2. Al -Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from al -Khayrani who has narrated from his father the following.

“My father was to watch the door of the house of abu Ja‘far to serve the task for which he was assigned. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa would come every day at dawn for information about the health of abu Ja‘far . There was a messenger that would come and go between abu Ja‘far and my father. When he (the messenger) would come Ahmad would leave and my father would remain with him privately. One night I went out and Ahmad also left the meeting and my father remained in privacy with the messenger. Ahmad, however, wlaked around the meeting place as such that could hear the conversation. The messenger said to my father, “You master sends you greetings and says to you, “I am leaving and the task ((Leadership with Divine Authority) goes to my son, Ali . His rights up on you after me will be as much as my rights up on you after my father.” The messenger then left and Ahmad came back to his place and said to my father, “What did he say to you?” My father said, “He said good.” Ahmad said, “I heard what he just said to you. Why do hide it?” He then stated all that he had heard. My father said to him, “Allah has made unlawful for you what you just did, because Allah, the Most High, has said, “Do not spy. .” (49 :12) However, you must bear this testimony, perhaps we my need it one day but you must not make it public until the proper time. In the morning my father wrote dawn the text of the message in ten, sealed and sent them to the leaders of the community. He said to them, “If my death may take place before I will ask you for this message you may open it to learn about it.” When abu Ja‘far left this world, my father has mentioned that he did not come out of his home until about four hundred people had faith expressed their faith with certainty in the abu al-Hassan, Ali ibn Muhammad as their Imam (Leader with Divine Authority). The leaders in the community gathered together in the house of Muhammad ibn al-Faraj consulting each other about this task (Leadership with Divine Authority). Muhammad ibn al-Faraj then wrote to my father to inform him of the gathering with him. He had said that had it not been for fear of publicity he would personally come to my father and ask him to join (them). My father rode and went to him. He found the community gathered at his place and they said to my father, “What do you say about this issue (Leadership with Divine Authority)?” My father those to whom he had sent a copy of the text of the message to bring them. They were brought and he said, “This is what I was commanded to do.” Some of them then said, “We would have loved if you would have asked another person also to bear witness and testimony to this fact.” He then said, “Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Gracious, has, in fact, brought for you such witness. This is abu Ja‘far al-Asha‘ari can testify to my hearing this message.” He asked him to testify but Ahmad denied his hearing the message as suCh My father then asked him for a mubahala (disputing party’s asking Allah to condemn the untrue party). He has said that when the case was proved against Ahmad he then said, “Yes, I did hear the message and it is an honor. I loved that it should go to a Arab man not to a none Arab person. Up on this the people there acknowledged the truth altogether.” In the copy of al-Safwan the above Hadith is recorded as follows: