Mahdavia

Mahdavia or Mahdavism is a Mahdiist (Arabic: مهدوي ‎ mahdawi) sect within Islam founded by Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century.

Jaunpuri declared himself to be the Imam Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer in Islam, when he was on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1496 (AH 901).

The movement was active during the 16th and 17th centuries, but it mostly died out during the 18th century. There is an extant community of Mahdavis in Balochistan, known as Zikri (from the Arabic term dhikr "devotional prayer").

History

Jaunpuri declared himself to be Mahdi, and as such "a caliph of Allah". He claimed to teach the true inner meaning of the Qur'an and strictly adhere to the Sunnah of Mohammed. He claimed that religion has three main aspects: Eeman, Islam and Ehsan and that Muhammad did not explain the third part i.e. the commandments of Ehsan and that conveying this part was left to the Mahdi. Jaunpuri's declaration was ignored by the ulema of Mecca, but after he repeated hs declaration in Gujarat he gained a group of followers and established a line of "caliphs" who led the movement after his death. After Muahmmad's death in 1505, the Mahdavi movement went through a militant phase, lasting during the reign of the first five Mahdavi caliphs. The movement was persecuted under the Gujarati sultan Muzaffar II (r. 1511â€"1526). The second Mahdavi caliph, Khundmir, led an army against Muzaffar and was killed in 1523. Mahdavism started out as a "millennial" movement, expecting the second coming of Jesus for the year AH 1000 (1596). After Jesus' failure to re-appear in that year, the movement lost much of its fervor and entered a "quietist" phase, which lasted throughout the 17th century, but during the 18th century, the movement mostly died out in northern India. Tipu Sultan in the 1790s expelled all extant Mahdavi communities from his realm. After the 1799 siege of Seringapatam, the British government invited the Mahdavis to re-settle in Mysore.

Zikri Mahdavis

Zikri Mahdavis or "Zikris" are an offshoot of the Mahdavi movement that found mostly in the Balochistan region of western Pakistan and eastern Iran. "Zikri" derives from the Arabic word dhikr meaning "remembrance, devotion, invocation".

They differ in their Five Pillars of Islam and do not offer namaz prayers in the common mosques like the Hanafi Muslims. The content of their prayer, which they call Zikr-e-Elahi, refers to the worship of God. In addition to the Hajj, Zikris also undertake a pilgrimage (ziyarat) to the Koh-e-Murad ("Mountain of Desire" in Balochi) where the Imam al-Mahdi is believed to have stayed. This is celebrated on the 27th night of Ramadan. Thus, Zikris are a sect who follow the Sufi Order, introduced by a medieval saint named, Syed Muhammad of the capital city of Sharqi dynasty, this city was also known as The Shiraz of the East, due to many Islamic scholars residing in the city.

The cultural and commercial festivals of the Zikris in Balochistan, are similar as those of the other Balochs, but the rituals have adapted a few distinct practices to distinguish the followers of this Order, from other Muslims. Thus, Khanqahs serve the purpose of mosques. However, they have no pulpits; instead, there are stones and mats on which to observe the Dhikr. Towards the end of Ramadan the annual assemblage of Zikris, called the Zikir-e Elahi takes place on Koh-e Murad in Pakistan's Balochistan province, commemorates the occasion.

The number of Zikris is not known with any confidence. Gall (1998) stated there were "estimated to number over 750,000 people" while the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 2004 stated there were "approximately 200,000". The Zikri form a local majority in Pakistan's Gwadar District, and there are sizeable communities in Karachi, Makran, Lasbela District and Quetta, in Pakistan's Sindh province and in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The concentration in urban Karachi is due to many Zikris having been forced to abandon their villages, settling in the city, especially the neighbourhood of Lyari Town.

With the general rise of Islamic extremism and jihadism in the region since the 1980s, Zikris have been discriminated, targeted and killed by Sunni militants in Pakistan. As a result, the Zikri community has been shrinking and has become less visible, as many many are converting to the Sunni Hanafi, and some to the Ismaili Nizari, sect of Islam. Non-governmental organizations including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) are working with local activists to create a greater awareness of the Zikri predicament. Recently, police protection has been provided to some Zikri pilgrims. Many Zikris have converted to Sunni and attend Mosque and fast during Ramadan.

The persecution of Zikris by Sunni militants as of 2014 has been part of the larger backlash against religious minorities in Pakistani Balochistan, targeting Hindus, Hazaras, Shias and Zikris, resulting in migration of over 300,000 Shias, Zikris, and Hindus from Balochistan. The persecutions were due both to banned militant organizations such as Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Pakistani Taliban and to the efforts of the Pakistan governmental agencies to counter the Baloch nationalist.

Mahdavia Islam in South India

Anjuman E Mahdavia is a Mahdavia community center in Hyderabad, established in 1902. L. K. A. Iyer in 1930 reports the existence of a community of "Mahdavia Musalmans" in Mysore.

See also

• Anjuman E Mahdavia

References

Other sources

• Ziaullah Yadullahi (trans.), Maulud Sharif, Jamiat-e-Mahdavia, Bangalore (2007).
• Azhar MunÄ«r, I. A. Rehman, Zikris in the light of history & their religious beliefs, Izharsons, 1998.

External links

• "Mahdavia"
• "Mehdavia Times"
• "Khalifatullah Medhi"
  • Hazrat Muhammad Nooruddin Arabi Saheb, "Mahdaviat in the light of sayings of Imamana"
• "Mahdavia Foundation"