Mahdi Army - Name

Name

The name Jaysh al-Mahdī has apocalyptic connotations: in Shi-ite theology, the Mah'dī is an end-times figure who it is said will assist Christ in destroying the Dajjāl and establish a global Islamic khilāfah in preparation for the Yaum al-Qiyāmah (judgement day); in more common terms, it is believed that the Mahdī will come to help the Messiah (i.e. Jesus, referred to in Islam as `Īsā ibn Mariyam, "Jesus son of Mary") to defeat the Antichrist (literally, al-Masīh al-Dajjāl means "the Deceiving Messiah"), before establishing a just Islamic social order in preparation for Judgment Day.

In the Twelver school of Shia Islam, the Mahdī is believed to have been a historical figure identified with the Twelfth Imām, Muhammad al-Mahdī, and is therefore called al-Imām al-Mahdī. It is believed that he is still present on earth "in occultation" (i.e., hidden), and will emerge again in the end times. Those Shi`ites of this school believe that the Imām Mahdī is the rightful ruler of the whole Islamic community (ummah) at any given time, and he is therefore also called Imām al-Zamān, meaning "Imām of the Age/Time."