Selected Narrations about the Twelfth Imam volume 2

Section Two

His miracles during the lifetime of his father, peace be on them both

Comprised of ten traditions

808. Ghaybat al-Shaykh[^1]: Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Mālik, from Muḥammad b. Ja`far b. `Abd-Allah, from Abū Nu`aim Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Anṣārī who said:

A group of Mufawwiḍa and Muqassira[^2] sent Kāmil b. Ibrāhīm al-Madanī to (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him. Kāmil said, “I thought to myself that ‘I will ask him [if it is true] that no one will enter Paradise except those who know what I know and say what I say.’ When I went to my master (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, I saw him wearing a soft white dress. I thought, ‘Allah’s friend and His Proof wears soft dresses while he orders us to be charitable to the brothers and restrains us from wearing such dresses.’ He said smilingly, ‘O Kāmil!’ Then he pulled up his sleeve and lo! He was wearing a rough black woolen dress [under the white one]. Then he said, ‘This is for Allah and that is for you.’ I greeted him and sat down before a doorway which was covered with a curtain.

A strong breeze came and uncovered one side of the doorway. [There,] I saw young boy that looked like he was a part of the moon and barely four years old or thereabout. [The boy] said to me, ‘O Kāmil b. Ibrāhīm!’ I shivered at this address and was inspired to reply, ‘Yes, O my master!’ He said, ‘You have come to Allah’s friend, His Proof, and His Gateway to ask him [if it is true] that no one will enter Paradise except those who know what you know and say what you say?’ I replied, ‘Yes, by Allah!’ He continued, ‘If this is the case, then many few will enter it. By Allah! A group called al-Ḥaqqiyya will enter it.’

I asked, ‘O my master! Who are they?’ He replied, ‘A group who on account of their love for `Alī, testify to his rights, but do not know his rights and his excellences.’ He, Allah’s blessings be on him, was silent for a while and then continued, ‘You have also come to ask about the Mufawwiḍa. They have lied. Rather, our hearts are the containers of Allah’s Will. When He wills [to do something] then so do we. Allah says,

“And you don’t will anything except what Allah wills” (Quran Surah Takwir 81:29).’

Then, the curtain went back to where it was and I couldn’t raise it. (Imam) Abū Muḥammad looked at me with a smile and said, ‘O Kāmil! Why are you still sitting here now that the Proof after me has informed you of what you desired?’ I got up and left and didn’t see him again.”

Abū Na`īm said, “I met Kāmil and asked him about this tradition, and he narrated it for me.”

Al-Shaykh (al-Ṭūsī) says, “Aḥmad b. `Alī al-Rāzī has narrated this tradition from Muḥammad b. `Alī, from `Alī b. `Abd-Allah b. `Ā’idh al-Rāzī, from al-Ḥasan b. Wajnā’ al-Naṣībī who said, “I heard Abū Nu`aim Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Anṣārī . . . (and he mentions the same things).”

809. Kamāl al-dīn[^3]: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Muḥammad b. Ḥātim al-Naufalī—known as al-Kirmānī—from Abū l-`Abbās Aḥmad b. `Īsā al-Washshā’ al-Baghdādī, from Aḥmad b. Ṭāhir al-Qummī, from Muḥammad b. Baḥr b. Sahl al-Shaibānī, from Aḥmad b. Masrūr, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah al-Qummī who said:

I was very fond of collecting books comprised of subtle and complex sciences. I tried hard to uncover the realities in them that seemed correct to me and I memorized their ambiguous and obscure sections. I kept to myself the problematic and deviant [concepts] that I found in them. I firmly believed in the Shi) religion and I kept away from peace and security by quarreling and arguing [with the opponents] and having enmity against them and saying bad things to them.

I would expose the shortcomings of the opponents and I would mention the faults of their Imams and I used to uncover [the defects] of their leaders. This continued until I was afflicted with an enemy who would put forward very strong arguments, showed the greatest enmity, argued the most, asked the most outrageous questions, and was the most steadfast in falsehood.

One day when I was arguing with him, he said, “O Sa`d! Woe on you and your companions! You heretics insult the Muhājirīn and the Anṣār by slanderous remarks. You deny the guardianship and Imamate of [Abū Bakr and `Umar] which was authorized by the Messenger of Allah. This truthful [i.e. Abū Bakr] is superior to all the companions due to his precedence in belief.

