H 179 - A group of scholars has informed us from Abu Muhammad Harun bin Musa Talakbari that he said: I was in the parlor of Abu Ali Muhammad bin Himam seated on a bench, when an aged man with a cloak on shoulders came to us. He greeted Abu Ali bin Himam and he replied to his greeting as he passed on. Abu Ali asked me: Do you know who that is? No, I replied. This man is the servant of our master, Abu Muhammad عليه السلام. Would you like to hear his traditions from Imam عليه السلام? Yes, I replied. He said: Do you have anything to give him? I said: I have two dirhams from legal tender. He replied: That is enough. So I followed him till I reached him. I said: Abu Ali asks you if can return to us? He replied: Yes. So we came together to Abu Ali bin Himam. Abu Ali signaled me to give those two dirhams to him and I gave him the money. That old man said: There was no need of this. After that he took the money. Abu Ali bin Himam said: O Aba Abdullah Muhammad please narrated to us what you saw about Imam Hasan Askari عليه السلام. He said: My teacher is such a righteous person among the Alawites and I have definitely not seen anyone like him. He mounted a horse, which had black brocade saddle; he mounted his horse Mondays and Thursday and went to the capital at Surre Man Ra. One day when it was his turn to go, a lot of people were present on way to the palace and the lanes and roads were crowded with horses, mules etc. and there was a complete traffic jam. In such a way that no one can move forward. Due to the crowd there was no possibility to enter. But when my master arrived, all the people and animals became silent and animals moved to the side and made way in such a way that there was no need of taking precaution of touching the animals. After that he entered the gathering and sat down at the place reserved for him. Even at the time when he wanted to leave Darul Khilafa he called the gate keepers: Bring the mount of Abu Muhammad [Imam Hasan Askari عليه السلام]; again the people and animals became silent and the animals made way to allow the Imam to mount and depart from there. One day the Caliph summoned the Imam and it was disturbing to him and he feared jealousy, slander and tale telling of some Alawites and Hashimites against him with the Caliph. He mounted the horse and departed. When he came to the house of the Caliph, he was told that the Caliph has left his seat and gone away; if you like you may wait for him or return. He returned from there and came to the cattle market. The market was noisy and busy, but when he entered the place even the animals fell silent. The Imam sat down with his agent who used to transact on his behalf. Meanwhile they came and sold a refractory horse to him at a very cheap rate. The Imam said to me: O Muhammad, get up and place the saddle on it. I arose and said to myself: He never orders me to do something that is painful. So I untied the waist band below the belly of the horse and placed the saddle on it. The horse remained quiet and made no movement. When I wanted to take the horse, the agent thought that it has become tame, so he said: It is not for sale. The Imam told me: Give the horse to him. The agent came to take the horse, but as soon as the horse saw him, it fled in fear. The Imam mounted his own horse and set out from there. The agent came to us and said: The owner of the horse says: I fear its return, because if your master knows that it is wild and refractory, he may buy it. The Imam said to me: Give him the money. I understood, the agent said: I have sold it. The Imam said to me: Take the horse. I took it up and took it to the stable; and the horse also, through the blessing of my master [Imam Hasan Askari عليه السلام] did not agitate or trouble me. When the Imam dismounted, he held the right ear of the horse and recited something in it and then held the left ear and recited something in that as well. I swear by God, he became so tame that even when I cast grain before him, he just fed on his nourishment without any untoward behavior and it was due to the blessing of my master. Abu Muhammad has narrated from Abu Ali bin Himam that this horse was so wild that it was named as Saul; that is a beast, which kills people and throws down its owner, hits him against the wall and injures him by trampling him under the hooves. Muhammad, the servant says: My master was the most devout among the Alawites. He never consumed grape extract [wine] and remained seated in his place of worship and performed prostration. I used to sleep, wake up and again go back to sleep. He was still in his prostration. The Imam ate very less. Figs, grapes, peach and other kinds of fruits were brought for him, but he took one or two of them and said: O Muhammad, take it for your children. I asked: All? He replied: Take all. I have not seen anyone better than him. This brief sketch was among the proofs and miracles of Imam Hasan Askari عليه السلام and if we wanted to mention all of them, it would have prolonged the book. In addition to Imamate, His Eminence was the most noble and kind person of his time.