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Several remarks made about twenty years after the beginning of the second
occultation (around the year 352/963) suggest that
confusion and despair over the immediate return of the
Twelfth Imam became a dominant feature in Imamite
circles. Moreover harsh attacks on the concealment of
the Twelfth Imam by such Mu`tazilites as Abu al-Qasim
al-Balkhi(1)
and such Zaydites as Abu Zayd al-`Alawis(2)
and al-Sahib b. `Abbad(3)
increased this confusion among the Imamite populace from
Nisapur to Baghdad, so that many Imamites abandoned
their belief.(4)
The confusion over the prolongation of the occultation along with the
attacks from opposition groups encouraged the Imamite
narrators to justify the Ghayba by composing works. At
first they gathered their material from traditions
attributed to the Prophet and the Imams. Such works are
exemplified by al-Nu`mani's Kitab al-Ghaybaand
al-Saduq's Kamal al-Din.
The latter explains that he composed his work while he was living in
Nisapur, because concealment of the Imam caused
perplexity and bafflement among the majority of the
Shi'a who used to visit him and consequently they had
gone astray. Their number included even the well-known
Qummi scholar Muhammad b. al-Salt. This situation
provoked him into writing a work quoting the authentic
narrations attributed to the Prophet and the Imams on
this issue. According to him, these narrations had
already been assembled in al-Usul al-Arba`mi'a and had
been written down before 260/874 by the followers of
al-Sadiq and the other Imams(5).
He also devotes a chapter to people who lived to be more
than 100 years old in order to vindicate the advanced
age of the Twelfth Imam during his occultation.
By the end of the 4th/10th century, it seems that the argument based on
traditions and employed by al-Kulayni, al-Mas'udi,
al-Nu’mani, al-Saduq and al-Khazzaz were no longer
sufficient(6).
Hence the Imamite scholars resorted to theological
arguments (`Ilm al-Kalam) and used them extensively to
vindicate the Imam's concealment. Al-Mufid (d. 413/
1022) was perhaps the pioneer in this period.
In his work al-Fusul al-`Ashara fi al-Ghaybahe tries to prove the
existence of the hidden Imam on the basis of two
principles: the necessity of the existence of an Imam at
every period of time and the infallibility of this Imam.
Al-Mufid's treatment of this subject became the
framework for later Imamite scholars like his pupil
al-Karajaki (d. 449/1057), al-Murtada and al-Tusi. In
al-Ghayba,the last of these advances both the
traditional and the theological arguments for
vindicating the complete occultation of the Twelfth
Imam. However that may be, the theological approach goes
beyond the historical approach of the present work and
pertains to a later period.
5. The Application of the Epithet al-Mahdi to the Twelfth Imam
The traditions used by the Imamites during the short occultation to
support the view that the Twelfth Imam was the one who
will rise with the sword (al-Qa’im bil-sayf) were the
same traditions talking about the Twelfth Imam as the
expected Mahdi. In other words, the two ideas, al-Qa’im
and al-Mahdi,were already combined and applied to the
Twelfth Imam at the time of the Prophet. But, as we have
already seen (pp 21-23, 30) the Imams due to certain
reasons revealed it only to a few of their followers
instructing them not to publicize it. In spite of this
Sachedina holds that
“. . . the Mahdiism of the Twelfth Imamite Imam was a later development
in the theory of the Imamate of the hidden Imam, which
combined the already known belief in the coming of
al-Mahdi to restore justice and equity with the
prolonged occultation of the Twelfth Imam”.(7)
Sachedina reached this conclusion after examining the Kutub al-Ziyarat(8)which
was included by al-Majlisi in his work Bihar al-Anwar(9).
According to Sachedina the earliest work of this
literary genre is related on the authority of the
Twelfth Imam himself in reply to a letter written by Abd
Allah al-Himyari (d. 290/902). Sachedina says,
“In this Ziyarah which I have carefully examined, there is no mention of
the title al-Mahdi at all. The Twelfth Imam is not
addressed as the Mahdi, the one promised by the Prophet.
This is the first Ziyarah mentioned in this section of
the Book on the Shrines.”(10)
From the historical point of view there are several points in Sachedina's
thesis which are open to question.
Firstly, according to sayings attributed to al-Baqir and al-Jawad, all
the Imams hold the title al-Qa’im,inferring that they
have been entrusted with the execution of Allah's order
(Kullun Qa'imun bi Amr Allah);in addition, they all
hold the title al-Mahdi,whose duty is to guide people to
the Religion, of Allah (kulluna Nahdi ila Din Allah).(11)
For this reason, we find that in the books on pilgrimage
or Ziyara,all the Imams are addressed as al-A'imma
al-Rashidun al-Mahdiyyun(12).
Consequently the Twelfth Imam must hold the title of al-Mahdi in this
meaning,even though here the word has quite a different
meaning from the epithet al-Qa’im al-Mahdi,the one
promised by the Prophet who will rise with the sword(13).
