“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘So and so has offered you Salam (greeting of peace) and so also is so and so.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Greeting of peace is upon them.’ I then said, ‘They request you to pray for them.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘What is the matter with them?’ I said, ‘Abu Ja‘far, (Abbaside ruler) has imprisoned them.’ He (the Imam) then asked, ‘What they had to do with him and what had he to do with them?’ I replied, ‘He appointed them as his agents and then imprisoned them.’ ‘What is the matter with them and what is the matter with him? Had I not prohibited them, had I not prohibited, had I not prohibited them from the fire, from fire, from fire?’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘O Lord, plan for them against their ruler.’ I (the narrator) then left Makkah and asked about them and found out that they were released three days after (my) conversation (with him (the Imam)).”