- Shia says that the father of Imam Zaman ordered to hide the news of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and not to tell except the trusted people. Even now, the Imam of their time is behind the veil of occultation. On the other hand, they say: If someone does not recognize the Imam of his time, he has died the death of ignorance (disbelief). How can this contradiction be resolved?!
The Promised Mahdi (A.S)
The Secrecy of the Promised Mahdi and the Necessity of knowing the Imam of the time in Shia:
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In the following, we will answer this question in the form of several sections:
The sensitive situation of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s)
The pressure of the Abbasid government on Imam Hasan Askari (peace be upon him). Imam Askari’s attempt to hide the birth of Hazrat Mahdi (may God bless him and grant him peace) and his refusal to reveal his child except to a few trusted companions, is a proven issue with evidence.
From the beginning of the Imamate of Imam Ali al-Naqi (peace be upon him), the Abbasid government felt more threatened by the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). Because of the fear of revolution and rebellion of the people, to prevent the Shariah funds and property from reaching the hands of those righteous leaders. They tightened the siege on that Imam and - after his martyrdom - on their son, Imam Hassan Askari (peace be upon them). They put them under siege in their homes in a military environment. The Abbasid government was so worried about the influence and important social status of Imam Hasan Askari (peace be upon him) that it made it necessary for him to appear in the court on Mondays and Thursdays every week.
Many historical evidences of the high-pressure and extremely secure life of the Imam (peace be upon him) have reached us. For example, Dawood bin Aswad, one of the companions of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) quoted:
Imam (a.s) gave me a stick and said: “Take this to Amravi”. In the middle of the road, the stick broke, suddenly I noticed that there was a letter in the middle of it. I took it back to Imam. Hazrat said: “Whenever you see that someone insults us, go after the mission that was sent to you and don't try to answer him. Don’t introduce yourself to him, because we are in a bad city. You go on your way. Your news will reach us. know this well. [1]