He was one of the prominent Egyptian figures in Khartoum. The rest of the details are from the memoirs of Al-Wali Al-Kan and Al-Mustafa.

He had a strong passion for women, to the point that he would bring them to his harem.

He was very lustful and extremely fond of women, and his method of intimacy was as follows: He would reside alone in a room, and his concubines would prepare him, perfume themselves, and present themselves to him in his room, and he would choose whomever he pleased.

And the mention of the Mahdi's women and his indulgence in fulfilling bestial desires.

And he was strict in his pursuit of fulfilling desires. We mention here that he would not place his hand in the hand of a woman who was not his wife or a close relative. He issued a proclamation stating: "Whoever commits adultery with a woman who is not a close relative will be flogged eighty lashes with a whip and will be paraded."

Let the reader consider how he imposed such strictness, like two consecutive months of punishment.

And how can he be forgiven for shaking the hand of a woman who is not a close relative? His proclamation further stated: "(Even if the woman is elderly or a young girl not desired)." Is it not then appropriate to apply the well-known proverb to him: "He asks for a fatwa regarding a needle but ignores a dung heap"?

He died around 1290 AH. As for his sons, they reached adolescence. Al-Samar was the eldest, around fifteen years old, and the rest were children of no significance to mention. However, we remember three of them: Al-Fashil, Al-Shumud, and Al-Bashir. Their mother was Fatima bint Ahmad Shurafi, who died in the mountains of Kordofan. The Mahdi was known by his three sons, and he was nicknamed "Abu Al-Thalatha."

He was more famous, even though he was the youngest of the three, because he was born on the island of Aba at the beginning of the Mahdist call. The Mahdi claimed that he was given the good news of the Mahdi's coming on the night of his birth, hence he was named Al-Bashir.

As for the Mahdi's wives, speaking about them is beyond the scope of this chapter. He appeared ascetic and not inclined towards wives, and he often condemned those who ate anything other than coarse food.

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