after 293/905) wrote a book entitled al - Ghayba wa - l - Hayra.

after 293/905) wrote a book entitled al - Ghayba wa - l - Hayra. The importance of his work lies in the fact that he was one of the close associates of the tenth and the eleventh Imams and later became the agent of the first two deputies (Saf’irs) of the Twelfth Imam. Unfortunately this work and the work called al - Imama wa - l - Tabsira min al - Hayra by Ibn Babawayh (d. 329/940) are not extant. However, the latter's son, al-Saduq (d. 382/991) and al-Tusi (d.

460/1067) made thorough use of these works. Al-Kulayni (d. 329/940) devoted much space in the section entitled al - Hujja of his book al - Kafi to the question of the occultation. He backs…