He was accused, and people from his own followers and supporters rose to deny him. They seized him and handed him over to the district commissioner, Hafiz Bey, a Sudanese from the Arab tribes who had joined his call. Finally, the plaintiffs, the sons of Al-Mahdi, appealed to the governor, Hamad Rauf Pasha, who referred the matter to Al-Tayyib Bey, the director of Fashoda. He traveled from his post by steamer until he reached the island of (A). He arrested the Mahdi and imprisoned him. His followers then offered the director a bribe of one hundred ardebs of wheat and a sailing ship carrying this bribe. He released him and threatened those who had complained to the governor, warning them of all harm if they returned to oppose him. The Mahdi told the director during the investigation that Al-Khidr, peace be upon him, had sent him with the Mahdiya. The director said to the plaintiffs, "Leave the owner of the Khidr," and returned to Fashoda. This director is the one we mentioned who was administering one of the equatorial provinces instead of Al-Rahum, Mudir Rauf Bey (in Bahr al-Ghazal).

The appearance of the Mahdi's call. He said that he was calling people to Islam in the early years of 1881. He strengthened his resolve with the director of Fashoda, so he sent a proclamation to all those who had pledged allegiance to him. He sealed it with seals engraved with the name of Ahmad Abd Allah. In his proclamation, he began with "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God." He said, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to me and gave me the glad tidings and the guidance of the rightly guided caliphs and the saints. He took my hand, peace be upon him, and sat me on his throne and said to me, 'You are the awaited Mahdi. Whoever denies your Mahdiya has disbelieved. The Turks are infidels and the most numerous of people. They strive to extinguish the light of God, but God will not extinguish His light, though the disbelievers may hate it.' And he informed me, peace be upon him..."