The imam’s absence

2. Ali ibn Muhammad, from al-Hasan ibn Isa ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Ja‘far, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ali ibn Ja‘far, from his brother Musa ibn Ja‘far, peace be upon them both, who said: ‘When the fifth of the descendants of the seventh is missing, fear God, fear God concerning your religions; let no one turn you away from them. My son, the holder of this authority must undergo an absence, until some who professed this authority turn back from it. It is only a trial from God, mighty and majestic, by which he tests his creatures. Had your fathers and grandfathers known a religion sounder than this, they would have followed it.’ He said: I asked, ‘My master, who is the fifth of the descendants of the seventh?’ He answered, ‘My son, your minds are too small for this, and your understandings too narrow to bear it. But if you live, you will encounter it.’ 3. Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Abi Najran, from Muhammad ibn al-Musawir, from al-Mufaddal ibn Umar, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say: ‘Beware of publicizing it! By God, your imam will be absent for years of your lifetime, and you will be tested until people say: He died; he was killed; he perished; which valley did he take? Believers’ eyes will weep for him, and you will be overturned as ships are overturned in the waves of the sea. None will escape except those whose covenant God has taken, in whose hearts he has written faith, and whom he has strengthened with a spirit from him. Twelve confusing banners will be raised, with no knowing which is which.’ He said: I wept, then asked, ‘What shall we do?’ He looked at sunlight entering the portico and said, ‘Abu Abd Allah, do you see this sun?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘By God, our authority is clearer than this sun.’ 4. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, from Ibn Abi Najran, from Fadala ibn Ayyub, from Sadir al-Sayrafi, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say: ‘The holder of this authority bears a resemblance to Joseph, peace be upon him.’ I said to him, ‘It is as though you mean his life or his absence.’ He said to me: ‘Why does this community, resembling swine, deny that? Joseph’s brothers, peace be upon him, were descendants of the tribes, sons of prophets. They traded with Joseph, bought and sold with him, and addressed him. They were his brothers and he was their brother, yet they did not recognize him until he said: I am Joseph, and this is my brother. Why does this accursed community deny that God, mighty and majestic, might at some time do with his proof as he did with Joseph? Joseph, peace be upon him, held the kingship of Egypt, and between him and his father was a journey of eighteen days. Had he wished to inform him, he could have done so. When the good news came, Jacob, peace be upon him, and his children travelled from their desert dwelling to Egypt in nine days. Why does this community deny that God, majestic and mighty, might do with his proof as he did with Joseph: that he should walk in their markets and tread their carpets until God grants him permission, as he granted Joseph permission? They said: Are you indeed Joseph? He said: I am Joseph.’ 5. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from al-Hasan ibn Musa al-Khashshab, from Abd Allah ibn Musa, from Abd Allah ibn Bukayr, from Zurara, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say, ‘The young man will have an absence before he rises.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘He fears,’ and gestured with his hand toward his belly. Then he said: ‘Zurara, he is the awaited one, the one whose birth is doubted. Some say his father died without a successor; some say there is a pregnancy; some say he was born two years before his father’s death. He is the awaited one. But God, mighty and majestic, loves to test the Shi‘a; at that time those who hold falsehood will doubt. Zurara!’ I said, ‘May I be your ransom! If I reach that time, what should I do?’ He said: ‘Zurara, if you reach that time, pray this prayer: O God, make yourself known to me, for if you do not make yourself known to me, I will not know your prophet. O God, make your messenger known to me, for if you do not make your messenger known to me, I will not know your proof. O God, make your proof known to me, for if you do not make your proof known to me, I will go astray from my religion.’ Then he said: ‘Zurara, a young man must be killed in Medina.’ I asked, ‘May I be your ransom! Will the Sufyani’s army not kill him?’ He said: ‘No, rather the army of the family of the sons of so-and-so will kill him. It will come until it enters Medina, seize the young man and kill him. When it kills him in transgression, aggression and injustice, they will not be given respite. At that time expect deliverance, if God wills.’ 6. Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, from Ishaq ibn Muhammad, from Yahya ibn al-Muthanna, from Abd Allah ibn Bukayr, from Ubayd ibn Zurara, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say: ‘The people will lose their imam. He will attend the pilgrimage season and see them, but they will not see him.’ 7. Ali ibn Muhammad, from Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, who said: Mundhir ibn Muhammad ibn Qabus related to me, from Mansur al-Sindi, from Abu Dawud al-Mustariqq, from Tha‘laba ibn Maymun, from Malik al-Juhani, from al-Harith ibn al-Mughira, from al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, who said: I came to the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, and found him thinking, marking the ground. I said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, why do I see you thinking and marking the ground? Do you desire it?’ He said: ‘No, by God! I have never desired it or this world for a single day. Rather, I was thinking about a child who will come from my loins, the eleventh of my descendants. He is the Mahdi, who will fill the earth with equity and justice as it has been filled with oppression and injustice. He will have an absence and a period of bewilderment in which some peoples go astray and others are guided.’ I asked, ‘Commander of the Faithful, how long will the bewilderment and absence last?’ He said: ‘Six days, or six months, or six years.’ I asked, ‘Will this really happen?’ He answered: ‘Yes, as surely as he is created. But how could you attain this matter, Asbagh? Those are the best of this community, together with the best of the righteous of this family.’ I asked, ‘Then what will happen after that?’ He said: ‘Then God will do what he wills, for he has new determinations, purposes, goals and endings.’ 8. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Hanan ibn Sadir, from Ma‘ruf ibn Kharrabudh, from Abu Ja‘far, peace be upon him, who said: ‘We are like the stars of heaven: whenever a star sets, a star rises. But when you point with your fingers and stretch your necks, God will conceal your star from you. The descendants of Abd al-Muttalib will then be alike, so that none can be distinguished from another. When your star rises, praise your Lord.’ 9. Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, from al-Hasan ibn Mu‘awiya, from Abd Allah ibn Jabala, from Abd Allah ibn Bukayr, from Zurara, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say, ‘The Qa’im, peace be upon him, will have an absence before he rises.’ I asked, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘He fears,’ and gestured with his hand toward his belly, meaning being killed. 10. Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Abu Ayyub al-Khazzaz, from Muhammad ibn Muslim, who said: I heard Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, say: ‘If news reaches you of an absence of the holder of this authority, do not deny it.’ 11. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, from al-Hasan ibn Mu‘awiya, from Abd Allah ibn Jabala, from Ibrahim ibn Khalaf ibn Abbad al-Anmati, from al-Mufaddal ibn Umar, who said: I was with Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, and there were people with him in the house. I thought that by this he meant someone other than me. He said: ‘By God, the holder of this authority will be absent from you, and this will become obscure, until people say: He died; he perished; which valley did he take? You will be overturned as a ship is overturned in the waves of the sea. None will escape except those whose covenant God has taken, in whose hearts he has written faith, and whom he has strengthened with a spirit from him. Twelve confusing banners will be raised, with no knowing which is which.’ He said: I wept. He asked, ‘What makes you weep, Abu Abd Allah?’ I said, ‘May I be your ransom! How should I not weep when you say twelve confusing banners, with no knowing which is which?’ There was an opening in his sitting room through which sunlight entered. He asked, ‘Is this clear?’ I answered, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Our authority is clearer than this sun.’ 19. Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn, from Ibn Mahbub, from Ishaq ibn Ammar, who said: Abu Abd Allah, peace be upon him, said: ‘The Qa’im has two absences, one short and the other long. During the first absence only the select among his Shi‘a know his whereabouts; during the other only the select among his followers know his whereabouts.’