14. Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja`far al-Hamdani (RA) said, on the authority of `Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abu `Umayr that Sufyan al-Thawri saw Abu al-Hasan Musa ibn Ja`far (AS) when he was a young boy. The Imam was praying, and people were passing in front of him. Therefore, Sufyan alThawri told him
“Verily, the people who are circumambuling (the Ka`bah) are passing in front of you.” Thus, he (AS) replied, “The One to whom I pray to is closer to me than they are.”