پژوهشی انتقادی بر دلایل اسلام‌شناسان غربی در مسئله عدم اصالت غیبت

اندیشمندان و پژوهشگران همواره به بحث در باره غیبت (پنهان‌زیستی) امام مهدی(عج) و تاریخچه آن در میان شیعیان دوازده‌امامی، پرداخته‌اند. گروهی از پژوهشگران، به‌ویژه برخی اسلام‌پژوهان غربی، با استناد به ادعاهایی مانند: عدم وجود شواهد از بیان غیبت در نیمه نخست قرن اول، عدم ذکر روایات غیبت پیش از قرن چهارم به گونه ای که نوبختی و سعد بن عبدالله اشعری اشاره ای به آن نکرده اند ،این نوشتار، تلاش دارد تا با روشی توصیفی تحلیلی انتقادی، به بررسی پرداخته و نتایج حاصله گویای آن است که عدم تسلط به محتوای منابع کهن، برداشت موردی از آن منابع و عدم توجه به ترجمه درست و دقیق گزارش‌های روایی، این دسته از محققان غربی را دچار اشتباه کرده و برخلاف دیدگاه آنان، شواهد و قراینی از متون امامیه و غیر امامیه در اثبات اصالت غیبت در دوران ابتدایی قرن اول هجری وجود دارد.

a critical study of western islamologists’ arguments concerning the alleged inauthenticity of the ghayba

the hidden existence of imam mahdi (may god hasten his reappearance) has been a subject of continuous discussion among twelver shia muslims and scholars who study this phenomenon. western islamic scholars together with other researchers base their arguments on multiple points including the absence of occultation declarations during islam's first century and the late emergence of occultation traditions which first appeared in the fourth century and were absent in the writings of al-nawbakhti and sa'd ibn abdullah al-ash'ari and the conflicting statements about this doctrine and the post-al-nu'mani writings about occultation. the researchers who studied this topic included western islamic scholars who argued that the doctrine of occultation originated from earlier religious traditions and sects and served as a means to reject divine proof (hujjat allahi) following the martyrdom of imam hasan al-askari (peace be upon him). these claims are raised without regard to authentic shia sources and texts, and represent, in a way, an attempt to cast doubt on the authenticity and foundation of this concept in imami doctrines. the study applies descriptive-analytical methods to analyze western islamic scholars' doubts about islam through the examination of historical theories and their mistaken understanding of original texts. the research results indicate that a lack of mastery of the content of ancient sources, a selective reading of those sources, and a failure to pay attention to the correct and accurate translation of narrative reports, have led these western researchers to err. contrary to their view, there is evidence and indications from imami and non-imami texts in proving the authenticity of the occultation in the early period of the first century ah.