In each of those narrated by Ibn Khaldun, and he narrated from a group of scholars, they composed poetry about the Mahdi, affirming his existence, such as: And we also inform that the Mahdi has been frequently mentioned in narrations, so be strengthened by this. And like the saying of Al-Suyuti: And what a large number narrated, it is obligatory to dismiss their agreement on falsehood. ... and so on, and so on. So if Ibn Khaldun considered the hadiths narrated about the Mahdi to be weak, with few exceptions, then he relied in rejecting this not only on the chain of narration alone, but also on the contradiction of the text with the judgment of reason. And it appears that Ibn Khaldun's doctrine was to accept the report of a single narrator if it was supported by the judgment of reason, and to reject many hadiths if they were not supported by reason. And this, precisely, was the method of the great Mu'tazilites, such as Al-Dhalam and Abu Al-Hudhayl Al-Allaf. They had a special method regarding hadith, different from the method of the hadith scholars. The latter relied on the chain of narration alone for criticism and affirmation. As for the Mu'tazilites, and Ibn Khaldun among them, they relied on criticizing the chain of narration and judging the text by reason, especially since all the calculations that were based on the appearance of the Mahdi at a specific time, based on astrological charts, omens, and prophecies.