to pray. When he reaches ten, if he does not pray, he is disciplined to make him do so. How, then, can someone like this be an infallible imam who knows the whole religion, and without believing in whom no one can enter Paradise?

Furthermore, even assuming his existence, his imamate, and his infallibility, people are only obliged to obey someone present among them, commanding them to do what Allah and His Messenger have commanded and forbidding them from what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. If they neither see him nor hear his words, they have no way of knowing what he commands or forbids. They therefore cannot be required to obey him, since he has given them no command that they have heard and understood. Obeying someone who issues no commands is inherently impossible.

Even supposing that he gives them commands, but those commands do not reach them and they have no means of learning them, they would be incapable of knowing what they have been commanded to do. The ability to learn what is commanded is a prerequisite for obedience, especially according to the later Shia. They are among those who most strongly reject imposing obligations beyond a person’s capacity, since they agree with the Muʿtazilah concerning divine decree, as they do concerning the divine attributes.

If it is said, “This is because of their sins, for they have made him afraid to appear,” the reply is:

Granted that his enemies have frightened him, what sin have his supporters and those who love him committed? What benefit do they gain from believing in him when he teaches them nothing and commands them to do nothing? Moreover, how could it be permissible for him—despite his obligation to call people to the truth—to withdraw into this