(14)Secondly, in the Imamite works there is a
certain consistency between the signs indicating the
rise of al-Qa’im and his performance of his duty on
earth following his return and those pointing to the
rise of al-Mahdi. This can be noted in such statements
as the following:
It becomes clear from numerous statements of this nature that the Imams
used two different titles when referring to one person.
A tradition attributed to al-Sadiq makes the identity
between the two figures explicitly for when he was asked
by his follower Abu Said alKhurasani, "Are al-Mahdi and
al-Qa’im one and the same person?" He replied "Yes.(15)
Hence we find that al-Nu'mani sometimes refers to the Twelfth Imam as
al-Qa’im and sometimes as al-Mahdi without imagining
that such an application of the two terms would lead to
confusion among the Imamites. It is clear that the two
titles refer to the same person since al-Nu'mani also
reports a narration attributed to al-Baqir revealing
that al-Mahdi is al-Qa’im bi-l-Sayf.
When the Qa'im of the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt) rises he will
distribute equally among the people and deal justly with
his subjects. He is called al-Mahdi because he will be
the Guide to secret matters.(16)
For this reason al-Nu`mani refers to the Twelfth Imam as al-Qa’im
al-Mahdi.(17)
Moreover it is clear that the expected Mahdi acquired this title because
he will be `guided' by Allah and will guide men to
undertake a spiritual transformation of society, just as
he acquired the title al-Qa’im bil-Sayf because he will
rise by militant means to put into practice this
transformation, namely the establishment of a truly
Islamic State based entirely upon the shari`a as
interpreted and implemented by the Prophet and his
rightful successors, the Imams. This can also be seen in
al-Mufid's interpretation of the doctrine of return
(al-Raj`a):
“I say that Allah the Exalted will return some of the dead people to the
present world in the physical forms which they had
before. He will do this to honour one group and to
debase another, to grant superiority to the faithful
over the deniers, and to judge between the oppressors
and the oppressed. This will take place after the rising
of al-Mahdi of the Family of Muhammad”.(18)
Moreover most of the `Alids who had been inspired by the Prophetic
tradition predicting the rise of al-Mahdi held the title
al-Qa’im al-Mahdi when they rose in arms, like Muhammad
b. Ja’far al-Sadiq, who rose in 199/814.(19)
Thirdly, al-Kulayni and al-Mas`udi, both of whom lived during the period
of the short occultation, report a tradition which
explicitly refers to the Twelfth Imam as al-Mahdi: `Ali
b. Abi Talib said,
I thought about a child who will be from my flesh, the eleventh from my
line of descendants. He is the Mahdi who will fill the
earth with justice and equity when the height of
injustice and tyranny in the world has been reached. He
will live in a state of occultation as a result of which
a group of people will go astray and another will remain
faithful.(20)
Al-Saduq (d. 381/991) includes similar traditions referring to the
Twelfth Imam as al-Mahdi and as al-Qa’im.(21)
He also cites the text of a visit (ziyara) to the
Twelfth Imam during his occultation which is attributed
to the second Saf’ir, Abu Ja’far, (d. 305/917), who
addresses the Twelfth Imam as al-Hujja al-Qa’im
al-Mahdi.(22)
In the light of these points one can conclude that after the Twelfth Imam
went into occultation for the first time, the Imamite
scholars considered him as al-Qa’im al-Mahdi, theone who
will rise with the sword. This was a strongly supported
belief by the time of the occurrence of the second or
complete occultation.
6. The Effect of the Complete Occultation on the Position of the Imamite
Fuqaha'
The occurrence of the second occultation of the Twelfth Imam, followed by
the immediate dissolution of the Imamite Wikala after
the death of al-Sammari, the fourth safar in 329/941,
left a serious vacuum in the Imamite leadership. This
situation allowed the Imamite jurists (al-Fuqaha') to
extend their activities. They reached a consensus 'that
the concealed Imam would be alive until the moment of
his rising in arms, irrespective of the length of his
concealment. They based their view upon such traditions
as that attributed to alSadiq, who says to his adherent
Hazim,
O Hazim, the Sahib al-Amr (al-Qa’im) has two occultations and will rise
after the second one. Anyone who comes to you claiming
that he has purified his hands in the soil of his grave
(i.e. the grave of al-Qa’im), do not believe him.(23)
But in reality they found themselves in need of a leader to save the
congregation from possible disintegration, and there was
no one to undertake this task except themselves. By the
last quarter of the fourth/tenth century the ordinary
Imamites were accepting the statements of the jurists as
the actual statements of the Twelfth Imam, but they did
not consider their authority equal to his.(24)
In other words the fuqaha' were considered the spokesmen for the Imam's
views concerning Islamic doctrine and law. But they were
not in charge of the office of the Imdma because as is
explained by authors such as al-Tusi and al-Majlisi, it
is not possible for anyone to hold the position of Imam
before the rise of al-Qa’im.(25)
For this reason the eminent leaders of the Imamites, al-Mufid
(d.413/1022) and al-Tusi (d. 460/1067), refused to give
themselves authority over the half of the khums(26)
which was set aside for the Imam. Al-Mufid held that any
faithful follower who wanted to pay the Imam's share
should put it aside and either keep it in a safe place
or bury it. In case of his death, he should turn it over
to a trustworthy person to give to the Imam when he
rises. As for the other half of the khums,which is
called sadat share, it should be divided into three
shares and distributed equally among the needy members
of the Prophet's family, i.e. the orphans, the poor and
the penniless travellers.(27)
Al-Mufid's view was also held by such later scholars as al-Tusi, Abu
al-Salah and Ibn Zahra al-Halabi. This consensus among
the Fuqaha' concerning the khums continued until the
7th/13th century. But since the Twelfth Imam's
occultation prolonged, the believers did not know what
to do with the Imam's share in the khums,which they have
been trusted with by their predecessors.
