Meaning and Origin
What does the name Mahdi mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- 3 submissions from the United States and the United Kingdom agree the name Mahdi means "The guided one" and is of Arabic origin.
- 2 submissions from the United States and Canada agree the name Mahdi means "Rightly guided" and is of Arabic origin.
- 3 people from Iran, Islamic Republic of and the United States agree the name Mahdi is of Arabic origin and means "Guided".
Note: ☞ The title has been taken by several persons in countries where Mohammedanism prevails, -- notably by Mohammad Ahmed, who overran the Egyptian Sudan, and in 1885 captured Khartum, his soldiers killing General Gordon, an Englishman, who was then the Egyptian governor of the region.
Etymology: Ar., guide, leader
- (Islam) a messianic leader who (according to popular Muslim belief) will appear before the end of the world and restore justice and religion
From Arabic مَهْدِيّ (mahdiyy, “guided one”).
- (Sunni Islam) A leader who, according to Sunni eschatology, will appear and restore peace and justice before the end of the world. [from 17th c.]
- Ahmadis consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmed to be the .
- (Twelver Shiite Islam) Muhammad b. Hasan al-Mahdi, the last of the Twelve Imams, born in 868 AD but believed alive and present in this world in a state of occultation; officially the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Iran; similarly to Sunni belief he will reappear before the end of time.