The origin of the idea of the occultation of Mahdi in the narration of Asbagh ibn Nabatah

علوم قرآن و حدیث

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 10 May 2025   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/jquran.2025.90495.1761

Authors

Reihane Samiei^{* 1}; Ḥasan Naqīzāda^{* 2}; Soheila Pirouzfar^{* 3}

¹PhD student, Department of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

²Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³Associate Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Belief in the occultation of the Twelfth Imam is one of the most important beliefs of Twelver Shiism, grounded in solid narrative and theological evidence. However, some Western scholars such as Verna Kellems, Van Es, and Edmund Hayes, by questioning the historical origins and antiquity of this belief, have attempted to portray it as a product of later thought. This research aims to investigate the origins of the Isbagh ibn Nabaṭah narration as one of the oldest narrations related to the occultation, seeking to find the historical roots of this belief."

Analyses conducted using textual and documentary analysis have revealed that the origins of this narration can be traced back to the last quarter of the 2nd century AH, corresponding to the lifetime of Tha'alaba ibn Maymun. And the phrase "سته ایام او سته اشهر او سته سنین" was added to the original text in later years by narrators such as Tayalsi and Sa'd ibn 'Abd Allah. The findings of this research, while confirming the historical antiquity of the belief in occultation, indicate that this belief is rooted in early Shi'a thought and cannot be attributed to later developments.

Keywords

Keywords :Historical origin; Mahdi'; s absence; Asbagh ibn Nabatah

References