The doctrine of the Mahdi, for the Shiites, was a matter of belief. They did not designate him in any specific person. Rather, they mostly believed in it as a form of worldly righteousness where truth and goodness would prevail at the hands of a man descended from the Prophet's household, who would be a sign of the Hour. Among those who believed in this was Al-Suyuti, who wrote his book "Al-'Irf al-Wardi fi Akhbar al-Mahdi," and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, who wrote "Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar," and Yusuf bin Yahya al-Dimashqi, who wrote " 'Aqd al-Darrar fi Akhbar al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar."

Among the harshest critics of this doctrine was Ibn Khaldun. He dedicated a chapter in his Muqaddimah to criticizing and refuting it. He took two approaches: first, by weakening the hadiths that mention the Mahdi al-Muntadhar by discrediting their narrators. Second, by explaining the absence of the necessary conditions for the appearance of the claimed Mahdi from the Prophet's household and his victory and dominion. This is because, as he stated, "No call for religion and kingship is completed except by the existence of a tribal solidarity that supports it and defends it against those who oppose it until God's command is fulfilled." He further argued that the solidarity of the Fatimids, and indeed of all of Quraysh, had vanished from all horizons. Other nations emerged whose solidarity surpassed that of Quraysh. Therefore, if a Fatimid were to call for such a matter in any region without solidarity or power, merely by claiming lineage to the Prophet's household, it would not be achieved and would not be possible.

The widespread idea of the Mahdi among many Sunnis, due to the hadiths narrated about him, had an impact on political and social life, particularly in the emergence of movements. (See: Ahmad Mahmud Subhi, "The Theory of Imamate," p. 60 and onwards. See: Ibn Khaldun, "The Muqaddimah," p. 279. See: Ibn Khaldun, "The Muqaddimah," p. 294-295.)

Many researchers believe that the true reason for the spread of this doctrine is the contradiction that arises in people's souls between Islamic ideals in governance and the reality of rulers practicing injustice and tyranny, while remaining passive in changing that reality to approach the ideal, either due to inadequacy or refusal. Thus, the idea of the awaited Mahdi, the savior, arises as a psychological remedy for that contradiction. These researchers cite as evidence that Islamic sects that believe in and practice revolt did not have this doctrine spread among them, such as the Khawarij and the Zaydis. (See in this regard: Ahmad Mahmud Subhi, "The Theory of Imamate," and Ahmad Amin, "Dhuha al-Islam," vol. 3, p. 241.)