The Imam’s Cognisance that the Ordinance would Ultimately be Transferred to Him After the Death of his Predecessor

Al-Imāma wa’l-Tabṣira min al-Ḥayra|Volume 1|Book 2|Chapter 19

Al-Imāma wa’l-Tabṣira min al-Ḥayra

Book 2, Chapter 19

The Imam’s Cognisance that the Ordinance would Ultimately be Transferred to Him After the Death of his Predecessor
3 hadiths
Hadith 1

محمّد بن يحيى، عن محمّد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطّاب، عن علي بن أسباط: عن بعض أصحاب أبي عبداللّه عليه‌ السلام، قال: قلت: الإمام متى يعرف إمامته، وينتهي الأمر إليه؟ قال: آخر دقيقة من حياة الأوّل.

Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn b. Abī’l-Khaṭṭāb, from ʿAlī b. Asbāṭ, from one of Abī ʿAbd Allāh’s (as) companions, who narrated: “I said: “When does the Imam become fully cognisant of his own Imamate, and that the Ordinance has been transferred to him?,” to which he replied: “The last moment of his predecessor’s life.”

Hadith 2

علي بن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه عن محمّد بن أبي عمير، عن حفص بن البختري: عن أبي عبداللّه عليه السلام: قال: قلت له: إذا مضى الإمام، يعلم الذي يكون من بعده، أنّه قد مضى؟ فقال: نعم.

ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm b. Hāshim, from his father from Muḥammad b. Abī ʿUmayr, from Ḥafṣ b. al-Bakhtarī, from Abī ʿAbd Allāh (as). Ḥafṣ narrated: “I asked him: “When the Imam dies, does he who succeeds him know that he has died?” He said: “Yes.”

Hadith 3

محمّد بن موسى، عن محمّد بن قتيبة، عن مؤدّب كان لأبي جعفر عليه السلام، أنّه قال: كان بين يديّ يوماً يقرأ في اللوح، إذ رمى اللوح من يده، وقام فزعاً، وهو يقول: إنّا لله وإنّا إليه راجعون، مضى—والله—أبي عليه السلام. فقلت: من أين علمت؟ قال: دخلني من إجلال الله وعظمته شيء لم أعهده. فقلت: وقد مضى؟! فقال: دَعْ عنك ذا، إئذن لي أنْ أَدخل البيت وأَخرج اليك، واستعرضني أيّش القرآن شئت، أَفِ لك بحفظه. فدخل البيت، فقمت، ودخلت في طلبه، إشفاقاً منّي عليه، فسألت عنه، فقيل: دخل هذا البيت وردّ الباب دونه، وقال: لا تؤذنوا عليّ أحداً حتى أخرج اليكم. فخرج مغبرّاً، وهو يقول: إنّا لله وإنّا إليه راجعون، مضى—والله—أبي. فقلت: جعلت فداك، وقد مضى؟ فقال: نعم ووليت غسله وتكفينه، وما كان ذلك لِيَلي منه غيري. ثمّ قال لي: دَعْ عنك هذا، استعرضني أيّ القرآن شئت، أَفِ لك بحفظه. فقلت: الأعراف. فاستعاذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم، ثمّ قرأ بِسْمِ الله الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحبم: ﴿وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا ٱلْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُۥ ظُلَّةٌۭ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُۥ وَاقِعٌۢ بِهِمْ﴾‬. فقلت: « آلمص ». فقال: هذا أوّل السورة، وهذا ناسخ، وهذا منسوخ، وهذا محكم، وهذا متشابه، وهذا خاصّ، وهذا عامّ، وهذا غلط به الكتّاب، وهذا ما اشتبه على الناس.

Muḥammad b. Mūsā, from Muḥammad b. Qutayba, from a tutor who had been employed for Abī Jaʿfar.[1] The tutor narrated: “One day, he was in front of me, reading from the tablet,[2] whereupon he threw the tablet from his hand and stood up in a panic, saying: “Indeed, to Allāh we belong and to Him we shall return. By Allāh, my father (as) has died.” I said to him: “Where did you come by this knowledge?,” to which he replied: “Something of Allāh’s sublimity and exaltation came upon me which I have not previously experienced.” I asked: “Has he died?,” so he said: “Leave this aside, and permit me to enter the house and then come out to you, so that you may test me with something of the Qurʾān as you see fit, and I will prove to you that I have it committed to memory.” So, he entered the house, and then I got up and set about looking for him, out of concern. I asked around, so they said: “He has entered this house and closed the door behind him, saying: “Do not admit anyone in to see me, until I come out to you.” He then came out (of the house) covered in dust, saying: “Indeed, to Allāh we belong and to Him we shall return. By Allāh, my father has died.” I said: “May I be your sacrifice, has he truly died?,” to which he replied: “Yes, and I took charge of washing his body and shrouding it, and it was not for anyone to take charge of that but me.” Then, he said: “Leave this aside. (I bid you) test me with something of the Qurʾān as you see fit, and I will prove to you that I have it committed to memory.” I said: “Al-Aʿrāf.” So, he sought refuge, firstly, in Allāh from the expelled Shayṭān, and then recited: “In the name of Allāh, the Entirely and Innately Merciful. ﴾When We plucked the mountain [and held it] above them as if it were a canopy (and they thought it was about to fall on them)﴿ [7:171].” I said: “﴾Alif, Lam, Mim, Suad﴿ [7:1].” He said: “This is the first (verse) of the chapter—and this is abrogating. And this is abrogated. This is decisive, and this is ambiguous, this is specific, and this is general, this is an error made by the scribes, and this is what has confounded people.”[3]