After imbibing the Fremen with the legend that a messiah would come and turn Arrakis into a lush green world, the Fremen coined a term for that messiah. The Fremen held on to the belief that a savior was coming to help Arrakis.
Mahdi Definition
Mahdi is the name the Fremen gave to the messiah of their religion. After the Bene Gesserit used the Panoplia Proheticus to input the seeds of a savior, the Fremen coined a term and called the savior Mahdi.
According to the Fremen, the Mahdi was to come and turn Arrakis from a desert into a lush green world. After Paul joined the Fremen, he got called Mahdi as the Fremen believed he was the messiah.
The Relevance of Mahdi in the Dune Universe
After Paul and his parents arrive on Arrakis, word spreads among the Fremen that a boy born of a Bene Gesserit sister, just like the legend says, had reached Arrakis. With Shadeout Mapes believing this rumor, she meets Jessica and hands her a Crysknife. After the Harkonnen invades the Atreides using the Sardaukar, Paul’s father dies, and Paul escapes death with his mother.
Paul and his mother find themselves in the desert where they meet a Fremen tribe called Sietch Tabr. With the tribe discovering that Paul was the son of a Bene Gesserit sister, word of him being the Mahdi begins to spread. After becoming a part of the Sietch, Paul and his mother become leaders of the tribe, and Jessica takes the water of life, becoming a reverend mother.
Paul falls in love with the Fremen Sayyadina Chani. With Paul’s heightening prescience, his popularity as the messiah begins to grow. Soon, the Fremen start seeing Paul as a religious leader; this causes him to rise among the Fremen ranks to become the primary ruler of the Fremen.
After Paul takes the water of life, he gains full prescience and becomes the Kwisatz Haderach; this also makes the Fremen worship him as the Mahdi. Paul leads a rebellion against Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and emperor Shaddam IV with the Fremen. He defeats the armies of both houses and dethrones Shaddam to become the emperor of the universe.
The Fremen begin a jihad in Paul’s name; this leads to complete domination of Paul’s religion. The jihad causes the death of 61 billion people, and it seals Paul’s position as the emperor of the known universe.
Paul’s Life After the Emperor
After becoming emperor, Paul discovered that the jihad he started had caused great pain to humanity. However, he knew that was nothing compared to the future threat he foresaw; this led him to theorize the golden path, a plan that steers humanity off the path of destruction by an unknown enemy.
In ‘Dune Messiah,’ Paul loses his prescience, and after killing all those who want to harm his children, he walks into the desert a blind man. In ‘Children of Dune,’ A blind preacher emerges from the desert and preaches against Alia’s rule. After the preacher gets killed, it gets revealed that he was Paul Atreides.
Glossary Terms Associated with Mahdi
Here is a list of terms associated with Mahdi:
- Sayyadina: A Sayyadina is a Fremen priestess who serves as a guide for the Fremen. Called the friend of God, the Sayyadina provided spiritual wisdom to the people. Sayyadinas became reverend mothers by taking the water of life.
- Lisan al Gaib: Lisan al Gaib is a term the Fremen used to describe a prophet from another world. With the word meaning ‘The voice from the Outer World,’ the Lisan al Gaib are the people who brought the messianic legend of the Mahdi to the Fremen.
FAQs
Is Paul the Mahdi in Dune?
Yes, after the Missionaria Protectiva brought the legend of a messiah to the Fremen, the culture adopted a name for him. Calling the future messiah Mahdi, the Fremen held on to the belief that their messiah would come and change Arrakis from a desert into a lush green world. After Paul landed on Arrakis, word of him being the Mahdi spread across the Fremen. With Paul joining the Sietch Tabr, his popularity rose, and soon, he became the Mahdi.
What did the Mahdi do to the Fremen?
As the Mahdi, Paul launched a jihad that saw the domination of his religion over all others. By the end of the jihad, the religion of the Muad’Dib was the only primary religion left in the universe. The Fremen jihad led to the death of 61 billion people. After the jihad, Paul admitted that the idea of a messiah was a dangerous path created by religion.
How did the Fremen spread the religion of the Muad’Dib?
The Fremen were able to spread the Muad’Dib’s religion using war. The Fedaykin served as priests and commanders for the Fremen. The jihad destroyed many beliefs. The jihad saw the elimination of 40 religions and many cultures that resisted the Fremen.
Are the Fremen evil?
No, the Fremen are not evil. However, the Fremen were primitive; this made the Bene Gesserit input the Panoplia Propheticus of the Mahdi through the Missionaria Protectiva. After the legend got inputted into the culture, the Fremen became susceptible to future manipulation.