- 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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The necessity for hiding the birth of Hazrat Mahdi (A.S.):
The Abbasid enemies of Imam Hasan Askari (peace be upon him) knew about the birth of a savior from the generation of that Imam (peace be upon him). The news of the Imamate of twelveth Imams (peace be upon him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was popular among Shiites. Also, there were many hadiths left by the Prophet (pbuh) and Imams (pbuh) who gave good news about the birth of a child from Imam Hasan Askari (pbuh) who will fill the world with justice.[1]
Paying attention to this point shows why the agents of the government of that time also carried out intrusive inspections of Imam Hassan Askari (peace be upon him). In addition to those intrusive inspections, they even entered the private sphere of the Imam's life and by appointing many midwives in the families attributed to him and especially in the house of the Imam (a.s.). They were watching Imam’s house carefully. Lady Narjes (Peace be upon her), the beloved mother of Imam Mahdi (A.S), was always under observation until God Almighty decreed that a child would be secretly born in that terrifying environment and his life would be protected from danger. For this reason, as in the narrations, signs of pregnancy did not appear in the mother of Hazrat Mahdi (peace be upon him).[2]
The hiddenness of the birth of that Imam is also mentioned in a hadith of Imam Reza (peace be upon him).[3], [4]
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[1] Muntakhab Al-Athar fi the Tarikh al-Imam Thani Ashar, Ayatullah Safi Golpayegani, V. 1, Chapter One and Chapter Two.
[2] Al-Hidaya Al-Kubra, Khasibi Hussein bin Hamdan, p. 355.
[3] Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 342
[4] Translated: https://makarem.ir/maaref/l/0428993