Abul Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Samarri
Encyclopedia
In Twelver Shia Islam, Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi was the fourth and last of The Four Deputies
The Four Deputies
In Twelver Shia Islam, the Four Deputies were the four individuals who served as messengers between the community and the twelfth and final Imam, upon him going into the Minor Occultation.Twelver Tradition hold that four deputies acted in succession to one another:...

 appointed by the twelfth and final Imam
Imamah (Shi'a twelver doctrine)
Imāmah means "leadership" and it is a part of the Shi'a theology. The Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna Ashariya branch of Shia Islam....

, Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muhammad al-Mahdi
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams...

, while he was in the Minor Occultation. Unlike his predecessors he had not appointed a successor, and the Major Occultation began.
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