The Four Deputies
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In Twelver Shia Islam, the Four Deputies were the four individuals who served as messengers between the community and the twelfth and final Imam,upon him going into the Minor Occultation.
Twelver Tradition hold that four deputies acted in succession to one another:
- Uthman ibn Sa’id al-Asadi
- Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Uthman
- Abul Qasim Husayn ibn Ruh al-Nawbakhti
- Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri
In 941 (329 AH), the 4th deputy announced an order by the Final, Awaited Imam, that the deputy would soon die and that the deputyship would end and the period of the Major Occultation would begin.
The 4th deputy died six days later and the Shi'a Muslims continue to await the reappearance of this Imam. In the same year, many notable Shi'a scholars such as Ali ibn Babwayh Qummi and Muhammad ibn Yaqub Kulayni, the learned compiler of al-Kafi also died.