Origins and the early manifestations of the belief in awaited saviour in Muslim tradition

The idea of waiting for a saviour, which exists in almost all the religions and cultures in a quite live and profound way, is one of the most central topics which are discussed extensively but generally not agreed upon, in the tradition of Islamic Thought. The awaited saviour belief, which has different dimensions intertwined with each other such as historical, theological, ideological, mythological, sociological and psychological aspects, has become the subject of many scientific researches within a great number of disciplines due to its multidimensionality and emergence, stages it experienced and its historical, religious, political and sociological effects. The fact that this thought is still discussed today and seems to continue to be discussed, shows that it still has ambiguous points in many respects. In this study, the belief in Mahdi was discussed focusing on the process of tracking within the framework of the principle of "idea-action connection" from the perspective of the History of Islamic Sects and addressing the historical process and initial manifestations in various dimensions. In the initial chapter of the study, the awaited saviour belief has been explored by investigating its pre-Islamic roots, historical, mythological, and religious background, thereby reflecting its image in ancient religions and mythologies In this context, after presenting the general understanding of the savior concept in various different religions and civilizations, the idea of the saviour of the religious traditions in the Middle East, which is claimed to have had an influential role on the Muslim belief in a saviour, has been elucidated. The first section of the study adopts an approach that reviews the factors influencing the emergence and development of the saviour expectation, while drawing attention to the fundamental components of this notion. The second phase of this study is constituted by the historical background and debates surrounding the origins, the first arguments about the Mahdi belief in the first centuries of Islam. In the context of the emergence of the idea of Mahdism in the Muslim tradition, the extent to which the saviour conceptions of different societies played an influential role due to intercultural interactions has been addressed, based on the claims put forward. In the context of certain political events taking place during the early history of Islam, assessments have been made regarding the psycho-social and socio-political context in which the belief in a saviour (Mahdi) emerged. In this respect, the process of the introduction of the Mahdi belief into the Islamic traditions and culture, its reflection on the early-period Arabic poetry and literature, and the manifestations of this belief in the first two centuries of the Islamic History in connection with the political, religious, economic, social and cultural reasons of the period were tried to be presented. The aforementioned manifestations have been examined in relation to the influence of Arab tribal mentality and ʿAsabiyya (group solidarity) within the context of politically generated figures such as Qaḥṭani, Kalbî, Sufyani, and Tamimi.