17. Ali has narrated from the one who narrated to him the following. “A boy was born to me. I wrote to him (al-Mahdi for his permission to give the baby a special bath for the ceremony on the seventh day of his birth. The answer came back and it said, “Do not do so.” The boy died on the seventh or the eighth day. I then wrote to him about the death of the boy. He wrote back to me, “He will be succeeded by another and an other. Let his name be ‘Ahmad’ and the name for the one after Ahmad will be Ja‘far.” It came to be as he had said.” The narrator has said, “I made preparation for the journey to Hajj, said farewell to the people and I was about to leave. The message came to me that said, “We do not like it but it is up to you.” I felt depressed and sad and I wrote, “I am steadfast to obey you commands and listen your words except that I feel for missing Hajj.” He then had signed (a note to me) that said, “Do be depressed. You will soon perform Hajj by the will of Allah.” The next year I wrote to ask his permission and the permission came. I then wrote that I have chosen Muhammad ibn al-‘Abbass as a ride sharing partner and that I trusted him for his religion and safety. The message that then came said, “Al-Asadi is a good ride sharing partner. If will come do not chose anyone else besides him. Al-Asadi came and I chose him as the ride sharing partner.”