Imam Mahdi from the Viewpoint of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi and Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi

Mahdism and The Rise of the Savior is one of the issues that are common to all theological and jurisprudential schools of Islam, and the differences existing, are not differences of opinion in the theory but of minor differences in cases such as the conditions of birth or emergence. Like other aspects of Islam, Mysticism not only believes in this principle, but has emphasized it more than other branches of Islam. Because Wilayah which is closely related to this issue is one of the pillars of Islamic mysticism and Wilayah and its termination are very important and certainly controversial issues in Mysticism. Shiite mystics and scholars believe that the specific Wilayah terminates with Imam Mahdi (AS), but there is a disagreement among Sunni mystics. The present study seeks to examine the views of Ibn 'Arabi and his most prominent student, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, on Imam Mahdi. In order to do this, it is inevitable to discuss some issues regarding Wilayah and the termination of Wilayah. After explaining the importance and position of this issue in Islamic mysticism, Ibn 'Arabi's and Sadr al-Din's views on the termination of Wilayah and the position of Imam Mahdi (AS) has been reviewed through their most important works, and the most prominent commentators and interpreters of their works, and then their general viewpoint about the characteristics and the status of Imam Mahdi (AS) have been discussed.