Since a group amongst the power- seekers falsely claimed the...

Since a group amongst the power- seekers falsely claimed the position of deputyship during the last days of Hazrat's occultation, the door of special deputyship was hence closed. Secondly the special deputyship too at that time was kept secret and hidden and except for some specific people, none were aware of it. If the minor occultation had continued and the position of special deputyship would become known, Hazrat's deputies too would have been exposed to danger.

Mahdi's Minor and Major Occultation For our Master Mahdi - the Expected one, there has been two occultations: The minor occultation and the major occultation. The minor occultation started from the time of Hazrat's birth and continued till the end of the special deputyship, which lasted for seventy-four years. The major occultation commenced after the minor occultation and will continue as long as God Wills Hazrat to emerge and revolt with his might.

In the book of "Esbath-ul-Wasiyah", Ali-ibn-Hussein-ibn-Ali Masoudi says: "It is narrated that Imam Ali an-Naqi (A.S.) disappeared from the Shias' views but for a small group of his special Shias. When the affairs of Imamate were entrusted to Imam Hassan Askari, he used to converse with his special circle of Shias and others from behind the curtain except when he was mounted and would travel towards the Kings house.

Imam Askari (A.S.) and his father were acting in this manner so as to prepare the ground for Hazrat Mahdi's concealment. This was so that the Shias would become familiar with the matter of occultation and would not deny it and would become habituated with Imam's absence and concealment. Verily, right from the time of Amir-ul-Mumineen Ali (A.S.) till the period of Imam Ali an-Naqi (A.S.) and Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.) it was customary for the Shias to meet their Imam whenever they wished.

If they were deprived of this bounty all at once then doubt and hesitation would have overtaken them. Rather the faith of some of them would have become shaky. Thus Imam Ali an- Naqi (A.S.) and Imam Askari (A.S.) adopted this path as mentioned by Masoudi so that the Shias would gradually and gradually become acquainted with Imam's concealment. Imam Ali an-Naqi (A.S.) and Imam Hassan Askari (AS.) took up this excellent path for this very reason.

Strict alertness of the rulers who were contemporary to the afore-mentioned two Imams confirm this matter. This resulted in fewer meetings and contacts with them especially so in the case of well-known Shii'tes.