Ghayba al-Kubra, The Greater Occultaion
By: Muhammad Ebrahim
In the name of Allah, The One, The Majestic, I greet you in the universal greeting of Assalaamu-Alaykum Wa Rahmat’Allah Wa
Barakatu, The best of blessings of All-Mighty God be upon you in this instant and all the instances of your life Insh’Allah.
In this article I wish to address the topic of the greater occultation. A topic which is widely disputed amongst the various schools of thought
in Islam.
What is meant by the term of occultation? The term occultation in regards to our subject refers to the divine wisdom ordained by Allah to
remove the 12th Imam, Muhammad ibn Al-Hassan Al-Mahdi (as) from the sight of the people, as a means of protection for him.
As I mentioned before this is a topic which is still disputed amongst the schools of thought in Islam. It is believed in by the school of AhlulBayt (as), the shia and it is dismissed by the school of thought of the companions, the sunni. The Shia believe that the 12th Imam (as) has
been born and the sunni believe that he is to be born in the end of time. The sunni
believe in the Imam Mahdi (as), however do not attribute him being the 12th Imam (as)
as they do not believe in the Imams (as).
Before we dismiss occultation, let’s investigate it a little bit Insh’Allah. So according to
the shia belief, the Greater occultation began on 329 A.H. (939 AD) and has lasted
until present day. That means that if the Imam Mahdi (as) was born this would make
him over 1000 thousand years old. This is surely impossible, right?
(And indeed We sent Nûh (Noah) to his people, and he stayed among them a
thousand years less fifty years [inviting them to believe in the Oneness of Allâh
(Monotheism), and discard the false gods and other deities], and the Deluge
overtook them while they were Zâlimûn (wrong-doers, polytheists,
disbelievers, etc.).
The Holy Quran (29:14)
So here we have an example from the Qur’an, which clearly states that Prophet Noah (as) lived
amongst the people for 950 years. So would it be impossible for the Imam Mahdi (as) to reach
this age? The answer is no! Allah has the power to do all things, He merely says be, and it is!
Is there such a thing as occultation? Can this really be?
Let me pose a question. Muslims and Christians alike, have the belief that Jesus, the son of Mary
(pbut) will return to the earth? Then I ask where is Jesus (as) now? Could the place and his status
now, not be described as an occultation, for the lack of a better word? Even the Jews have a
similar belief, with regards to Prophet Elijah. Similarly where is Elijah (as)?
All things are possible through the power of the All-Mighty it would be silly to merel 䁑