The Occultation of Wilayat: A Mystical and Ontological Analysis

Introduction

Occultation (ghayba) pertains to those lacking presence and awareness. It afflicts individuals with confused minds, shrouded in dense clouds of doubt and pervasive illusions. The rationale and philosophy of the occultation of wilayat (divine guardianship) elude an intellect devoid of true awareness. Such an intellect must submit to authentic historical and religious evidence. The sun of existence and the radiance of phenomena are fully manifest. With presence, there is neither absence nor occultation. The sun of truth illuminates the lives of those coexisting with it. The Quran states: “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth” (Quran, Surah al-Nur, 35).

For those privy to divine unity, coexisting with knowledge and truth, and endowed with divine wilayat, the general occultation of wilayat equates to observation and presence. A narration states:

Abu Khalid al-Kabuli narrated: I visited my master, Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (peace be upon him). He said: “By my Lord, it is written in our scroll, which records the trials we face after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).” I asked: “O son of the Messenger of Allah, what follows?” He replied: “Then the occultation of the twelfth divine guardian from the successors of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and the Imams after him will be prolonged. O Abu Khalid, those in the era of his occultation who uphold his Imamate and await his appearance are superior to people of any era. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has granted them intellect, understanding, and knowledge, making occultation akin to observation. He has placed them in that era as equivalent to those who fought alongside the Messenger of Allah with swords. They are truly sincere, our genuine Shia, and callers to Allah’s religion, secretly and openly. Waiting for relief is among the greatest forms of relief.”

Occultation and Its Implications

Occultation signifies absence, contraction, horizontal existence, and ignorance. Lack of presence in the court of the divine human is for those estranged from the divine wilayat. The sun of wilayat always radiates. Yet, those submerged in occultation, lost in immersion, are veiled from beholding this sun. In the era of occultation, presence, awareness, love, and unity assume an esoteric form. They become concealed. Divine intellect, wisdom, heart, vision, and knowledge connect the souls of the eager and awaiting directly to the Beloved. This removes occultation and grants full presence.

True dreams, whether guiding or warning, and their oral interpretation are untainted by mental distortions. Istikhara (divine consultation), a precise method of connecting with the unseen, guides in the era of occultation through divine favor. It leads to recognizing the divine human and benefiting from their presence. Istikhara, when heart-based rather than reliant on conceptual knowledge, equates to consulting an infallible Imam. It is divine grace guiding believers in occultation, revealing the unseen to the material world. Just as Prophet Musa’s staff nullified sorcerers’ magic and a cow’s breath resolved a hidden murder, scholars and saints in this era use istikhara to uncover truth, akin to Musa’s staff or the cow of Bani Isra’il. This is empirically verifiable for those described as “those who repent with you” (Quran, Surah Hud, 112).

Occultation as a Testing Ground

Occultation provides an opportunity to test rival theories against the paradigm of wilayat and Imamate. It allows evaluation of their efficacy and validity. In the chaos of occultation, ignorance and deviation become epidemic. The darkness of occultation engulfs everything in profound obscurity. It deprives the knowing subject of clear witness. Knowers become blind actors, unable to grasp truth. Their judgments lack presence and testimony. Every presumptuous mind offers ideas, not theories, in this darkness.

Prevailing thoughts in occultation lack sacred intellect or heart-based wisdom. Concepts are submerged in material forms and slogans. Occultation conceals the divine guardian, hiding all awareness. Knowledge, faith, love, and unity are obscured. Pluralism, devoid of truth, prevails. Without wilayat, the Quran’s revelation lacks authoritative interpretation. It becomes estranged, confined to the hearts of hidden saints. The absence of the divine guardian and the Quran’s estrangement cause widespread deprivation of spiritual ascent. Most journeys remain horizontal. Rarely does one receive divine favor for vertical ascent and acceptance of wilayat.

Occultation is the absence of knowledge, wisdom, and awareness. Ignorance, desire, corruption, and arrogance dominate. Modern constructs and discourses trap feeble minds in illusions. This era fosters fleeting trends, factionalism, and mythical narratives. Truth is absent. Contradictory interpretations and pluralism, devoid of truth, thrive. This multiplicity breeds falsehood, incoherence, and fragmentation, not unity in truth.

