Critique of Walīd ibn Ṣāliḥ Bāṣmad's Claim Regarding the Apparent Conflict in Shia Narratives about the Birth of Imam Mahdi (AS)

Zarnooshe Farahani, Hasan; Hormozi, Zeinab

doi:10.22034/hsr.2025.51636.1038

Critique of Walīd ibn Ṣāliḥ Bāṣmad's Claim Regarding the Apparent Conflict in Shia Narratives about the Birth of Imam Mahdi (AS)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Associate Professor in Department of Theology and Islamic Studies, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.

² MA of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/hsr.2025.51636.1038

Abstract

Shia hadith sources contain numerous narrations indicating the announcement of Imam Mahdi's (AS) birth. However, other narrations seemingly contradict these, suggesting the concealment of his birth. In an Arabic academic dissertation titled "Narrations Regarding the Mahdi in the Authentic Hadith Books of the Twelver Shia: A Critical Study," Walīd ibn Ṣāliḥ Bāṣmad uses these and similar narrations to argue that Shia narratives on the Mahdi are weak, contradictory, and irreconcilable, thus casting doubt on the Shia concept of the Mahdi itself ". The present study, using a descriptive-analytical method, aims to address the objections raised in the aforementioned dissertation regarding Imam Mahdi's (AS) birth. It first categorizes and reports the claim under two headings: Narrations indicating the announcement of the birth and narrations indicating its concealment. Then, by examining the chain of transmission (Isnād) and text (Matn) of each narration, it concludes that while credible narrations exist in both categories, based on both narrator-centered and context-centered approaches to evaluating authenticity, their apparent conflict can be resolved. The concealment of the birth refers to general concealment, while the announcement refers to disclosure to select individuals. This duality in concealment or announcement was necessitated by the oppressive circumstances of Imam Ḥasan al-ʻAskarī (AS) time and was essential for protecting God's proof. Therefore, these seemingly contradictory narrations are theologically reconcilable, and there is no need to prioritize one over the other.

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