Philosophy of Occultation

And We made them Imams, guiding (mankind) by Our Command, and We inspired in them the doing of good deeds, performing Salat, and the giving of Zakat and of Us (Alone) they were worshippers.”  (Chapter 21, verse 73) 

            The belief in a reformer who will appear at the end of time is a common belief among both the Sunni and Shia schools of thought.  This belief is derived from a famous tradition from the Holy Prophet whose authenticity has been agreed upon by both schools of thought.  The Holy Prophet states: “Even if there remains only a day on earth, Allah will prolong that day until a man from my progeny whose name is my name, he will fill the earth with justice and equity as it is filled with oppression and corruption.” [i] 

So where is their a difference of opinion between the respected schools of thought?  The Sunni schools of thought, as mentioned above, do believe in the concept of Al-Mahdi, however, they believe that the Imam will be born in the future.  The followers of Ahlul Bayt argue that such an idea is contradictory to Divine Justice.  The justice of Allah dictates that the Creator of the universe and would never, not for a single, moment leave the human being without a guide.  The Holy Quran testifies to this truth when it states: 

“Surely you (O’ Muhammad) are a Warner, and for EVERY nation there is a guide”    

One can infer from this verse that Allah has a representative, a Hujja, at all times.  Some may argue that the Holy Quran is the “guide” that is being referred to in the verse.  This is indeed true, but the Holy Quran itself declares that the hidden meanings of the verses are known to Allah and those “firmly rooted in knowledge” as mentioned in Surat Imran.  If one studies the lives of the Holy Imams one will notice that all of their contemporaries unanimously declared them the most knowledge of all men.  The Holy Prophet in a famous tradition discloses the wealth of knowledge at the disposal of the First Imam of the Ahlul Bayt: 

“I am the city of knowledge and Ali is the gate.  He who wishes to enter the city must come through the gate” [ii] 

 Furthermore, we find in Surat Al-Waqia that Allah says:  “No one touches it except the purified ones”   What is the meaning of the word touch and who are the purified ones?  Is Allah referring to a physical touch?  If Allah was referring to a physical touch the verse would be negated if it were put in the hands of a non-believer, because in Islamic Jurisprudence the Kafir is included in the list of najasaat.  So the word touch in this holy verse refers to an “intellectual touch”, meaning that none except the purified ones understand the true meaning of the Holy Quran.  Now let us move on to Surat Al-Ahzaab to determine who Allah is referring to by “the purified”.  Allah in verse 33 of this chapter declares: 

“Surely Allah wishes to remove any impurity away from you O’ People of the Household and purify you with a thorough purification” (33:33) 

In addition to this verse there is a tradition narrated by Aisha from the Prophet that reveals to us the identity of the Ahlul Bayt mentioned in the verse: 

“One day the Prophet (PBUH&HF) came out afternoon wearing a black cloak (upper garment or gown; long coat), then al-Hasan Ibn Ali came and the Prophet accommodated him under the cloak, then al-Husain came and entered the cloak, then Fatimah came and the Prophet entered her under the cloak, then Ali came and the Prophet entered him to the cloak as well. Then the Prophet recited: "Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanness O' People of the House (Ahlul-Bayt), and purify you a perfect purification (the last sentence of Verse 33:33)." 

There is also a tradition from the Prophet that proves beyond doubt that there is indeed a man from the descendants of Lady Fatima who is alive.  The Holy Prophet is reported to have said: 

“Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of God and my kindred (`itrah), my household (Ahl al­Bayt), for indeed, the two will never separate until they come back to me by the Pond (of al­Kawthar on the Judgement's Day)." [iii]

Thus we can conclude that as long as the Holy Quran exists, a member of the Ahlul Bayt must exist. 

People generally have 4 questions about the Final Imam of Ahlul Bayt.  Those questions include the following:

1. Who is he?

2. Where is he?

3. What is he doing?

4. Why is he in occultation?

As far as the first question is considered we have already established that Imam Al-Mahdi is a descendant of the Holy Prophet.  In addition to this we also learn that this Imam has the same name as our Holy Prophet and that this final Divine guide will fill the earth with justice just as at was filled with oppression.  The Holy Quran bears witness to this in the following verse: 

“It is He Who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth (Islam), to make it prevail over all religions even though the Mushrikoon (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) hate (it). 

