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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Faith and Reason Question 26: Issues such as marriage, place of residence etc etc, concerning the life of the Twelfth Imam Question: Is the Twelfth Imam married and if so does he have children? Where is his place of residence? What does he wear and what does he subsist on? What is the sense in praying for his wellbeing?

The life of Al-Mahdi (ع) is an enigmatic issue, and therefore questions relating to it might not be answered definitively, although one can arrive at probable answers by studying the hadiths that have been related in this regard. One of the questions pertaining to Imam Zaman’s (ع) life is whether he has a family. There are three possible answers to this question: a) that he never married; b) that he married but has not fathered children; c) that he does in fact have children.

The implication of the first possibility would be his abandonment of a very important religious practice, which is hence very unlikely. Of course, it might be countered that the issue of his occultation and its secrecy are of utmost importance and thus marriage—which although important is not nearly as important—can be abandoned. This contention however is not acceptable, for marriage and the secrecy required during his occultation are in no way at odds.

The second possibility, although free of the problem with which the previous possibility is faced, raises another question: Has he married only once—hence is his wife sharing his unusual longevity—or has he been married to multiple wives? There is no evidence to support either side, but it would not be unlikely if the latter were correct. The problem which this might bring to mind is the possibility that his identity might be revealed.

However this might pose a serious problem, for according to the hadiths, in his occultation it is his identity as the twelfth imam from the progeny of Muhammad that must be kept secret, which would not be jeopardized by personal relations if the people whom he is in contact with be unaware of his status as such.[^1] The same question can be addressed in the case of the third possibility.

This possibility however is faced with an additional problem: If the Imam did in fact have children, they would sooner or later decide to search for their true identity which might in turn jeopardize Imam Zaman’s (ع) secret mission. There are however no ahadith that specifically verify any of these three possibilities.