Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Abdur-Rahman ibn Qibba al-Razi has replied to this. He has said (and the tawfiq is from Allah): To practice excess in claim and to make allegation against the opponent is not among those things that prove a mater and if it had been like this, it would have ended the conflict between the warring sides and each party would have remained content by relying on one's own opinion about one's opponent. While the fact is that conflict and difference of opinion among the people became the basis of debates and discussions and observing justice is that the best characteristic that the people of religion adopt and the statement of Abul Hasan is neither our refuge to which we refer nor is it a valid statement towards which we may be inclined nor is it a document of evidence and pillar due to which we may accept his statement to be a proof and take resort to it, because this claim of his is devoid of proof and evidence. And when a claim is lacking proof and evidence it is not acceptable to intelligent and sensible people. 

And we do not find ourselves incapable to say that: Yes, by the Grace of Allah we have that personality to whom we refer to and whose directions we follow, whose being the Divine Proof has been proved and arguments supporting this have become clear. If they say: Tell us where he is? We will reply: How do you want us to show him to you? Do you want us to order him to ride a horse and come to you and present himself to you? Or you are demanding that we construct a house for him to move there; and then inform all the people of the east and the west about it? If you want this, we are not capable of it neither is it obligatory for him to do this. And if you say: Then how do you consider his proof necessary on us and declare his Imamate to be obligatory on us?  

We shall say: We admit that it is necessary that there should be a man from the children of Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad al-Askari through whom the Proof of Allah may become obligatory on us. We have guided you towards him so that if you are inclined to justice and the very first thing that is obligatory on us is that we should not go beyond that which is agreed upon by thinking people and that which they have put into practice and it is their belief that whosoever opposes it, has abandoned the attitude of the scholars (Ulama). And also we are not talking about a branch and secondary matter whose root is not firm and the personality whose existence you deny is proved after his father and you are the group who has no dispute with us regarding his father. Thus it is meaningless that you leave off contemplation about the right of Imamate of his father. Therefore if the right is proved for his father, in that case according to your own admission it would have been proved and if no right is proved for his father, the matter turns to your statement. And we would be on falsehood. And it is certain that there is an increase in the strength of truth and falsehood goes on weakening even though the people of falsehood may present it in a nice way.  

The proof for the validity of the matter of his father that we have consensus that it is necessary that there must be a son of Abul Hasan through which the Divine proof may be established and no excuse remains for the people and this man will necessarily be the Divine Proof on every Muslim even though he may be far away from them just as it is necessary for one who has seen him and met him. And we and most of the people are such that the Proof has become obvious for us without meeting him. So we shall have to ponder what is the cause and proof due to which the Proof has become incumbent on us? And then we shall have to see that apart from those two sons of Abul Hasan (Imam al-Hadi), except whom there is no successor, who else is eligible for it. Thus whichever of them will be superior will be the Proof and the Imam and there is no need to prolong the matter. Then we shall think upon it on the basis of which evidence and cause does the proof become necessary on those who are away from the Prophet and the Imams. Hence its necessity is proved from the established traditional reports that prove the necessity of Divine Proof and the number and condition of those reports that those who have related it are absolved from connivance on falsehood. And it exonerates them from the allegation that they have fabricated it. When we do further research we find that the narrator's themselves are two groups.  

One of them was under the impression that the previous Imam had mentioned Nass for Hasan al-Askari . He pointed him out, made a request about him and also mentioned some arguments due to the fact that he was the elder son. He also mentioned some signs. And we saw that the other group is saying the same things about Ja’far. Now when we see we find that those who relate traditions about Ja’far are very few in number. And it is possible to say regarding a small group and few numbers that they have connived to fabricate traditions. They reached consensus about it and informed each other through correspondence. So the traditions related to them fell in the circle of doubt and did not reach that level of evidence. And the Divine Proofs are not proved through suspicions. When we glanced at the traditions of the other faction we found that there were many groups who were separate from each other in different places. Their aims are different, their views and opinions are diverse and it is not possible for them to fabricate lies because they are far away from each other and neither they have consensus of opinion nor do they keep in touch with each other through correspondence, nor do they gather at one place to fabricate traditions. Thus it shows that traditions related by them are correct and it is these people who are on the right because if we reject traditions narrated by them along with their qualities mentioned above, no report narrated on the earth can be correct. So think upon it. May Allah bestow you with good sense. So, you see from these two groups the one you shall find to be on the right is the one that we have indicated. And the tendency of rejecting traditions is harmful for Islam while considering narrations to be correct will prove that our report is correct. And the evidence of the correctness of our statement is present in this. And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.  

You yourselves have seen that the Ja’fariyyah themselves have a dispute on what basis the Imamate of Ja’far [al-Kadhab] becomes obligatory. One of their groups say that he is the Imam after his brother, Muhammad, and the other group says that he is the Imam after his brother, Hasan al-Askari. And we witnessed that each of those groups is resolute on its stand, whereas we have seen their predecessors and our elders narrating a tradition even before the occurrence of this event that prove the Imamate of Hasan al-Askari and it is the one quoted from Imam Abu Abdillah (Imam Sadiq) that he said: When three names, that is Muhammad, Ali and Hasan come after one another, the fourth shall be the Qaim and this is among the traditional reports that prove the Imamate of Imam Hasan al-Askari . And except for Imam Hasan al-Askari and Ja’far there is no third person. Thus, during the lifetime of Imam Hasan al-Askari the proof is not established for Ja’far on those who have seen him, while the Imam is one for whom the proof is established on those who have seen him and on those who have not seen him. So it is learnt that Imamate is proved for Hasan al-Askari. Thus when Imamate has been proved for Hasan al-Askari and in your view Ja’far is one against whom aloofness is expressed and the Imam never expresses aloofness and immunity from another Imam. Now Hasan al-Askari has passed away, so on the basis of this it is agreed between you and us that it is necessary that there should be a man from the children of Hasan al-Askari , through whom the Divine Proof may be established. Thus on the basis of this it is proved that there is a son of Hasan al-Askari , who is the Qaim.