Al-Mahdi (a.s.)

rather, you may refer to the prayers and benedictions which have come down from ahl-e-bayt especially sahifa - sajjadia which has been narrated from imam zain-ul-abedeen (as.) and is supposed to be the 'zabur' of aal-e-muhammad since it contains numerous knowledge and insight.

although, we have desisted from holding fast to the ahl-e-bayt, yet their sciences, gnosis, ethics and manners have been written and protected in the books. so, like the holy quran, it is necessary for us to hold fast to them too.

holding fast to them does not mean that we have to catch hold of their hands. rather it means that we have to act upon their sayings and follow their path. this too is possible and feasible for each and every person. therefore, there cannot remain any excuse for any muslim with regards to 'holding fast to ahl-e-bayt' and none can say. the twelfth imam was hidden and so we could not hold on to him.

verily, the reference of these prayers, their narrators, their denotations, their manifestation, common, special, compendious, explanatory, all that which is opposite to them and such other matters should be considered.

our master Mahdi (a.s.) has left behind amongst the people various traditions from his father and fore-fathers. in addition to this, various correspondences and epistles have come down from his holiness. moreover, since hazrat had appointed deputies and representatives out of grace and compassion for the people during the period of minor occultation so it was necessary for the people to refer to them. (in affairs related to spiritual materials, this world and the. hereafter). in the period of major occultation too, it is necessary to trust and follow them.

«Mahdi's deputies during minor
occultation»

during the period of minor occultation, the deputies of Mahdi who were allowed to visit hazrat and for whom special epistles were issued were only four:
(1) shaikh abu amr uthman ibne saeed amir:

he was first appointed to the post of deputyship by imam ali an-naqi and then retained to the same post by imam hassan askari (a.s.). still later on, uthman ibne saeed stood up for hazrat saheb-uz-zaman's affairs. various replies to various problems and signed letters (from imam) were issued through uthman ibne saeed.

(2) when uthman ibne saeed passed away his son abu jafar muhammad-ibn-uthman succeeded him and he become his father's vicegerent in imam's affairs.

(3) when muhammad-ibn-uthman passed away, this lofty position was transfered to abul-qasim husseinibn-ruh. he was from the family of bani-nawbakht.