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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology

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In Shi‘i eschatology (specifically Isma‘ili and Imami), the Mahdi, “the rightly guided one”, is the restorer of religion and justice who will rule on earth before the end of the world. This concept is related to the theory of the imamate: it is said that the disappearance of the last legitimate Imam (this differs among Isma‘ilis and Imamis) is only temporary and he will return at the end of the world. This period of hiding is known as the ghabar (occultation). Starting in the 13th century CE and in the absence of a legitimate Imam, Shi‘i religious scholars (ulema) began to employ reasoning (itijihad) in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunna in order to provide religious leadership for Shi‘a communities.

This notion of the Mahdi is not found in the Qur’an or Sunna, but was developed after the death of Mu‘awiyah, the first Umayyad Caliph, when al-Muhktar named al-Hanafiyya (a son of ‘Ali) the Mahdi in Kufa. Following the deaths / disappearances of certain imams – for Islma’ilis, the seventh, and for Imamis, the twelfth – the concept was further crystallized. While the term Mahdi in this sense has not been exclusively employed by Shi’is or proto-Shi’is (for example the first Abbasid caliph, al-Saffah, was referred to as Mahdi) it is a doctrine that is particular to certain sects of Shi‘ism. Several figures notably in Fatimid Egypt (but also in Sudan and Nigeria during the modern era) would also assume the title of Mahdi and claim to be the returned imam.

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Posted at Apr 12/2009 09:28AM:
ian: This notion would be one that al-Ghazali would be particularly critical. Recal his saying that all their time is spent seeking the master but never learning from him.