Minor Occultation
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The Minor Occultation (
Historical background
Until their deaths, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams (Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, respectively) were held under close surveillance in the garrison town of Samarra by the Abbasids,[1][2] who are often responsible in Shia sources for poisoning the two Imams.[3] The two Imams witnessed the deterioration of the Abbasid caliphate,[4] as the imperial authority rapidly transitioned into the hands of the Turks,[5] particularly after al-Mutawakkil.[6]
Contemporary to the tenth Imam, the Abbasid al-Mutawakkil violently prosecuted the Shia,[7][8] partly due to the renewed Zaydi opposition.[9] The restrictive policies of al-Mutawakkil towards the tenth Imam were later adopted by his son, al-Mu'tamid, who is reported to have kept the eleventh Imam under house arrest without any visitors.[10] Instead, al-Askari is known to have mainly communicated with his followers through a network of representatives.[8][11] Among them was Uthman ibn Sa'id,[12] who is said to have disguised himself as a seller of cooking fat to avoid the Abbasid agents, hence his nickname al-Samman.[13]
Underground network
The underground network of representatives might date back to Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam, in response to the Abbasid restrictions on him. At the time, the main purpose of this network was to collect the Islamic alms, such as khums and zakat.[15] The Abbasid al-Rashid is said to have carried out a campaign of arrests in 179 (795) to decimate this underground network which ultimately led to the arrest of Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, and his death in prison.[16]
By the time of
Deputies
Immediately after the death of al-Askari in 260 (873–874),
Twelver sources detail that al-Mahdi made his only public appearance to lead the funeral prayer for his father instead of his uncle,
In his new capacity as the caretaker of the office of imamate,[32] Uthman received petitions and made available their responses, sometimes in writing.[33] As the closest associate of al-Askari,[34] most of al-Askari's local representatives continued to support Uthman.[35] However, there might have been doubts among the Shia about his authority to collect and manage the religious funds.[34]
Uthman later introduced his son,
This period, later termed the Minor Occultation (al-ghaybat al-sughra),
Shia authority in this period
The number of these agents was not limited to four in early Shia sources.[33][45] Sachedina suggests that the later stress of the Twelver literature on the four deputies (al-nuwwab al-arba'[42]) was likely due to their prominence in Baghdad, the Shia center of the time.[46] Similarly, Momen reckons that al-Askari's network of the representatives (wukala) likely continued to operate during the Minor Occultation of al-Mahdi.[41] Indeed, Ibn Babawayh (d. 991) speaks of other trusted men of the Hidden Imam in different cities in addition to the four agents.[47] Sachedina writes that the Shia community lacked a notable figure to replace the fourth agent after his death.[48]
The authority of the four agents on behalf of the Hidden Imam was challenged by some Shia figures, more so during the term of the third agent, al-Nawbakhti.[46] For instance, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shalmaghani turned against al-Nawbakhti and claimed to be the rightful agent of al-Mahdi, before denouncing the concept of occultation as a lie.[49][50] Another instance was a disciple of al-Askari, named al-Karkhi, who was later condemned in a rescript, said to be written by al-Mahdi.[46][51] Some miracles are also ascribed to the four agents, perceived by the faithful to be the result of their initiation by the Hidden Imam.[47]
Shia community in this period
At the time, the occultation of al-Mahdi was likely not a radical change for his followers. Indeed, the tenth and eleventh Imams were already effectively in occultation for the majority of the Shia, as both Imams were held nearly isolated in Samarra by the Abbasid caliphs.[22] It also appears that the idea of occultation was a well-established concept for the Shia and the related traditions were already in circulation among them. These traditions forecasted the occultation and rise of a future Imam,[52][53] referred to as al-Qa'im (lit. 'he who will rise') and less frequently as al-Mahdi.[54][55] These traditions were appropriated by various Shia sects in different periods. For instance, they were used by the Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam, had not died but was in occultation.[52] Even earlier, the now-extinct Kaysanites denied the death of Muḥammad ibn al-Hanafiyya and awaited his return.[56][57]
The political situation of the Shia in Iraq improved after the rise of the Buyid dynasty in the fourth (tenth) century.[58][59] Perhaps it was the relative safety of the Shia that prompted the second agent to issue a rescript to the effect that al-Mahdi remained in occultation to avoid the burden of commitment (bay'a) to unjust rulers of the time who were the usurpers of the Imam's right in the Shia view.[58][60] Ibn Babawayh (d. 991) suggested that the situation remains unknown until the reappearance of al-Mahdi but also added that the large population of the Shia did not necessarily guarantee his safety.[61]
Nevertheless, many did not expect the occultation to continue beyond six years or beyond the fortieth birthday of al-Mahdi,[62] and this might have contributed to an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty among the Shia.[63] According to Modarressi, these doubts gradually disappeared from the Shia community, possibly due to the efforts of the Shia traditionists during the period of transition to the Major Occultation.[64] These traditionists heavily relied on prophetic traditions and specific interpretations of the Quran to vindicate the imamate of al-Mahdi.[65] In this period, possibly after 295 (908), Shia traditionists also settled the number of Imams with the help of a Sunni hadith, in circulation long before the occultation, which stated that the prophet would be followed by twelve successors. The Hidden Imam was thus also the last Imam.[66][67]
See also
- The Twelve Imams
- The Fourteen Infallibles
- Eschatology
- Du'a Nudba
- Occultation (Islam), on the broader concept of occultation in Shia Islam
- Major Occultation, the second period of occultation, lasting from 941 until present
- Kitab al-Ghayba (al-Nu'mani), a work on the topic by the 10th-century Twelver Shia scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Nu'mani
- Kitab al-Ghayba (al-Tusi), a work on the topic by the 11th-century Twelver Shia scholar al-Shaykh al-Tusi
- Rajʿa ('return'), the concomitant concept of return after occultation
- Reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the concept of return in Twelver Shi'ism
- Signs of the appearance of the Mahdi(in broader Islam)
- Network of agents (Wikalah)
References
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 43, 44.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, pp. 25, 26.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 28.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 25.
- ^ Donaldson 1933, p. 209.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 26.
- ^ Holt, Lambton & Lewis 1970, p. 126.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, p. 44.
- ^ Amir-Moezzi 2016, p. 65.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 29.
- ^ Hulmes 2013.
- ^ Eliash 2022.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 30.
- ^ Tabatabai 1975, pp. 184, 185.
- ^ Hussain 1986, pp. 23, 81.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 82.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 83.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 48.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 155.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 156.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 77.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, pp. 162, 163.
- ^ a b Klemm 2007.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 162.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 104.
- ^ Daftary 2013, p. 88.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 161.
- ^ Donaldson 1933, p. 234.
- ^ Momen 1985, pp. 161, 162.
- ^ Donaldson 1933, p. 233.
- ^ Glassé 2008.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 79.
- ^ a b Daftary 2013, p. 64.
- ^ a b Modarressi 1993, p. 92.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, pp. 79, 80.
- ^ a b Momen 1985, pp. 162–164.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 90.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 92.
- ^ a b c Daftary 2013, p. 66.
- ^ a b Sachedina 1981, p. 84.
- ^ a b c Momen 1985, p. 164.
- ^ a b Sachedina 1981, p. 96.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 140.
- ^ Hussain 1986, pp. 90, 139, 140.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 88.
- ^ a b c Sachedina 1981, p. 97.
- ^ a b Amir-Moezzi 2007.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 99.
- ^ Momen 1985, p. 163.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 98.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 94.
- ^ a b Modarressi 1993, pp. 87, 88.
- ^ Amir-Moezzi 1998.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 89.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 61.
- ^ Madelung 2022.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 151.
- ^ a b Modarressi 1993, pp. 96. 97.
- ^ Daftary 2013, p. 68.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 102.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 105.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, pp. 86, 87, 95.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 96.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, p. 105.
- ^ Sachedina 1981, p. 79.
- ^ Modarressi 1993, pp. 99, 100.
- ^ Hussain 1986, p. 19.
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- Halm, H. (1987). "ʿASKARĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. II/7. p. 769.
- Glassé, Cyril, ed. (2008). "Hidden Imām". The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Alta Mira. pp. 178, 179. ISBN 9781905299683.
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- ISBN 978-0873954426.
- Daftary, Farhad (2013). A History of Shi'i Islam. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780755608669.
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- ISBN 0-87395-390-8.
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- Modarressi, Hossein (1993). Crisis and Consolidation in the Formative Period of Shi'ite Islam: Abū Ja'far Ibn Qiba Al-Rāzī and His Contribution to Imāmite Shī'ite Thought (PDF). Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878500956.
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- Hulmes, Edward D.A. (2013). "HASAN AL-'ASKARI, ABU MUHAMMAD HASAN IBN 'ALI (c. AD 845-74)". In Netton, Ian Richard (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islamic Civilization and Religion. Routledge. p. 217. ISBN 9781135179670.