How Imam Mahdi Faced Deviant Currents and False Claimants of Mahdism

Minor Occultation is one of the most important periods in the history of Imami Shia, as with the absence of Imam Mahdi, Shiites faced many problems. Undoubtedly, the absence of Imam Mahdi stunned the Shiites. This absence, especially with the emergence of individuals and groups claiming Imamate and representation among the Imams, created more problems and caused the circle of amazement to increase among the Imami Shiites. This group of claimants came into being in different types, including claimants of representation and Imamate. In the meantime, even some of the representatives of the former imams, who did not have much of a bad history, joined these people, and all these cases led to more problems for Imamiya Shiites when faced with the absence of Imam Mahdi. In this article, it’s been tried to identify deviant people and currents through a descriptive and analytical method, and after that, Imam Mahdi's treatment towards them will be shown. The treatment of the twelfth Imam towards them in this period has been in various ways, such as organizing the institution of legal representation and appointing the main and secondary representatives, dealing with high-ranking people and claimants of representation, explaining the main strategy of the Imamate to start the process of Major Occultation, explaining the Imamate and avoiding the excesses and extremism related to position of Ahl al-Bayt. In this article, attention will be paid only to how Imam confronts deviant currents.