Their existence was simultaneous with the time of the call's appearance and the Imam's speech. This is because this group represents the collection of individuals from among the close companions of the Imams who were the bearers of their secrets, and from those who were able to bear what the people of the exterior (ahl al-ẓāhir), who were content with the husks of religion, could not.
During the time of the Prophet and Amir al-Mu’minin, the first appearance of this group was represented by Master Abdullah ibn Saba' and his ten companions, peace be upon them, who declared some of their beliefs before the people at certain times. They were followed by other personalities from among the companions—may God's prayers and mercy be upon them all—throughout the period of the Imams. Among them were those who declared their beliefs, those who hinted at them, and those who followed the path of dissimulation (taqiyyah).
Among the most prominent of these personalities were our master, the Greatest Gate of God, Salman al-Muhammadi, in the time of our master, Amir al-Mu’minin; Safina in the time of our master al-Hasan; Rushayd al-Hajari in the time of our master al-Husayn; Abu Khalid al-Kabuli in the time of our master Zayn al-Abidin; then Jabir al-Ju'fi, Yahya ibn Umm al-Tawil, al-Mufaddal, and Abu al-Khattab in the time of our masters al-Baqir and al-Sadiq. They were followed by Muhammad ibn al-Mufaddal, Umar ibn al-Furat, and Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Numayri in the time of the rest of the Imams, exalted is their supreme highness.
After Master Abdullah ibn Saba', peace be upon him, made his public declaration, the matter remained somewhat protected among the elite of the saints until the time of our master Abu al-Khattab Muhammad ibn Abi Zaynab al-Kahili, unto him be submission, and his brothers in the time of our master al-Sadiq, may his glory be exalted. He made a declaration from the minaret of the Kufa mosque (in the year 126 AH), and the address was then heard by both the common people and the elite.
There are other names among the companions of the Imams, such as al-Miqdad, Abu Dharr, Abdullah ibn Rawahah, Uthman ibn Maz'un, Qanbar, Zayd ibn Suhan, Ammar ibn Yasir, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, Muhammad ibn Abi Hudhayfah, Maytham al-Tammar, Amr ibn al-Hamq al-Khuza'i, Malik ibn al-Tayyihan, al-Mughira ibn Sa'id, Jabir al-Ansari, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, Hijr ibn Adi, al-Asbagh ibn Nubatah, Abu Hamza al-Thumali, Kumayl ibn Ziyad, Furat ibn Ahnaf, Himran ibn A'yan, al-Mu'alla ibn Khunays, Yunus ibn Zabyan, Bashshar al-Shu'ayri, Muhammad ibn Sinan, Abu Harun al-Makfuf, Dawud al-Raqqi, Muhammad ibn Bashir, Hisham ibn al-Hakam, Hisham ibn Salim,