17. Abu Ali al-Ash‘ariy has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar from Safwan ibn Yahya from Muhammad ibn Muslim from Mas‘ud (a certain musical instrument) al-Ta‘iy who has narrated the following:

“I once said to abu al-Hassan , that my mother gave me the house that belonged to her - or he said her share in a house - and told me to register it in my name. I then wrote that I have bought it from her. She has sold it to me and has received the payment. When she died, the heirs asked me to take an oath that I have bought it and made the payment. If I take an oath, I can take it but if I do not take an oath, they will not give it to me. He (the Imam) said, ‘You can take an oath and take what you have assigned to yourself.’”