Twelver Shia Islam — the dominant form of Shia Islam, representing approximately 85% of all Shia Muslims — holds that there were twelve legitimate Imams after the Prophet, all descendants of Ali and Fatima. The 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, entered occultation (~874 AD) — he is alive but hidden, in miraculous concealment, and will return at the end of times as the Mahdi to establish justice. During the Major Occultation, qualified scholars (mujtahids) act as general representatives of the Imam. The development of the doctrine of wilayat al-faqih (guardianship of the jurist) by Ayatollah Khomeini holds that during the occultation, a qualified faqih (jurist) should have political authority — the ideological foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Twelver Shia Islam is the state religion of Iran, dominant in Iraq and Azerbaijan, and has significant communities in Lebanon, Pakistan, and India.