People anticipated someone who would take upon himself to establish truth and spread the worship of God. Moreover, they expected that person to take charge of purifying the earth and instituting justice. The belief was so wide spread among the people that having verified it in principle they were engaged in discussing its details. Sometimes they would ask: "From which family would the awaited Mahdi arise?" At other times they wanted to know his name and patronymic.
Still at other times they wanted to know the reason why he was called the Mahdi. They wanted to know about his revolution and asked about the signs of his appearance. They also wanted to find out if the Mahdi and the Qa'im were one and the same person. They were told about the Mahdi's occultation and wanted to understand the reasons and the obligations of his followers while he was in occultation. The Prophet also, from time to time, used to inform people about the existence of the Mahdi. He would inform them saying: "Mahdi will be among my descendants. He will be among the sons of Fatima, among the descendants of Husayn." At other times he would announce his name and patronymic and give information about the signs of his reappearance and other related matters.
After the Prophet's death the story of the coming of the Mahdi was often heard among the prominent companions of the Prophet and the following generation. The matter was regarded among the religious truths and was treated as one of the certain future events. The following are some examples of this in the sources: Abu Hurayra says: "People will pay allegiance to the Mahdi between rukn and maqam. Ibn 'Abbas is reported to have told Mu'awiya that a person among the descendants of the Prophet will rule for forty years at the End of Time. On another occasion a man asked Ibn 'Abbas to inform him about the Mahdi. He said: "I hope that in the near future a young man from our family (the Hashimite) will arise to put an end to civil strife and sedition." Ibn 'Abbas also specified the descendant of the Prophet as being from the children of Fatima. According to another famous companion of the Prophet, 'Ammar Yasir: "At the time when Nafs al-Zakiyya is killed a caller from the heaven will say: 'Your commander is so-and-so.' Following it the Mahdi will emerge and fill the earth with justice and equity."
'Abd Allah b. 'Umar mentioned the name of Mahdi in the presence of an Arab who said: Mahdi is Mu'awiya b. Abu Sufyan. 'Abd Allah said: "It is not as you say. Mahdi is a person behind whom Jesus will offer his prayers." 'Umar b. Qays asked Mujahid if he knew anything about the Mahdi, since he did not believe in what the Shi'a were saying about him. Mujahid said: "Yes, I do. One of the Prophet's companions told me that the Mahdi will not appear until that time when Nafs al-Zakiyya will be killed. At that time he will take the command and will fill the earth with justice and equity."
Nufayl's daughter 'Umayra narrates that she heard Hasan b. 'Ali's daughter saying: "This affair about which you are waiting will not occur until among you some seek to distance themselves from the others and curse each other." The author of Maqatil al-talibiyin Abu al-Faraj Isfahani writes that Fatima, Husayn b. 'Ali's daughter, used to engage in midwifery as a voluntary service to the women of Banu Hashim. Her son used to object to her saying: "We are afraid that you will be recognized as a professional midwife." In reply she would say: "I am awaiting someone. As soon as he is born I will stop assisting in delivery."
The Promised Land and Radical Ideologies
