The Role of Deviant Movements before the Birth of Imam Mahdi (A.S) in the “Neologization” and “Distortion” of Mahdavi Traditions

Considering the importance of “traditions’ in understanding religion, this component has always been abused in various periods from the beginning of Islam and after that. This paper, while expressing the main and influential concepts, deals with the role of influential deviant movements in the “neologization” and “distortion” of traditions as well as the movements at the time of presence of the infallible Imams (A.S) such as Kaysanites, Navosiyeh, Zaidiyyah, Isma'ilism, Waqifite Shia, some of which have disappeared after a while and some still exists. Some prominent members of these groups who were trusted by the Islamic community have falsified and distorted some traditions broadly in the two areas of inventing deviant movements and strengthening and expanding them. Of course, with the explicit encounter of the Imams (A.S), the spread of some of the deviant movements and their further growth among the Shiites was prevented. This paper, organized with a descriptive-analytic method, deals with introducing and explaining the deviant movements in the neologization and distortion of Mahdavi traditions and the root of formation of their deviation.