With false ideologies competing, discord, disintegration, and isolation become inevitable. Hearts are scarce. Material minds, driven by instincts, grow distant. Marriages fail to foster unity. Families disintegrate. Individuals remain solitary, bound by legal obligations but emotionally estranged. The turbulent era of occultation is marked by destructive contraction and deprivation of awareness. Presence and awareness foster connection and intimacy. Their absence brings deception, sorrow, and isolation. Imam Reza (peace be upon him) said: “A deafening, blinding trial is inevitable, in which every intimate and confidant will fall.”

The Era of Endurance and Testing

For believers in wilayat, occultation is an era of waiting, resilience, discernment, and sincerity. They face turbulent winds, hollow voices, aimless desires, and malicious schemes. Shia culture in occultation upholds the ideal of hopeful waiting and safeguarding against distortions. It avoids oppressing weary seekers who find no salvation and are forced to endure false powers.

In this inescapable trial, only believers with sound knowledge remain loyal to the Ahl al-Bayt’s wilayat. They avoid contraction, disillusionment, anxiety, and deviation. The Quran states: “Do people think they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ without being tested? We tested those before them, so Allah will know those who are truthful and those who are liars” (Quran, Surah al-Ankabut, 2-3). Occultation is the context of this verse. It emphasizes that people will face continuous trials. Many will break covenants, abandon religious practices, and forsake faith. Faith becomes exceptional, requiring resilience against prevailing worldly norms.

The Quran further states: “You will surely pass from one state to another. Why then do they not believe? When the Quran is recited to them, they do not prostrate. Rather, the disbelievers deny. Allah knows what they conceal. So give them tidings of a painful punishment, except those who believe and do righteous deeds, for them is a reward uninterrupted” (Quran, Surah al-Inshiqaq, 19-25).

In the darkness of trials, divine saints and resilient believers become rare and esoteric. Most remain at the superficial level of religion, failing to reach true faith or inner wilayat. The essence of exalted saints is shattered by relentless challenges. Their being is reduced to ashes in the furnace of trials. Only divine truth remains in their essence. Estrangement, immersion, and occultation—stages of divine essence—afflict saints according to their endurance, mirroring the occultation of the Imam of the Age (may Allah hasten his return). In the trial of wilayat, one must embrace estrangement and immersion, crafting a life aligned with wilayat’s lovers. The Quran instructs: “So remain steadfast as you were commanded, you and those who repent with you, and do not transgress. Indeed, He sees what you do” (Quran, Surah Hud, 112).

Accompanying the unaware in occultation is agonizing. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Surah Hud aged me because of the verse, ‘So remain steadfast as you were commanded.’” This command in Surah al-Shura lacks the burden of guiding others (Quran, Surah al-Shura, 15). Guiding the weak toward truth in occultation requires love and sincerity.

Knowledge of Wilayat

In occultation, recognizing the Imam, the blessing of wilayat, and awaiting his presence are paramount. A narration states:

Fudayl ibn Yasar asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: “The day We call every people by their Imam” (Quran, Surah al-Isra, 71). He replied: “O Fudayl, know your Imam. If you know your Imam, it will not harm you whether this matter comes early or late. Whoever knows his Imam and dies before the rise of the Master of this affair is like one seated in his army, nay, under his banner. Some narrate it as one martyred with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family).”

Knowing the Imam requires a living, present guide. As Hafiz said: “Beware the danger of solitude in darkness.”

Prevalence of Tyranny and Selfishness

Occultation brings isolation, concealment, and contraction of awareness. It leads to the tyranny of the ignorant and their selfishness. Knowledge, if flourishing, must be viewed with skepticism in an era of intellectual stagnation and confined awareness. Without wilayat as the arbiter of truth, minds detached from meaning create godless spirituality and illegitimate doctrines, perpetuating ignorance and inefficiency.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) described occultation: “The people of falsehood prevail over the people of truth. Truth dies, and its adherents perish. The believer is silent, their words unaccepted. Injustice sweeps cities. People face divine wrath, spared only by divine decree. Await and strive to be seen by Allah in pursuits unlike those of the masses.”

Jurisprudence and Knowledge of the Living Saint

Despite the occultation of wilayat-based awareness, religious knowledge persists through jurisprudence and esoteric wisdom. These systems, combinable in exceptional saints, ensure the realization of divine objectives. The divine human in this era, a living representative of the Imam of the Age, must possess a living heart. Finding such a saint establishes divine knowledge, grounding religious sciences in sacred wisdom.

