The Mahdi and a party of his followers, the Ansaār “Helpers“ (known in the West as “the Dervishes“). Drawing from aspects of the Sufi tradition that were intimately familiar to both his followers and his opponents, Muhammad Ahmad had been appointed as the Mahdi by a prophetic assembly or hadra (Arabic: Al-Hadra Al-Nabawiyya, الحضرة النبوية). A hadra, in the Sufi tradition, is a gathering of all the prophets from the time of Adam to Muhammad, as well as many Sufi holy men who are believed to have reached the highest level of affinity with the divine during their lifetime. The hadra is chaired by the Prophet Muhammad, known as Sayyid Al-Wujud, and at his side are the seven Qutb, the most senior of whom is known as Ghawth az-Zaman.[8] In the belief system of the Mahdiyya, it was this divine assembly that bestowed upon Muhammad Ahmad the title of Al-Mahdi. The hadra was also the source of a number of central bel
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