Has Islam prevailed over all faiths?  The answer is not yet.  It will be none other than the Holy Imam who will make the religion of Allah prevail over all religions.  

Now that we have gained a better understanding of the identity and mission of the Imam a person naturally will ask, “Where is he?”  To answer this question we must first analyze the meaning of being in occultation.  Our scholars propose two possible meanings of being in a state of “ghayba

The first meaning is that the Imam is physically present but unrecognizable.  One may see the Imam on numerous occasions but it will be impossible to recognize him.  In the Holy Quran we read in the story of Joseph that when the brothers entered Egypt they saw their brother Joseph with their eyes but were unable to recognize him. Muhammad ibn Uthman, one of the deputies of the Imam, reports the following: 

“I swear by Allah that the Holy Imam attends the Hajj rituals every year.  He sees the people and knows them and they see him but do not recognize him” 

The second meaning is that the Imam is invisible to the eyes of his enemies.  Imam Al-Ridha, our 8^th Imam, was once asked about the 12^th Imam and in what sense will he be in ghayba.  Imam Al-Ridha states:

“His (the 12^th Imam) body cannot be seen”

So the Imam is made invisible by Allah in certain circumstances where is life is in danger.  Allah has done this in the past with the Holy Prophet when the Meccans planned to raid his house and assassinate him.  The Holy Quran explains: 

“And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them up, so that they cannot see.”

Thus we can conclude that the Imam lives in both types of ghayba depending on the circumstances.  

What is the Imam doing?  We have thousands of stories of people who have reported receiving some assistance from the Imam and from these reports we can get some idea of what the Imam is doing during occultation.   Throughout history many prominent scholars have come problems that they were unable to solve and they have reported seeking the Imam and receiving the answer to their questions from the Holy Imam.  There are also reports of people who were afflicted with terminal sickness and have receiving help from the Imam.  For example, the Imam might have appeared to them in a dream or even come to them in person and recited a supplication for them after which the illness was miraculously cured.  Others have reported being lost in deserts or found themselves in life-threatening situations and only after being brought to safety came to the realization that they just received assistance from the Holy Imam.  In addition to this many scholars believe that the Imam is the inspiration behind any great invention or project that brings benefit to mankind.  For example, the Imam might have suggested the idea to person X without person X knowing that it was the Imam.  Person X then mentions it to person Y and person Y mentions it to person X until it reaches someone who has the means of carrying it out.  The Imam also has the ability to directly inspire the hearts of man to do acts of goodness just as the Devil has the power to inspire acts of evil. 

The fourth and most important question is, “why is the Imam in occultation?”  Before answering this question a person must examine the history of mankind.  Mankind has been trying to bring happiness and success to his life since the dawn of his creation.  He has brought forth thousands of ideologies, established hundreds of governments, proposed countless philosophies, and put forward numerous lifestyles; all of which have miserably failed and will continue to fail until man comes to the realization that the secret to his happiness and success lay with his Creator.  Allah has been introducing Himself to mankind since the beginning of time.  He has sent thousands of prophets, successors, imams, and guides equipped them with miracles to prove the genuine-ness of their message.  As mankind matured, developed, and progressed Allah sent to them His greatest Messenger, the blessed and holy son of Abdullah, Muhammad.  He gave him the most comprehensive plan for mankind’s guidance and equipped him with an everlasting miracle that will exist until the end of time, the Holy Quran.  After the demise of the Holy Prophet Allah did not leave mankind without Divine teachers who expose the beauty that exists within Holy Quran.  The Almighty sent mankind eleven divinely chosen Imams all of which were either killed or poisoned.  Allah sent 11 beacons of light but man foolishly extinguished these eleven lights and did not appreciate the blessing that Allah gave to them.  Thus Allah has kept the 12 Imam in hiding until man realizes and appreciates the gift of Divine guidance.  Allah does not wish to force mankind to accept His guidance; He wants mankind to accept it by their free will.  So as long as the Imam remains in hiding we must think of him as the sun that exists behind the clouds providing the entire earth with life.  For without the sun all the inhabitants would die and without the Final Imam all that exist will perish!