Don’t you know that the Messenger of Allah took [Abū Bakr] along with himself to the cave because he knew that he would be the Caliph after him and that he would be the leader in interpreting [the Quran] and that the reins of the umma would be in his hands? He would be relied on to mend the differences, compensate the defeats, close the cracks [in the nation], establish the laws, and dispatch the armies to conquer the lands of the polytheists.

Just as [the Prophet] worried for his own prophethood he also worried for [Abū Bakr’s] caliphate. A fugitive who is fleeing from evil and goes into hiding does not intend to ask someone else for help. Thus, when the Messenger [of Allah] went to the cave—while he did not expect anyone to help him—it is clear that his intention was to take Abū Bakr to the cave like we explained. On the other hand, he ordered `Alī to sleep in his bed, because he did not care much about him and did not bother about him and because he knew that even if `Alī was killed, there would be others who could replace him.”

(Sa`d continued), I answered a number of his questions but he refuted all of them. He then said, “O Sa`d! I have another argument that will cripple you heretics. You believe that the Truthful [i.e. Abū Bakr], who was pure from doubt and skepticism, and Fārūq [i.e. `Umar], who was the protector of Islam, were both hypocrites. You cite the incident of the Night of `Aqaba[^4] to prove your point. Alright, tell me, did Abū Bakr and `Umar accept Islam willingly or out of coercion?” I talked my way out of this question because I feared being tied down by it.

If I said that they had willingly accepted Islam, then he would say that hypocrisy can only occur and grow in the heart, only when the winds of subjugation and defeat start blowing [i.e. someone becomes a hypocrite if they are forced to accept Islam], and when extreme and burdensome difficulties force someone to utter what he does not believe in his heart.

As Allah, the Exalted, says,

“But when they saw Our might, they said, ‘We believe in Allah alone and we deny what we used to associate with Him.’ But their faith had no benefit for them once they had seen Our might.”[^5]

And if I had said that they believed out of coercion, then he would have answered that there were no swords there to frighten them into [accepting Islam].

I managed to wriggle out of this situation but I was swelling with rage and my heart was crumbling with grief. I had written in a scroll more than forty such difficult questions—for which I could find no answer to. I intended to ask these questions from Aḥmad b. Isḥāq—the most learned person of our city—who was also one of the companions of Imam Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him. He had left on a journey to visit our master at Sāmarrā and I went after him.

After I caught up with him and we greeted each other he asked me, “You have come to meet me [here!]. Is everything ok?” I replied, “The love of seeing you and the habit of asking questions [have caused me to come here].” He answered, “Then we both have the same problem. The urge to meet our master Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, has displaced me. I intend to ask him some problematic questions about interpretations (ta’wīl) and some difficulties about revelations (tanzīl). So, don’t miss the blessed opportunity of being a companion [in this journey]. [If you come], you will stand on the shores of a sea whose marvels will not end and its wonders will not finish. That [sea] is our Imam.”

We reached Sāmarrā’ and were soon at the door of our masters [residence]. We sought permission to enter, which was granted. Aḥmad b. Isḥāq was carrying a leather sack on his shoulder which he had hidden under a Ṭabarian cloak. It contained 160 purses filled with dirhams and dinars. Every bag had its owners seal on it. I can only compare our masters face—whose light had covered us— with the full moon.

A child was sitting on his right lap, who resembled [the planet] Jupiter in creation and features. His front hair was exactly parted from the middle and curled to the sides just like a line with two curves on each side. In front of our master, there was a golden pomegranate, which was shining with its amazing shape and rare precious stones studded in it. One of the chiefs of Basra had gifted it to him.

He had a pen in his hand and whenever he wanted to write something on a white paper, the child would hold his fingers [and prevent him]. Our master would roll the pomegranate in front of him to keep the child busy with it so that he could write what he wanted. We saluted him and he replied with utmost kindness and beckoned us to seat.

When he finished writing, Aḥmad brought out the leather sack from under his cloak and placed it in front of him. (Imam) al-Hādī looked at the child and said, “O My Son! Break the seals of the gifts of your followers and friends.” The child responded, “O my master! Is it permissible that I extend a pure hand towards impure gifts and unclean wealth whose ḥarām and ḥalāl are mixed together?” Then, my master said, “O ibn Isḥāq! Bring out what is in the leather sack so that he may separate the ḥalāl from the ḥarām.” When ibn Isḥāq removed the first purse, the child remarked, “This belongs to so and so who lives in such and such district of Qum.

