14 Questions about Imam az-Zaman Volume 1

Question 6

Discuss the false claimants and pretenders of Mahdawiyyah who have been recorded in history.

Reply:

The preceding discussions indisputably establish the fact concerning the Islamic belief in Mahdawiyyah and the reappearance from occultation of a divine reformer. History records that while some people have falsely represented themselves as the promised Mahdi, some others have been erroneously attributed as Mahdi by either ignorant and harassed people or the selfish motives of others have foisted Mahdawiyyah on them.

Some of the pseudo-Mahdis in history are as follows:

Abu Ishaq Abu Abidah Saqafi, Abu Muhammad Abdullah al-Mahdi, Abu Abdullah al-Magrebi, Mahdi al- Sudani, Sayed Muhammad Jaunpuri Hindi, Musa Kurdi, Mahdi al-Bengali, Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani, Sayed Bab and Bahaaullah.