The functions of the symptoms and signs of Appearance

Among the traditions of Mahdaviiat, narrative traditions about the signs of apperance are the most frequent. The issuance of large volumes of such traditions makes us think that why the infallible Imams discuss them and what goals they had from explaining so much about these signs? One of the answers to these types of questions refers to the difficulties of the era of occultation which has not been taken lightly by the infallible Imams. In the era of occultation, the Shiite community faces many challenges such as the length of the absence (of Imam), negligence, false claimaints, false uprisings and difficulty of identifying (the true) Imam Mahdi in the time of his emergence. Accordingly, these difficulties can be solved by the infallible Imams who have these purposes of discussing the signs. The symptoms of Appearance can have positive or negative functions. The positive functions can result in promising hopes, removing ignorance, and better understanding of Imam Mahdi and the negative functions aid us in identifying the false uprisings and false claimaints of the era