They may object saying: One Muslim is not appointed to teach people and set the laws. Hence the orders of two persons will be different. Hence it is necessary for the Imam to never remain in hiding.
We can answer by saying that we did not consider it necessary for the Imam to keep himself completely hidden from all the people because the Almighty Allah has appointed him and informed His servants about his status through those truthful Imams who were his predecessors. We have just said that the Imam does not confess it in front of his enemies out of fear that he may get martyred by them. However this is not the case with all creatures because if it is asked: Who is the Imam of Imamiyah sect?
The answer would be so and so, the son of so and so. This is known to the entire Ummah. We talked only about whether he confesses it in front of his enemies or not. Hence we compared it with the example of Holy Prophet’s hiding in the cave. He was already appointed as prophet and had miracles with him. He had a new Shariah with him which abrogated all the previous Shariats. It was proved that if he fears for his life then it is permissible for the Imam to deny his Imamate and not answer their questions. This act does not let him out of the confines of Imamate. There is no difference in the two cases.
They may raise an objection saying: If you consider it permissible for an Imam to deny his caliphate in front of his enemies out of fear of his life then is it the same for a prophet also? The answer is: One of the sects is of the opinion that there is a difference between a prophet and an Imam. They say that a prophet preaches religion among the people of his own openly. Hence, if he hides his prophethood and does dissimulation (Taqiyyah), his prophethood is invalidated for there would be no one to take his place. The Holy Prophet has completed the argument for an Imam and made the issue of his Imamate clear. Now even if he keeps quiet or denies, he is an Imam.
However, this is not the answer given by us. We say that the case of a prophet and Imam about dissimulation is same after he has already delivered the message of God and displayed his miracles but dissimulation is not possible before it. At the time of the treaty of Hudaybiya the Holy Prophet erased his name from the agreement when Sahl bin Amr and Hafs bin al-Ahnaf denied his prophethood.
The Holy Prophet asked Ali to erase his name and rewrite as Muhammad bin Abdullah. This did not affect his prophethood in any way because the prophethood was clearly proved through strong proofs before that. Similarly the Almighty Allah accepted the excuse of Ammar. The polytheists forced him to talk ill about the Holy Prophet or get killed. Ammar talked ill about the Holy Prophet in order to save his life. When he narrated this to the Holy Prophet, he replied: O Ammar! Indeed you have succeeded. Ammar said: O messenger of Allah! I have not succeeded because I talked ill about you. The Holy Prophet asked: Did you have complete faith on our religion at that time? He said: Yes, O messenger of Allah! Then, the Almighty Allah revealed the verse: Not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith.
(16:106) It is against Shariah to permit an act at one place and to prohibit at another. If it is possible for an Imam to keep his Imamate secret then it is also permissible for him to keep his personality hidden till the situation demands. If he is permitted to remain in occultation for a day then it is also permissible for him to remain in occultation for a year, a hundred years or more till it is required for him according to divine wisdom for there is no power except Allah.
Commentary #2
قيل لهم لم نقل إن الإمام يستر نفسه عن جميع الناس لأن الله عز و جل قد نصبه و عرف الخلق مكانه بقول الصادق الذي قبله فيه و نصبه له و إنما قلنا إن الإمام لا يقر عند أعدائه بذلك خوفا منهم أن يقتلوه فأما أن يكون مستورا عن جميع الخلق فلا لأن الناس جميعا لو سألوا عن إمام الإمامية من هو لقالوا فلان بن فلان مشهور عند جميع الأمة و إنما تكلمنا في أنه هل يقر عند أعدائه أم لا يقر و عارضناكم باستتار النبي ص في الغار و هو مبعوث معه المعجزات و قد أتى بشرع مبتدع و نسخ كل شرع قبله و أريناكم أنه إذا خاف كان له أن يجحد عند أعدائه أنه إمام و لا يجيبهم إذا سألوه و لا يخرجه ذلك من أن يكون إماما و لا فرق في ذلك فإن قالوا فإذا جوزتم للإمام أن يجحد إمامته أعداءه عند الخوف فهل يجوز للنبي ص أن يجحد نبوته عند الخوف من أعدائه قيل لهم قد فرق قوم من أهل الحق بين النبي ص و بين الإمام بأن قالوا إن النبي ص هو الداعي إلى رسالته و المبين للناس ذلك بنفسه فإذا جحد ذلك و أنكره للتقية بطلت الحجة و لم يكن أحد يبين عنه و الإمام قد قام له النبي ص بحجته و أبان أمره فإذا سكت أو جحد كان النبي ص قد كفاه ذلك و ليس هذا جوابنا و لكنا نقول إن حكم النبي ص و حكم الإمام سيان في التقية إذا كان قد صدع بأمر الله عز و جل و بلغ رسالته و أقام المعجزات فأما قبل ذلك فلا وَ قَدْ مَحَا النَّبِيُّ ص اسْمَهُ مِنَ الصَّحِيفَةِ فِي صُلْحِ الْحُدَيْبِيَةِ حِينَ أَنْكَرَ سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو وَ حَفْصُ بْنُ الْأَحْنَفِ نُبُوَّتَهُ فَقَالَ لِعَلِيٍّ عليه السلام امْحُهُ وَ اكْتُبْ هَذَا مَا صَالَحَ عَلَيْهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فَلَمْ يُضِرَّ ذَلِكَ نُبُوَّتَهُ إِذَا كَانَتِ الْأَعْلَامُ فِي الْبَرَاهِينِ قَدْ قَامَتْ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ قَدْ قَبِلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ عُذْرَ عَمَّارٍ حِينَ حَمَلَهُ الْمُشْرِكُونَ عَلَى سَبِّ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص وَ أَرَادُوا قَتْلَهُ فَسَبَّهُ فَلَمَّا رَجَعَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ص قَالَ قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْوَجْهُ يَا عَمَّارُ قَالَ مَا أَفْلَحَ وَ قَدْ سَبَبْتُكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ عليه السلام أَ لَيْسَ قَلْبُكَ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ قَالَ بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَ قَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمانِ. و القول في ذلك ينافي الشريعة من إجازة ذلك في وقت و حظره في وقت آخر و إذا جاز للإمام أن يجحد إمامته و يستر أمره جاز أن يستر شخصه متى أوجبت الحكمة غيبته و إذا جاز أن يغيب يوما لعلة موجبة جاز سنة و إذا جاز سنة جاز مائة سنة و إذا جاز مائة سنة جاز أكثر من ذلك إلى الوقت الذي توجب الحكمة ظهوره كما أوجبت غيبته و لا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ.
We can answer by saying that we did not consider it necessary for the Imam to keep himself completely hidden from all the people because the Almighty Allah has appointed him and informed His servants about his status through those truthful Imams who were his predecessors. We have just said that the Imam does not confess it in front of his enemies out of fear that he may get martyred by them. However this is not the case with all creatures because if it is asked: Who is the Imam of Imamiyah sect?
The answer would be so and so, the son of so and so. This is known to the entire Ummah. We talked only about whether he confesses it in front of his enemies or not. Hence we compared it with the example of Holy Prophet’s hiding in the cave. He was already appointed as prophet and had miracles with him. He had a new Shariah with him which abrogated all the previous Shariats. It was proved that if he fears for his life then it is permissible for the Imam to deny his Imamate and not answer their questions. This act does not let him out of the confines of Imamate. There is no difference in the two cases.
They may raise an objection saying: If you consider it permissible for an Imam to deny his caliphate in front of his enemies out of fear of his life then is it the same for a prophet also? The answer is: One of the sects is of the opinion that there is a difference between a prophet and an Imam. They say that a prophet preaches religion among the people of his own openly. Hence, if he hides his prophethood and does dissimulation (Taqiyyah), his prophethood is invalidated for there would be no one to take his place. The Holy Prophet has completed the argument for an Imam and made the issue of his Imamate clear. Now even if he keeps quiet or denies, he is an Imam.
However, this is not the answer given by us. We say that the case of a prophet and Imam about dissimulation is same after he has already delivered the message of God and displayed his miracles but dissimulation is not possible before it. At the time of the treaty of Hudaybiya the Holy Prophet erased his name from the agreement when Sahl bin Amr and Hafs bin al-Ahnaf denied his prophethood.
The Holy Prophet asked Ali to erase his name and rewrite as Muhammad bin Abdullah. This did not affect his prophethood in any way because the prophethood was clearly proved through strong proofs before that. Similarly the Almighty Allah accepted the excuse of Ammar. The polytheists forced him to talk ill about the Holy Prophet or get killed. Ammar talked ill about the Holy Prophet in order to save his life. When he narrated this to the Holy Prophet, he replied: O Ammar! Indeed you have succeeded. Ammar said: O messenger of Allah! I have not succeeded because I talked ill about you. The Holy Prophet asked: Did you have complete faith on our religion at that time? He said: Yes, O messenger of Allah! Then, the Almighty Allah revealed the verse: Not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith. (16:106) It is against Shariah to permit an act at one place and to prohibit at another. If it is possible for an Imam to keep his Imamate secret then it is also permissible for him to keep his personality hidden till the situation demands. If he is permitted to remain in occultation for a day then it is also permissible for him to remain in occultation for a year, a hundred years or more till it is required for him according to divine wisdom for there is no power except Allah.