The latter had followed this sect...

The latter had followed this sect, but it is said that he became an Imamite after a discussion with al-Sadiq, who clarified for him that the concealed Imam mentioned by the Prophet was not Ibn al-Hanafiyya but the Twelfth Imam from the progeny of al-Husayn[^13]. The Zaydites also applied the term al - Mahdi in its eschatological sense to their leaders who rose in arms against the ‘Abbasids, such as Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya (d. 145/762), Muhammad b. Ja’far al-Sadiq (d. 203/818), and Muhammad b.

al-Qasim al-Talqan, who disappeared in the year 219/834.'[^14] An example of the Zaydite usage of this term is recorded by Ibn Tawus[^15], who states on the authority of Ibrahim b. ‘Abd Allah b.

al-Hasan, the brother of al-Nafs al­ Zakiyya, that the latter had rebelled hoping that Allah might make him the Mahdi promised by the Prophet: ذكر يحي بن الحسين الحسني في كتاب الامالي باسناده عن طاهر بن عبيد عن ابراهيم بن عبدالله بن الحسن عليه السالام، انه سُئل عن اخيه محمد أهو المهدي الذي يُذكر؟ فقال: ان المهدي عدة من الله تعالى لنبيه صلوات الله عليه وعده ان يجعله من اهله مهديا لم يمسه بعينه ولم يوقت زمانه. وقد قام اخي لله بغريفته عليه في الامر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر.

فان اراد الله تعالى ان يجعله الذي بذكر فهو فضل الله يمن به على من يشاء من عبادو والا فلم يتركى اخي فريضة الله عليه لانتظار ميعاد لم يُؤمر بانتظاره. As for the Imamites, a considerable body among them applied the title of al - Mahdi in its messianic sense to each Imam after his death. This can be seen in the claim of al - Nawusiyya , al - Waqifa and the followers of al- ‘Askari, the eleventh Imam.

After the death of al-Sadiq in the year 148/765 the Nawusiyya group held that he was al-Qa’im al - Mahdi and that he did not die but went into occultation[^16]. The Waqifa group applied this title to the seventh Imam Musa al­Kazim (d. 183/799) and denied his death, contending that he was al-Qa’im al - Mahdi and that he would rise to fill the earth with justice after it had been filled with tyranny[^17].

Other Imamites held that the eleventh Imam al- ‘Askari was al-Qa’im al - Mahdi ,[^18] whereas the last important usage of this term was given to the Twelfth Imam, who became the magnate of the Imamites' hope in their struggle for justice and equity. It is worth mentioning that all these claims relating to the eschatological usage of the term ‘al - Mahdi' were based mainly on Prophetic traditions concerning a future restorer of Islam.