The people lost everything and did not have the means to reclaim the lands they had lost. The Mahdi, who had gathered the people and spent several years in the Mahdiya, writing and codifying its principles, became suspicious in his later days that some were plotting against the Mahdiya. He was exiled to the Equator and killed there. He said that any gathering after the evening prayer was a conspiracy. The Mahdi ordered the abolition of tribal customs (Qabawi) because most of the tribes were nomadic and their customs were a source of fear for the Mahdi. The situation of the rich and the merchants, whom we have spoken of before, deteriorated. Two hundred of the Mahdi's men were captured in the island of Abba. The Mahdi's men were killed in the battle of Gedaref. This was in addition to the gifts, presents, and spoils of war. Speaking of the Mahdi, he was from a small tribe.