Analysis of Natural Methodology of Research on Mahdism

Research on Mahdism as a field of research has its own topic, principles, goals and issues. The issues of research on Mahdism are the same categories that discuss the inherent accidents of the subject (Mahdism) such as awaiting, occultation, reappearance, and so on. Due to its enjoyment of widespread themes and multiplicity and variety of topics, research on Mahdism, as a field of studies, needs different methods for proving and justifying the related issues. Issues of Mahdism studies, based on the type of attitude used to explain and interpret them, are justified with the use of different methods. The issues based on ontological attitudes are justified by rational methods; textual-narrative method is used to prove issues based on theological attitude; the justification of issues based on historical attitude requires a narrative-historical method; and the issues based on intuitive attitude are also proved by using the natural method. In general, the field of research on Mahdism is organized by various methods due to the variety and multiplicity of issues and their multi-ethnicity, one of which, as we have said, is the natural method. The naturalness (fiṭrīyyat) of Mahdism is justified by two human and religious approaches; the human approach arises from the mankind’s inner and heartfelt tendencies and desires and the religious approach includes the very reports that are inferred from verses and hadiths.