علي بن محمد السمري

After Shaykh Abul Qasim Husain bin Rauh, Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad Saymoori succeeded to the post of the deputyship of Imam Mahdi (a.s) and with his death ended the special deputyship of Imam (a.s). Only these four were channels of contact with the Imam of the Time (a.s).

I was in Baghdad in the year in which Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori passed away. I went to him a few days before his demise. He brought a holy letter to the people that read as follows: “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. O Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori, may Allah enhance the reward of your brothers for you, as you shall die within six days. Tie up your affairs together and do not appoint any successor to carry out your duties after your final transfer. The full occultation has begun and there shall be no appearance, but after permission of Allah, high His name is, and that shall be after a long time, hardening of the hearts and the earth being replete with inequity. Individuals from my Shia will claim to have seen me. Behold, whoever claims seeing me before the rise of Sufyani and the call, is a liar and a slanderer. And there is no power except by Allah, the High, the Great.” We transcribed copies of the holy letter and left him. When it was the sixth day, we returned to him as he was breathing his last. He was asked, “Who is your successor after you?” He said: “To Allah belongs the Order and He is its Sustainer.” He died. These were the last words heard from him. May Allah be pleased with him and may He please him.

He was born eight days before Shaban of the year two hundred and fifty six. His representative was Uthman Ibn Saeed; and when he died, Uthman Ibn Saeed appointed Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Uthman; and Abu Ja’far appointed Abul Qasim Husain Ibn Rauh; and Abul Qasim appointed Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori. And when it was the time of final departure of Saymoori, he was asked to appoint a successor. He said: “To Allah belongs the Order and He is its Sustainer.” The full occultation is the one that began after the demise of Saymoori.

Shaykh Abul Qasim confided his final testimony to Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori and appointed him at his duty. So he undertook Abul Qasim’s task. When his time came, the Shia gathered before him and asked him about the representative after him and that who was going to carry his duties after his demise. He did not express anything in that regard and mentioned that he has not been ordered to appoint anyone after him for this position.

I was present in Baghdad in the companionship of scholars of narration, may Allah bless them. Shaykh Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori, may Allah sanctify his soul, said without being questioned with this respect, “May Allah have mercy on Ali Ibn Husain Ibn Babawayh Qummi.” The scholars noted the date of that day. Later, the news came that Ibn Babawayh had passed away on that very day. Abul Hasan Saymoori died after that in the mid-Shaban of the year three hundred and twenty nine.

We were present in Baghdad during the year in which Ali Ibn Husain Ibn Musa Ibn Babawayh passed away. Abul Hasan Ali Ibn Muhammad Saymoori, may Allah sanctify his soul, would often ask us of the news of Ali Ibn Husain (a.s). We would answer him that letters are coming that he is well. This continued until came the day on which Ibn Husain died. He asked us about Ibn Husain and we gave him a similar answer. He said: “May Allah reward you in the event of the demise of Ali Ibn Husain. He just died at this hour.” We recorded the hour, day and the month. After seventeen or eighteen days, news came that he had died in the very hour, which Shaykh Abul Hasan had mentioned him.