AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A pre-session of the conference The Personality and Era of Imam Mahdi (a.s.), from Birth to the End of the Minor Occultation was held on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Martyr Soleimani Hall of the Research Institute for Islamic Sciences and Culture in Qom, featuring an address by Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Referring to the scarcity of historical sources on the life of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) during the period of the Minor Occultation, Ayatollah Ramazani said that presenting precise, well-documented, and defensible reports on the Imam’s life throughout this nearly seventy-year period would significantly strengthen Shiite belief and respond to critics’ doubts. He added that such research could also resolve certain ambiguities that exist even among followers of Twelver Shiism.
“If we are to speak of the ‘Living Awaited One,’ this claim requires solid and credible historical evidence,” the Secretary-General stated. He emphasized that examining the personality, life, and guiding role of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) within a scholarly and historical framework would allow this concept to be presented in a reasoned and defensible manner.
Ayatollah Ramazani concluded by expressing hope regarding the outcomes of the conference, noting that the initiative undertaken by the Research Center for the History and Biography of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) could produce a novel, lasting, and influential contribution to Mahdism studies, playing an important role in removing doubts, alleviating confusion, and reinforcing the doctrinal foundations of the Shiite community.
**************
End/ 345
