One of the issues raised about the existence of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) is the issue of the nature of his occultation; meaning, is the invisibility of his being the same as his physical occultation and absence, or does it mean his anonymity and cognitive occultation?

Types of occultation

A: Cognitive occultation

Cognitive occultation is the same as his personal and legal occultation. In this assumption, the Imam of the Time (peace be upon him) is hidden from our cognitive perspective; meaning that the Imam of the Time (peace be upon him) lives normally and people meet him in the streets and markets, sit and stand with him and socialize with him, and the Imam also talks and associates with people, but people do not know and recognize that this person is the Imam of the Time (peace be upon him). Divine wisdom has required that the Imam be protected from the possible dangers of the oppressors and tyrants by remaining anonymous so that there is a reserve for the Day of Judgment.

Narrations indicate this theory, such as:

1 - Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said: "In the owner of this matter (Hazrat Mahdi (a.s.) there are traditions from the prophets (a.s.): a tradition from Moses ibn Imran, a tradition from Jesus (a.s.), a tradition from Joseph (a.s.), and a tradition from Muhammad (s.a.w.s.); but the tradition he has from Moses (a.s.) is that he is afraid and waiting for an opportunity.

But the tradition he has from Jesus (a.s.) is that they say about him what they used to say about Jesus (a.s.).

But the tradition he has from Joseph (a.s.) is that he is hidden. God places a veil between him and the people, so that they see him but do not recognize him.

And as for the tradition that he has from Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), it is that he is guided by his guidance and the one who walks by his path...”(1)

2 - Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “How can this nation deny that God Almighty will do with His proof what He did with Joseph, that their Imam will walk in their markets and step on their carpets, but they will not recognize him until God permits his appearance...”(2)

B: Physical Occultation

Physical occultation is the same as personal and real occultation. According to this theory, the Imam of the Time (peace be upon him) is hidden and invisible from the outward view of people. Physical absence can be imagined in two ways:

1 - Physical absence due to the invisibility of the Imam of the Time

In the sense that the Imam is on this earth and lives on this earth and travels to different places and monitors the conditions and behavior of the Shiites and shows them his care and favor, but no one sees the existence of the Imam with the external eyes, as is the case with Imam Khidr (peace be upon him).

Imam Reza (peace be upon him) said:

"Khidr (peace be upon him) drank from the water of life; therefore he remained alive and will not die until the blowing of the trumpet. He comes to us and greets us. We hear his voice, but we do not see his body, and he is present wherever his name is mentioned. So whoever among you remembers him should greet him, and come to the Hajj season every year, perform all the deeds, stand at Arafat, and acknowledge the supplications of the believers. And soon God Almighty will remove our fear of the Qaim due to his familiarity, and will transform his loneliness into his companionship...” (3)

This type of concealment, which is the same as invisibility, is different from concealment in the form of anonymity, because concealment in the form of anonymity takes place normally and does not involve any assistance, and the Imam goes around in the form of anonymity and people see him but do not recognize him, but concealment in the form of invisibility requires a miracle, so that the Imam does not appear during his presence. This is where God Almighty has made the miracle a factor for the protection and preservation of the last successor of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) so that humanity will not be deprived of the grace of his existence and the earth will never be empty of the divine proof. As Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “If the earth remains without an Imam, it will surely collapse..” (4)

Perhaps a question comes to mind here that if the existence of Hazrat Mahdi is an invisible body, then how can the meeting and visitation of the elders with him (which is narrated in reliable books) (5) be justified?

In response, it should be said: The invisibility of the Imam depends on his own will and decision. At times when there is a need for his appearance and manifestation to bestow favor and care on his special Shiites and lovers, he will appear and resolve their problems..

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) says: “There are two occultations for Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon him): one short and the other long. During the first occultation, no one except the special Shiites is aware of his whereabouts, and during the second occultation, no one except the special friends and true devotees in religion is aware of his whereabouts...” (6)

The late Mirza Qomi, the author of the Laws, narrates that I used to attend the lessons of Allama Bahrul Uloom, Aqa Baqir Behbahani (may God have mercy on him), and I would discuss the lessons with him, and I would often explain the lessons to Sayyid Bahrul Uloom. I came to Iran, and after a while, Sayyid Bahrul Uloom was introduced to greatness and knowledge among the Shiite scholars and scholars. I was surprised and said to myself, how did he, who did not have this talent, achieve such greatness? Until I was able to visit Najaf Ashraf, where I met Sayyid Bahrul Uloom. A discussion was held in his presence, and I saw that he was a sea of ​​waves, who should truly be called Bahrul Uloom. One day, I asked him in private: "Sir, when we were together, you did not have this level of talent and knowledge at that time. How did you reach this position?" Sayyid Bahr al-Ulum said: "The answer to your question is a secret. I will tell you, but I ask you not to tell anyone as long as I am alive." I agreed. First, he briefly said: "How could this not be so, when the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, held me to his chest one night in the mosque of Kufa?"

I said: How did you reach the service of that Imam?

He said: One night I went to the mosque of Kufa, and I saw my master, the Imam of the Age, (peace be upon him), engaged in worship. I stood up and greeted him. He accepted my answer and ordered me to move forward. I moved forward a little, but I was polite and did not move forward much. He said: Come forward. So I moved a few steps closer. He said again: Come forward. I moved closer until he opened his arms and embraced me and pressed me to his blessed chest. Here, whatever he wanted to flow into this heart and chest, flowed. (7)

On the subject of the concealment of Imam Mahdi (AS) from the eyes of mankind by his own will and desire, many narrations have been narrated, some examples of which we will mention:

1 - Imam Reza (AS) said: "He will not be seen and will not be mentioned by name..." (8)

2 - Imam Sadiq (AS) said: "People will lose their Imam and he will be present during the Hajj season and will see them, but people will not see him..." (9)

Abu Hashim; Dawood bin Qasim Ja'fari says: I heard Imam Ali al-Naqi (AS) say: "My successor after me is my son Hassan. How will you be in the succession after that successor? I asked, "Why sacrifice?" He said: "Because you will not see him in person and it is not permissible for you to mention his name." I asked, "Then how should we mention him?" He said: Say: The proof is from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)...” (10)

2 - Physical absence due to interference in the eyes of the people

In this hypothesis, the disappearance of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) is due to his interference in the eyes of the people.

