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And it is mentioned in a number of books of Hadith

and it is one of the key differences between our theology,

Ahl-e-Sunna or Sunnism and the non-Sunni group,

the majority non-Sunni group, there's two main groups of Islam.

So this notion of the Mahdi, it is one of the fundamental points of difference

between us and between them.

So firstly, what is the Mahdi? Secondly, what is the evidence of his existence

and characteristics? And thirdly, what is some of the historical

controversies that are taking place?

The term Mahdi is a title, it's not a name.

And it means the rightly guided from Huda, the Mahdi, that he is guided.

And so he will guide, he will be guided and he will guide other people.

So the Mahdi is somebody who is correctly guided, he has Hidaya.

He himself is upon the straight path.

Now the term Mahdi is not found in the Quran, meaning as a person going to come,

nor is it found in the most authentic books of Hadith, which is Sahih Bukhadi and Sahih Muslim.

But we do find references to this concept in some of the other books,

such as the Sunnah of Abu Dawood, such as the Musa of Al-Hakim,

such as the Sunnah of Immaja, such as the Musa of Imma Ahmad,

we find a number of traditions about a person.

In some of them, his name is mentioned, Muhammad ibn Abdullah.

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