The day after
On 9 Rabi al-Awwal 260 AH, the day after the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari (a), the Imamate passed to his son Muhammad (aj), a child of five whose birth had been kept from the authorities. From that day the twelfth Imam communicated with the community only through four successive deputies in Baghdad — the Minor Occultation — until 329 AH, when the last deputy announced that there would be no successor and the Major Occultation began.
The Imam of the age
Twelver Shia belief holds that the Imam is alive, hidden by God's will, and will reappear to fill the earth with justice as it has been filled with oppression. In his absence the guidance of the community rests with the scholars. The ninth of Rabi al-Awwal is therefore the first day of the present era of the Imamate, and many Shia mark it with congratulations and gatherings.
A note on the day's other associations
The same date is sometimes called Eid al-Zahra or Farhat al-Zahra in folk custom, connected to reports about the death of Umar b. Sa'd, one of the murderers of Imam Husayn (a), and to popular beliefs about the second caliph. The senior Shia authorities do not permit gatherings that insult figures revered by Sunni Muslims, and the day is best kept for what it is: the start of the Imamate of the Awaited Imam.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
