Muhammad b. `Ali Majiluwayh narrated to us. He said: `Ali b. Ibrahim narrated to me from his father Ibrahim b. Hashim from Abi’l Salt al-Harawi. He said: I was standing before Abi’l Hasan `Ali b. Musa al-Rida when he said to me: O Aba’l Salt! Enter this dome in which is the grave of Harun [al-Rashid] and bring me dust from its four sides. He said: So, I went and brought it to him. When I came before him, he said to me: Give me the dust that is at the gate. So, I brought it to him, and he took it, smelled it, then dropped it. Then, he said: A grave will be dug for me here, and a rock will appear. Were you to bring every pickaxe in Khurasan, you would not be able to uproot it. Then, he said: [The dust] that is at the person is like that which is at the head. Then, he said: Bring me this dust, for it is from my dust. Then, he said: [A grave] will be dug up for me at this place. So, order them to dig seven steps deep and create space for a tomb. If they refuse and offer a regular grave, then order them to extend the regular grave by two armlengths and a handspan, for Allah will extend it for me however He pleases. If they do it, you will see a creek at [the place for] my head. So, speak the words that I will teach you, and the water will fill up the grave. You will see small fish therein. So, feed them the bread that I will give to you. When none of it is left, a large whale will come and devour the small fish until none are left. Then, it will leave. Once it leaves, put your hand in the water, and speak the words that I will teach you, and it will recede until nothing is left of it. Do not do this except in the presence of al-Ma’mun. Then, he said: O Aba’l Salt! Tomorrow morning, I will visit this transgressor. If my head is uncovered when I leave, then speak to me and I will speak to you. If my head is covered, then do not speak to me. Abu’l Salt said: When we awoke the next morning, he got dressed and sat waiting in his prayer-niche. He remained there until the slave of al-Ma’mun entered and said to him: Answer the commander of the faithful. So, he put on his sandals and his cloak, and he walked while I followed him. He entered the place of al-Ma’mun, and before him was a plate with grapes on it and plates with fruits on them. In his hand were a bunch of grapes, and he had eaten some and left some. When he saw al-Rida (s), he embraced him and kissed his forehead. He sat him with him and passed the bunch to him, saying: O son of the Messenger of Allah! Have you seen grapes more beautiful than these? So, al-Rida said to him: Perhaps beautiful grapes came from Paradise. So, he said to him: Eat from it. So, al-Rida said to him: Would you excuse me from [eating from] it? So, he said: There is no need for that. What prevents you from it? Do you accuse us of something? He took it back and ate from it. Then, al-Rida ate three grapes from it. Then, he put it away and stood up. So, al-Ma’mun said to him: Where are you going? He said: To where you had sent me. So, he left with his head covered. I did not speak to him until he entered the house. He ordered that the gate be locked, so it was locked. Then, he slept on his bed. So, I remained standing in the courtyard, concerned and distressed; until a youth with a beautiful face and short hair entered. He was the person who resembled al-Rida the most. I rushed to him and said to him: Where did you enter from, considering the gate is locked? So, he said to me: The One who brought me here from Medina in this time is the same One who brought me into the house when the gate was locked. So, I said to him: Who are you? So, he said to me: I am the Proof of Allah over you, Aba’l Salt. I am Muhammad b. `Ali. Then, he went in the direction of his father and entered. He commanded me to enter with him. When al-Rida saw him, he embraced him, held him tightly to his chest, and kissed his forehead. Then, he brought him to his bed; and Muhammad b. `Ali kissed him and whispered something to him that I did not understand. On the lips of al-Rida , I saw butter that was whiter than snow, and I saw Aba Ja`far [Muhammad b. `Ali al-Jawad] lick it with his tongue. Then, he brought his hand between his robe and his chest, took out something that resembled a bird, and had Abu Ja`far swallow it. Then, al-Rida passed away. Abu Ja`far then said: Stand, Aba’l Salt, and bring me a water basin and water from the closet. So, I said: There is no water basin or water in the closet! So, he said: Do what I command you to do. So, I entered the closet and found a water basin and water. I brought it to him, and I tied my clothes to my waist so that I could bathe him with him. So, he said to me: Go, Aba’l Salt, for surely, I have someone else to assist me. So, he washed him, and then said to me: Enter the closet and bring me the basket that has his shroud and embalmment in it. So, I entered, and I saw a basket that I had not seen before in that closet. So, I carried it to him, and he shrouded him and prayed over him. Then, he said: Bring me the coffin. So, I said: Go to the carpenter so that he could prepare a coffin. He said: Stand, for there is a coffin in the closet. So, I entered the closet and I saw a coffin that I had not seen before. Then, I brought it to him. So, he took al-Rida after praying over him, and he placed him in the coffin and lined up his feet. He prayed two units and did not stop until the coffin was lifted up. The ceiling cracked open, and the coffin went away. So, I said: O son of the Messenger of Allah! At this hour, al-Ma’mun will come to us, and he will demand al-Rida from me. So, what should I do? So, he said: Be quiet, for he will return, Aba’l Salt. There is not a prophet who dies in the East who has his deputy die in the West except that Allah gathers their spirits and bodies together. He did not finish speaking until the roof cracked open [again] and the coffin came down. So, he stood, took the body of al-Rida out of the coffin, and placed it on his bed. It was as though he was not bathed or shrouded. He said: O Aba’l Salt! Stand and open the gate for al-Ma’mun. So, I opened the gate, and I found al-Ma’mun and slaves at the gate. So, he entered weeping, grieving, with his pocket ripped, striking his face, saying: O master! I have panicked over you, master. Then, he entered, sat at his head, and said: Take him and prepare him. He passed by the digging of the grave – and I had prepared the spot, and everything that al-Rida described had appeared. One of his guards said to him (al-Ma’mun): Do you not allege that he was an Imam? He said: Yes. He would not be an Imam if he had not been the head and the superior [of all people]. So, he commanded that a grave be dug facing the qibla. So, I said: He ordered me to dig seven steps deep and create space for a tomb. So, he said: Do as Abu’l Salt commands you to do, except regarding the tomb – dig a regular grave there. When he saw what appeared from the creek, the whale, and other than that, al-Ma’mun said: Al-Rida has not ceased in showing us his marvels in his life, to the point where he showed them to us after his death. So, a vizier who was with him said to him: Do you recognize what al-Rida is informing you through this? He said: No. He said: Surely, he is informing you that your kingdom – the Children of al-`Abbas – with your multitudes and the length of your term is like these [small] fish; until your ending comes and your state vanishes, and Allah empowers a man from us to finish every last one of you. He said to him: You have spoken the truth. Then, he said to me: O Aba’l Salt! Teach me the words that you spoke. I said: By Allah, I have forgotten the words in this moment – and I had spoken the truth. So, he ordered that I be imprisoned. Al-Rida was buried, and I was imprisoned for a year. The prison was narrow for me, and [one day,] I stayed up during the night. So, I supplicated to Allah with a supplication in which I mentioned Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad . I asked Allah, by their right, to relieve me. I did not conclude the supplication until Muhammad b. `Ali visited me. He said to me: O Aba’l Salt! Has your chest tightened? So, I said: Yes, by Allah. He said: Stand and exit. Then, he struck my shackles with his hand, and they loosened. He took me by my hands and took me out of the [prison] house. The guards and the slaves saw me, but they were unable to speak to me. I exited from the front door. Then, he said: Go, in the trust of Allah. You will not reach him, nor will he reach you, ever. Abu’l Salt said: I haven not met with al-Ma’mun [again] till this day.