A
anjoh66
Guest
The shia believe that the world can not be without imam, so he is concealed and kept alive miraculously until the time comes for him to establish his kingdom.Thank you, anjou66. I should have clarified my question. What I meant was, will there always be an imam until the “end of the world”? For instance, one may assume there will always be a Pope (ignoring sede vacante) even until He returns. Of course, I think that is an assumption as the Church may continue to exist without one if need be. Note, none of our Popes disappear and reappear to the physical world(which implies following elections are nothing), so is it the same with the Imam? I suppose it also implies a secondary question as to is the occultation a perpetual concealment in the physical world, or is it a moving to another while still being able to interact.
Except for the Ismailiyya who as i said before still believe in a continous rank of imams and the present aga khan is no 49.