THE Eleventh IMAM DOES NOT HAVE ANY CHILDREN, AND THEN HOW CAN THERE BE TWELVE IMAM?

Shias believe that their twelfth Imam is Muhammad bin Hasan al-skAskari. According to their version, this Imam hid in a cave at the age of 5 years. It is located in the city of Baghdad. This Imam is hiding because he will be killed by the wrongdoers. This is stated by Ath-Thusi in Al-Ghaibah: 199.

 

Imams in the Shia teachings must be from the previous Imam's lineage. Unfortunately, the eleventh Imam  has no children. Hasan al-Askari - the eleventh imam according to the Shiites - died without children. Of course, this reality makes it difficult for Shi'ites, how an Imam dies without leaving a child. Then how did he pass on Imamat? Though the existence of imams is very important in their beliefs, even including the pillars of Islam urgency.

The successor to an Imam must be a descendant of the previous Imam. An Imam may not come from a Imams brother, must be from his descendants. Such is the belief of the Shiites. History has recorded that the person they considered to be the Eleventh Imam, Hasan al-skAskari, had no children.

The Shiites cannot deny and omit this historical evidence. Interestingly, it turns out, the books of the Shia scholars mention this reality, that Hasan al-Askari indeed died without having a son. Among them are:

1. al-Kulaini in al-Kafi (1/505)

2. al-Mufîd in al-Irshad (pp.338-339)

3. al-Majlisi in Jalâul ‘Ainain

4. Ibn Shabbāgh in al-Fushûl al-Muhimmah fi Ma'rifati Ahwâlil Aimmah (pp.288-289)

5. al-‘Abbas al-Qummi in Muntahal Amal.

The fact that Hasan al-Askari did not have children would result in their belief being destroyed and cannot be justified. The continuation of Imamat automatically stops. When some of the Shias felt the fear of the Shia sect disappearing because of the absence of the twelfth imam, a number of them thought of a way to save this school.

Finally, they found a way out. A Shia named Muhammad bin Nushair an-Namîri and his friends got the idea with the claim that Hasan al-Askari had a child that he hid in a cave for fear of being killed by evil people and zhalim.

Their purpose in rolling out this statement is to deceive ordinary Shiites.

Well, I will assume that the Mahdi was born. But there is no point in hiding so long in the cave. Shi'ites will reason that the imam is hiding because he is afraid of being killed.

The reason advanced by Th-Thusi is clearly very weak. Errors of their reasons appear at the following points:

It has been mentioned in their main reference books that al-Mahdi, who is helped by Allah, will rule the world. If al-Mahdi is to be helped and won by Allah, why does he have to hide himself and not appear before people?

The disappearance of the Mahdi by hiding in a cave for a very long time raises questions. Why does he have to hide? If al-Mahdi believes in his victory over his enemies, why should he be afraid?

Shia belief that the Shi'ite Mahdi is worried that he will be killed so he hides himself. This claim resulting in the collapse of the Imam's credibility. Because, according to Shia, an imam must be the bravest man. It is stated in their reference, "An Imam has several signs: he is the most pious, the wisest, the most cautious and the most courageous". (Al-Anwâr an-Nuâmâniyyah 1/34, Ni'matullâh al-Jazāiri)

While people who worry that they will be killed so that they disappear and hide themselves are not brave persons.

The Shia reasoned that he would emerge after the tyranny disappeared and the Shia had power. In fact, the tyranny will remain until the end of time. History records, the Shiites have power and government, like Iran as a concrete example. The country will surely try to protect al-Mahdi if it wants to emerge, but why doesn't it appear too?

People who cannot defend themselves and protect themselves from the threat of murder are clearly unable to protect others. Does it make sense, the Shiites await the arrival of people who are said to be muzzling their enemies, while the Imam himself is unable to protect himself?

The Shiite version of Imam Mahdi has been hiding no less than 1173 years, because according to them he entered the cave in 260 H when he was 5 years old. What are the benefits of hiding if he really exists and is still alive? What if he actually never existed. For anyone who believes in the 12th Imam, what benefits does he get for his religion and world.

So, there are only two conditions, the Imam is gone or indeed never existed. In these two conditions, there is no benefit to one's religion or world. Based on the Shi'a view which considers Imamat as a pillar of religion, the absence of this Imam Mahdi Shia - if considered to exist - results in the paralysis of the implementation of the Shari'a.

Thus, it can be seen that the fictitious story (khurofat) of the Imam Mahdi Shia was rolled out to cover up the mistakes of their aqeedah which had been corrupted before from the principle.