بكر

The matter of Abu Bakr Baghdadi nephew of Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Uthman Amari and the incident of Abi Dalf Majnun:

H 64 - Abu Bakr Armini asked Abdullah bin Mughira: Through which argument have you believed in the Imamate of Ali Ibn Musa? He replied: Salma [a servant of the family of Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s)] informed that no one in the view of his father [Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s)] had as much worth and estimation as he was having.

H 387 - Ibn Ayyash mentioned: One day I was with Abu Dalf. We mentioned Abu Bakr Baghdadi. He said: “Do you know how our master, the Shaykh, may Allah bless his soul, was great?” He made Abu Bakr Baghdadi higher than Abul Qasim Husain Ibn Rauh and others. I said: “I don’t know.” He said: “Because Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn Uthman mentioned his name before the name of Abul Qasim Husain in his final will.” I said to him, “On this account, then Mansur must be higher than our master Imam Abul Hasan Musa (a.s).” He said: “How?” I said: “Because Imam Sadiq (a.s) mentioned Mansur’s name before his successor in his final will.” He said: “You are biased about our master and you hate him.” I said: “All of the creation hates Abu Bakr Baghdadi and dislike him, except only you.” We were about to start fighting and hold each other’s collars. Abu Bakr Baghdadi’s ignorance and lack of nobility is well-known. Abu Dalf’s stories of madness are more than to be accounted for. We will not engage our book with them. Ibn Nuh has mentioned some of them.

H 389 - It is narrated that he became the deputy of Yazidi at Basra and remained at his service a long while and collected large amounts of money. This was reported to Yazidi, who arrested him and confiscated the money and gave him a blow at the top of his head, so hard that fluids of his brain came to his eyes. Abu Bakr died in this way.

I was in the company of Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s) and I never saw anything being brought for the Imam, but that it came to Mufaddal and many a times saw people bring something that the Imam did not accept; on the contrary he said: Deliver it to Mufaddal.

“We (the prophet’s progeny) do not time this matter (the appearance of al-Qa’im).”

Because first, we are not certain that he is hiding from all his devotees, and such incertitude is sufficient in this argument. Furthermore, when the Prophet (s) hid in the cave, he was hiding from his devotees and his enemies and there was no one with him, except Abu Bakr. And it was possible that he had gone into hiding without anyone, friend or foe, had prudence demanded that.

“Matters are of two kinds; pending and inevitable. The rising of as-Sufyani is inevitable that must occur.”

Once Abban and I came to Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) when the black banners (revolts) had been raised in Khurasan (Persia). We asked him: “What do you think about that?” He said: “Stay at home and when you see us agree unanimously upon a man, then hurry to us with your weapons.”

I was in the company of Abu Ibrahim, Imam Musa Kadhim (a.s). The Imam said: Indeed, Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s) said: A man is fortunate, who before his death sees his successor from his progeny. After that the Imam pointed out to his son, Ali and said: Almighty Allah has pointed out this son, who is from my life, as my successor.

H 386 - Abu Amr Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Nasr Sakari says: When Ibn Muhammad Ibn Hasan Ibn Walid Qummi went to him on behalf of his father and the community and asked him that it was said that he had claimed to be a deputy of the Imam, he denied. He said: “I do not have any such position, nor have I made any claims.” I [Abu Amr Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Nasr Sakari] was present at this conversation [in Basra in his gathering], in which he did not make any claim.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Mahdi is from my progeny, from the descendants of Fatima.”

H 390 - Abu Nasr Hibatullah Ibn Muhammad said that Abu Dalf was in the beginning a Mukhammas and known for that, because he had been raised and taught by the Kharkhis, who were Mukhammas. No Shia doubted that. Abu Dalf used to believe in that and acknowledge that. He would say, “Our master, the virtuous Shaykh converted me from the creed of Abu Ja’far Karikhi to the valid faith,” meaning the belief of Abu Bakr Baghdadi.

“Stop. This man who is coming is not one of you.”

I heard Jabir bin Samra say: I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: After me, there would be twelve Caliphs and all of them would be from Quraish. When the Messenger of Allah (s) returned to his house, Quraish arrived and addressed the Prophet: What will happen after that? The Prophet replied: Confusion and discord.