It contains sixty-two dinars. Forty-five of those are from the money of a small room which its owner inherited from his father and sold. Fourteen dinars are from the money of nine clothes and three are from the rental money of shops.” Our master said, “My son! You have spoken the truth. Now, tell this man which ones are ḥarām and which ones are ḥalāl.” The child continued, “Find the dinar which was minted in [the city of] Riyy. Its date is so and so and the inscriptions on one side have been partly erased.

Also the gold piece from [the city of] Āmul which weighs a quarter of a dinar. They are ḥarām because their owner had given 1.25 mans[^6] of wool to his neighbor to weave for him. A thief stole the wool from the weaver and the weaver informed their owner but the owner didn’t believe the weaver and instead, took 1.5 mans of softer wool from him and made a cloth out of them and sold it. This dinar and the piece of gold were paid for it.” When the purse was opened, there was a letter in it which had the name of the person who was described and the number of dinars written on it—exactly as mentioned by the child. The aforementioned dinar and piece of gold were also in it.

Ibn Isḥāq removed another purse. The child said, “This belongs to so and so person who lives in such and such place of Qum. It has fifty dinars and it is not permissible for us to touch them.” [Ibn Isḥāq] said, “Why not?!” He replied, “Because it is from the revenue of wheat belonging to a landlord who has cheated on the peasant [who has planted them].

When they were dividing the shares, he filled the containers completely for himself but left some of it empty when separating [the wheat] for the peasant.” Our master remarked, “My Son, you have spoken the truth.” Then, he said, “O Aḥmad b. Isḥāq! Take back all these purses and return them to their owners or will that they be returned to them because we do not need them. Give us the cloth from the old woman.” Aḥmad b. Isḥāq said, “I left that cloth behind in my bag and I had completely forgotten about it.”

When Aḥmad b. Isḥāq went to fetch the cloth, our master Abū Muḥammad looked at me and said, “O Sa`d! Why have you come here?” I replied, “Aḥmad b. Isḥāq had encouraged me to meet [you], our master.” He said, “What about those questions that you wanted to ask him?” I replied, “Their status hasn’t changed yet.”

He remarked, “Ask them from the apple of my eye” and pointed towards the child. The child said, “Ask whatever you want.” I said, “O my master and the son of my master! It has been narrated to us from you [i.e. your forefathers] that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, had given Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him, the right to divorce his [i.e. the Prophet’s] wives.

Therefore, on the day of the Battle of Jamal, he sent a messenger to `Ā’isha and said to her, ‘You have caused riots amongst the Muslims by your mischievous acts. You have brought your children [i.e. the Muslims] to the ponds of death by your ignorance. If you retreat I will leave you alone but if you don’t, I will divorce you.’ How can this be whilst the death of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, had already caused his women’s divorce [from him]?”

He questioned, “What is the meaning of divorce?” I replied, “Clearing the path [to remarry].” He said, “If the Messenger of Allah’s death, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, was their divorce and the path was cleared for his wives, then why weren’t they allowed to remarry?” I said, “Because Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, had prohibited them from marrying anybody else.” He said, “‘Why should it be so whilst [the Prophet’s] death had cleared their path [for remarriage]?”

I said, “O Master! Explain for me the meaning of the divorce that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, had transferred its right to Amīr al-Mu’minīn, peace be on him.” He replied, “Allah, Holy be His Name, raised the status of the Prophet’s wives, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, and designated them as the mothers [of the believers]. The Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, said to `Alī, ‘O Abū l-Ḥasan! They will have this honor as long as they obey Allah. After my death, if any of them disobeys Allah by rebelling against you, then divorce her and strip her of the honor of being a mother of the believers.’”

I said, “Please inform me about the ‘evident indecency’ (faḥishatun mubayyina) that if a woman commits during the period of her `idda[^7], the husband has the right to expel her from his house?” He replied, “‘Evident indecency’ refers to lesbianism, not adultery.

