Mahdist

Mahdist
See Mahdism.

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▪ followers of al-Mahdī
also called  Ansar, or Al-anṣār 

      (Arabic: “Helper”), follower of al-Mahdī (Mahdī, al-) (Muḥammad Ahmad ibn as-Sayyid ʿAbd Allāh) or of his successor or descendants. Ansar is an old term applied to some of the companions of the prophet Muḥammad; it was revived for the followers and descendants of al-Mahdī, the Sudanese who in the late 19th century deemed himself a new prophet divinely appointed to restore Islām.

      The Mahdists rose to prominence during the successful Sudanese wars and theocratic regime commanded by al-Mahdī from 1881 until his death in June 1885. His disciple ʿAbd Allāh succeeded to the temporal rule. But, following initial victories, his forces were gradually hunted down by Anglo-Egyptian armies and almost entirely destroyed in the Battle of Omdurman (Omdurman, Battle of) (q.v.; Sept. 2, 1898); he himself was killed in the final Battle of Umm Dibaykarat (Nov. 24, 1899). Leadership of the movement then passed to the Mahdī's son ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān (d. 1959), who, in the face of Anglo-Egyptian rule, sought to make the Ansar into a religious and political force. In 1959 he was succeeded as imam of the Ansar by his son Siddiq (d. 1961), who in turn was succeeded by a member of another branch of the family, Hadi ibn ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān. When the latter was killed fighting the leftist revolutionary government of The Sudan in 1970, most members of the Mahdī family fled into exile.

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  • mahdist — MAHDÍST, Ă, mahdişti, e, adj., s.m. şi f. (Adept) al mahdismului. – Din fr. mahdiste. Trimis de claudia, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  mahdíst adj. m., pl. mahdíşti; f …   Dicționar Român

  • Mahdist — or Mahdism may refer to: Islamic messianism Followers of Muhammad Ahmad, the Sudanese self proclaimed Mahdi, also known as Ansar See also Mahdi People claiming to be the Mahdi Mahdist War This …   Wikipedia

  • Mahdist War — Depiction of the Battle of Omdurman (1898). Date 1881–1899 …   Wikipedia

  • Mahdist — Mahdism Mah dism, n. Belief in the coming of the Mahdi; fanatical devotion to the cause of the Mahdi or a pretender to that title. {Mah dist}, n. Mahdism has proved the most shameful and terrible instrument of bloodshed and oppression which the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Mahdist — noun see Mahdi …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Mahdist — Mah|dịst 〈m. 16〉 Anhänger des Mahdismus …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Mahdist — Mah|dịst 〈m.; Gen.: en, Pl.: en〉 Anhänger des Mahdismus …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

  • Mahdist — Mah|dist der; en, en <zu ↑...ist> Anhänger des sudanesischen Derwischs Muhammad Ahmad, der sich 1881 zum Mahdi erklärte u. den zur Beseitigung der brit. ägypt. Fremdherrschaft führenden »Mahdiaufstand« anführte …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • mahdist — mah·dist …   English syllables

  • Mahdist — noun an adherent of Mahdism • Derivationally related forms: ↑Mahdi, ↑Mahdism • Hypernyms: ↑disciple, ↑adherent * * * də̇st noun ( s) Usage …   Useful english dictionary

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