Talk:Muhammad Ahmad

History of Sudan

I don't see why the article needs to cover the history of Sudan up until 1899 when the subject of the article died in 1885. I think summing up his legacy in one or two paragraphs and moving the detail somewhere more appropriate would make more sense. Everyking 20:23, 2 Sep 2004 (UTC)

At least parts of this page seem to be plagiarized from http://i-cias.com/e.o/mahdi_el.htm .

--babbage 11:25, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Definitely. This article is a history of the Mahdist state, not a biography of Muhammad Ahmad. --Jfruh 19:10, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Agree - but that information should be kept. Split this into a separate article on the Mahdist state ? What to call it ? -- Beardo 21:08, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Battel at abu klea

I think a rather serious mistake has found its way in this article. At Abu Klea, a relief force of some 1.500 British soldiers, marching cross-country to the relief of General Gordon at Khartoum, was attacked by the Mahdists. The relief force was not "wiped out" as stated in this article! After a fierce fight, they repulsed the attackers. They day after, when the British force was nearer Metemma, the Mahdists renewed the attack, again unsuccessfully. So I changed the text accordingly. Just to get things right...

Mahdiyah / Mahdiyya

Are these different things (the state ? the government ?) or just different spellings for the same thing ? -- Beardo 21:08, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

'Faraz Pasha had treacherously opened the gates and let the Ansār in.'

This is POV, surely?--Lopakhin 09:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Mattcolville 05:43, 5 September 2006 (UTC) Teeth?

"Muhammad Ahmad used a V-shaped gap in his teeth to prove he was the Mahdi."

I can't be the first person who read this and wondered what on earth the significance is. Can someone who knows what this refers to please elaborate and add an explanation to the document?

This remark appears to have come directly from the script of the 1966 film Khartoum, in which the Mahadi refers to the gap between his teeth and the mole on his cheek as prophesied signs of his divine selection as the 'hand of Muhammad'. Research does not reveal any factual foundation to this at present, but it provides one of the more entertaining moments in Laurence Olivier's hilariously hammy performance. Prof DMA (talk) 06:09, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Kitchener

Shouldn't there be a mention about Kitchener digging up the guys remains as trophies in the article? Timon 04:56, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

• Allegedly Madhi skull was reburied at Wadi Halfa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.53.145.123 (talk) 01:50, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Possible Plagiarism

Compare this article's

The broad thrust of his teaching followed that of other reformers, his Islam was one devoted to the words of Muhammad and based on a return to the virtues of strict devotion, prayer and simplicity as laid down in the Qur'ān. Any deviation from the Qur'ān was therefore heresy.

with

The broad thrust of Mohammed Ahmed's teaching followed that of other reformers in other religions. His Islam was one devoted to the words of the Prophet and based on a return to the original virtues of prayer and simplicity as laid down in the Koran. Any deviation from the Koran was therefore heresy.

from The Dervish Wars by Robin Neillands (John Murray, 1996).71.174.78.146 13:09, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Remove text relating to events after his death

Events such as the british invasion of sudan and the battle of omdurman happened 5 years after his death and therefore he took no part in them so i removed them as they both have specific article i dont see the need for them here. --neon white talk 14:18, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Image of Muhammad Ahmad

Many years ago in the Sudan itself I was told that the image given here of Muhammad Admad is not of him - no picture of him exists - but of Laurence Olivier playing the role of the Mahdi in the 1966 film Khartoum. Can this be verified? Esoglou (talk) 15:02, 29 October 2011 (UTC)

I am surprised that numerous articles like this one uncritically publish an "artistic representation" of Muhammad Ahmad, regardless of Sudanese and other people's assertion that no reliable pictures of him exist. To me, this drawing rather shows the facial traits of a European, as I have never seen them during four years in Sudan. - It seems that the urge to illustrate this historical person is stronger than any careful editing, as it is normally applied in WP. - Anyone dares to permanently delete it? Munfarid1 (talk) 10:21, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

Dwight York

Dwight York descended from the Mahdi? Is there any proof to support this claim? A claim which is written as if it's a verified fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Malachi_Z._York#Descent

According to the man himself, he is also a Creek Indian, a Celt from the House of York, and et cetera. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.209.248.98 (talk) 07:35, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

External links modified (February 2018)

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• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20040315192040/http://www.umma.org/02e.html to http://www.umma.org/02e.html
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110123230746/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/699/profile.htm to http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/699/profile.htm

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Word meaning

In the last photo of the article (the one of the flag of Sudan) it's written that "sudan" means black in arabic, but that's incorrect. "Aswad" means black.

You are right, and I just corrected this mistake, mentioning bilad as-sudan instead. Munfarid1 (talk) 10:54, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

He is arab

there no soucre say he is nubian 41.92.60.204 (talk) 20:36, 4 July 2024 (UTC)

I checked _Slavery in the Modern World_ says so on page 96 DervotNum4 (talk) 00:45, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Misidentified as Muhammad Ahmad

@Facabaopli: Regarding the two photos you uploaded to Commons and added here as Muhammad Ahmad: do you have a reliable, published source that explicitly identifies the sitter as Muhammad Ahmad?

As noted in the discussion at Commons, I’ve set out reasons why the identification appears incorrect. Unless a high-quality source is provided, I propose that we:

1. Remove both images from the article pending verification; and
2. On Commons, request verification of the identification (or open a deletion request if the files are misidentified)

Kristián Czerny (talk) 15:55, 21 October 2025 (UTC)

Unverified image

Recently this image was added to the page by User:AimanAbir18plus, first as the infobox image which I removed with the reasoning of "Unverified image, commons says it was from something called the "Lost Sudan tapes, archive nationals", which I can't find and the watermark at the bottom is from a collectable postcard website, which makes one wonder about this "Lost Sudan tapes, archive nationals"", this was promptly restored with no explanation by AimanAbir18plus before being moved to a different spot in the article. I've been unable to find a reliable source confirming that this is Muhammad Ahmad, I did however find this site which refers to the figure as a "A Mahdi knight", though I am unsure of this site's reliability. If a reliable source cannot be found supporting this person as Muhammad Ahmad the image should be removed from the page.

Mentioning @AimanAbir18plus

DervotNum4 (talk) 18:09, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

It was not added by me. Check the history. Someone else added it first. AimanAbir18plus (talk) 20:00, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

I see, you just moved it, I apologise for this misattribution. DervotNum4 (talk) 21:10, 31 October 2025 (UTC)

I have moved it to new name as per the discussion. Herpking (talk) 12:52, 15 November 2025 (UTC)