Ja`far b. Muhammad b. Masrur narrated to us. He said: Al-Husayn b. Muhammad b. `Amer narrated to us from his uncle `Abdullah b. `Amer. He said: Abu Ahmad Muhammad b. Ziyad al-Azdi narrated to me from al-Mufaddal b. `Umar. He said: Al-Sadiq Ja`far b. Muhammad said:

The affliction of the people is great: if we call to them, they do not take heed to us; and if we abandon them, they will not be guided by other than us.