Refutation of all sects, which believed in Imamate of someone other than Master of the Age (a.s)

The other groups that have disagreed and professed the Imamate of someone else – such as Muhammadiyya, who believed in the Imamate of Muhammad Ibn Ali Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ali Imam Ridha (a.s); and the Fathiyya, who believed in the Imamate of Abdullah Ibn Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Imam Sadiq (a.s) and proclaim the Imamate of Ja’far Ibn Ali at this time; and like the denomination that believes that the Master of the Age has been conceived, but is not born yet; and like the ones who believed that he has died and then he will live again; and like those who believed in the Imamate of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) and claimed that his Imamate is certain and the birth of his son has not been proved and that we live in a time with no Imam; their words are very obviously false for a number of reasons. One of these reasons is their extinction. There is no one left today who believes in these doctrines anymore; and if they had been correct, they would not have perished. Another reason is that Muhammad Ibn Ali Askari died during the lifetime of his father. His death was well-known and traditions regarding it are evident and famous. Anyone who rejects them is like someone who rejects the death of anyone of his forefathers, peace be on them.

I was with Abul Hasan Askari [Imam Hadi] at the time when his son, Abu Ja’far passed away, Imam (a.s) pointed to him emphatically so that we may see his son, who had passed away. I said to myself: This is just how it happened in the case of Abu Ibrahim [Imam Kadhim (a.s)] and Ismail Ibn Ja’far that when Ismail passed away, Imam Sadiq (a.s) publicly announced his death, so that no one may claim that Ismail or his descendants are Imams. Thus Imam Hadi (a.s) came to me and said: Yes, Aba Hashim, change of destiny occurred (Bada) with regard to Abu Ja’far and Almighty Allah replaced him with Abu Muhammad as He did in the case of Ismail, son of Imam Sadiq (a.s), after Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) had declared him to be the Imam after him and appointed him as his successor; just as you said to yourself, although it would be displeasing to the followers of falsehood, my son, Abu Muhammad is my successor and he is having all that which the Shia society is in need of and he is having the distinctive signs of Imamate, by the grace of God.

As for the saying that Abu Muhammad did not have any offspring and that there is a hidden conceived baby, who will be born: It is invalid, because this suggests that this age is devoid of an Imam of guidance and we have demonstrated the falsity of this. Additionally, we will demonstrate that he sired a famous son and we will mention the traditions with that respect, which will invalidate this assertion as well.

As for the saying that the situation is confusing and it cannot be decided whether Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) sired a son or not, and until the birth of his son is established, we will adhere to the Imamate of Hasan; it is also invalidated through our assertion that no time can be without an Imam, because we know Hasan (a.s) is dead just as we know many other people to be dead, and we will prove the birth of his son as well, so their claim is also falsified.

As for the belief that there is no Imam after Hasan (a.s): It is invalid due to our rational as well as Shari proofs that no time can be devoid of an Imam. The belief that Abu Muhammad passed away and he will come back to life after his death, is also invalid, because it suggests lack of an Imam from the time of his death until Allah brings him back to life.

The argument, which is based on the tradition that “the Master of this Affair will live after he dies” and that he has been named Qaim, since he will rise after he dies, is invalid, because first the tradition is not reliable, and even if it is reliable, it can be interpreted to mean that he will rise after his name dies, that is, no one mentions him, except those who believe in his Imamate and then Allah will manifest him to all. Besides, we have established that every Imam, who stands in place of a previous Imam, is called the Qaim.

As for believers in Imamate of Abdullah Ibn Ja’far, namely the Fatahiyya, and that of Ja’far Ibn Ali, their creed is wrong, because an Imam has to be infallible and these two were not. Their evident actions, which contradict infallibility, are widely known and scholars have narrated them and they are present in books and we will not prolong the discourse by quoting them here. Besides, the established principle, which is beyond doubt amongst the Shia, is that Imamate shall not pass from one brother to another, after Hasan and Husain (a.s). Therefore, the Imamate of Ja’far, after his brother, is void.