Major Occultation

In Twelver Shia Islam, the Major Occultation (Arabic: ٱلْغَيْبَة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ, al-Ghaybah al-Kubrā, 329 AH-present, 941 CE-present) is the second occultation of the Hidden Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, which is expected to continue until his rise in the end of time to establish peace and justice on earth. While various sects disagree about the identity of the eschatological Mahdi, the belief in him remains popular among all Muslims, possibly owing to numerous traditions to this effect in canonical Sunni and Shia sources.

The Major Occultation began in 329 AH (941 CE) with the death of the fourth successive agent of the Hidden Imam, Abu al-Hasan al-Samarri, marking the end of the Minor Occultation (260-329 AH, 874-941 CE). According to Twelver sources, shortly before his death, al-Samarri received a letter from the Hidden Imam, which predicted his imminent death, ordered him not to designate a successor, and announced the beginning of the "complete occultation," in which there would be no agent of the Hidden Imam, though he is believed by the Twelvers to remain responsible for the affairs of men and their inward spiritual guidance during the occultation.

The Twelver theory of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century based on rational and textual arguments. This theory, for instance, sets forth that the life of Muhammad al-Mahdi has been miraculously prolonged, arguing that the earth cannot be void of the Imam as the highest proof of God. In the absence of the Hidden Imam, the leadership vacuum in the Twelver community was gradually filled by jurists. It is popularly held that the Hidden Imam occasionally appears to the pious, and the accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread among the Twelvers.