The Muslim Second Coming

"The Mahdi--Arabic for "divinely guided one"--is the redeemer who's supposed to straighten things out at the end of time. Along with the prophet Isa, Islam's version of Jesus, the Mahdi is supposed to usher in a golden age here on Earth, just after the defeat of the Antichrist and just before the Final Judgment. (Yes, many Muslims believe that Jesus will one day return--though their view of the Second Coming is pretty different from the Christian one.)

Belief in the messianic Mahdi is common among both Sunnis and Shi'ites. But they disagree about the particulars of his story. And that disagreement ties in with the history of the Sunni-Shi'ite split, which basically began as an argument over who should lead all Muslims after Muhammad's death in 632."

-Knowledge News