For, if a woman commits adultery and is punished for it [in accordance with Islamic law], then any man who desires to marry her should not refrain from doing so on the grounds that she has been punished. But if a woman commits lesbianism, her punishment is stoning to death. Being stoned to death is absolute disgrace and whosoever Allah has ordered to be stoned, He has truly disgraced him/her. And whoever Allah has disgraced, He has distanced him/her and whoever Allah has distanced, no one has the right to go near him/her.”

I said, “Please inform me about what Allah ordered His Prophet Moses, peace be on him, (when He said), ‘So, remove your shoes [for] you are in the holy valley of Ṭuwā.’[^8] The scholars of both sects believe that [his shoes] were made from the skin of a dead animal[^9].” He replied, “Whoever believes this has slandered Moses and has thought him to be ignorant regarding his own prophethood. [If it is as they say], then it was either permissible for Moses to pray in those shoes or it wasn’t.

If it was permissible, then he would also have been allowed to wear them in that valley. Even if that valley was holy and pure, it couldn’t have been holier and purer than the prayers. [On the other hand], if prayers were not allowed in those shoes, then it can be concluded that Moses was not aware about what is permissible and what is prohibited; and that he did not know what things are permissible to wear in prayers and what things are prohibited. Having this opinion [about Moses] is equal to disbelief (kufr).”

I pleaded, “O my master! Please inform me about its interpretation!” He said, “Moses invoked his Lord in the holy valley and said, ‘O Master! My love is purely for You and I have cleansed my heart of all other [affections].’ He [said this whilst he] loved his family very much. Then, Allah, the Exalted, said to him, ‘Remove your shoes,’ meaning, ‘Remove the love of your family from your heart if your love is exclusively for Me and the love of others is washed from your heart.’”

I said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! What is the interpretation of ‘Kāf-Hā-Yā-`Ayn-Ṣād’[^10]?” He said, “These letters refer to the unseen news (anbā’ al-ghayb) which Allah informed His servant, Zachariah. He then narrated them to Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. This is the story: Once, Zachariah asked Allah, his Lord, to teach him the names of the five [holy people]. So Gabriel descended and taught them to him.

Whenever Zachariah uttered the names of Muḥammad, `Alī, Fāṭima, and Ḥasan, his worries would disappear, but when he mentioned the name of al-Ḥusayn, he would choke on tears and would nearly perish. One day, he enquired, ‘O Lord! Why is it that when I mention [the first] four, I become calm, but when I mention al-Ḥusayn, my tears flow and I sob.’ So Allah, the Exalted, told him his story and said, ‘“Kāf-Hā-Yā-`Ayn-Ṣād.” Kāf refers to Karbala, Hā refers to hālāk al-`itra (the perishing of the progeny), Yā refers to Yazīd, the one who oppressed al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, `Ayn refers to `Atashuh (his thirst), Ṣād refers to ṣabruh (his patience).’

When Zachariah heard this, he did not emerge from his prayer-place for three days and did not allow anyone to meet him. He kept crying and wailing and would say, ‘O Lord! Will You make the best of your creatures mourn his son? O Lord! Will you inflict on him such hardships? O Lord! Will you make `Alī and Fāṭima wear the robe of this tragedy? O Lord! Will you allow such a great catastrophe to befall them?’

Afterwards he would say, ‘O Allah! Grant me a son who will be the apple of my eye when I grow old and make him my inheritor and my heir. Make him for me what al-Ḥusayn [was to his grandfather]. Make me extremely attached to him and then afflict me with his grief just as You will afflict your beloved Muḥammad with the sorrow of his son.’ Thus, Allah granted him John and afflicted him with his sorrow. John was born in the sixth month of pregnancy as was the case for al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him. [John’s] story is very long.”

I asked, “Why were the people not given the right to select their own Imam?” He replied, “A righteous [Imam] or a corrupt one?” I answered, “Righteous.” He asked, “Is it possible that a corrupt leader is selected [by the people instead of a righteous one] since no one really knows if another person is really righteous in his heart or corrupt?” I answered, “Yes, it is.” He continued, “This is the reason. I will use another argument that will be acceptable to your intellect.

Consider the Messengers who Allah, the Exalted, chose and sent down for them [divine] texts and assisted by revelation and infallibility. Those who were prominent amongst their people and had the ability to make a better choice than them. [Prophets] like Moses and Jesus, peace be on them. Is it possible—even with their high intellects and great knowledge—that they [wrongly] choose a hypocrite who they think is a true believer?” I said, “No.”

