26 - Narrated to us Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Husain bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Mehran Aabi Aruzi (r.a.) in Merv: Narrated to us [Abu] Husain [Ibne] Zaid bin Abdullah Baghdadi: Narrated to us Abul Hasan Ali bin Sinan Musili: Narrated to me my father that: “After Imam Hasan Askari had been martyred, a delegation from Qom departed for Samarrah carrying some monies as trusts and religious payments of Shias to visit His Eminence, Imam Hasan Askari and to deliver him the monies. But when they reached Samarrah they learnt that Imam Hasan Askari has passed away. Some servants of Ja’far told them that after him the Imam was Ja’far.

  At that same time Ja’far has gone out with his singers and musicians to entertain himself on the banks of Tigris River. That is why the delegation of Qom did not believe that Ja’far could be the Imam because they knew that an Imam and a Divine Proof is aloof from sinful acts and disobedience. Thus they decided to see him and learn the truth about him. So they arrived when Ja’far returned home and met him saying: We are a group of Shias from Qom and we bring some monies for our master, Imam Hasan Askari . Ja’far did not let them complete the sentence and asked in haste:

  Where are the monies? “With us”, they replied but they requested Ja’far to tell them about the amount of money they had brought and who had given it to them. Because previously whenever they came to Imam Hasan Askari he used to inform them all these things. Ja’far was dumbfounded and did not know what to do. Ja’far protested that they were lying and the knowledge of the unseen was only for Allah and his brother was not having such knowledge. The delegation of Qom was further perplexed and they looked at each other.

  But Ja’far told them in an angry and harsh tone to hand him the money. The group said that they were representatives of the people of Qom and that they would hand him the monies only if he could furnish some signs like Imam Hasan Askari used to do. Therefore if he were their Imam he should prove that he is the Imam otherwise they would return the monies to their respective owners. On hearing this reply Ja’far hurried to the Abbaside Caliph and informed him about the matter concerning the group from Qom. Ja’far sought his help in taking hold of the monies from the Qummi group. The Caliph also pressured the Qummis and said to them, “Give this money to Ja’far.”

  The Qom delegation said that they were representatives and agents of people of Qom. “They have requested us not to give these monies to anyone without getting a proof of Imamate. And this same procedure was prevalent during the time of Imam Hasan Askari .”

  “What was that sign that Imam Hasan Askari presented?” The group said, “Without us saying anything, His Eminence used to inform us the details of whatever we had brought. And when we used to be reassured that the Imam is perfectly knowing those things we used to hand them over to him.

  Now if this man is the owner of Guardianship (Wilayat) like his brother he should inform us about these things and explain their quantity and condition so that we can hand it over to him. Otherwise we would take it back to the owners.”

  Ja’far was infuriated and he turned to the Caliph and said, “O Master of believers! These people attribute falsehood to my brother because this is knowledge of the unseen and my brother had no such knowledge.”

  The Caliph paid no attention to the statement of Ja’far but said, “They are agents and they are not the owners so they could not be held responsible for their decision.” The delegation implored the Caliph to help them leave the city in safety and security. The Caliph ordered they be taken out of the city under police protection and none should obstruct their passage.

  The Qom delegation left the boundaries of the city and all of a sudden they decried a handsome young man who mentioned each of their names and said, “Accept your Master!” The group said, “Are you the master of Guardianship?” The youth replied, “Refuge of Allah (No)! Rather I am the slave and the obedient one of your Master, so come with me to be in the presence of our Master.”

  The Qom group happily followed the young man. When they reached the house of Imam they saw that the Imam was sitting on a platform wearing a green dress. His face shone like a full moon. They saluted the Holy Imam and after they had made themselves comfortable the Imam informed them about the amount of monies with them and the details of other items as well.

  The Qom group fell into prostration of thanks for Almighty Allah for having given them the recognition of their Imam and the Divine Proof. After that they posed some religious queries to His Eminence and His Eminence provided the replies. Then they handed over the monies and goods to the Imam. His Eminence instructed them that in future they must not bring anything to Samarrah but that it should be handed over to the Imam’s representative in Baghdad.

  The Imam’s written communications must also be taken from this representative. In that same gathering Imam gave a shroud and camphor to Abu Abbas Muhammad Ibne Ja’far Qummi Himyari and said, “May Allah magnify your rewards...”

  After having received these favors the group bid farewell to His Eminence and departed for Iran and Qom and during the journey when they reached between Uqbah and the area of Hamadan, the above-mentioned gentleman, Abu Abbas died. After that we used to send our religious payments to Baghdad to the representative of the Imam and from there the Imam’s epistles were issued.”

The author says: This report proves that the caliph of that time was aware of the existence of the Imam of the Age and that is why he did not oppose the delegation that had brought the monies and he did not pay attention to Ja’far’s claims so that this matter is not publicized, lest the common people become attentive towards the Imam. After the passing away of Imam Hasan Askari when Ja’far brought 20000 dinars for the caliph and in exchange of that asked him to allow him to keep the position of his deceased brother [Imam Ali Naqi ], the caliph said: Your brother’s position was not granted by us. It was a divine appointment. You can see that I exhausted all my capabilities to bring down the status of your brother but all my efforts had been in vain. On the contrary his respect and piety went on increasing. If in the view of the followers of your brother you also had those qualities you would not have needed any help from us. And if in their view you don’t have the qualities your brother had, even if I appoint you on the post of Imamate, it would be of no use to you.