An Analytical Examination of Muslims' Belief in the Prophetic and Fatimid Lineage of the Promised Mehdi until the Beginning of the Minor Occultation with Emphasis on Imamiyah

The belief in the Promised Mehdi can be considered as one of the most common features of most Muslim groups. In the meantime, and in various areas of beliefs related to Imam Mahdi, the issue of his lineage has always been considered. One of the most important teachings is his prophetic and Fatimid lineage, namely the connection of the Mahdi descent with the Prophet of Islam and Lady Fatima. Dealing with this issue will be necessary and useful because it will help to develop the history of thought and analytical studies in Mahdavi's views. Considering the interest of different groups in this issue in the first centuries, it will be useful for examining the Mahdavi efforts of social currents. According to what has been said, this study seeks to identify the efforts of Muslims, especially Imamis about Prophetic and Fatimid lineage of Imam Mahdi and to observe the course of this belief considering the social contexts before the minor occultation, by analyzing the information obtained from the first historical and hadith sources, and by using the methods and principles accepted in historical studies and sciences involved such as theology and hadith. It seems that the concern for the prophetic lineage of the Mahdi is an accepted idea for most of the promised groups, and each of them tried to somehow connect itself to the Prophet. Therefore, the Mahdi Fatimid lineage and the Ahl al-Bayt emphasis on this issue, which was probably in opposition to the activities of the Keysanians, gradually became a fundamental belief for all Muslim groups.