He continued, “But Moses who was the one with whom Allah spoke (Kalīm Allah), who had high intellect and great knowledge, and who revelations descended upon, selected seventy learned people and military commanders from his people for the appointment [he had with] his Lord—in whose faith and sincerity he had no doubts.

But nevertheless, he had selected the hypocrites. Allah, the Almighty says, ‘And Moses chose from his people, seventy men for Our appointment[^11]—to where He says—we will never believe in you until we evidently see our Lord.’[^12] We observe that even someone who Allah has selected as a Prophet, selects the corrupt instead of the righteous whilst he thinks that he [has selected] the righteous and not the corrupt.

Thus, the right of choosing [an Imam] only belongs to the One who knows what is concealed in the chests, resides in the thoughts, and is aware of the secrets. Therefore, once we see that a Prophet selects corrupt people whilst he intends to select righteous ones, then the selection made by the Muhājirīn and Anṣār has no value.

Then our master said, “O Sa`d! When your enemy said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, took along the chosen one from this nation with him to the cave because he knew that he would be the caliph after him, the leader in interpreting [the Quran], the holder of the reins of the nation, the one who would be relied on to mend the differences, compensate the defeats, close the cracks [in the nation], establish the laws, and dispatch the armies to conquer the lands of the polytheists; and Just as [the Prophet] was worried about [his] prophethood he was also worried for [Abū Bakr’s] caliphate.

A fugitive who is fleeing from evil and goes into hiding does not intend to ask someone else for help. On the other hand, he ordered `Alī to sleep in his bed because he did not care much about him and did not bother about him and because he knew that even if `Alī was killed, there would be others who could replace him,’ you should have refuted him by saying, ‘Didn’t the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, say that the caliphate will last for thirty years after me?

And according to your beliefs, these [thirty years] are equal to the years of the caliphate of the four Rightly-Guided caliphs (i.e. Abū Bakr, `Umar, `Uthmān, and `Alī, peace be on him).’ Then he wouldn’t have had any choice but to agree. Then you would have told him, ‘What’s your opinion about this: Just as the Messenger of Allah knew that after him Abū Bakr would be the caliph, he also knew that the caliphs after him would be `Umar, `Uthmān, and then `Alī?’ Again, he would have had no choice but to agree.

Then you would have told him, ‘Thus, it should have been obligatory for the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, to take all of them with him to the cave and worry about all of them just as he worried for Abū Bakr. He shouldn’t have reduced their stature by leaving them back and only taking Abū Bakr with him.’

“When your enemy asked you about the Truthful [i.e. Abū Bakr] and Fārūq [i.e. `Umar] and whether they had accepted Islam willingly or through coercion, why didn’t you give the answer, ‘They accepted Islam because of greed.’ These two used to sit with the Jews and [the Jews] used to inform them about the things written in the Torah and the other ancient Divine Scriptures. They had told them the story of Muḥammad and his fate—Allah's blessings be on him and his family.

The Jews had mentioned that Muḥammad would dominate the Arabs just like Nebuchadnezzar (Bukht al-Naṣr) who had overpowered the Israelites. He would undoubtedly gain victory over the Arabs just like Nebuchadnezzar who gained victory over the Israelites. The only difference is that [Nebuchadnezzar] was a liar in his claim that he was a Prophet.

Consequently, [Abū Bakr and `Umar] both came to the Holy Prophet and assisted him regarding the testimony of “there is no God but Allah” and pledged allegiance with him while they had the greed that when his government was established, he would appoint them as the governor of a province.

When they lost hope [in attaining this goal]—they and a few other hypocrites like them—covered their faces and went up the mountain pass (al-`aqaba) to kill him. But Allah, the Exalted, repelled their foul actions and they retreated with rage without achieving any of their goals. Ṭalḥa and Zubayr also pledged allegiance to `Alī while they too had greed in becoming governors. But once their hopes diminished, they broke their allegiance and rebelled against him. Therefore, Allah, the Exalted, knocked them down the same way that He had knocked down other allegiance-breakers like them.’”

At this point, our master, al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-Hādī stood up along with the child to perform the prayers. I left and went in search of Aḥmad b. Isḥāq. He came to me crying. I asked him, “What has delayed you and what has made you cry?” He replied, “I have lost the cloth that my master had asked for.” I said to him, “It is not your fault. Go and tell our master.” So he hurriedly went inside and emerged after a while smiling and invoking blessings on Muḥammad and his family. I asked him, “What happened?” He replied, “The cloth was spread under our master’s feet and he was praying on it.”

We thanked Allah, the Exalted, for this event. We visited our master for a number of days but did not see his son. When the time arrived to bid farewell, I and Aḥmad b. Isḥāq went to him accompanied by two elderly men from our city. Aḥmad b. Isḥāq stood in front of him and said, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! The time to bid you farewell has come and this has saddened us to no end. We ask Allah, the Exalted, to send His blessings upon al-Muṣṭafā, your grandfather; al-Murtaḍā, your father; the Master of all Women, your mother; the Masters of the youths of Paradise, your uncle and your father; and the immaculate Imams after them, who are your fathers.

We [also ask Allah] to send his blessings on you and your son. We hope that Allah elevates your status and disgraces your enemy and does not make this our last meeting with you.” When he said these words our master became saddened to such an extent that he started crying and tears rolled from his eyes. He said, “O son if Isḥāq! Do not over-distress yourself by your invocations because you are going to meet Allah in this very journey.” On hearing this, Aḥmad b. Isḥāq fainted. When he regained consciousness, he pleaded, “I ask you by Allah and by the sanctity of your ancestors that you give me a worn out dress [worn by you] so that I use it as a burial-shroud.

Our master put his hand under the carpet and brought out thirteen dirhams and said, “Take these and don’t spend more than this amount for yourself. What you have asked for will not be neglected. Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, does not waste the rewards of the good doers.”

After we left our master, we were approximately three kilometers short of Ḥulwān when Aḥmad b. Isḥāq caught such a high fever that he lost all hope of life. On reaching Ḥulwān, we stopped at an inn and Aḥmad b. Isḥāq summoned one of his fellow townsmen who dwelled there. He then said, “Go and leave me alone tonight.” Thus, we all left him and went to our sleeping quarters.

When the night passed and it was near dawn, I started worrying. I opened my eyes and I saw Kāfūr, our master Abū Muḥammad’s servant, saying, “May Allah grant you goodness for this mourning and recompense your calamity through his beloved [successor]. We have finished bathing and shrouding your companion.

Get up and bury him. He was one of the most honorable in the eyes of your master.” He then disappeared from before us. Wailing and crying, we reached his body, paid tribute to him, and buried him. May Allah have mercy on him.”

810. Faḍl b. Shādhān’s al-Ghayba[^13]: Narrated to us Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. Fāris al-Nīsābūrī:

When the governor, `Amr b. `Auf—who was a very staunch enemy of the Ahl al-Bait and was fond of killing their followers—decided to kill me, I was informed about it and I was extremely frightened. I bid farewell to my family and friends and went to Abū Muḥammad’s house, peace be on him, to bid him goodbye as well because I intended to flee [the city]. When I went to him, I saw a boy sitting next to him whose face was shining like the full moon. I was amazed by his light and brightness and nearly forgot my fears and fleeing.

He said to me, “O Ibrāhīm! Don’t flee. Surely, Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, will soon relieve you of his evil.” This statement increased my astonishment about him. I said to (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, “O Master! May Allah sacrifice me for you! Who is this child who informed me about what is in my heart?” He replied, “He is my son and my successor after me. He is the one who will have a long occultation and will reappear after the earth has been filled with injustice and unfairness.

Then, he will fill it with justice and fairness.” I asked him about his name. He said, “His name and epithet is the same as that of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. No one is allowed to say his name or his epithet until Allah reveals his government and authority. O Ibrāhīm! Hide whatever you have seen and heard from us today—except from those who are worthy [of being informed].”

I invoked blessings on both of them and their forefathers and emerged while I was awaiting for Allah’s Grace to come to my assistance and was confident about what I heard from the Master, peace be on him. Later, my uncle `Alī b. Fāris gave me the good news that al-Mu`tamid had sent his brother Abū Aḥmad to kill `Amr b. `Auf and Abū Aḥmad had got hold of him on that day and had chopped him into pieces. And all Praise is for Allah the Lord of the worlds.

The traditions with the following numbers also show the above concept: 787, 788, 793, 797, 802, 804, and 814.

