Mohammed Mehdi Mauood, Jaunpuri ( ur, ; 9 September 1443 – 23 April 1505), was a Muslim mystic and self-proclaimed
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
and founded the breakaway
Mahdavia
Mahdavia ( ar, مهدوي ''mahdavi'') or Mahdavism is an Islamic movement founded by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century. Syed Muhammad claimed to be Mahdi at the holy city of Mecca, in front of the Kaaba in 1496, and ...
sect. Hailing from
Jaunpur,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
Jaunpuri traveled extensively throughout
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
and
Khorasan.
Early life
His first wife, Bibi Alahdadi, was the daughter of his uncle, Syed Jalaluddin. He Married her in Jaunpur in 866H, when he was nineteen years old. Jaunpuri and Alhadadi had two sons and two daughters together, Syed Mahmood Sani-e-Mahdi, Syed Ajmal, Syeda Khunza and Syeda Fatima.
Travels
He left Jaunpur along with his family and a group of followers. Migrating from place to place and gathering companions, that would later become the core of the
Mahdavia
Mahdavia ( ar, مهدوي ''mahdavi'') or Mahdavism is an Islamic movement founded by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century. Syed Muhammad claimed to be Mahdi at the holy city of Mecca, in front of the Kaaba in 1496, and ...
sect founded by him, until he reached
Farah in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Pilgrimage and claim to be the Mahdi
By the age of 53 he embarked on the
Hajj pilgrimage to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
, where in 1496 (901 Hijri), after circumambulating the
Kaaba, he declared that he was the Promised Mahdi and whoever believes in him is a
Momin.
He was generally ignored by the
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
of Mecca, and after staying in Mecca for nearly seven or nine months,
he returned to India where he proclaimed himself
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
at
Ahmedabad and later at Badhli (near
Patan, Gujarat
Patan () is the administrative seat of Patan District in the Indian state of Gujarat and is an administered municipality. It was the capital of Gujarat's Chavda and Chaulukya dynasties in medieval times, and is also known as Anhilpur-Pata ...
).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaunpuri, Sayyid
1443 births
1505 deaths
Mahdavi
Indian Sufi saints
Indian people of Arab descent
People from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh