Mahdi (as) will initially wage his intellectual struggle in secret

Our Prophet (saas) has revealed in the hadiths that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will carry out his activities in secret in the early period when people have not yet recognized him. One of the main reasons for this is that the period that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will emerge into is one in which the effects of irreligion and moral degeneration will reach the most serious dimensions. Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not appear and will not be recognized by people at a most harsh time when unbelievers harbor an intense enmity toward believers and religious moral values, and work against them both openly and in secret. This is how the hadiths say that Hazrat Mahdi (as) will perform his early activities in secret:

 AT NIGHTS HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] WILL BE ENGAGED IN WORSHIP WHILE HE WILL BE HIDDEN DURING THE DAY... (Al-Uqayli, An-Najmu’s-saqib fi Bayan Anna’l Mahdi min Awladi Ali b. Abu Talib Ale't-Tamam ve'l Qamal)

From Nahj al-Balagha: The Lord of believers (saas) said: "WHEN HE [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] HIDES AWAY FROM PEOPLE, NOT EVEN TRACKERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ANY TRACE OF HIM… (Sheikh al-Tusi, Kitab al-Ghayba, [Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51], Ansariyan Publications, Collected by: Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Iran-Q’um, 2003, p. 186)

Hazrat Mahdi (as) will not appear in society during this time; he will meet with only a very few people:
 “HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL CERTAINLY RETIRE INTO OCCULTATION AND TURN AWAY (FROM THE PUBLIC) DURING THAT OCCULTATION...” (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 216)

Hazrat Huseyin b. Ali (as) says:
"... HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL DISAPPEAR FROM SIGHT FOR A TIME." (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51, p. 133; Al-Hurr al-Amili, Ithbat al-Hudat, Vol. 2, p. 333 and 399)

Hazrat Mahdi’s (as) remaining secret and unrecognized at such a time will, by Allah’s leave, be instrumental in him being protected from attacks by unbelievers and allowing him to work more easily.

BUT ALLAH WILL HIDE HIM (HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) FROM PEOPLE AGAINST THE OPPRESSION, CRUELTY AND WASTE OF PEOPLE’S EARTHLY DESIRES. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 162)