Knowra Mahdi Mahdi The Mahdi is an Islamic messianic figure expected to restore justice and guide the Muslim community before the Last Judgment. Beliefs about his identity, status, and role differ among Muslim traditions.
Islamic eschatology : Islamic teachings about death, resurrection, judgment, and events preceding the end of the world. The Mahdi belongs to expectations about the events preceding the Last Judgment.
Twelver Shi'ism : The largest branch of Shia Islam, which recognizes twelve divinely appointed Imams. Twelver belief identifies the Mahdi as its twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi.
Muhammad al-Mahdi : The twelfth Imam of Twelver Shi'ism, believed to have entered occultation and to be the awaited Mahdi. Twelver doctrine gives the expected Mahdi this specific historical identity.
Muhammad Ahmad : A Sudanese religious leader who declared himself the Mahdi in 1881 and led a revolt against Egyptian rule. His declaration turned Mahdi expectation into a mass political movement.
Messianism : Belief in a divinely appointed figure who will bring deliverance or restore a just order. The Mahdi is an Islamic expression of a broader messianic pattern.
Day of Judgment in Islam : The final reckoning in Islamic belief, when God judges the deeds of all people. The Mahdi is expected to appear before this final reckoning.
Sunni Islam : The largest branch of Islam, whose religious authority rests on the Quran, the Prophet’s tradition, and scholarly interpretation. Sunni accounts generally expect a future Mahdi rather than identifying him with a hidden Imam.
Occultation : A state of concealment in which a religious figure is believed to remain alive but inaccessible. Twelver belief explains the Mahdi’s absence through his ongoing occultation.
Muhammad Jaunpuri : A fifteenth-century Indian Muslim preacher whom Mahdavia followers recognize as the Mahdi. His claim established the Mahdavia movement’s distinctive identification of the Mahdi.
Imamate in Shi'ism : The Shia doctrine that divinely designated Imams provide authoritative religious and spiritual guidance. Twelver belief makes the Mahdi the final Imam and guardian of rightful guidance.
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