The Mahdi was born a thousand years ago and disappeared into a cellar or something similar, then he will emerge at the end of time, as is in the core of Shiite doctrine. Dr. Hassan Makki believes that the definitions that Mr. Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi tried to present in his book "Yasalunak 'an Al-Mahdiya" (They Ask You About Mahdism) – which are definitions to explain the nature of the Mahdist theory – do not agree or correspond with the personality of the Mahdi according to Ahl al-Sunnah. The author of the book "Yasalunak 'an Al-Mahdiya" stated that Mahdism is a call from an inspired religious leadership that unifies the word of Muslims, renews religion, calls for adherence to the Book and the Sunnah, and fills the void left by the Messenger (peace be upon him). This does not align with the reality of Mahdist thought, which is based on the principle of the authority of revelation, which transcends and surpasses the authority of transmission and the limits of the text. Such a definition is suitable for expressing the "Mujaddid" (Renewer) who revives the lost Sunnah and restores the lost religion. It should not be applied to the Mahdi, because the Mahdi is a natural product of the evolution of esoteric thought and the Shiite methodology. Dr. Makki also believes that the Muslim nation's experience with the Mahdist idea was unhappy, and the revolution in the framework of Mahdism did not lead to a movement of genuine reform or renaissance, because the personality of the Mahdi led the masses of Muslims to suspend the role of reason, elevate the status of revelation, and tear down the veil, so that revelation becomes a primary reference for legislation and issuing judgments. The Sufis also paid attention to matters of the unseen and were concerned with uncovering and penetrating veils, to the point where they believed that the one who experiences revelation perceives realms of God's command that the senses cannot grasp. As Ibn Khaldun explains, they mention truths of existence that only they can perceive, and they also perceive many events before they happen and act with the vigor and power of their souls upon the lower existences. This shows us the Sufis' stance towards the idea of the Mahdi. These people established a hidden state headed by a Mahdist figure who manages the affairs of the universe and acts within it. The management of the universe's affairs is by the four poles, corresponding to the four corners of the world, then the seven substitutes, the three hundred chieftains, the forty companions, and the Seal of the Poles, who is the first pillar of the Muhammadi Mahdi, the awaited one, as stated in the verses.