In the vast field of Imamology , as a cornerstone of Shiite theology, Mahdism embodies the central axis of this theology, covering the most important doctrines of Islam. With Mahdism as the center of its system, Shiism assumes a future-oriented history. Based on divine intervention, Mahdi’s indwelling nature in history, or at least the part of history known as “Great Occultation”, creativity addresses the issue of theodicy from the perspective of divine suffering, for it is suffering in the exile of occultation mixed with hope in close proximity to a process history that defines and re-defines an eschatological community of people in the spirit of renewal and resurrection. Historically, this process has manifested itself in various shapes and forms.

There are two aspects of Mahdi’s existence- Historical Mahdi and Theological Mahd. For us, the domain of “theological Mahdi” i.e. the Messianic, is more important and sadly it is precisely this domain that is seriously neglected, disjointed by from critical theological reflections and often woefully disassociated with the historical Mahdi or (post)Mahdist social movements, thus misconstructing the theological autonomy of Mahdist though with its supposed political manifestations or ramifications.

The content of Mahdist “promise” unfolds in man’s journey with God, in the anticipatory hope of coming reality of the “expected Savior”, in whom is sustained the faith in the end of human suffering and the celebration and fulfillment of justice. The Mahdist promise presents itself as the epiphany of the eternal present in the world, which can be understood only as part and parcel of a transcendent subjectivity that asserts the self-concealment of Mahdi as a divine matter of “self-revelation.” In other words, God can be known through Mahdi’s absence and the awareness of his indwelling on earth, an awareness which builds the altars of his belief system in the heart of the believer, the individual. Thus the entwinement of Mahdism and Creation, for it is God’s creative work that extends the Savior from the realm of reality to the realm of eternity. Therefore, the premise of occultation and the promise of reappearance give the Shiite theological form and definitive character- History as eschatology, giving history a progressive nature.
Consequently strictly speaking Mahdism puts Shiism in a perpetual state of motion, giving it a built-in mechanism for self-overhaul, by virtue of the fact that in the Imam’s absence no one can close the gate of ijtihad.

The occultation and divine hope in the end of history are two sides of the same eschatological event. They point back to the promises of final reappearance of the savior that can only be understood as the continuation of God’s self-manifestation and self-involving nature in the relation with the world, especially with humanity. In marking Mahdi hidden from the people, God limits their knowledge of him, entrusting them with the moral commitment to faithfulness in the promise of salvation. In the eschatological sense, Mahdism is actually about the transcendent self-revelation of God. Revelation as occultation-promised-to-turn to reappearance is actually about the fulfillment of God’s promise, wherein history finds its goal in Mahdi’s lordship over all, the eschatological consummation.