His (as) Miracles

[Abu al-Qasim Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Qulawayh informed me on the authority of Muhammad ibn Yaqub on the authority of 'Ali ibn Ibrahim on the authority of al- Wafiqi who said:]
I (al-Wafiqi) had an uncle called al-Hasan ibn Abd Allah. He was an ascetic and one of the most pious people of his time. The authorities were wary of him because of his earnestness and his vigour towards religion. Sometimes he would approach the authorities concerning enjoining the good and forbidding the evil because of something which had angered him. They accepted that because of his righteousness. The state of affairs continued until one day he went into the mosque. There was Abu al-Hasan Musa, peace be on him. He beckoned to him and (my uncle) went to him.
(Musa) said to him: “Abu Ali, nothing is more pleasing to me and gives me greater joy than the way you behave. Despite that, you do not have true knowledge (marifa). Seek for true knowledge.”
“May I be your ransom,” he said to him, what is true knowledge?”
“Go so that you may learn,” he told him. “Seek out traditions.”
“From whom?” he asked.
“From the jurists of Medina,” he answered, “and then bring the additions to me.”
He went and wrote down (what he learnt). Then he came and read to him. However (Musa) invalidated all of it. He told him: “Go and learn.”
The man was concerned about (his own attitude to) his religion. He continued to search for Abu al-Hasan until he went to (visit) an estate of his. On the road he met him. He said to him: “May I be your ransom, I have sought for you (by begging) God. Guide me to what is necessary for me to know.”
Then Abu al-Hasan, peace be on him, informed him about the authority and rights of the Commander of the faithful, peace be on him, and what it was necessary for him to know. (He told him of) the authority of al-Hasan, al- Husayn, Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad b Ali and Ja’far ibn Muhammad. Then he was silent.
(Al-Hasan) said to him: “May I be your ransom, who is the Imam today?”
“If I tell you,” he answered, “will you come close to me?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“I am he,” he said.
“Is there anything by which this could be proved?” he asked.
“Go to that tree,” he said - and he pointed towards one of the trees of Umm Ghaylan, “and tell it that Musa ibn Ja’far tells you to draw near.”
[He reported:] I went to it and I saw it furrow through the ground until it stopped in front of him. Then he indicated to it to go back and it went back.
He went up to him and cleaved to silence and worship. No one ever saw him talking after that.

Imamat of Imam Musa Kazim (as)

[Abu al-Qasim Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Qulawayh informed me, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Yahya, on the authority of Ahmad ibnMuhammad ibn Isa, on the authority of Abu Yahya al- Wasiti, on the authority of Hisham ibn Salim, who said:]
I (i.e. Hisham ibn Salim) and Muhammad ibn Numan (known as) Sahib al-Taq were in Medina after the death of Abu Abd Allah, peace be on him. The people had agreed that Abd Allah ibn Ja’far was the leader of the affair (sahib al-amr) after his father. We went to visit him and the people were with him. We questioned him about how much poor-tax (zakat) had to be paid.
“Five dirhams on two hundred dirhams,” he answered.
“How much on a hundred dirhams?” we asked.
“Two and a half dirhams,” he answered.
“By God, you are declaring the doctrine of the Murji'a,” we said.
“By God,” he retorted, “I do not know the doctrine of the Murji'a.”
We, Abu Ja’far al-Ahwal (i.e. Muhammad ibn Numan) and myself, left, wandering without knowing where to go. We sat in one of the lanes in Medina weeping. We did not know where we should go or to whom we should turn. We spoke about (joining) the Murji'ites, the Qadarites, the Mu`tazilites, and the Zaydites.
We were in this situation when I saw a venerable man whom I did not know. He indicated to me with his hand. I was afraid that he was one of the spies of (the Abbasid caliph) Abu Ja’far al-Mansur. There were spies in Medina for him (to find out) who the people agreed on to succeed Ja’far. Then that man (i.e. the Imam) would be captured and executed. I was afraid that that man was one of them.
“Go aside,” I said to al-Ahwal, “I am afraid for myself. You be careful. He only wants me. He does not want you. Leave me, for you will lead (him) to yourself.”

The Knowledge of Imam Musa Kazim (as)

Ali ibne Rashid and other tradition writers mention that the Shias of Naishapur gather together and made Mohammad Bin Ali their deputy to go and give Imam Musa Kazim 30000 Dinars, 50000 Dirhams and 2000 pieces of clothes. A lady by the name of Shatita gave to this deputy on her behalf to give to the Imam a knitted piece worth 4 Dirhams and a 1 Dirham coin and she told Muhammad bin Ali ‘Innallah la yestahee minal haqqay’, meaning Allah is proud of the Truth (Haq) even if the amount be small.’ A bag was given containing 70 letters with a request for some religious clarifications and an empty bag was given for bringing back replies. Each envelope was tied with a string and sealed.

He was instructed to take the envelopes in the night to the Imam and collect them the following morning. He was asked to open five letters to see whether the Imam had replied to the queries. If he had replied to these letters then he was the true Imam and the money and clothes should be given to him, or else to bring back everything that he had taken.

When Muhammad Bin Ali reached Medina, people asked him to go to Abdulla Atfah. He went to Abdulla and when he returned from there he was very dejected and said, ‘Where to go. ‘Shall I go to a Jew or shall I go to a Christian,’ and said, ‘O Allah show me the way to the right path-guide me, O Allah.’ I was standing in this confusion, when a slave approached me and said that he would take me to the one whom I wanted to see. So saying he took me to Imam Musa Kazim. When the Imam saw me, and although he had never seen me before, addressed me as Abu Ja’far, and asked me why I was so sad and dejected over not finding him and why I desired to go to the homes of the Jews and Christians? ‘Come, I will make you comfortable and relieve you of your worries. I am the representative of God on this earth and the friend of God. Did not Abu Hamza guide you when you were waiting outside the mosque of our beloved Prophet? I have already answered all your questions yesterday.’ Then the Imam asked for the bag in which was kept the Dirham belonging to Shatita which was correct in weight, which I had kept in the same bag containing the other Dirhams. The Imam also requested for the knitted piece given by Shatita, which was kept in the bag with the other clothes sent for him. Muhammad Bin Ali said, “When I heard this I was amazed and astonished, and handed over the knitted piece and the Dirham given by Shatita to him. I did exactly as instructed by the Imam and when he had the knitted piece and Dirham in his hands he turned towards me, and recited the same verse as Shatita ‘Innallaha la yestahee minal haqqay’. Then he said, ‘O Abu Ja’far, convey my salaams to Shatita, and give her this bag containing 40 Dirhams; then the Imam gave me a piece of coffin cloth and asked me to tell Shatita that my sister Halima has worked on it and the thread used in it is from my grand mother Fatima, the daughter of the Holy Prophet.”

His Decision against Abu al-Khattab

Muhammed b. Maqlas al-Asadi, better known as Abu al-Khattab, was among the Imams of the atheists in the Arab and Islamic world. He spoiled the religion of the young Muslims. That was through his originating a belief through which he launched a war against all the Islamic regulations; the principles of his thought has been mentioned by al-Qadi, Abu Hanifa al-Maghribi, who said: "He (Abu al-Khattab) claimed that Ja'far b. Muhammed was Allah, be He raised far above his statement. When his companions were overburdened by performing the religious duties, they came to him and said: 'Abu al-Khattab, make light for us (the religious duties).' So he ordered them to leave them to the extent that they left all the religious duties and performed the prohibited. He permitted them to bear witness to each other through falseness. He said: "He who recognizes the Imam is permitted to perform all the forbidden things."

Abu al-Khattab's destructive beliefs appeared in Kufa at the time when the political disorders reached the zenith and the summons to the 'Abbasids was opening its way firmly and successfully. The conditions helped him gather around him some Kufan men to teach them his beliefs and to show them the plans of the summons, meeting, and appearance.[2] When Imam al-Sadiq, peace be on him, heard of his heresy and unbelief, he disavowed him and openly cursed him, for he was among his companions and followers, then he renounced (his doctrine) after that. 'Isa al-Shalqani hurried to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be on him, to ask him about his opinion of this dangerous atheist, and he, peace be on him, answered: "Isa, what has prevented you from meeting with my son (Imam Musa) to ask him about all what you desire? Thus, 'Isa went to Imam Musa, who was then a young boy studying in his room. When the Imam, peace be on him, saw 'Isa, he had answered him before he asked him. He said to him: "Isa, surely Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, made a covenant through the prophets for the prophethood and they never turned away from it. He made a covenant through the testamentary trustees for religious obligations and they never turned away from it; He gave faith to a people for a time and then He deprived them of it; as for Abu al-Khattab, he is among those who were given faith and deprived of it."

'Isa admired the Imam's answer, so he rose for him embraced him and kissed his forehead and said: "May my father and mother be your ransom, offspring, one of the other; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing."

Then he turned to Imam Abu 'Abd Allah (al-Sadiq) and told him about the wonderful talents of his son Imam Musa, peace be on him. So Abu 'Abd Allah (al-Sadiq) said to him: "Isa, If you ask this son of mine about what is between the two covers of the Qur'an, he will give you an answer to it with knowledge."

