Mahdaviyyeh Movement (1879-1898) (Mahdi Sudani)

Childhood and Education

The leader of this broad movement, which started in 1881 AD, was Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, the son of a simple carpenter or boat builder, who traveled the Nile Valley and Sudan together with his father and brothers from childhood and was completely familiar with the ways and customs of the people of that land.-Seyyed Ahmad Movassaghi, Contemporary Islamic Movements, Tehran: Samt, 1374, p. 247.

Muhammad Ahmed Abdallah, born on Labab Island in the Nile region of Dongola province, belonging to a Nubian family, who claimed to be a descendant of the Prophet Mohammad , moved to Karari (in the north of Omdurman).

He studied traditional Islamic education and at the age of seventeen became a student of Muhammad Sharif Nur-al-Daim, the sheikh of Sammanyyah  Sufi sect. He learned the knowledge  of the Sufis from his teacher for seven years, and later he was allowed to teach the principles of jurisprudence and become a member of the sect.  Mircea Eliade, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. X Muhammad Ahmad, ed.by John O.Hunwick (16 Vols.; U.S.A: Macmillam, 1987) P.147

In 1870, he settled on the island of Aba (in the northern part of Kosti) in the White Nile region, along with his three brothers who were involved in the family business of boat building.

As soon as he settled there, his fame and prestige as a Sufi teacher and ascetic led him to gain significant followers among the native people of the region. His teacher  Muhammad Sharif also settled near him in 1872 AD ( 1288 AH), but the quarrel between these two people had started long ago, perhaps due to Muhammad Sharif's jealousy of his student.

Muhammad Sharif announced that Muhammad Ahmad was expelled from the Samanyyah  sect, while Muhammad Ahmad declared his affiliation with the sect of Samanyyah and accused his previous Sheikh of having deviated from Sharia.

Ibid., P.147

In 1878, his new sheikh, al-Qorashi-wad al-Zin, died and Muhammad Ahmad was recognized as his successor. After a while, he met with khalifah  Abdullah (Abdullahi) ibn Muhammad, who later became his political successor. Abdullah's interest and attachment to Mohammad Ahmad was more than that of a Sufi disciple to his teacher, he considered Mohammad Ahmad as the awaited Mahdi.

It is believed that the last deposit of Islam will come before the end of the world to establish justice, equality and unity that will rule the whole world.

Turning to this issue, there is no reason that Muhammad Ahmad considered himself the Mahdi, although he must have been aware of the widespread belief in Sudan and West Africa that the Mahdi will appear in the 13th century of the Hijri (1785-1882). Even though he was hesitant and in doubt but, a series of subsequent visions in 1881 convinced him that God had chosen him as the Mahdi.

For three months, his Mahdihood was a secret, first   revealed only to his trusted disciples and followers, then to religious scholars and finally to the general public in a visiting of Alubayyid  in Kordofan.

The history of the Mahdi's movement

Finally, on the 29th of June 1881, his public appearance as the Awaited Mahdi took place in Aba Island and he asked his followers to join him.

Events  were moving fast. In accordance with the Prophet's actions in calling the true followers and believers, he migrated from the island of Abba to Jabal Qadir in the Nuba Mountains south of Kurdefan and called those who were with him the Ansar.

While taking refuge in Mount Qadir, Mahdi's supporters won two impressive victories against the forces sent by the "Turkish and Egyptian" government, which brought great prestige and a significant amount of weapons and war trophies to Mahdi.

Mahdi now turned his attention to the central "Kordofan", that is, the place where he was warmly welcomed before the emergence of his Mahdism. An initial attack by Mahdi forces against Ubayyid in September 1882 was repulsed by the government corps with heavy losses, but a siege led to the fall of the city in favor of  Mahdi in 1883. The global concept of Mahdi's mission was now revealed.

Thoughts and imaginations assured him that eventually he would pray in Egypt, Mecca, Jerusalem and Kufa. The first step was to hit the center and heart of the Egyptian-Turkish rule in Khartoum, which was occupied after a significant massacre in January 1885.

After this victory, Mahdi established his central headquarters near Omdurman, but destiny was such that he would only live for six months and it is generally believed that he died of typhus disease .Ibid., P. 147&148

Muhammad Ahmad bin Al-Sayyed Abdullah, A spiritual man who combined his personal attractions with religious prejudices and was determined to expel the Turkish from Sudan and return Islam to its original source of purity .

The son of a boat builder from the city of "Dangola", Muhammad Ahmed, became the disciple and follower of Muhammad Al-Sharif, the leader of the "Samaniyyah" sect. Later, as the sheikh of the sect, Muhammad Ahmad spent several years in seclusion and gained fame and prestige as a teacher, Sufi, and mystic. In 1880 AD, he became the leader of Samaniyyah.

Muhammad Ahmad's sermons attracted many followers to him. Among the people who joined him, was Abdullahi bin Muhammad from South Sudan and from Darfur region. His ability to plan and design was precious and valuable to Muhammad Ahmed who introduced himself as Al-Mahdi al-Muntazar.

