 It is derived from the Arabic root "h-d-y" (), commonly used to mean "divine guidance".The term "al-Mahdi" was employed from the beginning of Islam, but only as an honorific epithet and without any messianic significance.As an honorific it has been used in some instances to describe Muhammad (by Hassan ibn Thabit), as well as Abraham, al-Hussain, and various Umayyad rulers ("hudāt mahdiyyūn").