One of His Eminence’s messengers and special deputies was Muḥammad ibn Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī, the son of Uthmān ibn Saʿīd. His father, Uthmān, was regarded as a trustworthy person by Imam Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (peace be upon him). The Imam also informed the Shiites that he was one of the deputies of his son, the Mahdi.
When Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī was nearing the end of his life, His Eminence al-Ḥujjah sent a letter to his son, Muḥammad ibn Uthmān, expressing his condolences on the death of his father. The letter also indicated that Muḥammad ibn Uthmān would succeed his father as the deputy of God’s Wali and would serve in this capacity as his father had done.
According to Shaykh al-Ṣadūq and other scholars, the letter read:
اِنـّا للّهِ وَ اِنـّا اِلَیـْهِ راجِعُونَ تَسْلیما لاَمْرِهِ وَ رِضا بِقَضائِهِ وَ بِفِعْلِهِ عاشَ اَبُوكَ سَعیدا وَ ماتَ حَمیدا فَرَحْمَهُ اللّهُ وَ
اَلْحَقَهُ بِاَوْلِیائِهِ وَ مَوالیهِ علیھم السلام فَلَمْ يَزَلْ فى اَمـْرِھـِمْ ساعِیا فیما يُقَرِّبِهِ اِلَى اللّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ اِلَیْھِمْ نَضَّرَ
اللّهُ وَجْھَهُ وَ اَقالَهُ عَثْرَتَهُ وَ اَجـْزَلَ اللّهُ لَكَ الثَّوابَ وَ اَحـْسـَنَ لَكَ الْعـَزاءَ وَ رُزيـتَ وَ رُزيـنا وَ اَوْحَشَكَ فِراقُهُ وَ
اَوْحَشنا فـَسـَرَّهُ اللّهُ فـى مـُنـْقـَلَبِه وَ كانَ مِنْ كَمالِ سَعادَتِهِ اَنْ رَزَقَهُ اللّهُ وَلَدَا مِثْلَكَ يَخْلُقُهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَ يَقُومُ
مَقامَهُ بِاَمْرِهِ وَ يَتَرَحَّمُ عَلَیْهِ وَ اَقُولُ اَلْحَمْدُللّهِ فَاِنَّ الاَنْفُسَ طَیِّبَةٌ بِمَكانِكَ وَ مـا جَعَلَهُ اللّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فیكَ وَ عِنْدَكَ وَ
قَوّاكَ وَ عَضَّدَكَ وَ وَفَّقَكَ وَ كانَ لَكَ وَلیّا وَ حافِظا وَ راعِیا
“We belong to God, and to Him we shall return, submitting to His command and accepting His decree. Through the grace and favor of God, your father lived happily and died with honor. May God have mercy upon him, join him with His friends and close servants, peace be upon them, and reward him abundantly.
He never ceased striving on their behalf and seeking that which would bring him closer to Almighty God and to them. May God illumine his face, forgive his shortcomings, grant you an abundant reward, and grant you consolation. You have suffered his loss, and so have we; his separation has saddened you, and it has saddened us as well. May God grant him happiness in his final abode.
Among the signs of the completeness of his happiness was that God granted him a son like you, whom He appointed to succeed him, to take his place by His command, and to pray for him.
I praise God for this, for hearts find comfort in your presence and in the qualities that Almighty God has placed within you and with you. He has strengthened and supported you, granted you success, and made you your father’s guardian, protector, and caretaker.”
Furthermore, Allamah Majlisī quoted in Biḥār al-Anwār a passage from Ghaybah, a work by Shaykh al-Ṭūsī. He narrated it from a group of companions as follows:
After the death of Uthmān ibn Saʿīd, a letter from His Eminence al-Ḥujjah (may God hasten his reappearance) was sent to Uthmān’s son, Muḥammad ibn Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī. It stated:
و الاِبْنُ وَقاهُ اللّهُ لَمْ يَزِلْ ثِقَتَنا فى حَیاةَ الاَبِ ـ رَضِىَ اللّهُ عَنْهُ وَ اَرْضاهُ وَ نَضَّرَ وَجـْھـَهُ ـ يـَجْرى عِنْدَنا مَجْراهُ وَ
يَسُدُّ مَسَدَّهُ وَ عَنْ اَمْرِنا يَاءْمُرُ الاِبْنُ وَ بِهِ يَعْمَلُ تَوَلّیهُ اللّه
“May God protect the son [of Uthmān ibn Saʿīd]. He has always been our trustworthy person during his father’s lifetime—may God be pleased with him, grant him His satisfaction, and illumine his face. He occupies the same position with us as his father did and takes his place. He acts according to our command, and our command is carried out through him. May God be his guardian and protector.”
It is also narrated from Shaykh al-Kulaynī that, in another letter written in the noble handwriting of His Eminence Ṣāḥib al-Amr (may God hasten his reappearance), it was stated:
“May God be pleased with Muḥammad ibn Uthmān and his father. He is my trustworthy representative, and his writings are my writings.”
There are numerous indications in this regard, and many of the Imam’s miracles and extraordinary signs for the Shiites were manifested through him. He served His Eminence al-Ḥujjah as both a messenger and a special deputy and was regarded as an authority for the Shiites.
It is also narrated from his daughter, Umm Kulthūm, that Muḥammad ibn Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī had written several books on fiqh.
