He was surprised by his ignorance of reading and his mispronunciation of the Quranic verses. On Sunday, the eighth of Ramadan, the illness intensified for Al-Mahdi, and he looked at those around him, including the women, with a look that indicated his distress at parting with them, as if he knew that the destroyer of pleasures was visiting him before his time. He was in the vast palace that he had built after enduring the hardships of the infant's birth. His voice was weak as he said, "There is no god but You; glory be to You! Indeed, I have been among the wrongdoers." He was repeating from his companions. On the evening of Monday, the ninth of Ramadan, in the year 1302 AH, Al-Mahdi's soul departed to its creator while he was lying on his bed. His relatives and companions wept and wailed. His son, Abd al-Rahman, fell upon him, kissed him, and wailed, and then fainted, so they thought he had died. As for the scholars, they gathered around him and discussed what should be done. Each of them expressed his opinion regarding the impending crisis, and that the death of Al-Mahdi would be a bad omen, as it would reveal the falsehood of his claims. He regretted his conquests and his possession of the entire land, which he had boasted about in his proclamations, many of which have been presented to us. Abd Allah al-Ta'ishi was pleased on the one hand because he was destined for the caliphate, and on the other hand, he was in his last moments of life.