I say: When he speaks about him returning in one of the...

I say: When he speaks about him returning in one of the occultations to his family, he might mean that the his whereabouts will still be known to his special (followers) and that they will be in touch with him—may my father and mother be sacrificed for him—either through correspondence or the privilege of directly meeting him or through representatives and ambassadors between him and his followers.

Al-Majlisī, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “‘He will return to his family,’ means the dependents of his father or to his representatives and ambassadors. ‘Only someone like him can answer,’ means that only someone like the Qā’im, peace be on him, can answer such questions that are known to no one except an Imam; things like informing all the people about the unseen and questions about difficult issues and the sciences that only they have knowledge about.

If he answers these correctly—and his answers are in accordance with what has reached you from their forefathers, peace be on…