In Shia Islam, occultation refers to the belief that the twelve Imam (Imam Mahdi) who has already been born and subsequently hidden but will reemerge to establish justice and peace on earth at the end of time. According to this doctrine, his absence continues until initial conditions are met for his reappearance, including humankind’s readiness for the message of the Hidden Imam. In this part of the article, we shall discuss the reality and the importance of knowing the Imam from the hadith’s point of view and the reason why the knowledge of the Imam is necessary.
1) The Knowledge of the Present Imam
After submitting ourselves to Allah and believing in the messengership of Muhammad (upon whom be peace), our first duty is to know the Imam of our time. This matter can be studied from three aspects:
a) The reality of knowing the Imam.
b) The importance of knowing the Imam from the hadith’s point of view.
c) Why knowledge of the Imam is necessary?
The Reality of Knowing the Imam
Knowledge (ma‘rifah) means to be acquainted with someone or something. For example, the “knowledge” of the Prophet means studying his biography, understanding his claim of prophethood, his aims, and his teachings, etc. To know the history of a person, his ideas and teachings mean to have “knowledge” of him.
The first duty of the Shi‘ahs, according to the ahadith of the Imams, is to know the Imam of their time. What does this mean? Does it mean only to know that; Our Imam was born on the 15th of Sha‘ban, 255 A.H.; there were four representatives of the Imam during the lesser occultation (al-ghaybahaṣ-Ṣughrah)? These four representatives were: ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id al-‘Amri, from 260/875-6 to 265/879; Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman al-‘Amri, from his father’s death until his own in 305/917; al-Husayn ibn Rawh an-Nawbakhti, from then until 326/937-8; and finally ‘Ali bin Muhammad as-Samari, until his death in 329/940-1; the greater occultation (al-ghaybah al-kubra) began in 329 A.H./940 A.D.?
Does our duty about knowing the Imam of our time end with this historical information? Surely not; the reality of the knowledge of the Imam is not just the knowledge of these historical facts. Even the non-Shi‘ahs are aware of these facts.
So what is the knowledge of the Imam? To fulfil our responsibility in regard to the knowledge of the Present Imam, we have to study the following matters:
1. The need for an Imam and a “proof” (hujjah) of God. In other words, the significance of divine guidance which takes the form of imamate after the finality of nubuwwah (prophethood) and risalah (messengership).
2. The reality of imamat and wilayah. That is, the nature of the relationship of an Imam with the Prophet and Allah; and the relationship of the Shi‘ahs with the Imam.
3. The evidence of the birth of our twelfth Imam.
4. The proof that the Present Imam is the son of Imam Hasan al-‘Askari.
5. The important events of the lesser occultation.
6. The causes of occultation.
7. Is it possible for a man to live for over a thousand years?
8. The teachings and message of the Present Imam for his Shi‘ahs.
9. The signs which are to appear before the appearance of Imam Mahdi.
10. Studying the ahadith describing the appearance of Imam Mahdi.
11. Is the Imam aware of, and in connection with, his people?
12. If his presence is felt in the Shi‘ah community, then what is the nature of his presence?
13. The proofs of the imamate of our twelfth Imam.
14. Is it possible for an Imam to guide his community while he is in occultation?
These are some of the important matters which must be studied by the Shi‘ahs.
The Knowledge of The Imam From Hadith’s Point of View
The Prophet and the Imams of Ahlu ’l-Bayt have very clearly explained the importance of knowing the Imam of the time. From these sayings, we can understand that the survival of our faith is based on our knowledge of the Imam of the time. If one lacks the knowledge of the Imam of his time, all his deeds will be valueless.
Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) said, “One who dies and he does not believe in (lit. “have”) an Imam, his death will be the death of an unbeliever (jahiliyyah).”(1)
Imam Ja‘far aṣ-Ṣadiq (upon whom be peace) said, “One who dies and he does not believe in an Imam, his death will be the death of an unbeliever. The people will not be excused unless they know their Imam.”(2)
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (upon whom be peace) said, “Everyone who worships Allah, the Almighty and Great, and goes to a great length for it but does not believe in an Imam appointed by Allah, then his efforts are unacceptable, he is astray and lost. Allah rejects his deeds … And if he dies in this state, he has died the death of unbelievers and hypocrites. And
… you should know that the unjust leaders and their followers are far from the religion of Allah.”(3)
Imam Hasan al-‘Askari (upon whom be peace) said, “One who believes in the Imams who came after the Messenger of Allah and does not believe in my son (Muhammad al-Mahdi), he is like the one who believes in all the prophets and messengers (of Allah) and then rejects the prophethood of (Muhammad, the last) Messenger of Allah.”(4)
The importance of knowing the Imam of the time can very clearly be understood from these ahadith. From the Islamic point of view, if a person believes in Allah, and has faith in Muhammad and the Qur’an but does not know the Imam of his own time, his faith is of no value. And surely this knowledge about the Imam does not only cover the historical information about him.
To be continued!
NOTES:
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1. Ha’iri, Shaykh ‘Ali Yazdi; Ilzamu ’n-Naṣib fi IthbatiHujjati ’1-Ga’ib, p. 5
2. aṣ-Ṣafi, Luṭfullah; Muntakhabu ’1-Athar, (part 10, chapter 5, hadith No. 5) p. 514.
3. Shaykh Kulayni, Uṣulu ’l-Kafi, (kitabu ’1-hujjah, babma‘rifati ’1-imam, hadith 8).
4. Khazzaz al-Qummi, Kifayatu ’l-Athar, p. 291.
