Resurrection and renewal

Ever since the rise of the Penitents' movement of Mukhtr al-Thaqafï (66/685-686) and the subsequent disappearance, circa 700 A.D., of the declared Mahdi (the "rightly guided one"), Muhammad al-Hanafïya, the heterodox milieu of the Islamic world has yearned for a savior whose return will restore true guidance to the community.