Then he ordered his son to be brought out of the study. At that time 'Isa believed that Musa, peace be on him, was an Imam, that he was the heir apparent and successor of his father over all the people.[1] Yet another example of Imam Musa's immoderate cleverness is that he came to his father carrying a tablet (lawh) with him. His father made him sit in his lap and said to him: "My little son, write: Abandon ugly things and do not perform them!" When he wrote that, his father said to him: "My little son, complete it." He completed it saying: "If you perform good deeds to someone, then increase them." Then the Imam gave another statement to his son and ordered him to complete it, saying: "You will meet from your enemy all tricks." He completed it saying: "If the enemy schemes against you, do not scheme against him." The Imam became happy with his son' talents and genius; he embraced him, showed his admiration toward him, and said: "Offspring, one of the other!"[2] Another example of the sings of his genius in his childhood is that which has been reported by Saffwan al-Jammal, who said: "I (Saffwan al-Jammal) asked Abu 'Abd Allah (al-Sadiq), peace be on him, about the leader of this affair (after him). He said: 'The leader of this affair is one who does not fool and play.'"

Saffwan said: "While he was relating to me about that, Abu al-Hasan Musa, who was then a young boy, came towards us along with a young sheep. He addressed the young sheep, saying: 'Prostrate to your Lord!' So Abu 'Abd Allah, peace be on him, took and embraced him, and then he said to him: 'May my father and mother be ransom to you, O you who do not fool and play!'"

Abu Hanifa and Imam Musa Kazim (as)

Abu Hanifa was among those who believed in the (doctrine) of compulsion and summoned (the people) to believe in it. This belief maintains that the act that issues from man is not created by him and does not issue from him through his choice. Rather it is created by Allah and issues through Allah's will, and that man's will and power has no relationship in finding any deed whether it issues from him through his choice or he is forced to perform it. The Shi'ites have unanimously agreed that such a belief is invalid and incorrect. Besides the jurists have established that it is false; they have conscientiously decided that any optional act should be preceded by some voluntary prerequisites which are as follows:

1. One must imagine the thing in mind.

2. His soul must incline to it.

3. He should perfectly be sure of its advantage.

When these prerequisites are perfect in the horizon of soul, the will clings to deed, and man strives to find it or orders it to be performed, whether it is good or ugly, and there is no coercion or compulsion on man to perform it.[1]

Any way, Abu Hanifa was on top of those who believed in compulsion; he traveled to Yethrib (Medina) to debate with Imam al-Sadiq, peace be on him, on this belief, while he was famous for his being the opponent of it. When he arrived in it, he headed for the Imam's house. He sat in the corridor waiting for a permission to enter. While he was sitting there, a boy came out walking slowly. He asked the boy: "Where does the stranger relieve nature?"

The boy turned to him and said to him: "Slowly!" Then he sat down politely, leaned against the wall, and began to give him an answer to his question, saying: "Avoid the banks of rivers, the places where fruit fall, the courtyards of mosques, and the middle of a road. Hide yourself behind a wall; you should not face the qibla (direction to the Kaaba) nor have your back towards it; and relieve nature where you wish." He explained to him the places where it is detested or forbidden to relieve nature, so Abu Hanifa was dazzled and astonished because he had not thought that there was a boy who had such a scientific ability.

"What is your name?" asked Abu Hanifa.

"Musa b. Ja'far b. Muhammed b. 'Ali b. al-Husayn b. 'Ali b. Abi Talib," was theanswer.

When Abu Hanifa came to know that the boy was a branch of the Tree of the Prophecy and the Imamate, he became tranquil, and then he asked him about the question he had prepared for Imam al-Sadiq, saying: " Boy, from whom does disobedience (issue)? Does it issue from Allah or from the servant?"

The Imam answered him, saying: "Either it issues from Allah and not from the servant at all, so Allah does not punish the servant for what he does not do; or it issues from the servant and Allah, and Allah is a stronger partner. Therefore, the stronger partner has no right to punish the weak for a sin in which they are equal; or it issues form the servant and not from Allah. So If He wills to pardon (him), (He will pardon him), and If He wills to punish (him), (He will punish him); and Allah is He whose help is sought." According to the rational restriction, this conclusion is full of all the elements of the firm scientific proofs man cannot invalidate or refute.

Abu Hanifa became dazzled and astonished, so he raised his voice, saying: "I am satisfied with what I have heard!"

He went out defeated; inability appeared on his face. He did not met with Imam al-Sadiq; the Imam's answer to him and his inability to replay him became famous among the scientific circles; accordingly, a poet composed a poem on the answer of the Imam, peace be on him, to Abu Hanifa, saying:

Our deeds through which we are dispraised have three meanings when we perform them: either our Lord create them by Himself, so we are not blameworthy when we perform them,

Or He shares them with us, so the sin that befalls us will befall Him,

Or my Lord has no sin in performing them, so the sin belongs to him who performs them.[1]

This attitude indicates that Imam Musa had abundant sciences and knowledge during his early age. For he understood what the intellects of the great religious scholars did not understand. For example, Abu Hanifa was unable to stand before his flowing thinking. He found no way to safe and preserve his position except withdrawing from him and avoiding discussing with him any subject matter; this attitude shows that the Imam had abundant knowledge and cleverness none had in such an age except his forefathers, who were singled out with the Imamate.