Why?” The Imam said...

Why?” The Imam said, “Because you will not see his physical body and it is not permissible for you to reveal his name.” Al-Ja’fari said, “How shall we mention him?” Al-Hadi said, “Say ‘The proof [al-Hujja] from the family of Muhammad.’”[^4] Thiqatul Islam, Kulaini (r.a.) has also mentioned this traditional report in Kafi narrating directly from an infallible.[^5] Shaykh Sadooq, through a correct chain of narrators has reported from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) that he said: The master of this affair, is a man whom none will mention by his name, except that he be a disbeliever.

Shaykh Kulaini has also narrated this tradition through a correct chain of narrators in the following way: The master of this affair is such that none mentions him by his name except an infidel.[^6] In Kafi and Kamaluddin, through an authentic chain of narrators it is narrated from Rayyan bin Sult that he said: Abul Hasan Imam Ali Reza (as) was asked about the Qaim (aj) and he replied: His person will not be seen and his name will not be mentioned.[^7] The same tradition is also mentioned in Mustadrak through Rayyan bin Sult that he said: I heard His Eminence, Reza Ali bin Musa (as) say: The Qaim, al-Mahdi is the son of my son, Hasan; his person will not be seen and no one will mention him by his name during the period of his occultation; till the time they see him and announce his name; at that time anyone would be able to mention him by his name… In Mustadrak, it is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) that he said in a tradition describing the Mahdi: He is the one who would not be mentioned by his name openly before his advent, except by one who is an infidel.[^8] In the same book, it is narrated from Husain bin Alwan that Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) said regarding the number of Imams: They shall be twelve persons from the progeny of Muhammad (S), Ali, Hasan, Husain, Ali bin Husain, Muhammad bin Ali and anyone Allah wants.

The narrator said: May I be sacrificed on you, indeed I implore you to give me a Fatwa. He said: I and this son of mine, and he indicated to his son, Musa and the fifth of his descendants.