And this is in no way at odds with him being in Mecca or...

And this is in no way at odds with him being in Mecca or occasionally retreating to mountains and uninhabited regions in urgent circumstances. What is the Imam’s (ع) diet comprised of and what type of dress does he wear? As mentioned above, the Imam lives a normal life. However the hadiths indicate that he contents himself with the minimum of food and the simplest of clothing. In his Kitab al-Ghaybah Nu’mani narrates a hadith from Imam Ja’far b. Muhammad as-Sadiq (ع) and Imam ‘Ali b.

Musa al-Rida (ع) which addresses the above question: “He only wears coarse clothing and eats unpalatable food.”[^13] In another hadith he is related to have said, “His clothing is rough and coarse, and his food is bread made from barley.”[^14] Brief Answer The opinion that he has a spouse and children—although possible and not necessarily in conflict with the mission of his prolonged occultation—is not supported by any definitive evidence. It might reasonably be…