The Mahdaviyyah's  Movement wanted to return to the simplicity and purity of early Islam. They refrained from consuming alcohol and tobacco. Even after Mahdi declared Jihad against Turkish, Khartoum expelled him as a religious fanatic.

When his religious fervor led to criticism of the tax collectors, the government paid more attention to him. To avoid arresting, Mahdi and some of his followers, Ansar, moved towards Kurdufan. And there he gathered a large number of soldiers, especially from Baqqara.

From a shelter in this  area, he wrote to the sheikhs of the religious sects and obtained the active support or guarantee of neutrality of all of them, except the pro-Egyptian Khatmiyyah. Arab merchants and tribes dependent on the slave trade also responded to him. Hadandowa Beja also joined the Mahdi with the leader and commander of the Ansar, Usman Digna.

Http:// Lcweb 2. Loc.gov

The year 1883 AD was the year of decisive victories for this movement, so that a huge force composed of British and Egyptian people under the command of British General Hicks was defeated and routed in Kurdufan after eight months of war, and General Hicks himself was killed. Even a number of Hicks army soldiers who served in Urabi  Pasha's army in the battle against England and were sent to Sudan as punishment, joined the rebels.

The rebellion spread to the coastal provinces of the Red Sea and by the end of 1883, the followers of the Mahdi and the forces of the movement had suffered a series of heavy defeats against the combined forces of the British-Egyptian who were  under the command of  Baker and others. They liberated all the provinces of Sudan and except the Narrow Strait In the Nile Valley, the whole country, both east and west of the Nile, was occupied in early 1884.

By changing tactics and with the intention of compromising with the Mahdi Sudani ,and  by suggesting that the rebellion is against the domination of Egypt, The British decided to declare Sudan independent from Egypt, but ruled on Sudan as a British colony, and therefore appointed General Gordon as the head of the country.

He entered Khartoum in February 1884 AD and in implementing this policy, he forgave the back taxes and released the prisoners, and by announcing Sudan's independence from Egypt, he introduced himself as the governor of Sudan and appointed Mahdi as the Sultan of Kordofan.

Mahdi Sudani, who had the ideal of freedom for Sudan and Egypt and beyond, rejected this proposal with great anger and besieged Khartoum and started his attack in January 1885 before the auxiliary forces of the Gladstone government reached them. and captured the British garrison and conquered Khartoum by killing General Gordon and other British.

This blow was so hard and unfortunate for Britain that according to the British newspaper Sunday Telegraph: Queen Victoria mourned a few days after this incident, and even years later when Sudan was again occupied by England, the impact of the first incident still remained. Because the boatman's son was the first leader to strike a blow with victory at the British Empire.Contemporary Islamic movements, pp. 250 and 251

Intellectual and political features and positions

The intellectual roots of the Mahdi Sudani's movement go back to the teachings of Sufism and Sufi sects with reformist and social tendencies on the one hand, especially the teachings of Imam Mohammad al-Ghazzali, and on the other hand to the teachings and theories of Sayyed Jam al-Din al-Asadabadi. Muhammad Ahmad, as is common among Africans, recognized Islam with admixtures of Sufism and was influenced by the teachings and calls of some Sufi sects.

Due to his connection with Al-Mahdi, the successor of Muhammad bin Ali Senousi, he was probably inspired by the reform and anti-colonial movement of Senousi. In addition, Muhammad Ahmad and a number of his companions and followers were directly or indirectly influenced by Sayyed Jamal's school and movement through Egypt. Ibid; Pages 257 and 258

Mohammad Ahmad Sudani, by considering the moral and social degradation, corruption, destruction, weakness and dispersion of the Muslims of Sudan, and the injustice and oppression that has been suffered by the three groups of Egyptian rulers, local powerful people, and the British,which affected the people,so he started Jihad and armed uprising.

Mahdi Sudani, based on his religious teachings and revivalist views, sought to solve these problems by revolting against internal corruption and foreign invasion. The main slogans and objectives of the Mahdi Sudani's reform call were:

Fighting polytheism and heresies and deviations, returning to monotheism and pure religion and true Islam free from the heresies of perverts and oppressors, following the Qur'an and implementing Islamic rulings through the establishment of an Islamic government, the unity of Muslims and the fight against European and British colonialists and invaders, free Making Sudan, Egypt and the Islamic world from foreign rule, spreading religion throughout the world and relying and emphasizing principles and concepts such as Jihad, Ijtihad, Emigration, Imamate and Leadership.

One of the salient features of the Mahdi Sudani's movement was its egalitarian and justice-seeking orientation, which, considering the content of Islam and the existing contexts in Sudan, had a great impact on the spread of the Mahdi's call. It is said that at the beginning of the public plan of his Da'wah in August 1881 AD, during the month of Ramadan, he announced that he is the same  promised Mahdi and he has come down from heaven to establish the true religion.

