Mahdavis are one of the sects of Sunni Islam and we believe in the finality of prophet hood on the beloved Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), therefore, he is the last in
the chain of Prophets and that the Holy Qur’an is the last book of Allah (SWT). We believe in all of the Prophets from Prophet Adam (AS) to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), all the Books of Allah (SWT), the Angels, and the Day of Judgement (Yaum al-Qiyamah). We also believe in the four rightly guided Caliphs (Al-Khulafa-ur- Rashidun) beginning with Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar Ibn Khattab, Othman bin Affwan, and Abu Turaab Ali (Ridhwanullahi Ajma’een). We Mahdavis also recognize the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence including Hanafi, Shafa’i, Maliki, and Hanbali; however, we are not confined to a specific school. Rather we look at all the four schools and adopt the way that is closer to Qur’an in the matters of Fiqh.
Mahdavis are different from other sects of Sunni Islam because we believe in the advent of Imam Mahdi (AS), who was born in 847H in Jaunpur, India. His name
is Syed Muhammed, his father’s name is Syed Abdullah, and mother’s name is Bibi Amina. All the Muslims, both under Sunni Islam and Shia Islam, believe in the advent of Mahdi (a guided one), however we believe that Imam Mahdi (AS) came and left already, and he was sent by Allah (SWT) to propagate the teachings of Vilayat of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). Therefore, he is the manifestation of the Vilayat-e-Muhammadi. There are so many Ahadith (traditions) on the advent of Mahdi that the scholars of Islam have categorized such traditions as “Mass transmitted” (Mutawatir) Hadith. These are considered as the most authentic traditions. When someone asked Mahdi (AS) about his religion, Imam Mahdi (AS) said that his religion is the Book of Allah (Qur’an) and the following (Ittibah) of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). The Majority of Mahdavis live in India and Pakistan.