In this case, too, a miracle and divine power are needed so that during the presence and appearance of the Imam of the Time (peace be upon him) among the people and their presence and appearance in gatherings and gatherings, he is not seen.

In the Holy Quran and hadiths, there are cases where people could not see a visible being due to a divine miracle. For example:

A: “We placed a barrier in front of them and behind them, and We covered them; so that they do not see anything..” (11)

The commentators have narrated from Abdullah bin Masoud that the Quraysh gathered near the house of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) came out of the house and sprinkled dust on their heads, and they did not see his Prophet. (12) ;

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that: The Quraysh gathered and said: When Muhammad entered, we will all stand together before him. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) entered. At that time, Allah Almighty placed a barrier in front of and behind those people so that they did not see the Prophet. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) prayed and came towards them, while he was pouring dust on their heads and they did not see the Prophet. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) left, the Quraysh saw the dust and said: This is what Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) has bewitched us with (13).

B - ; "When you recite the Quran, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a veil of concealment..." (14)

In addition to the apparent meaning of the verse indicating that God Almighty concealed the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) from the disbelievers who intended to mock him while he recited the Quran, some interpretations state that God Almighty concealed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) from Abu Sufyan, Nadr ibn Harith, Abu Jahl, and the wood-carrier while he recited the Quran. They would pass by him but would not see him. (15)

C - Ibn Hisham in "Sirat al-Nabawi." He narrated a story about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) being hidden from the sight of Umm Jamil (the wood carrier) and at the end of it, he quotes the following sentence from the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): “God took his sight away from me [and hid me from him (16)].” There are also numerous evidences in this regard in the lives of the Imams (peace be upon them), such as: the disappearance of Imam Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him) from the sight of the agents of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, which has been narrated by not only Shiite scholars, but also Sunni scholars such as Ibn Hajar. (17)

At the end of this article, two important points should be mentioned:

First point: As long as hiding is possible through normal and natural means, miracles do not play a role in the hiding of Imam Mahdi (AS), but given the time dimension, we are unable to know the spatial and temporal requirements of each encounter and to know whether it was possible for Imam Mahdi (AS) to hide naturally in those circumstances or whether miraculous hiding was necessary for him.

For example, for the Imam to hide after two encounters with Jafar the liar, both cases are possible and depend on the circumstances that Imam Mahdi (AS) had at that time, but in the case of the beginning of this encounter, in any case, there is no need for it to be miraculous and it may be natural and ordinary.

Second point: A miracle either affects the beholder or the one being seen. The possession of the viewer is to make him unable to see what is in front of him and to see the place empty of the Imam, even though the Imam (peace be upon him) is in front of him. So, if according to a divine expediency and purpose, the only way is for someone to see the Imam and no one else to see, in this case the one who sees has normal vision and the one who does not see has his eyes covered by a miracle. The possession of other senses, such as hearing and touch, is also similar, and sometimes only some of the senses are unable to perceive.

The difference between the two basic theories about divine miracles is that the first theory considers miracles to be permanent and to apply to everyone during the period of the Great Occultation. As a result, this general state of miracles must be excepted for the visit of the Imam. However, according to the second theory, what is natural and normal is the visibility of the Imam's body and the concealment of the body is an exceptional matter and only occurs when the only way to preserve the Imam from concealment is through this method. As for the possession of a miracle in the seen and something that can be seen, the most obvious way is that the miracle blocks the light (image) emitted from the body of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) or his sound waves and others from what the five senses perceive and does not allow them to reach the viewer or listener. In this way, this person is unable to perceive the reality that is placed before him. (18)

1) Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Naama, vol. 2, chapter 33, p. 20.

2) Kafi, vol. 2, Kitab al-Hujjah, Hadith 4, p. 134.

3) Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Naama, Islamiya Bookstore Publications, vol. 2, p. 61; Mantabkhul-Athar, first edition, p. 325.

4) Ghaibat al-Numani, translated by Jawad Ghaffari, Saduq Library Publishing, first edition, p. 198.

5) Kamal al-Din and Tamam al-Naamah, vol. 2, p. 108.

6) Kafi, vol. 2, Kitab al-Hujjah, vol. 19, p. 141.

7) Imam al-Zaman (peace be upon him) and Sayyid Bahr al-Uloom, Sayyid Jafar Rafi’i, Yaran al-Qa’im Publishing, p. 157.

8) Mantabkhul-Athar, Safi Golpaygani, Sayyidat al-Ma’souma (peace be upon him) Foundation, first edition, p. 325.

9) Kamal al-Din and Tamam al-Naamah, p. 16, p. 33.

10) Ibid., vol. 2, p. 53.

11) Yas/ 9.

12) Majma’ al-Bayan, vol. 8, p. 416.

13) Ibid.

14) Bani Israel/ 45.

15) Majma' al-Bayan wa Ruh al-Ma'ani wa al-Durr al-Manthur, under verse 45 of Surah Bani Israel.

16) Sira Ibn Hisham, vol. 1, p. 378.

17) Imamate and Mahdism, Safi Golpaygani, vol. 3, p. 68.

18) Adapted from the book Tarikh al-Ghaybat al-Kubra, Sayyid Muhammad Sadr