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Ghayba
The OED gives no definition for Ghayba.
Ghayba – which is variously translated as absence or disappearance – is a term most commonly used to refer to the disappearance of the twelfth imam of Shia Islam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (b.868).
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Ghayba – which is variously translated as absence or disappearance – is a term most commonly used to refer to the disappearance of the twelfth imam of Shia Islam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (b.868). According to Twelver Shia doctrine, the twelfth imam did not die but went into occultation, a state from which he will return at the end of the world to restore justice on earth. According to Jamal Velji, “the Hidden Imam is thought to be in contact with many of his followers miraculously, through dreams or visions” and is deputized by learned scholars of Islamic ethics and jurisprudence. [1]
See also Vilayat al-faqih
