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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Faith and Reason Question 29: The reason for Imam al-Zaman’s prolonmgued age Question: Why wasn’t Imam al-Zaman’s birth postponed to the era of his re-emergence (zuhur)? The answer to this question is on one hand dependent on clarifying the underlying logic of occultation and the concept of intidhar —awaiting the reemergence of the final Imam.

On the other hand, it is also dependent on addressing the question of whether there are advantages to the presence of Imam al-Mahdi (ع) while in occultation. But before delving into the logic and benefits of intidhar , we must point out that the [real underlying] cause of occultation is one of the Divine secrets to which we have no access.[^1] Nevertheless, with recourse to hadith and reason we can decipher some aspects of the occultation. These aspects can be presented in two groups: 1.

those that relate to Imam Mahdi (ع), and 2. those that pertain to other issues. The first group are as follows: a. It has been recorded in the hadith corpus that the Imam went into occultation so that he would not be burdened by anyone’s allegiance.[^2] b. In some cases, the reason provided for the occultation is safety from the danger of murder. c.

It has been destined that the Imam should transform the world, carry out an all-encompassing reformation, uprooting all civilizations that are founded on power, wealth, and deception, after which he would build a new civilization based on Divine values. Such would not be possible without an abundant amount of knowledge and experience. This is achievable only through witnessing the ups and downs of bygone civilizations. This in turn necessitates a prolonged life, hence his occultation.

The second group are as follows: a. Putting the servant of Allah (awj) to test is among the issues mentioned regarding the logic of occultation. Imam Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kadhim (ع) says, “When the fifth son of the progeny of the Seventh Imam goes into occultation, be aware of your faith. Be cautious that no one should convince you to abandon your faith. O my son, the occultation of the Possessor of Authority ( sahib al-amr) is inevitable and consequently some believers will abandon their faith.

Allah will test His servants by means of the occultation.”[^3] b. The expectation for the faraj (literally “relief”, namely the reemergence of the Twelfth Imam) is a factor conducive to self-building. This anticipation is meaningful only in the context of the occultation.