By the beginning of the 7th AH/13th century the Imamite Fuqaha',in
particular, al-Muhaqiq al-Hilli wanted to solve this
problem. He began receiving the Imam's share in the
khums and spent it on religious activities serving the
Shiite cause. This step taken by the later Fuqaha'
marked a break with the authority of the earlier
Fuqaha'. It was a factor along with other previous
factors for the extension of the role of the Fuqaha'
after the second occultation which can be seen in the
following points:
Firstly, the prolongation of the occultation of the Twelfth Imam enabled
the Imamite fuqaha' to develop their role from mere
narrators of traditions into mujtahidun. It has been
noted that as regards legal statutes (al-Ahkam) the
fuqaha' used to consult the Twelfth Imam via his four
representatives during the time of the short occultation
(260-329/874-941). In other words their main function
was to narrate the traditions of the Imams, and they
continued to perform this function in the early years of
the second occultation.(28)
Thus they rejected the arguments based
on reason (`Aql) put forward first by Ibn `Aqil al-`Umam
(in the first half of the fourth/tenth century and then
by Ibn al-Junayd al-Askafi (d. 381/991). Both of these
figures refined Imamite jurisprudence,put forward new
ideas, separated the discussions about principles (usul)
from those about subordinates (furu’) and based their
method on the basic principles of jurisprudence. Their
method was rejected by the Imamite Fuqaha' because it
might lead to wrong inference in finding the religious
rules.
(1)Quoted by al-Qadi `Abd
al-Jabbar, al-Mughni, II,176, 182-3.
(2)Quoted in Kama’l,94-122,
126.
(3)Ibn `Abbad, Nusrat Madhahib
al-Zaydiyya,211.
(6)There are two reports which
support this point. First al-Saduq mentions that
the Zaydites accused the Imamites of inventing
the Prophetic traditions which indicate that his
successors will be twelve Imams (Kama’l,67-8).
The Zaydite al- Saib b. `Abbad (d. 381/991)
held this claim against the Imamites (Ibn `Abbad,
Nusrat Madhahib al-Zaydiyya,209-12). Also the
Isma`ilis did so. Ivanow (ed.), Zahr
al-Ma`atli,51.
(7)Sachedina, op. cit.,83.
(8)Kutub al-Ziyarat are the
books which give details of how to undertake
pilgrimages to the shrines of the Imams.
(10)Sachedina, op. cit.,86-7.
(11)al-Kafi, I,307, 536;
Kama’l,263; al-Tabarsi, al-Ihtijaj, II,249-50;
Ithbat,178-9.
(12)al-Saduq, Man la Yahduruhu
al-Faqih, II,371; al-Tusi, al-Tahdhib, VI,114;
N. al- Ghayba,45.
(13)al-Saffar (d. 290),
Basa'ir al-Darajat,f. 50a; al-Kafi, I,243.
(15)T. al-Ghayba,(Najaf,
1965), 296.
(17)(17)N.
al-Ghayba,125.
(18)al-Mufid, Awa'il
al-Maqalat,50.
(20)al-Kafi, I,19, 35, 338;
Ithbat,260.
(21)Kama’l,256, 260, 280, 289,
333, 338, 342.
(23)N. al-Ghayba,91; T.
al-Ghayba,274-5; Ikhtiyar,476.
(25)T. al-Ghayba,215; Bihar,
LII,99.
(26)The khums (the fifth) in
Shiite law is an obligatory tax based on the
following Qur'anic verse: "And know ye that
whatever of a thing ye acquire, a fifth of it is
for God, and for the Apostle, and for the
Apostle's near relatives and the orphans and the
needy and the penniless traveller" (al-Anfal,
VIII,41). The Imams collected the khums from
their followers and used the first three shares
for the benefit of the congregation and the
kindred of the Prophet, and the second three
shares for distribution among the orphans, the
needy, and the penniless traveller (wayfarer) of
the Prophet's family; Asl `Asim b. Hamid
al-Hannat, f. 22;al-Kafi, II,626-8.
(27)al-Muhaqqiq
al-Hili,al-Mu`tabar fi sharh al-Mukhtasar
(Qumm,1318),298;al-Jawami' al-Fiqhiyya
(Iran,1276),12,76.
(28)For details see Ibn Dawud,
al-Rijal,110; T. al-Fihrist,268,363; Ibn Qubba,
quoted in Kama’l,120; al-Najashi,315.
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