9. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id from ‘Abd al-karim, of the people of Hamadan from abu Thumamah who has said the following: “I once said to abu Ja‘far, al-Thaniy , ‘I like to reside in Makkah or al-Madinah, but there is a certain amount of debt that I must pay. What do you advise me to do?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘You must return to pay off what you owe, and bear in mind that you must go before Allah, most High, when there is no debts due on you. A believing person does not commit treachery.’”