Mahdi
Messianic figure in Islamic eschatology
The Mahdi is the Islamic messianic and eschatological figure, who is believed to appear before the End Times to restore justice and defeat tyranny alongside Isa (Jesus). He forms an important part of Islamic eschatology, although Sunni and Shia Muslims differ slightly in their interpretation of him. While the Mahdi is mostly developed in Shia Islam, he is also present in numerous Sunni hadiths. In Twelver Shia Islam, the Mahdi has a significant role. He is identified with the twelfth and final Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi, who was born in 869 AD, entered occultation, and remains alive until his eventual reappearance at the end times alongside Jesus. He is a descendant of Ali, the Islamic prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, and Fatima through their second son Husayn, Muhammad's grandson.
The public source identifies “Mahdi” as messianic figure in Islamic eschatology. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mahdi, Messianic and figure.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mahdi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.