For certain currents of the Shiism, and for example the last Imam for the Duodécimains, did not die, but was occulted , in ghayba (غَيْبة, distance absence; disappearance ). Living in an invisible world, it is called the Imam hidden , the Mahdi supposed to return at the end of times. That corresponds to a made revelation with Fatima, girl of Mahomet: “ it will be at the origin of a line of savers whose last of the same name that his/her father and will fill the ground of justice and equity. ”

The idea of screening appeared for the first time about the year 700 with the Kaysanites, group of Shiite living with Kufa, for which Muhammad ibn Al-Hanafiya, wire of `Alî and one of its slaves, would be the fourth Imam, it would not have died but would have been withdrawn from the world and would live hidden.

The concept of screening became the base of almost all the Shiite sects, each one having its hidden Imam. There are two degrees in screening: small screening consists in hiding to avoid the continuations, and great screening where the Imam does not have any more any contact with the alive ones although he is regarded as still alive. The hidden imâm can be expressed through representatives (the Imams wakîl) who are the imâms speaking (nâtiq) also called ambassadors (safîr)

According to Sohrawardi, the mahdi is present incognito, but it cannot reveal its presence, because it would lose its spiritual power immediately.

Ismaéliens

The first Imams Ismaéliens remained hidden to escape Abbasid repression. But it is IsmaÏl Ben Ja `far which entered in screening in 760 and it is him Mahdî.

Duodécimains

For the duodécimains, it twelfth imâm, Muhammad Al-Mahdî, disappeared in 874 for a small screening where it remained in contact with its faithful via its ambassadors (safîr). The era of the great screening began towards 940.

Bohras

The last Imam is Abû Al-Qâsim Al-Tayyib

Druzes

For the Druzes it is the Imam Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah which is Mahdî, it has even the row of incarnated divinity. The statute of the Druzes as Moslem is of this discussed fact.

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