The fourth of His Eminence al-Ḥujjah’s special deputies was Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī.
After the death of Shaykh Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥusayn ibn Rūḥ, His Eminence al-Ḥujjah (may God hasten his reappearance) appointed Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī as his successor. He answered the questions of the Shiites and, with the permission of His Eminence al-Ḥujjah, manifested certain signs and extraordinary acts.
The Shiites also entrusted him with the funds and properties intended for the honorable Imam, which he then conveyed to him.
When he was nearing death, the Shiites gathered around him and asked him to appoint someone as his successor. He replied, “God has a matter that He will bring to pass.” This indicated that the time had come for the Major Occultation.
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq also narrated:
When Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī was nearing death, the Shiites gathered around him and asked, “Who will be your successor after you?” He replied, “I have not been instructed to appoint anyone as my successor in this matter.” This was another indication of the beginning of the Major Occultation.
He also stated that there would soon be some among the Shiites who would claim to have seen the Imam. He warned that whoever claimed to have seen him before the emergence of al-Sufyānī and the heavenly call would be a liar and an impostor.
It is also narrated that one of the companions wrote down what Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī had said and then left him. Six days later, when they visited him again, they found him in the final moments of his life. Those present asked him, “Who will be your successor after you?” He replied, “God has a matter that He will bring to completion.” He then passed away. May God bless his soul.
Shaykh al-Ṣadūq also states in Kamāl al-Dīn that the death of ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī occurred in 329 AH. Thus, the Minor Occultation, during which the messengers and special deputies of His Eminence al-Ḥujjah were responsible for conveying messages and acting as his deputies, lasted approximately seventy-four years.
Of this period, approximately forty-eight years belonged to the time when Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī and his son, Muḥammad ibn Uthmān, served as the Imam’s deputies. Approximately twenty-six years belonged to the period during which Shaykh Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥusayn ibn Rūḥ and Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Samarī served in this capacity.
After this period, communication through the Imam’s special deputies came to an end, and the Major Occultation began.
Therefore, whoever claims to be the Imam’s messenger or special deputy, or claims to have a special and direct relationship with the Imam during the Major Occultation, is regarded as a liar and an impostor.
It should be noted that His Eminence instructed the people to refer to qualified religious scholars, jurists, and mujtahids in order to learn the principles and rulings of religion and Islamic law. In this sense, qualified scholars serve as religious authorities for the people during the Major Occultation.
This is illustrated by the case of Isḥāq ibn Yaʿqūb, one of the prominent Shiite scholars, who sent his questions to the Imam in a letter. Muḥammad ibn Uthmān ibn Saʿīd al-ʿUmarī conveyed the letter to His Eminence Ṣāḥib al-Amr (may God hasten his reappearance), who answered Isḥāq’s questions in a noble letter as follows:
وَ اَمـّا الْحـَوادِثُ الْواقِعَةُ فَارْجِعُوا فِیھا اِلى رُواةِ حَديثِنا فَاِنَّھُمْ حُجَّتى عَلَیْكُمْ وَ اَنَا حُجَّةُ اللّهِ عَلَیْھِم
“As for the matters and events that arise, refer to the narrators of our traditions, for they are my proof (ḥujjah) over you, and I am God’s proof over them.”
According to another narration, Imam al-Bāqir stated:
اُنْظُرُوا اِلى مَنْ كانَ مِنْكُمْ قَدْ رَوى حَديثَنا وَ نَظَرَ فى حَلالِنا وَ حَرامِنا وَ عَرَفَ اَحْكامَنا فـَارْضـَوا بـِهِ حـَكـَمـا فَاِنِّى
قَدْ جَعَلْتُهُ عَلَیْكُمْ حاكِما فِاذا حَكَمَ بِحُكْمِنا فَلَمْ يُقْبَلْ مِنْه فَاِنَّما بِحُكْمِ اللّهِ اسْتَخَفَّ وَ عَلَیْنا رَدَّ وَ الرَآدُّ عَلَینا رادُّ
عَلَى اللّهِ وَ ھُوَ فى حَدِّ الشِّرْكِ بِاللّه
“Look to those among you who have narrated our traditions, studied what is lawful and unlawful according to us, and know our rulings. Accept him as a judge, for I have appointed him as a judge over you. If he issues a ruling according to our ruling and it is not accepted, then such a person has belittled the command of God, rejected us, and whoever rejects us has rejected God. Such rejection is akin to associating partners with God.”
Another narration states:
مُجارِى الاُمُورِ بِیَدِ الْعُلَماءِ بِاللّهِ الاُمَناءِ عَلى حَلالِهِ وَ حَرامِهِ
“The administration of affairs is entrusted to the scholars who know God and are trustworthy regarding what He has declared lawful and unlawful.”
- This is an abbreviated expression meaning, “May God be pleased with him and illumine his face.”
- A mujtahid is a qualified Islamic jurist who possesses the scholarly ability to derive religious rulings from authoritative Islamic sources.
- Sharia refers to Islamic religious law and the body of religious rulings derived from its recognized sources.
Translator’s Note: The translation of the Imam’s letter above was produced with the assistance of Google Translate. Since we are not permitted to translate the words attributed to the Imams (peace be upon them) without sufficient expertise and certainty, readers are advised to consult an authoritative Arabic source for the original text.