Imam Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Mahdi (a): Difference between revisions

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 ==Occultation==
 {{main|Occultation}}
+Several hadiths predicted the birth and [[occultation]] of Imam al-Mahdi (a), before his birth. Many hadiths also speak about his rule. According to these hadiths, he is the [[Imam]] who will rise by [[God]]'s command and establish a universal rule. Before his uprising, he has two periods of occultation, one of which is longer than the other. The [[Minor Occultation]] started from the birth of the Imam until [[329]]/940, when the last "[[special deputy]]" of the Imam (a) passed away. After that, the [[Major Occultation]] started, which will end when he will rise against the injustice and oppression that fills the world.
+===Minor Occultation===
+There are disagreements over when the [[Minor Occultation]] began. Some people believe that it began with the birth of Imam al-Zaman (a) in [[255]]/869, and thus, it lasted for 74 years. But some others believe that it began since the [[martyrdom]] of Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari (a) in [[260]]/874 in which case the Minor Occultation lasted for 69 years.
+[[Al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] (d. 413/1022) in his ''[[al-Irshad]]'' and [[al-Tabrisi]] (d. 1154) in his ''[[A'lam al-wara]]'', and some other prominent Shiite [[fuqaha]] (jurisprudents) and [[muhaddiths]] as well as many historiographers have subscribed to the first view, taking the Minor Occultation to be 74 years.
-Several hadiths predicted the birth and [[occultation]] of Imam al-Mahdi (a), before his birth. Many hadiths also speak about his rule. According to these hadiths, he is the [[Imam]] who will rise by [[God]]'s command and establish a universal rule. Before his uprising, he has two periods of occultation, one of which is longer than the other. The [[Minor Occultation]] started from the birth of the Imam until [[329]]/940, when the last "[[special deputy]]" of the Imam (a) passed away. After that, the [[Major Occultation]] started, which will end when he will rise against the injustice and oppression that fills the world.
+During the Minor Occultation, Imam al-Mahdi (a) had interactions with the Shi'as through his [[Special Deputies]] and settled their issues, such as questions about beliefs, jurisprudential inquiries, and financial matters.
+===Major Occultation===
+Since the beginning of his [[imamate]] in 260/874, Imam al-Mahdi (a) had interactions with the Shi'as only through his Special Deputies. The last deputy, [['Ali b. Muhammad al-Samuri]] passed away on [[Sha'ban]] 15, [[329]] (May 15, 941). A week before his death, Imam al-Mahdi (a) issued a letter to him as follows:
+: O 'Ali b. Muhammad al-Samuri! You will die within 6 days. So, finish your works and do not recommend anyone as your successor, because the second Occultation has now started, and there will be no Reappearance until God permits.
+After al-Samuri's death, the connection through Special Deputies came to an end and the Occultation entered a new phase. This phase of the Occultation came to be known in recent sources as the [[Major Occulation]]. According to most Shiite sources, the 4th deputy died in 329/941, but [[al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] and [[Fadl b. al-Hasan al-Tabrisi]] take it to be in 318/930.
 ==Further Reading==