H 379 - Abul Hasan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Dawood said: Muhammad bin Ali Shalmaghani, alias Ibn Abi Azaqir – curse of Allah be on him – believed that whoever is in opposition to the Wali of Allah is better than the Imam; therefore this belief means that any excellence and precedence is not counted for the Wali, but through the criticism and ridicule of his opponent. In such a way that whoever heard the ridicule of that Wali, would immediately run after the Imam and the Wali; in this way the opponent and rival of the Wali is better and superior to Wali and Imam, because the expression of excellence of Wali is possible only in this way. Other beliefs of his and his followers were that they believed that this manner of religion and religiosity continues from the time of the first Adam to the time of the seventh Adam, because they had faith in seven worlds and seven Adams; so much so they reached upto Musa and his opponent, Firon; and Muhammad and Ali (a.s) and their opponent Abu Bakr and Muawiyah. But with regard to the opposite of Wali and Imam, their belief is that some of them said: The opposite and opponent should be considered as ones Wali and he should be compelled to take up opposition. Thus the people of the Zahir said: Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) himself appointed Abu Bakr to Caliphate and some said: It is not so; on the contrary the opposite and rival is eternal and is always with the Wali. Another belief of that group is that they say that with regard to Imam Qaim (a.s) that which the people of Zahir say that he is the son of the eleventh Imam and that he would stage an uprising one day, it implies that it is Iblis (we seek the refuge of Allah), because the Almighty Allah said: So the angels made obeisance, all of them together, but Iblis (did it not); he refused to be with those who made obeisance. After that the Holy Quran said about Iblis: “I will certainly lie in wait for them in Thy straight path.” Therefore, this verse proves that when the Satan was commanded to prostrate, he staged an uprising and arose against Almighty Allah and after that he sat in ambush. Therefore, according to Zahiraya sect, the Qaim who would stage an uprising (Allah’s refuge!) implies the same Qaim who was commanded to prostrate before Adam (a.s) and he refused; and he is Iblis. A poet of that group (may Allah curse them all) has composed some couplets in this regard: O one who curses the opposite and rival, which is from Adi tribe [that is Umar bin Khattab], do not curse him. Opposite of anything is not except Wali and Zahir; that is (we seek refuge of Allah) opposite is the apparent Wali and Wali is the inner aspect of the opposite. Praise is only for creator of the universe who fulfills His promise and my condition is not like that of a pigeon. And in the same way one who is not like a barber; and I have defeated Mahdi in debate and discussion about religious faith. Yes, I have also overlooked him for the excellence and merit of servitude; higher than the status of one who was not a Majus. It is because according to my faith, Allah is One without any change of circumstances and in this way is one with every unity (unconditionally). O supporters of the Hashemite family you have become imbued with every luminosity and darkness. And O deniers of the family of Kisra and family of Sasan; who is a favorite from the aspect of Ajami and Farsi, like the group of Bani Loih remained concealed among the Arabs.

I heard Abul Qasim Ja’far Ibn Muhammad Ibn Quluwayh say: We knew Abu Dalf, the transcriber, may God not forgive him, to be blasphemous. Then he expressed exaggeration about the Imams and then went crazy and was put in chains. Then he was released. He was ridiculed wherever he went. The Shia knew him for a very little time. They are disdainful of him and whoever promotes him. We sent someone to Abu Bakr Baghdadi when it was said that he had made such claims. He denied that and took oaths. So we took him on his word, but when he went to Baghdad, he turned to this person and distanced himself from the community and was appointed his successor. We had no doubt that he was on his path. So we cursed him and denounced him, because we believe that whoever claims this position after Saymoori, is a denier; he is evil, misguided and leads astray.

“I made great efforts and spent a lot to meet Imam Mahdi (a.s). Thus I went to Amari and remained in his service. After a long time, I expressed to him the wish to see the Master of the Age (a.s). He said: There is no way you can meet him. When I continued to insist, he said: Come tomorrow at early dawn. So I came to him the next morning and found a young man in his company dressed as a trader and carrying some trading goods below his arms. I came near to Amari and he gestured to me. I moved towards that gentleman and asked him whatever I wanted. He replied and when he was about to go inside Amari said: If you want to ask him anything, ask him now; you will never see him again. As I was about to ask him something, he said the following and entered the room without listening to me: “Accursed, accursed is the one who delays the Maghrib Prayer so much that stars become visible. Accursed, accursed is the one who delays the Morning Prayer so much that stars disappear.”

“Surely, Allah the High greets you and orders you to hand over this book to the chosen one from your family after you. He will open the first seal and do according to what is in it. When he is about to expire, he should hand it over to his successor after him. Thus, the first will hand over to the last, one after the other.” The Holy Prophet (s) did as he was ordered. Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a.s) opened the first of them (seals) and acted as per its instructions. Then he (a.s) handed it over to Hasan (a.s), who opened his seal and acted on it. He (a.s) handed over to Husain (a.s), who passed it on to Ali Ibn Husain (a.s). This went on from one to another till it reached the last one amongst them.

"When I came to Medina, I went to the house of Abu Ja'far al-Baqir (a.s). I found that his mule was saddled at the door. I sat in front of the house. He came out. I greeted him. He got down from his mule and came towards me. He asked me: 'Where are you from?' I said: 'I am from Iraq.' He said: 'Which part of Iraq?' I said: 'From Kufa.' He said: 'Who has accompanied you on your way?' I said: 'Some people of al-Muhaditha.' He asked: 'What is al-Muhaditha?' I said: 'Al-Murji'a.' He said: 'Woe unto these Murji'a! To whom will they resort tomorrow when our Qa'im (a.s) appears?' I said: 'They say: If that occurs, we and you will be the same before justice.' He said: 'Whoever repents, Allah accepts his repentance; whoever conceals hypocrisy, Allah damns him, and whoever announces something of hypocrisy, his blood is to be shed.' Then he said: 'By Allah, he (a.s) will slaughter them as a butcher slaughters a sheep.' He pointed to his throat with his hand. I said: 'They say: If he appears and controls the affairs, he will not shed even a drop of blood.' He said: 'It is not as they say. I swear by Him, in Whose hand my soul is! It will be so terrible until we and you wipe blood and sweat together.' And he gestured with his hand towards his forehead."