Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

The Development of the Doctrine of Mahdism in Muḥammad ibn Fallāḥ’s Teachings

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Elissa Abbasi
PhD, History of Islam, Islamic Azad University, Yadegar-e Emam Khomeini Branch, Shahr-e Rey, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jis.2025.383991.1880
Abstract
During the Timurid rule, ideologies emerged that embodied Shiite-social inclinations. These Shiite movements flourished within the new sociopolitical context due to the Mongols' religious tolerance. Over time, extreme and exaggerated beliefs became embedded in their doctrines, a phenomenon particularly evident in the teachings of Muḥammad ibn Fallāḥ. Consequently, the prevailing conditions of that era led to instability within society, fostering beliefs that claimed to advocate justice and freedom. Against this backdrop, Muḥammad ibn Fallāḥ introduced a novel approach to messianic teachings, aiming to gather followers around his outlined principles to consolidate power and implement his doctrines. This study, employing a historical methodology based on the description and analysis of historical data, seeks to answer how the evolution and diversification of Muḥammad ibn Fallāḥ’s beliefs in the realm of Mahdism unfolded. The findings indicate that political, social, and religious movements within a society typically manifest as transformative forces aimed at advancing objectives and resisting oppressive rulers. Thus, Muḥammad ibn Fallāḥ, under the banner of social justice, adopted varying and distinct stances on Mahdism as a driving force in his engagement with different social groups. He strategically leveraged this ideology in different circumstances to further his objectives, ultimately using it as a foundation for launching his uprising.
Keywords
Muḥammad b. Fallāḥ
doctrine of Mahdism
Mawlā ʿAlī
the Mushaʿshaʿ
Subjects
The Noble Quran.
Amini Heravi, Amir Sadroddin Ebrahim. 1383 Sh. Futūḥāt-i shāhī. Tehran: Society for the National Heritage of Iran.
Aminzadeh, Ali. 1384 Sh. Shiite movements in the history of Iran: the case of Sarbadars in Sabzevar. Tehran: Omid-e Mehr.
Aslani, Mokhtar. 1386 Sh. “The contribution of Mahdist claims to the establishment of the Mushaʿshaʿ government.” Mashriq-i mawʿūd, no. 3.
Azzawi, Abbas. 1369 Sh. Tārīkh al-‘Irāq bayn al-iḥtilālayn. N.p/: Sharīf Raḍī.
Dekmejian, Richard. 1366 Sh. Islam in revolution: Fundamentalism in the Arab world. Translated by Hamid Ahmadi. Tehran: Kayhan.
Delfan, Siavash. 1379 Sh. History of the Mushaʿshaʿ. Qazvin: Bahr al-Olum.
Ghazi Moradi, Hasan. 1396 Sh. Khilāfat va dawlat. Tehran: Akhtaran.
Halm, Heinz. 1358 AH. Shiism. Translated by Mohammad Taghi Akbari. Qom: University of Religions and Denominations.
Jafarian, Rasul. 1394 Sh. False Mahdis. Tehran: Elm.
Jazāʾirī, Sayyid ʿAbd Allāh al-. 1384 Sh. Tadhkira-yi Shūshtar. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Muʿtabar.
Kasravi, Ahmad. 1378 Sh. The Mushaʿshaʿ: false claimants of the Imam of the age. Tehran: Ferdows.
Kasravi, Ahmad. 1402 Sh. Five hundred years of the history of Khuzestan. Tehran: Negah.
Khalili, Nasim. 1387 Sh. “A study of the messianic though in the Iranian society during the Safavid era.” Diss., al-Zahra University.
Mahlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. 1404 AH. Biḥār al-anwār. Translated by Abolhasan Mousavi Hamadani. Tehran: Ganjineh.
Modarresi Chāhārdehī, Morteza. 1356 Sh. “Mushaʿshaʿiyya dynasty. Barrasī-hāyi tārīkhī, no. 73.
Mushaʿshaʿī, Sayyid Muḥammad b. Fallāḥ. n.d.(a). Kalām al-Mahdī. Manuscript in the Library of Majlis.
Mushaʿshaʿī, Sayyid Muḥammad b. Fallāḥ. n.d.(b).Kalām al-Mahdī, Manuscript in the Library of Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi.
Nabaee, Abolfazl. 1384 Sh. Iran’s political and social developments in the eighth century: from the collapse of Ilkhanates to the establishment of Taymurids. Mashhad: Ferdowsi University.
Nuʿmānī, Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-. 1363 Sh. Kitāb al-ghayba. Translated by Seyed Ahmad Fehri Zanjani. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya.
Nzarpour, Ali. 1369 Sh. “A study of the tribal power of the tribal communities of Khuzestan.” Rushd-i āmūzish-i ʿulūm-i ijtimāʿī, no. 5.
Ranjbar, Ali. 1387 Sh. The Mushaʿshaʿ (intellectual-social nature and the process of historical developments). Tehran: Agah.
Rashed Mohasel, Mohammad Taghi. 1381 Sh. Saviors in religions. Tehran: Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies.
Rumlu, Hasan. 1384 Sh. Aḥsan al-tawārīkh. Translated by Abdolhossein Navaee. Tehran: Asatir.
Safari Foroushani, Nematollah and Amir Mohsen Erfan. 1393 Sh. “A typology of false claimants of Mahdism.” Mashriq-i mawʿūd, no. 30.
Shaybi, Kamil Mustafa. 1374 Sh. Shiism and Sufism from the beginning to the early twelfth century AH. Translated by Alireza Zekavati Gharagozlu. Tehran: Amir Kabir.
Shubbar, Jāsim Ḥasan. 1972. Muʾassis al-dawlat al-mushaʿshaʿiyya wa-aʿqābuhā fī ʿArabistān wa-khārijihā. Najaf: Maṭbaʿat al-Ādāb fī al-Najaf al-Ashraf.
Shūshtarī, Qāḍī Nūr Allāh al-. 1376 Sh. Majālis al-muʾminīn. Translated by Ebrahim Arabpour. Tehran: Islāmiyya.
Ṭabarsī, Faḍl ibn Ḥasan al-. 1415 AH. Majmaʿ al-bayān. Translated by Mohammad Bistooni. Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi.
Zekavati Gharagozlu, Alireza. 1374 Sh. “The Nuqtavi order from a philosophical standpoint.” Maʿārif, no. 3.
Zekavati Gharagozlu, Alireza. 1375 Sh. “The Mushaʿshaʿ movement and an overview of al-Mahdi’s word.” Maʿārif, no. 37.
Ziriklī, Khayr al-Dīn. 1989. Al-Aʿlām. Beirut: Dār al-ʿIlm li-l-Malāyīn.