Life of the Sudanese Mahdi

Haim Shaked is professor in the department of international studies and the director of the Sue and Leonard Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at the University of Miami. Some of his books include The Middle East and The United States, From June to October, and Arab Relations in the Middle East.

• The S?ra of the Mahdi; Explanatory Notes; Preface 1 : The Book of the Bliss of Him Who Seeks Guidance by the Life of the Imam the Mahdi; Introduction; 1: The Fulfillment of the Traditions in Respect of the Mahdi's Characteristics and Perfection 1; 2: The Mahdi's Characteristics, Attributes and Miracles 1; 3: The Mahdi's Religious Observances Before His Manifestation 1; 4: The Mahdi's Propaganda and Correspondence 1; 5: The Mustering of the Tribes and the Arrival of Successive Deputations to the Mahdi 1; 6: The Mahdi's First Battle With the Turks and His Victory Over Them 1; 7: The Mahdi's Hijra to Qad?r and His Jih?D, Before the Fall of El Obeid 1; 8: The Mahdi's Campaigns, Expeditions and Missions, And the Conquest of Some Towns 1; 9: The Mahdi's Death and the Accession of the Khalifa 1

"The sira of the Mahdi, the hagiographic work that Dr. Shaked presents here, is important; first, in that it reflects the self-image of the Mahdi and his followers and throws light on the popular Sudanese Islam of the time and the eschatological expectations that represented a reaction to Turco-Egyptian rule. Second, although the intention of the sira is religious and didactic, it is a unique source for the biography of the Mahdi and the history of the movement that he started. This version, which Dr. Shaked has prepared with meticulous care, and to which he has provided a full and scholarly introduction, is therefore a significant contribution to the understanding of the Sudanese Mahdia in its dual aspect as a political revolt and as a millenarian movement in Islam. Readers concerned with the history of the Sudan and with the study of Islam will find profit and interest in this book." - P. M. Holt, School of Oriental and African Studies, London"