Al-Kāfi - Volume 8


Book 1, Chapter 371

Imam al-Rida’ AS proclaims himself as an Imam
1 Ḥadīth

عَنْهُ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ هِلَالٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا (عليه السلام) فِي أَيَّامِ هَارُونَ إِنَّكَ قَدْ شَهَرْتَ نَفْسَكَ بِهَذَا الْأَمْرِ وَ جَلَسْتَ مَجْلِسَ أَبِيكَ وَ سَيْفُ هَارُونَ يُقَطِّرُ الدَّمَ فَقَالَ جَرَّأَنِي عَلَى هَذَا مَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ (صلى الله عليه وآله) إِنْ أَخَذَ أَبُو جَهْلٍ مِنْ رَأْسِي شَعْرَةً فَاشْهَدُوا أَنِّي لَسْتُ بِنَبِيٍّ وَ أَنَا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنْ أَخَذَ هَارُونُ مِنْ رَأْسِي شَعْرَةً فَاشْهَدُوا أَنِّي لَسْتُ بِإِمَامٍ.


371. From him, from Ahmad Bin Hilal, from Muhammad Bin Sinan who said: I said to Abu Al-Hassan Al-Ridha (a.s), during the days of Haroun, ‘You (a.s) have famed yourself (a.s) by this Command, and are sitting in the seat of your (a.s) father, whilst the sword of Haroun drips blood’. So he (a.s) said: ‘What encouraged me (a.s) was what the Rasool Allah ﷺ said; ‘If Abu Jahl (la) can take a single hair from my ﷺ head (to hurt me ﷺ), so testify that I ﷺ am not a Prophet ﷺ, and I (a.s) say to you that if Haroun can take a single hair from my (a.s) head, so testify that I (a.s) am not an Imam (a.s)’.