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Occultation (Islam)

Occultation (Arabic: غَيْبَة, ghayba) in Shia Islam refers to the eschatological belief that the Mahdi, a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, has already been born and he was subsequently concealed, but he will reemerge and he will establish justice and peace on earth at the end of time.[1] The signs of his (re)appearance are largely common in Shia and Sunni,[2][3] (although Sunni do not believe the Mahdi has already been born and is in occultation), and the belief in the eschatological Mahdi remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.[2]

For the classical Shia works on this topic, see Kitab al-Ghayba. For the first period of occultation, see Minor Occultation. For the second period, see Major Occultation.

However, the branches of Shia Islam that believe in it differ with regard to the identity of the Mahdi. The mainstream Shia identifies him as Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth imam,[2] who is believed to be responsible for the affairs of men and, in particular, their inward spiritual guidance during the occultation.[4][5]

Zaydi Shia[edit]

In Zaydi view, imams are not endowed with superhuman qualities, and expectations for their mahdiship are thus often marginal.[2][39] One exception is the extinct Husaynites in Yemen, who denied the death of al-Husayn ibn al-Qasim al-Iyani and awaited his return.[2]

Other views[edit]

Historically, various Muslim figures were identified with the eschatological Mahdi or used the name as an honorific title with messianic significance. These include the Umayyad Umar II and the Abbasid al-Mahdi, among many others.[2] Similarly, mahdism and occultation are recurring themes in the history of Shia.[40] For instance, long-standing Shia traditions were appropriated by the now-extinct Waqifites to argue that Musa al-Kazim, the seventh imam, had not died but was in occultation.[41] Even earlier, the now-extinct Kaysanites denied the death of Muḥammad ibn al-Hanafiyya and awaited his return as the Mahdi. [2][42] The Qarmatians, an extinct branch of Isma'ili Shia, believed in the mahdiship of Muhammad ibn Isma'il and his imminent return. [43][44] Similar figures in Shia history are Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, Muhammad ibn Qasim al-Alawi, Yahya ibn Umar, and Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi.[40]

Eschatology

Islamic eschatology

The Fourteen Infallibles

Du'a Nudba

a work on the topic by the 10th-century Twelver Shia scholar Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Nu'mani

Kitab al-Ghayba (al-Nu'mani)

a work on the topic by the 11th-century Twelver Shia scholar al-Shaykh al-Tusi

Kitab al-Ghayba (al-Tusi)

Rajʿa

Reappearance of Muhammad al-Mahdi

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Daftary, Farhad (2013). . I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780755608669.

A History of Shi'i Islam

Hulmes, Edward D. A. (2008). . In Netton, Ian Richard (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islamic Civilisation and Religion. Routledge. pp. 456, 457. ISBN 978-0-7007-1588-6.

"MUSA AL-KAZIM (ABU'L-HASAN MUSA IBN JA'FAR)"

Kohlberg, E. (2022). . In Bearman, P. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (Second ed.). Brill Reference Online.

"Mūsā Al-Kāẓim"

Rahim, Habibeh (2004). . In Jestice, Phyllis G. (ed.). Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. ABC-CLIO. pp. 469, 470. ISBN 9781576073551.

"Kazim, Musa al-"

Momen, Moojan (1985). An Introduction to Shi'i Islam. Yale University Press.  9780300034998.

ISBN

Amanat, Abbas; Bernhardsson, Magnus T. (2001). . I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780755626168.

Imagining the End: Visions of Apocalypse from the Ancient Middle East to Modern America

von Grunebaum, G.E. (2017). Routledge. ISBN 9781351528092.

Classical Islam: A History, 600 A.D. to 1258 A.D.

Nanji, Azim; Daftary, Farhad (2006). "What is Shiite Islam?". In Cornell, Vincent J. (ed.). . Vol. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780275987329.

Voices of Islam

Daftary, Farhad (1999). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. IX/4. pp. 423–6.

"FATIMIDS"

Daftary, Farhad (2007). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 178–195.

"ISMAʿILISM iii. ISMAʿILI HISTORY"

Haywood, John A. (2022). . Encyclopedia Britannica.

"Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq"

Gleave, Robert (2012a). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV. pp. 349–351.

"JAʿFAR AL-ṢĀDEQ i. Life"

(1975). Shi'ite Islam. Translated by Sayyid Hossein Nasr. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-390-8.

Tabatabai, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn

(2001). Doctrines of Shi'i Islam (PDF). Translated by Shah-Kazemi, Reza. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 01860647804.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)

Sobhani, Ja'far

Corbin, Henry (2014). . Translated by Sherrard, Liadain. Routledge. ISBN 9781135198893.

History Of Islamic Philosophy

Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali (2007). . Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. XIV/2. pp. 136–143.

"ISLAM IN IRAN vii. THE CONCEPT OF MAHDI IN TWELVER SHIʿISM"

(1981). Islamic Messianism: The Idea of Mahdī in Twelver Shīʻism. Suny press. ISBN 978-0873954426.

Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein

Lewis, Bernard (2011). . Hachette. ISBN 9780297863335.

The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam

Modarressi, Hossein (1993). (PDF). Darwin Press. ISBN 9780878500956.

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

Donaldson, Dwight M. (1933). . AMS Press.

The Shi'ite Religion: A History of Islam in Persia and Iraḳ

Hussain, Jassim M. (1986). . Routledge Kegan & Paul. ISBN 9780710301581.

Occultation of the Twelfth Imam: A Historical Background

Klemm, Verena (2007). . Vol. XIV/2. pp. 143–6.

ISLAM IN IRAN ix. THE DEPUTIES OF MAHDI