Prophet (s)]] until now, Muslims are waiting for the [[emergence of Mahdi (a)]].

Some Islamic sects such as [[Zaydiyya]] and [[Banu 'Abbas]] gave the title, “Mahdi,” to leaders of their uprisings against established governments and promised to enforce justice and remove injustices, whereby they managed to attract masses of people, who believed in the [[promised Mahdi (a)]], to themselves and thus they established their own governments. On some accounts, in the early Islamic period, the title, “Mahdi,” was used for prominent figures as a sign of honor and respect. Some scholars contend that the first person who used “Mahdi” in its doctrinal use as a savior was [[Abu Ishaq Ka'b b. Mata b. Haysu' al-Himyari]] (d. 34/654).

In Arabic, “Mahdi” is an object adjective, meaning the one who is guided by God. The word comes from the root, “h-d-y,” which means guidance from grace and benevolence. Guidance here seems to be contrasted to misguidance, implying spiritual guidance. The word, “Mahdi,” does not appear in the [[Qur'an]], although other cognates of the word do appear therein, including two [[verse]]s in which the subject adjective of the root, “h-d-y,” which means the one who guides appear.

In Islamic hadiths, when unqualified, “Mahdi” means the promised savior from the household of the Prophet (s), who will fill the world with justice when it was filled with injustice. According to Shiite doctrines, he is the Twelfth Imam who is occulted at present. In Imami Shiite hadiths, Mahdi is referred to with other titles as well, such as “[[Qa'im Al Muhammad]].” Sunnis often use “Mahdi” in its plural form to describe the four caliphs immediately after the Prophet—those they call “[[Rashidun Caliphs]]”—as “al-Khulafa' al-Rashidun al-Mahdiyyun” (the guided Rashidun Caliphs).

Moreover, [[Sulayman b. Surad]] referred to [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] after his martyrdom as Mahdi the son of Mahdi.

Official titles, especially early after the [[Abbasid]] movement—that is, the period of the first five Abbasid caliphs—had a Mahdawi nature. Abbasids used these titles for certain goals and purposes, because these titles expressed people’s emotions, particularly those of poor and impoverished people who always hoped for better days to come.

When the Abbasid government was solidified and established, it was no long necessary to deploy the tactic of using such titles. Thus, less emphasis was put upon them, and Abbasids forgot their old revolutionary slogans, and adopted more moderate ones which would guarantee the permanence and establishment of their government. This might be a reason why their followers—especially the fanatics among them—were disappointed and then led riots against the Abbasid government. Others tried to find a new non-Abbasid savior to fulfil their wishes, although others complied with the government and began serving in in the variety of their institutes.

*Public official titles, such as Amir al-Mu'minin, Khalifat Allah, and Malik;