عمر بن عبد العزيز
Sunni poets Jarir ibn Atiyah and Al-Farazdaq considered various Umayyads Caliphs, such as Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik, Umar II, Yazid II, and Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik to be the Mahdis. In Medina, among Sunni religious circles, the belief in Umar II being the Mahdi, "the just restorer of religion", was widespread. Said ibn al-Musayyib is said to identify Umar II as the Mahdi long before his reign. The Basran, Abu Qilabah, supported the view that Umar II was the Mahdi. Hasan al-Basri opposed the concept of a Muslim Messiah but believed that if there was the Mahdi, it was Umar II. After the Umayyads, Sunnis held numerous Abbasid Caliphs to be the Mahdis.