Al-Mahdiyya — Tomb of Imam al-Mahdi (AS), First Fatimid Caliph
المَهدِيَّة — مَقَامُ الإِمَامِ المَهدِيّ — أَوَّلُ خُلَفَاءِ الفَاطِمِيِّين
Al-Mahdiyya is the fortified coastal city founded by Imam al-Mahdi bi-Allah (AS) — the 13th Imam and 1st Fatimid Caliph — in 303 AH / 916 CE as the first Fatimid capital. Built on a narrow peninsula on the Tunisian coast, it was designed to be impregnable: a city that could be defended from both land and sea. The Imam al-Mahdi (AS) was buried here in 322 AH / 934 CE, and the city bears his name to this day. Al-Mahdiyya later served as the center of the Fatimid Caliphate during the devastating Abu Yazid revolt (322-336 AH), when it was besieged but never conquered. The Fatimid state later moved its capital to al-Mansuriyya and then to Cairo. The coastal lighthouse and remains of the medieval city walls are still visible.
Why it Matters
Al-Mahdiyya is the first Fatimid capital — the city where the Fatimid Caliphate was proclaimed and where the founding Imam rests. It is the origin point of the civilization that would go on to build Cairo, al-Azhar, and the institutions that define Bohra heritage. Performing ziyarat here is connecting with the very beginning of the Fatimid project — the declaration of the Imamate's return from satr to public authority.
Dua when visiting
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مَولَانَا المَهدِيّ بِاللَّه وَارزُقنَا شَفَاعَتَهُ يَومَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُون
Also in this region
4- Karbala al-Mualla — Shrine of Imam Husain (AS) Karbala Aimmah كَرْبَلاَء المُقَدَّ
- Najaf al-Ashraf — Shrine of Imam Ali (AS) Najaf Aimmah النَّجَفُ الأَشْرَف
- Kazimayn — Shrines of Imam Musa al-Kazim and Imam Muhammad al-Jawad Baghdad (Kazimayn) Aimmah الكَاظِمَيْن
- Samarra — Shrines of Imam al-Hadi and Imam al-Askari Samarra Aimmah سَامَرَّاء