He asked the people to "to do jihad against the apostates" and revive the true laws of Islam and rise up against the European colonialists. He announced that the government of the Mahdiists will put an end to oppression, injustice, ransom and tyranny and will establish equality and justice in the country.

He always emphasized that the times have changed and the tradition has been abandoned, and Muslims believers  should give up their work and life in order to establish the rule of religion and tradition, and migrate for religion, and this migration is obligatory based on the Book and Sunnah, and in this regard, he cited verses from the Quran.

Mahdi's goal of emigrating and   inviting people to himself was in accordance with his conscious following of the example of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) so that in this way everyone would gather around him and start a struggle and rebellion to eliminate the main factors of corruption, injustice, heresy and sin.

Therefore, another key concept in Mahdi Sudani's thought and action was Jihad, which was very important to him. He even advised his followers not to go to Hajj in that situation. In his opinion, their main enemies were the Turkish, corrupt scholars, and Europeans, who were considered the cause of all the disturbances, atrocities, and injustices.

Among other characteristics and positions of the Mahdi Sudani's movement was its strong anti-colonial orientation, which was clearly against England at that time. In his official manifesto, Mohammad Ahmad states that he rose up against the influence of the West and to eliminate heresies, he wants to call the Muslim people towards real Islam and implement the rules of the Quran and the Sunnah, and the first step in this way is to expel the occupying British forces.Ibid; Pages 259, 260 and 261. 

Achievements:

The Mahdi revolution caused the defeat of the British presence and established a new government that was stable from 1885 to 1898, and this revolution was known by the name of its leader, Muhammad Ahmad Mahdi. The leader of the revolution was born near Dangla in 1843, and after studying religious sciences, he became a member of the Sufism sect, and his fame spread throughout Sudan.

Mahdi was not satisfied with the existence of political authority in Sudan and accused them of bad intentions in connection with Islam and therefore invited the people for Jihad against their colonialism and rule. The revolution started in 1881 and soon the revolution spread all over Sudan and their military equipment was  increased day by day. Abdulvahhab, Kiyali . Political  Encyclopedia (  موسوعة‌ السياسه‌ ) .Language: Arabic , Number of volumes:7,Beirut : Arab   Institute for Research  & publishing ,1990,vol 3. pp. 269 and 270.

The first clash between the supporters of Mahdi and the British took place in "Qoli" and was accompanied by a complete victory of the supporters of Mahdi. In the "Shikan" war in the east of the White Nile, he was also victorious against the British forces led by Hex Pasha. After this defeat, Britain appointed "General Gordon" as its representative in Sudan with the aim of solving the problem between Mahdi supporters and the British.

The followers of Mahdi continued the struggle for the freedom of Sudan and besieged the city of Khartoum and occupied it in 1885 and killed Gardon in his palace.

After the fall of the capital, the Mahdi's movement covered most of Sudan and Mahdi made Omdurman the capital of the new government. After six months of this victory, Mahdi died and Khalifah Abdullahi, one of the figures of Mahdi revolution and one of his companions, became the head of Mahdi's government and this government lasted until 1898. Ibid

The Islamic state, which Mahdi was in the process of establishing, continued for fourteen years until the Egyptian and British forces won again and deposed khalifah Abdullah in 1899. The Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol: 16. P.147

Although his claim to Mahdihood must be judged unproven, many Sudanese have remained loyal to the memory of Mohammed Ahmad.Ibid., P.147

Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyed Abdullah, the Mahdi, who overthrew Egyptian rule in Sudan in 1885.Http://:lcweb 2. loc.gov. 

And finally, it should be mentioned that the Mahdi revolution played a big role in the subsequent movements against colonialism and also left a great impact in Arab countries and Egypt.Abdulvahhab , Kiyali Political   Encyclopedia (  موسوعة‌ السياسه‌ ) .Language: Arabic , Number of volumes:7,Beirut : Arab   Institute for Research  & publishing ,1990,vol 3. Volume III, p. 270.

The expectations of the emergence of the Mahdi from the east attracted waves of West African immigrants to the Nile and facilitated the emergence and success of the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad Sudani.The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic world. Vol. 3. P.19.

In this way, the Islamic eschatological thought in the establishment of the Mahdi's government in Sudan by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah was very basic and fundamental and still influences today's Sudan.Ibid., Vol 1. P.442 

Footnotes

Bibliography

Movassaghi, Seyyed Ahmad .Contemporary Islamic Movements. Language: Farsi , Tehran: Samt, 1374.

John L. Esposito, ed, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic world. Newyork , 1995, Vol: III.

Mircea Eliade. the Encyclopedia of Religion. Mohammad Ahmad, ed by: John O, Hunwick (16 Vols - U.S.A: Macmillan , 1987) Vol X &XVI.

Http:// Lcweb 2. Loc.gov

Kiyali     Abdulvahhab . Political   Encyclopedia (  موسوعة‌ السياسه‌ ) .Language: Arabic ,   Number of volumes:7,Beirut : Arab   Institute for Research  & publishing ,1990,vol 3.