- Mahdavia
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This article is part of the series: Islam 
Mahdavi Islam (Arabic: مهدوي اسلام) is a sect within Islam, founded by Hazrath Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the 15th century CE. Jaunpuri declared himself to be the Imam Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer in Islam, and the denomination takes its name from the term mahdi ("guided"). The Mahdavi regard Jaunpuri as the Imam Mahdi, the Caliph of Allah and the second most important figure after the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Both the prophet and imam are considered to be masum (معصوم, "infallible") and equal to each other in every aspect.[1]
According to Islamic theology "Mehdi" means 'the divinely guided one' or 'the directed one'. Mohammed, the last of the prophets, informed that Allah will send His Caliph in the Ummah of Mohammed, to invite people towards right path. It was prophesied by Mohammed that; an illustrious son from his progeny would appear after him who would establish the just and true religion as it was in his own time. Mohammed foretold about the advent of Mehdi (the promised) through his various traditions
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History
Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri was born on 14th of Jamadi-ul-Awwal 847 H, (Sept. 9, 1443 AD) at Jaunpur which was, at that time, a famous center of Muslim scholars. He stands 19th in the lineage of Ali Ibn Abu-Talib and descends from Imam-e-Hussain, the grandson of Mohammed.
Syed Mohammed, neither presented any new religion nor claimed himself to be a prophet, but declared himself as "the promised Mehdi", and a Caliph of Allah. He taught the true inner meaning of Qur'an and strictly adhered to Sunnah of Mohammed. Once, the promised Mehdi said, "My religion is the Book of Allah (Qur'an) and the following of Mohammed". He proclaimed himself as the Promised Mehdi on three different occasions: First at Mecca in 901 AH, then at Ahmedabad in 903 AH, and for the third time at Badli in 905 AH.
After the Dawa-e-Muakkada at Badli, Imam wrote letters to kings and noted scholars inviting them to testify his claim and accept him as the Promised Mehdi. Several delegations of scholars came to the Imam and accepted him as promised Mehdi after clarifying their doubts. From Badli, he went to the Indian cities of Tharod, Jalor, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, and entered into Sindh province. This journey was very difficult, but they were able to cross the vast desert where food and water were scarce for miles.
It was in 908 AH, when Syed Mohammed was at Kaha (Thatta, Sindh), that he claimed that Allah revealed to him that the 27th of Ramadan is the Night of Divine Determination (Lailatul-Qadr). He also claimed that Allah ordained him to offer two Rakah of prayer as a thanksgiving for His blessings. Thus, Syed Mohammed offered this prayer after midnight along with members of his family and the members of Dairah (a community circle following the practice of Mohammed). This is why every Mahdavi performs Dhikr-ullah during the whole night and offers this two Rakahs of prayer on that night as an obligatory thanksgiving, after Isha prayer.
From Sindh, the Imam reached Kandahar through Khurasan. There were thousands of people in this journey who had joined the Imam as his followers. While passing through a hilly track, the Imam climbed a hillock and turned back to see the caravan. This caravan included women and children, young and old, kings (those who left their kingdoms to join this holy mission), scholars, priests etc. These people could have a comfortable life at their homeland, but, for their conviction to the path of Allah, they were coming behind the Imam without complaining the hardship of the journey. At this point the Imam prayed Allah thus:
O God! Omniscient and Omnipresent thou know that I did not hold any dearest thing of these people nor I can give them “any riches than they love. Know then why they are undergoing such hardships. Excepting Thy love and desire to visualize thou, they had no other desire. Bless them with thy mercy.”
Imam reached Kandahar after completing the journey of Khurasan. He stayed here for a fortnight. The acceptance of Imam Mehdi by the governor of Kandahar had a very positive effect. Finally the Imam reached Farah. As usual he started delivering his sermons (Bayan-e-Qur’an) at this place. The governor of Farah, Mir Dhunoon Baig, after learning about the Imam, came to one of his sermons. At that time thousands of people from Farah were listening to the sermons. At the end of the sermon, Mir Dhunoon wanted to verify the truth of his claim as promised Mehdi (for test of a Hadith by Mir Dhunoon, see an article under literature).
Mir Dhunoon and other scholars have accepted the Imam as the Promised Mehdi. The Governor wrote a letter to the king of Khurasan, Mirza Sultan Hussain about the Dawah of Syed Muhammad as the Promised Mehdi. He also mentioned in his letter that he has accepted him after due verification.
Sultan Hussain, the king of Khurasan, sent a delegation lead by Mullah Ali Faiyadh. They came and attended his sermon. At the end, they submitted that they were sent by the king with four vital questions. After getting a satisfactory response, they (members of the delegation) informed the king about the claim, personality, characteristics and knowledge of the Imam and his group. The king announced that basing on the valuable witness of the delegated scholars, he had accepted Miran Syed Muhammad (Juanpuri) as the Promised Mehdi.
Meanwhile, the other companions of the Imam, including Miran Syed Mahmood, eldest son of the Imam, Mian Syed Khundmir, Mian Shah Niamath, joined him from Gujarat. After the arrival of this delegation from Gujarat, Imam started preaching the faith much deeper.
The Imam had a fever; he called Mian Syed Khundmir and rested his head on Mian Syed Khundmir’s lap. He recited the following Qur’anic verse and explained the true inner meanings of this verse.
Say thou (O Muhammad) “This is my way, I do invite unto Allah on an insight clear as the seeing with one’s eyes, I and the one who followeth me. Glory be to Allah! and I am not of the polytheists!” ( Al-Qur’an 12/108)
Syed Mohammed died on April 23, 1505 CE, or Zulquada 19th, 910 Hijri in the Islamic calender, at the age of 63 years at Farah in present day Afghanistan, where his tomb is situated.
Mahdavism spread in the Indian subcontinent (including modern Pakistan), as well as in Afghanistan and some parts of Iran. Its followers are presently found in the Deccan and Gujarat regions of India and, in a related Zikri form, in Karachi, Pakistan.
Communities of Mahdaviya historically lived in makeshift thatches, surrounded by a fence, called daïra. These settlements, away from urban centers, were intended to separate believers from worldly desires in order to achieve didar (Urdu and Persian: ديدار [diːˈdɔːr], "visions of God").
Today, some dairas can be found in Channapatna, near Bangalore Kirgaval near Mysore, Dornabgatta near Shimoga, Manvi near Raichur, Hukkeri Pachapur near Belgaum, Palacodu,Bhavani, Panagudi in Tamil Nadu. Ausa , Latur ,Osmanabad, Amaravati Achalpur and Puna in Maharashtra Chanchalguda, Musheerabad, Kachiguda in Hyderabad, Kadapa in Andhra and in many parts of Gujarat,karnataka, Maharhastra, Rajasthan, Madhya pradesh.
References
Sources
- Timothy R. Furnish, Holiest Wars: Islamic Mahdis, their Jihads, and Osama bin Laden, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, pp 38–41
- L.K.A Iyer, The Mysore: Tribes and Castes, Vol IV, Mittal Publications, 1988, pg 374
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