Philosophy and wisdom of Occultation

Having established the invalidity of all these beliefs, the only creed that remains is that of Imamate of Ibn Hasan (a.s) or else it would follow that truth is beyond this Ummah. When his Imamate is proved through this…

When we say: we know that Allah, the Exalted, is All-Wise and it is not possible for Him to do something that is not wise and valid, we infer that there are aspects of wisdom in these things, though we may not…

If it is said: On the basis of his occultation, we question your belief in his Imamate. We say: If you cannot describe the wisdom of his disappearance, it indicates invalidity of your belief in his Imamate, because if it…

We would reply: If it is fair to infer this conclusion from our position, the atheist view must proceed from the position of all the followers of justice that Divine acts, which are seemingly devoid of aspect of wisdom,…

If you say: “We first inquire into Divine wisdom and once it is proved through independent proofs, we interpret the acts that are hard to explain on the basis of His wisdom, which has already been proved. Therefore, it…

We will say the same here that his occultation is secondary to his Imamate. Knowing his Imamate through independent proofs and realizing his infallibility through other sets of proofs, we interpret his occultation and…

Then the opponent of occultation is asked, “Is it possible that the occultation may have a valid reason that has caused it and a wise explanation that has prompted it or it is not possible?” If he should say, “It is…

If he should say, “I don’t consider this possible.” He will be told, “This is utter obstinacy in a subject, which your knowledge does not encompass, and you cannot be certain in a question as such. How do you say it is…

And when it is said: "We are capable of mentioning the aspects of the ambiguous verses, but you are unable to mention a valid reason for the occultation," we say: Our discourse is directed at the one who says "I do not…

They are further asked, “How can the Imamate of Ibn Hasan (a.s) be proved and substantiated by succession of rational principles we established, yet it can be said that occultation cannot have a valid reason? Is it not…

If they say, “We don’t accept the Imamate of Ibn Hasan,” then our discourse with them is with respect to proving Imamate, not the wisdom of occultation, and the proofs of his Imamate (a.s) have been fully discussed and…

If it is said: Does the inquisitor not have the choice to inquire about the Imamate of Ibn Hasan, in order to know its validity, or to inquire about the reason of occultation?”

We would reply: There is no such choice, because a person who doubts the Imamate of Ibn Hasan, the discourse with him must be about the explicit narrations of his Imamate and one must provide him proofs of his Imamate.…

Therefore, to discuss the clear and the manifest is worthier than to discuss the perplexing and the complicated. This is parallel to our dialogue with the opponents of religion, where we give preference to the discussion…

If it is said: Why does not Allah bar the people from reaching the Imam and why does not He protect him in a way so he may establish his rule and our grace is materialized for us? Just as we say about the Prophet when…

We would reply: Protection is of two kinds. One is not incompatible with conferment of religious duties as it does not compel the subject to forsake the wrong. The other kind of protection leads to such compulsion. And…

As for the Prophet (s), we say that God must protect him so he may deliver religious laws, because it is not possible to discern religious laws, except through him. However, the Imam is not like him, because as far as…

If it is said: Explain it to us anyway - though you are not bound to - the reason for the occultation, in a way that it may be clearer in reasoning and more convincing in demonstration.

We would reply: What one can be certain of to be the reason of the occultation of the Imam is his fear for his life by murder through the threats of the oppressors to him and their disallowance of him to administer the…

This suggestion is foul, because the reality is not as hinted as the Prophet (s) went into hiding in Sheb Abu Talib and in the cave in Mecca before migration, a time when he had not delivered the entirety of religious…

If it is said: If it is fear that has forced him to go into hiding, verily his forefathers, according to you, were living under dissimulation (Taqayyah) and fear from their enemies. Why did they not go into hiding also?

We would reply: Fear from their enemies did not threaten his holy forefathers (a.s), as they adhered to dissimulation (taqiyyah) and ostensibly retracted from the claim of Imamate and exiled it from themselves, whereas,…