[^1]: Ghaybat al-Shaykh, pp. 246–248, no. 216; Dalā’il al-imāma, pp. 273–274, through his chain of narrators from Abū Na`īm; al-Kharā’ij, vol. 1, pp. 458–459, no. 4; Ithbāt al-waṣiyya (Manshūrāt al-Raḍī publications), p. 222, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Mālik; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 25, pp. 336–337, no. 16, and vol. 52, chap. 18, pp. 50–51, no. 35. The first section of this tradition is in in vol. 50, chap. 3, p. 253, no. 7, and vol. 67, chap. 51, p. 117, no. 5, and vol. 76, chap. 109, p. 302, no. 12; Tabṣirat al-walī, pp. 59–61, no. 26; Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 499; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 3, chap. 31, p. 415, no. 54, and chap. 32, p. 508, no. 320, and chap. 33, p. 683, no. 91; Yanābī` al-mawadda, chap. 82, p. 461, which says: “From Kāmil b. Ibrāhīm al-Madanī who said, ‘I went to Imam Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-`Askarī and there was a curtain hanging on the doorway. The wind moved one side of the curtain and I saw a boy who was like the moon. (Imam) Abū Muḥammad said, “O Kāmil! This [is the] Divine Proof after me. He will inform you about what you [had come to] ask.”’”

[^2]: These are two non-Shia sects—Ed.

[^3]: Kamāl al-dīn, vol. 2, chap. 43, pp. 454–465, no. 21; Dalā’il al-imāma, chap. “Those who saw him during the lifetime of his father,” pp. 274–281, no. 2, which says: “From Abū l-Qāsim `Abd al-Bāqī b. Yazdād b. `Abd-Allah al-Bazzāz, from Abū Muḥammad `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad al-Tha`ālibī on Friday Rajab 1, 370 AH, from Abū `Alī Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah b. Abū Khalaf al-Qummī (to where he says), ‘We visited our master for some days but did not see the boy, peace be on him.’”; al-Kharā’ij, vol. 1, pp. 481–484, no. 22 (short version); Tabṣirat al-walī, pp. 93–108, no. 48; al-Iḥtijāj, vol. 2, pp. 461–467; Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 52, chap. 19, pp. 78–89, no. 1; Ḥilyat al-abrār, vol. 2, pp. 557–568, al-Manhaj, chap. 15, no. 3; Ithbāt al-hudāt, vol. 1, chap. 7, p. 380, no. 106, and vol. 7, chap. 33, p. 347, no. 121 & 122 (short version); Ilzām al-nāṣib, vol. 1, pp. 342–351; Mikyāl al-makārim, vol. 1, chap. 2, pp. 16–24, no. 14. Some of our contemporary scholars have considered this tradition’s chain of narrators as weak and others have regarded its contents as unreliable. They have even deemed it as fabricated! Since we have already spoken too much in refutation of these claims and have explained the truth and investigated this tradition and its like in an exclusive treatise called al-Nuqūd al-latīfa, we will refrain from further discussing it for the sake of conciseness. God willing, we will mention the entire treatise in the third volume of this book. Muntakhab al-anwār al-muḍī’a, pp. 145­–175; Ta’wīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira, pp. 292–294, which is a short version, under the first verse from the sura of Maryam; Yanābī` al-mawadda, chap. 81, p. 459; al-Thāqib fī l-manāqib, chap. 15, sect. 2, pp. 585–589, no. 534/1.

[^4]: After the Battle of Tabūk the hypocrites planned to kill the Prophet—while he was crossing a mountain-pass—but failed. This is referred to as the ‘incident of the Night of `Aqaba’—Ed.

[^5]: Quran 40:84–85.

[^6]: A unit of mass—Ed.

[^7]: `Idda is the period of time after a woman’s husband dies or is divorced from her and during that period her meeting and speaking with non-maḥrams must be extremely limited—Ed.

[^8]: Quran 20:12.

[^9]: Meaning an animal that had died naturally or was not slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law—Ed.

[^10]: Quran 19:1.

[^11]: Quran 7:155.

[^12]: Quran 2:55.

[^13]: Kifāyat al-muhtadī (al-`Arba`īn), p. 122, under no. 32; Kashf al-ḥaqq (al-Arba`īn), p. 32, no. 7.