Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri
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In Twelver Shia Islam, Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri(939 AD)[1] was the fourth and last of The Four Deputies appointed by the twelfth and final Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, while he was in the Minor Occultation. Unlike his predecessors he had no appointed successor, and the Major Occultation began after his death.[2]
He was a companion of the 11th Shia Imam Hasan al-Askari and was designated as the fourth and last of The Four Deputies for a period of 3 years after the death of the third deputy Abul Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti. Six days before his death, he received a letter from the twelfth and final Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, in which he was notified that there would be no deputy after him.[3]
Biography
Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri called al-Sammari because was living in al-Sammar or al-Saymar ,one of the areas of Basra. He was from a prominent Shia family of Basra. Because of his family and his good record in the time of two previous Shia Imams amongst Shias, he faced no problem in his being accepted as the deputy by the Shia community.[4][5]
The last Tawqee
Six days before his death, he received a Tawqee, the letters that were signed by the Twelve Imams, Muhammad al-Mahdi, in which he was notified that there would be no deputy after him.
"In the name of Allah, the Compassionate the Merciful
O Ali Ibn Muhammad Samari! May Allah increase the reward of your brothers concerning you (i.e. your demise)! Death will come to you within the next six days. So you complete your works and do not nominate any person after you. The sequence of special deputies will come to an end and the Major Occultation (غيبت كبرى) will commence with your demise.
Now the reappearance will occur only with the permission of Allah, after a prolonged period and after the hearts of people are hardened. And such a period will emerge on my Shias when people will claim that they have seen me. Whoever makes such a claim before the advent of Sufyani and the heavenly voice, is a liar, an impostor. There is no strength and power save that of Allah, the High, the Great."
On the sixth day after receiving the letter, Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri died (329 AH) and he was buried in Baghdad near the current grave of Sheikh Kulayni. Before his death, they asked him about the next deputy and he responded: "I don't have permission to introduce anyone".
Following his death, the Major Occultation began.
References
- ^ Michael M. J. Fischer. Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 252.
- ^ ʻAbd al-Hādī Ḥāʼirī (1977). Shīʿīsm and Constitutionalism in Iran: A Study of the Role Played by the Persian Residents of Iraq in Iranian Politics. Brill Archive.
- ^ a b The Fourth Special Deputy: Ali Ibn Muhammad Samari (r.a.). Association of Imam Mahdi.
- ^ Jassim M. Hussain. The Occultation of the Twelfth Imam (A Historical Background). Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- ^ a b Zahra Ra'isi. The Special Deputies of Imam Mahdi (as) (PDF). p. 82.
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