The reflection of mahdi motive on İslamic Sects

The notion of a savior that will emerge in the future is a common mentality taking place in almost every religion and culture because of human nature for the same purpose despite being under different names and characteristics. Throughout history, in periods when people underwent numerous types of cruelty, oppression and troubles, the notion of a savior or the belief of Mahdi has been a source of hope and joy that will restore the disturbed order, remove cruelty and spread justice, save them from despair they found themselves in and add sparks of hope into their lives. The thought of waiting for a savior has been a common belief, hope and salvation of humanity not only in Judaism and Christianity but also in all societies. In the historical process, various understandings of Mahdi as the person that will save them from their troubles of that period or who will arrive in time have prevailed among Muslims as well. Although motive of Mahdi as an idea of salvation in Islamic sects is accepted as an essential belief almost in every Shi'a division, it has not been counted as an essential belief because there is no clear statement in the Quran among the Followers of Sunnah and opinions were put forward mainly in the light of the hadith. On the other hand, there have been formations emerged by using the Mahdi notion and that were sectarianized such as Bahá'i Faith and Ahmadiyya. In this study, the reflections of the Mahdi motive in such Islamic sects have been discussed. Keywords: Mahdi, Savior, Sect, Mahdism, Faith