He will continue to live in the world despite being concealed from the eyes.

He will continue to live in the world despite being concealed from the eyes. I say: His similarity to Dhū l-Qarnain is about him reaching the East and the West and possibly other aspects like occultation and longevity. The following traditions also prove the above point: 497, 498, 535–539, 547, 549, 551–557, 559, 561, 562, 564, 574, 575, 580, 589, 599, 600, 602–605, 607–610, 612, 613, 618, 619, 623–626, 632, 645–650, 669, and 686.

We can add to these all the traditions mentioned in chapters one and two—on account of the traditions that mention that surely the earth will not become empty of a Divine Proof and an Imam, and on account of definite rational arguments mentioned in dialectical books—because all of these indicate that the Imams and the Divine Proofs after the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be on him and his family, are limited to twelve.

The first is `Alī the last is the Mahdī and the ninth from the progeny of al-Ḥusayn is the Qā’im and he is the son of Imam al-Ḥasan al-`Askarī, peace be on them all. Thus, the total number of such traditions will be 363 because all of these traditions indicate he has survived and has been alive from his birth until now. And Allah has the power to do what He pleases and He is the Wise, the Knowledgeable. [^1]: Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 46, p. 524, no. 4; Biḥār al-anwār, vol.51, chap. 13, p.

224, no. 11. [^2]: Some Sunnis have considered his longevity as improbable to the extent that they have even condemned the Shia belief about his survival. As you are aware, in scientific matters and religious subjects, improbability has no value after proofs have been established, and definite arguments based on intellect and narration have been demonstrated. This [belief] is a kind of uncertainty about Allah’s Power. It is based on our habit of opposing what we are used to and not on logic.

Every day and night—in fact every hour and second—we agree to and witnesses thousands of normal phenomena and occurrences in the world of creation, even in the small creatures and the things that cannot be seen except with a microscope, that are more amazing and greater than the longevity of a man who has safe limbs and strength, who knows the rules of keeping himself healthy and well, and acts upon them.

His longevity is not as strange as his creation, formation, and transfer from the realm of the loin (`alim al-aṣlāb) to the realm of the womb and then to this world.