حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي وَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالا حَدَّثَنَا سَعْدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ وَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ جَمِيعاً عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ أَبِي الْخَطَّابِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْأَشْعَثِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام يَقُولُ أَ تَرَوْنَ الْأَمْرَ إِلَيْنَا نَضَعُهُ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ كَلَّا وَ اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَعَهْدٌ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ص إِلَى رَجُلٍ فَرَجُلٍ حَتَّى يَنْتَهِيَ إِلَى صَاحِبِهِ.
Narrated to us my father; and Muhammad bin Hasan - May Allah be pleased with them - they said: Narrated to us Saad bin Abdullah; and Abdullah bin Ja’far, all of them from Muhammad bin Husain bin Abil Khattab from Ali bin Asbat from Abdullah bin Bukair from Amr bin Ashath that he said: I heard Aba Abdullah say: “You people think that we have discretion in the matter of Imamate and that we can appoint anyone we like as Imam. It is never so by Allah, it is the covenant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to a person and after him to another till it reaches to its rightful owner.”