that they would not live in a world where their beliefs were oppressed. The Ansar had an unwavering faith that death was the beginning of true life, and only those who had done evil in this world feared death. I remember that my brothers and I did not complain when food ran out and we went a day or half a day without eating. We were conditioned to be patient and curb our desires. I remember hearing whispers from the compassionate and sympathetic, and hearing those who condemned the hunger and deprivation we, the children of the Mahdi, were suffering. But we paid no heed to these whispers. The Khalifa knew of our hunger and deprivation, and from his side, there was a call for self-purification and drawing closer to the One True God. What we had in terms of food and clothing was no different from what the common Ansar had. The Ansar knew life only as worship, piety, and jihad in the path of God. For these noble goals, they lived, and the hardship of poverty and deprivation only strengthened their resolve to pursue their goals. The Imam Al-Mahdi summarized the wisdom of this upbringing in his saying: "Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and Hellfire by desires." The lives of the people in Al-Baq'a (Omdurman) were a continuous religious mobilization. The call to prayer would sound at dawn, and the entire city would respond. "Allahu Akbar" would echo, filling the space with glory and awe. The worshippers would flock, filling the mosque beyond its capacity. They were bound by brotherhood in God and fellowship for the sake of God's religion, and by their love for the Imam whose upright life had transcended horizons, whose glorious events had amazed minds, and whose dazzling results had led to unity of purpose around the creed of monotheism, purity of soul, and nobility of character. The Imam Al-Mahdi was keen on a high standard in everything, and he would guide his loved ones to excel in every aspect, even in formalities. For example, he would write to them about the importance of good handwriting, saying: "Praise be to God, the generous ruler, and peace be upon our master Muhammad and his family, with salutations. To proceed; from His servant Muhammad Al-Mahdi, son of Abdullah, an announcement to all scribes of the Mahdi's rulings and supporters of the religion. After this, God Almighty said in His Noble Book: {And do good, for God loves the doers of good.} Therefore, as you understand, it is imperative to improve and perfect your handwriting, and not to change the letters or distort their meanings. God has destroyed the corrupt and ruined them, so abandon their handwriting and do not follow their path. God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And the letter 'Sh' is from Satan the accursed. Give the letters their due, as they were revealed and as was customary in the past. And the attachment of the letters 'Kaf' and 'Ha' in this manner. Beware and strive to take your precautions against it so that your hands become accustomed to writing the Quran. Keep this command of ours and inform everyone of it. There is no might nor power except with God the Great. (300 AH)." The Imam Al-Mahdi was keen on purifying social life from expressions of frivolity and idle talk and words.