Four Deputies

The Four Deputies (Arabic: ٱلنُّوَّاب ٱلْأَرْبَعَة, an-Nuwwāb al-ʾArbaʿah) were the four individuals who are believed by the Twelvers to have successively represented their twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, during his Minor Occultation (874–941 CE). They were also known as the Gates (Arabic: أَبْوَاب, romanized: abw'ab), the Sufara (Arabic: سُفَرَاء, lit. 'emissaries'), or the Wukala (Arabic: وُكَلَاء, lit. 'agents').