With occultation, the Imam’s inner wisdom was veiled. Humans detached from wilayat cannot attain justified knowledge, just as a camel cannot pass through a needle’s eye. The Quran states: “Those who deny Our signs and are arrogant toward them, the gates of heaven will not be opened for them, nor will they enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle. Thus do We recompense the criminals” (Quran, Surah al-A’raf, 40).

Emulation of Qualified Specialists

Those lacking sacred knowledge or wilayat can emulate a qualified jurist, as rational people consult specialists. Emulation involves acting on a jurist’s ruling without understanding its basis. Acting independently risks accountability unless aligned with reality. Emulation ensures religious vitality, protecting faith from neglect. Referring to any qualified jurist, free from political bias, is rational and permissible.

In occultation’s chaotic intellectual landscape, one must be free, truth-seeking, and diligent, relying on trustworthy jurists and scholars of wilayat. A narration from Umar ibn Hanzala states:

Umar ibn Hanzala asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about two Shia disputing over debt or inheritance, seeking judgment from rulers or judges. Is this permissible? He replied: “Whoever seeks judgment from a tyrant, even if their right is proven, takes it unjustly, for it is by the tyrant’s ruling, which Allah commands to disbelieve.” I asked: “What should they do?” He said: “Look to one among you who narrates our hadith, examines our permissible and forbidden, and knows our rulings. Accept them as arbiter, for I have appointed them as judge over you. If they rule by our judgment and it is rejected, it is Allah’s judgment they belittle, rejecting us, and rejecting us is rejecting Allah, tantamount to polytheism.”

For esoteric knowledge, one must consult those with divine truth and spiritual authority, the guides of this era: “You are only a warner, and for every people is a guide” (Quran, Surah al-Ra’d, 7).

Deceptive Hypocrites

In prolonged occultation, charlatans claim representation of wilayat. To conceal their intellectual and spiritual deficiencies, they avoid documentation, evading scrutiny. They exploit the notion that “people crave what is withheld,” using propaganda to mask their hypocrisy. Engaging in occultation’s turbulent events leads to regret, especially if bloodshed results from false causes. Caution is essential to avoid deception by hypocritical charlatans.

Immersion in Nihilism

In occultation’s darkness, some deny eternal necessity, embracing a non-essential necessity. They negate their own existence, viewing it as devoid of truth. Conceptual analysis fails to connect them to divine essence. They perceive existence as an absolute negation, lacking purpose. Phenomena arise mechanically, without goal, in a self-sustaining order of play. Nihilism’s pain does not compel acknowledgment of reality’s purpose. The Quran states: “This worldly life is but amusement and play, while the Hereafter is true life, if only they knew” (Quran, Surah al-Ankabut, 64).

Steadfastness in Taqiyya

Sacred narrators may practice taqiyya (dissimulation) to protect themselves or their message, omitting truthful reporting. The multilayered nature of religious texts allows varied interpretations based on the reader’s capacity. Taqiyya in exegesis persists until the Imam’s appearance. While divine truth is absolute, human knowledge is relative, especially in occultation, where falsehood prevails. Hypocrites use slander to suppress truth. The Quran promises: “Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds that He will make them successors in the earth, as He did those before them, establish their religion, and replace their fear with security” (Quran, Surah al-Nur, 55).

A narration states:

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him): “The narrations of the House of Muhammad are arduous, believed only by a proximate angel, a sent prophet, or a servant whose heart Allah has tested for faith. Accept narrations from the House of Muhammad that your hearts embrace and recognize. Return those your hearts reject to Allah, the Prophet, and the scholar of the House of Muhammad. The perished is one who, hearing a narration they cannot bear, says, ‘By Allah, this is not so.’ Denial is disbelief.”

Another narration states:

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “When taqiyya was mentioned before Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them), he said: ‘By Allah, if Abu Dharr knew what was in Salman’s heart, he would have killed him, though the Prophet established brotherhood between them. What then of others? The knowledge of scholars is arduous, borne only by a sent prophet, a proximate angel, or a believer whose heart Allah has tested for faith. Salman was among the scholars because he was of our Household.’”

Conclusion

The occultation of wilayat is a profound trial, concealing divine guardianship and plunging humanity into ignorance and deviation. It tests believers’ resilience and sincerity, urging them to seek the living saint and uphold sacred knowledge. Despite the prevalence of falsehood and hypocrisy, divine guidance persists through jurisprudence and esoteric wisdom. Believers must remain steadfast, discerning, and connected to the wilayat of the Ahl al-Bayt, awaiting the Imam’s return to restore truth and unity.