Editing Muhammad Ahmad (section)

{{Short description|Sudanese religious and political leader (1844–1885)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Muhammad Ahmad
| title               = 
| image               = Muhammad Ahmad.jpg
| image_size          = 
| caption             = 1884 illustration of Ahmad
| office              = [[Mahdi|Imam Mahdi (claimed)]]
| term_start          = 1881
| term_end            = 1885
| predecessor         = ''Position established''
| successor           = [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad]] 'Khalifa'
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1843|08|12|df=y}}
| birth_place         = Labab Island, Dongola, [[Turco-Egyptian Sudan]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1885|06|21|1843|08|12|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Khartoum]], [[Mahdist State]]
| resting_place       = [[The Mahdi's tomb]], Omdurman, Sudan
| death_cause         = [[Typhus]]
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|theologian|military leader}}
| module              = {{Infobox religious biography
 | title = [[Mahdi]]
 | embed             = yes
 | religion          = [[Islam]]
 | denomination      = [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]
 | jurisprudence     = [[Maliki school|Maliki]]
 | creed             = 
 | main_interests    = [[Fiqh]], [[Tafsir]]
 |Sufi_order = Sammāniyya 
 | notable_ideas     = 
 | notable_works     = 
 | alma_mater        =
    | teacher           =
    | students          = 
    | influences        = 
    | influenced        = 
    | nocat_wdimage     = yes
    }}
}}

'''Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal''' ({{langx|ar|محمد أحمد بن عبد الله بن فحل}}; 12 August 1843 &ndash; 21 June 1885) was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be the [[Mahdi]] and led a [[Mahdist War|war]] against [[Turco-Egyptian Sudan|Egyptian rule in Sudan]], which culminated in a remarkable victory over them in the [[Siege of Khartoum]]. He created a vast [[Islamic state]] extending from the Red Sea to Central Africa and founded a movement that remained influential in Sudan a century later.<ref name="britannica.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mahdi-Sudanese-religious-leader|title=al-Mahdī &#124; Sudanese religious leader &#124; Britannica|website=www.britannica.com|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927091737/https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mahdi-Sudanese-religious-leader|url-status=live}}</ref>

From his announcement of the [[Mahdist State]] in June 1881 until its end in 1898,<ref name="auto">[[Peter M. Holt|Holt, P.M.]]: "The Mahdist State in Sudan, 1881–1898".  Oxford:  Clarendon Press, 1970. p. 45.</ref> the Mahdi's supporters, the [[Ansar (Sudan)|Ansār]], established many of its theological and political doctrines. After Muhammad Ahmad's unexpected death from [[typhus]] on 22 June 1885, his chief deputy, [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad]] took over the administration of the nascent Mahdist State.

The Mahdist State, weakened by his successor's autocratic rule and inability to unify the populace to resist the British blockade and subsequent war, was dissolved following the [[Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan]], in 1899. Despite that, the Mahdi remains a respected figure in the [[history of Sudan]]. In the late 20th century, one of his direct descendants, [[Sadiq al-Mahdi]], twice served as prime minister of Sudan (1966–1967 and 1986–1989) and pursued pro-[[democracy]] policies.<ref name="britannica.com"/>