SADIYA MUHAMMAD KANI

FACULTY OF MASSCOMMUNICATION,
BATCH 4
COURSE: SUDANESS.
MY TOPIC: MUHAMMAD AHMAD AL
MAHDI.

HIS LIFE
Muhammad Ahmad was born 0n august
1845 at Labab Island Dongola in northern
Sudan to a humble family of boat builders,
that claimed descent , spuriously from the
Islamic prophet Muhammad through the line
of his grandson Hassan .When Muhammad
Ahmad was still a child ,the family moved to
the town karari ,north of Omdurman ,where
Muhammad Ahmad father , Abdullah could
find a supply of timber for his boat building
business.

While his siblings joined his father,s trade,

Muhammad Ahmad showed a proclivity for
religious study . He studied first under sheikh
Al-amin al-suwaylih gezira region around
Khartoum. In 1861 he sought out sheikh
Sharif Nur al-Daim , the grandson of the
founder of the Samaniyya Sufi sect in Sudan.
Muhammad Ahmad stayed with sheikh
Muhammad sharif for seven years, during
which time he was recognized for his piety
and asceticism . Near the end of this period,
he was awarded the title of sheikh himself,
and began to travel around the country on
religious missions . He was permitted to give
tariqa and uhud to new followers.
In 1870, his family moved again in
search for timber , this time to Aba Island on
the white Nile south of Khartoum . On aba
Island , Muhammad Ahmad built a mosque
and started to teach the holy Qur,an.
In 1872 Muhammad Ahmad invited
sheikh sharif to move to al-aradayb, an area
on the white Nile neighboring Aba Island .

In 1878 the two religious leaders had a

dispute motivated by sheikh sharif
resentment of his former students growing
popularity. After recognized that the split with
sheikh sharif was irreconcilable , Muhammad
Ahmad approached a rival leader of the
samaniyya order named sheikh al-qurashi
wad al-zayn . The elderly sheikh eagerly
accepted him and his followers, and under his
new master.
Muhammad Ahmad resumed his life of
piety and religious devotion at Aba Island .
During this period , he also travelled to the
province of kordofan west of Khartoum .
On 25 July 1878, sheikh al-qurashi died
and his followers recognized Muhammad
Ahmad as their new leader .Around this time,
Muhammad Ahmad first met Abdullah bin
Muhammad Al-taaishi , who was to become
his chief deputy and successor in the years to
come.
On 29 June 1881 Muhammad Ahmad
publicly announced his claim to the Mahdi so

as to prepare the way for the second coming

of the prophet Isa (A.S),in part , his claim was
based on his status as a prominent sufi sheikh
with a large following in the samaniyya order
and among the tribes in the area around Aba
Island.

HES
DEATH
Muhammad Ahmad died when he was 40yrs,
on 22 June 1885 .Six months after the capture
of Khartoum , Muhammad Ahmad died of
typhus . He was buried in Omdurman near the
ruins of Khartoum.