As to further accentuate the dilemma...

As to further accentuate the dilemma, there is a hadith that has been related through two chains of transmitters with one consequential word differing in the two versions. One version related by Shaykh al-Tusi reads, “Imam Ja’far b.

Muhammad as-Sadiq (ع) said, ‘No one of his children (wuldihi) or anyone else would know his whereabouts.’”[^2] In the other version related by Nu’man, the hadith reads, “No one from his friends ( wali ) or anyone else would know his whereabouts.’”[^3] Thus due to this discrepancy, there is no reason to prefer Shaykh al-Tusi’s version. On the contrary, Nu’man’s version seems more preferable in terms of its chain of transmitters and the wording itself.

For instance, in Shaykh al-Tusi’s version there is a third person singular pronoun ( ghayrihi ) which seems to be incorrect as its antecedent is plural ( wuldihi ) which is unjustifiable, except if accounted for according to the following three possibilities: That this mistake is attributable to the scribes; That the hadith is indicating that the Imam only has one son; Or that the hadith is not specifying whether he does in fact have a child or not but that if he did, the secrecy of his mission in occultation is so paramount that even his child wouldn’t know him.

Moreover, the chain of transmitters is faulty, which even if this could be overlooked, another issue would be that it is unclear whether the hadith is about the time of occultation or is referring to the period after his reemergence. There are two other hadiths that complicate the controversy. One is a prayer narrated by Ibn Tawus from Imam ‘Ali b. Musa al-Rida (ع): “O Allah, grant him [i.e.

the Twelfth Imam] in regard to himself, his family, his children, and his progeny …”[^4] The other hadith is related from Imam Ja’far b. Muhammad as-Sadiq (ع): “It is as though I see the Qa`im [i.e. the Twelfth Imam] in the Mosque of al-Sahlah with his family accompanying him.”[^5] Some have cited the story of the “Green Isle” to claim that the Imam (ع) has a family and numerous children who reside on the isle and have it all to themselves. This story however is only a myth.

It is more akin to a tail of fiction than to reality.