بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الصلاة والسلام عليك يا رسول الله
The idea of the Twelver Shi’a that they have an Imam but that he is gha’ib (absent) is plainly ridiculous. What is the purpose of having an Imam if he is totally inaccessible and not performing any function of Imamate? The Twelvers claim their Twelfth Imam initially went into hiding, the Ghaibat al-Sughra, to escape detection by the Abbasid government at the time which would have been inclined to murder him. But during this initial period of absence and concealment from the general public, the Twelfth Imam maintained contact with a select number of authorized deputies or representatives, who conveyed his instructions to the Twelver Shi’a community. This state of affairs continued for seventy years, all the while the Twelvers were eagerly expecting his reappearance. But their hopes were dashed when after such an extended period of time the Imam had not yet resurfaced and it was clear that if he even existed and was still alive he had reached the end of his natural lifespan. So the elders of the Twelver community invented a new doctrine, the Ghaibat al-Kubra. According to the Twelvers, after seventy years the circumstances were still not appropriate for the Twelfth Imam to reappear and now he had gone into a sort of supernatural occultation whose duration is indefinite, and neither would it be possible for any one to act as his authorized agent and envoy to serve as a medium between him and the community. Now over a thousand years have gone by yet the Twelvers claim their Twelfth Imam is still alive somewhere, biding his time in concealment from the public. Yet the Abbasid government is long gone and no more. There is no more question of security given that the Twelvers have several places in the world under their control and influence, especially Iran and Iraq, in the former having established a State in his name. What then is preventing the Twelfth Imam from appearing and assuming his responsibilities of Imamate? If he is still fearful for his safety, does it not indicate his impotence, yet the Twelver Shi’a expect him to accomplish incredible feats and bring about a worldwide transformation.
Consider also the doctrine of the Tayyibi Isma’ilis known as Satr (concealment). It is a little different than the Twelver conception of Ghaiba. According to the Isma’ili doctrine, there were times when their Imam’s life was in danger so went into hiding and was concealed from the public. Before going into such a concealment, he would authorize an agent to represent him and act on his behalf to lead the community. Such a state of affairs apparently existed after the death of their Imam, Muhammad bin Isma’il (grandson of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq) until the establishment of the Fatimid government in Egypt when the Isma’ili Imam reappeared and took charge of his leadership responsibilities. But when their twenty-first Imam, al-Tayyib, was born, he had to be taken into concealment due to his life being jeopardized by a rival Isma’ili faction (the Nizaris). The Imamate of the Nizaris has remained present till this day, and they consider the Aga Khan their living, present Imam. But the Tayyibis have, since the concealment of al-Tayyib, been led by the Da’i al-Mutlaq, the authorized representative of the concealed Imam. According to the Isma’ili doctrine, the Da’i al-Mutlaq is relatively autonomous, and appoints his successor of his own prerogative, as he is not in contact with the concealed Imam. Furthermore, the Isma’ili doctrine of Satr differs from the Twelver doctrine of Ghaiba in that the Isma’ilis say their line of Imams continues in concealment, with Imams dying naturally and being succeeded by their sons, though all of this is in concealment, and their identity remain unknown to all. Compared to the Twelver doctrine of Ghaiba, it has to be said that the Isma’ili doctrine of Satr is relatively more logical and coherent. Yet for the Tayyibi Isma’ilis, for all intents and purposes, the Da’i al-Mutlaq has essentially usurped the role of the Imamate, and the existence of a concealed Imamate seems useless.
As for us Sunni Muslims, we do not have a conception of an infallible Imamate. For us, the Prophets are the only infallible, inerrant guides that Allah raised up for the benefit of mankind, and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the last Prophet after whom the institution of Prophesy has concluded, having reached its pinnacle in beauty and perfection. For us, an Imam is a pious, male Muslim who wields leadership over the people, though not necessarily the entire Ummah, either formally or informally. Here formally means in the sense of being in charge of the affairs of the government, meaning a ruler, and informally means wielding considerable influence over the people without temporal authority. So we Sunnis consider sayyiduna Husain, Ali al-Sajjad, Muhammad al-Baqir and Ja’far al-Sadiq our Imams, though none of them were rulers, and we do not consider them infallible and divinely appointed as Prophets are, unlike the Imamiya Shi’a. Yet it is necessary that if someone is actually an Imam that he is a public figure accessible to the public, someone who is practically leading and guiding them. An Imam that is invisible, concealed, hidden or inaccessible for a long duration of time defeats the very purpose of him being an Imam.
So the Isma’ili doctrine of Satr is strange because according to it many Imams have come and gone whose identity no one knows and who practically didn’t perform the function of Imamate for even a single day.
But here I would like to reveal a subtle truth that among us Sunnis there is a conception of Satr that many may be unaware of. It is that the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, after having passed away from this world, is nevertheless alive with a higher form of life except that now he is concealed from us. Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is Mastur (concealed), despite being alive and present in Medina. The basis for this doctrine is the Holy Quran:
وَکَیۡفَ تَکۡفُرُوۡنَ وَاَنۡتُمۡ تُتۡلٰی عَلَیۡکُمۡ اٰیٰتُ اللّٰہِ وَفِیۡکُمۡ رَسُوۡلُہٗ
And how can you disbelieve while upon you are recited the Signs of Allah and among you is His Messenger
(Surah 3, Ayah 101)
وَاعۡلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّ فِیۡکُمۡ رَسُوۡلَ اللّٰہِ
And know that among you is the Messenger of Allah
(Surah 49, Ayah 7)
The Hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, makes plain the meaning of the reality described in these Verses for the time subsequent to his passing away:
الأَنْبِيَاءُ أَحْيَاءٌ فِي قُبُورِهِمْ يُصَلُّونَ
The Prophets are alive in their graves, praying (Musnad Abi Ya’la; v.6, p.148, #3425 & Musnad al-Bazar; v.13, p.299, #6888)
In his checking of this Hadith, Husain Salim Asad has graded it “Isnaduhu Sahih”.
However, the Satr of our Prophet, peace be upon him, is somewhat different than that Isma’ili conception of Satr of their Imams. Firstly, the Prophet, peace be upon him, is theoretically accessible at his grave, as we known from the practice of some of the Salaf who would go to his grave and ask him to pray for them. And the Prophet, peace be upon him, would usually appear in the dream of such an individual who requested his intercession at his grave. So we also know the exact location of our Prophet, peace be upon him, despite him being concealed from us. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is exactly alive as he was alive before he tasted death, the only difference is that we are unable to perceive his life subsequent to his having tasted death:
بَلۡ اَحۡیَآءٌ وَّلٰکِنۡ لَّا تَشۡعُرُوۡنَ
Rather, they are alive but you do not perceive
(Surah 2, Ayah 154)
Furthermore, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, completed his mission of Prophesy and conveying the Message of Allah during his apparent lifetime. His therefore still being alive, while located in his grave and concealed from us, does not elicit the objection we Sunni Muslims have concerning the Shi’a conceptions of the Ghaiba and Satr of their Imams.
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