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This article refers to elements from Original Dune Pages for this subject as it appears in other canons: |
- "The Mahdi will be aware of things others cannot see.[1]"
- ―Excerpt from the Mahdi prophecy
Statue of the Mahdi - Frank Herbert's Dune
Mahdi was the name used by the Fremen to describe their saviour in their messianic legend. The term equated roughly to "The one who will lead us to paradise".[2] The prophecy foretold that the Mahdi would 'be aware of things others cannot see'.[3]
History
People call Paul the Mahdi - Dune: War for Arrakis artwork
In conjunction with the wider Fremen legend of salvation, the Mahdi was also known to be an off-worlder (i.e. not a native of Arrakis), and the child of a Bene Gesserit. Thus, after Paul Atreides fell in with the Fremen and first displayed his prescience and fighting skills, many Fremen gradually began to see the young Duke as the Mahdi.
The legend associated with the Mahdi was at least partially influenced by a long-standing Panoplia Propheticus by the Bene Gesserit's Missionaria Protectiva wing. Lady Jessica noted that the Mahdi legend's presence on Arrakis was an indication of just how awful conditions there were, since it was reserved only for those cultures where a Bene Gesserit would need to assume total control.
Behind the scenes
- Mahdi may derive from the Arabic "المهدي" (al-Mahdi, lit. "the Guided One") or "المنقذ" (al-Munqidh, lit. "the deliverer")
Appearances
See also
References
- ↑ Dune - Chapter 15
- ↑ Dune, Terminology of the Imperium, MAHDI: in the Fremen messianic legend, "The One Who Will Lead Us to Paradise."
- ↑ Dune - Chapter 15: And he wore the same style cloak as his father, yet with casual ease that made one think the boy had always worn such clothing. "The Mahdi will be aware of things others cannot see," went the prophecy.