Imam Absconditus and the Beginnings of a Theology of Occultation:
Imami Shiʿism Circa 280-290 A. H./900 A. D.

by Said Amir Arjomand

published in Journal of the American Oriental Society, 117:1, pages 74-95
1997

The last quarter of the ninth century is the most obscure in the history of Imami Shicism-bedeviled as it is by confused and tendentious documentation. Following the death of the eleventh Imam with no offspring, it represents a period of severe crisis and yet, within it, are found the beginnings of a number of far reaching doctrinal and institutional trends which shaped Shicism permanently. Two im- portant documents are used as a window for viewing this critical period by focusing on the major rup- ture in the history of Shicism that marks its end: the cessation of communication between the Imam and his Shica and the formal acceptance of an Imam absconditus. From the historical point of view, this rupture is the decisive turning point that divides the historical Imamate from the era of occultation.