Mahdaviat and Sufism: A Historical Approach

Mahdaviat, as a basic doctrine of Shiism, plays a significant role in Islamic-Iranian culture. This article, after presenting a brief survey of Messianism in Abrahamic religions, tries to analyze the historical background of Mahdaviat in Islam, especially during the 2nd to 5th centuries A.H. Mahdaviat continued to thrive in Sufism during the 6th and 7th centuries A.H. In the 8th and 9th centuries A.H., Shiism and Sufism gradually merged; and the Safavids, having sufi inclinations, established Shiism as the official religion of Iran. Finally, we will study the thoughts of Soltānalishāh and Safialishāh, two great sufis of the Qajar dynasty.