The Emissaries Who Communicated Between the Shi-‘a And the Qa-’im During the Minor Occultation
1- Al-Ghaiba of Sheikh Tusi: It has been recorded in certain narrations that they have said, “Our servants and our caretakers are the most evil of Allah’s creation.” This statement is not meant to be general and all inclusive. They have said so because these individuals included non-Shi‘a and traitors, as we shall mention. Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdillah Ibn Ja‘far al-Humyari narrates on the authority of his father from Muhammad Ibn Sa-lih al-Hamdani, saying, I wrote to the Patron of the Age (a.s) that my family was abusing me and were rebuking me with the tradition that has been narrated from your forefathers, peace be with them, “Our servants and our caretakers are the most evil of Allah’s creation.” The holy Imam wrote back, “Do you not read what Allah, the High, has said, And We set between them and the cities that We have blessed, cities apparent. By Allah, we are the cities which Allah has blessed and you are the cities apparent.
Ikma-l al-Di-n: My father and Ibn al-Wali-d both have narrated on the authority of al-Humyari from Muhammad Ibn Sa-lih al-Hamda-ni a similar account. Then he said, ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja‘far said, ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad al-Kulaini narrated this hadith on the authority of Muhammad Ibn Sa-lih from the Patron of the Age (a.s).
‘Alla-ma Majlisi says, Then Sheikh Tu-si mentions some of the companions of the Imams, Divine bliss be for them, who have been praised. And then he says, Of the emissaries in the time of the minor occultation, who have been extolled, their first one is the person appointed by Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad al-‘Askari and his son Abu Muhammad al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad, peace be with them all.
He was the reliable scholar Abu ‘Amr ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d al-‘Amri and was from the tribe of Asad. He has been called al-‘Amri on the virtue of the narration of Abu Nasr Hibatullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Ka-tib Ibn Bint Abi Ja‘far al-‘Amri (a.s) saying, He was from the Asad, and is known by his grandfather’s name and therefore, it is said al-‘Amri.
أحوال السفراء الذين كانوا في زمان الغيبة الصغرى وسائط بين الشيعة وبين القائم (ع)
1- الغيبة للشيخ الطوسي قد روي (في) بعض الاخبار أنهم قالوا خدامنا وقوامنا شرار خلق الله وهذا ليس على عمومه، وإنما قالوا لان فيهم من غير وبدل وخان على ما سنذكره. وقد روى محمد بن عبد الله بن جعفر الحميري عن أبيه عن محمد بن صالح الهمداني قال: كتبت إلى صاحب الزمان (ع) أن أهل بيتى يؤذوني ويقرعوني بالحديث الذي روي عن آبائك (ع) أنهم قالوا: خدامنا وقوامنا شرار خلق الله فكتب (ع): ويحكم ما تقرؤن ما قال الله تعالى: "وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَبَيْنَ الْقُرَى الَّتِي بَارَكْنَا فِيهَا قُرًى ظَاهِرَةً" فنحن والله القرى التي بارك الله فيها وأنتم القرى الظاهرة. إكمال الدين: أبي، وابن الوليد معا، عن الحميري، عن محمد بن صالح الهمداني مثله. ثم قال: قال عبد الله بن جعفر: وحدثني بهذا الحديث علي بن محمد الكليني عن محمد بن صالح، عن صاحب الزمان (ع). أقول: ثم ذكر الشيخ بعض أصحاب الائمة صلوات الله عليهم الممدوحين ثم قال: فأما السفراء الممدوحون في زمان الغيبة فأولهم من نصبه أبو الحسن علي ابن محمد العسكري وأبو محمد الحسن بن علي بن محمد ابنه (ع) وهو الشيخ الموثوق به أبو عمرو عثمان بن سعيد العمري وكان أسديا وإنما سمي العمري لما رواه أبو نصر هبة الله بن محمد بن أحمد الكاتب بن بنت أبي جعفر العمري (ره).
A group of the Shi-‘a has said, Abu Muhammad al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali (a.s) said, “The names Ibn ‘Othma-n and Abu ‘Amr shall not gather in one man,” and ordered him to break his patronym, so he was called al-‘Amri. He is also called al-‘Askari, because he was from the ‘Askar of Surra Man Ra’a-. He is also called al-Samma-n, because he used to trade grease in order to conceal his task.
When the Shi-‘a carried their religious dues to Abu Muhammad (a.s), they would send it to Abu ‘Amr, which he would place in containers that were used for grease and carry them to Abu Muhammad (a.s) because of taqiyya and fear.
A group of scholars narrated to me from Abu Muhammad Ha-ru-n Ibn Musa- from Abu ‘Ali Muhammad Ibn Hima-m al-Iska-fi, who said Ahmad Ibn Isha-q Ibn Sa‘d al-Qummi narrated to us, saying, I entered on a certain day upon Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad, peace be with him (a.s). I said, “O’ my master, many a time, I go away and then come to your vicinity, yet I am still not able to find access to you every time I come nearby. So whose word should we accept and whose order should we obey?” The Imam (a.s) said, “This is Abu ‘Amr. He is trustworthy and honest.
He is the trustworthy man of the past and my man of trust in my lifetime and after my death. Whatever he says to you, he says it from us;
whatever he delivers to you, he does so from me.” Abu Muhammad Ha-run said, Abu ‘Ali said, Abu al-‘Abbas al-Humyari said, We would often discuss this narration and extol the eminence of Abu ‘Amr. A group of scholars narrated to us from Abu Muhammad Ha-ru-n from Muhammad Ibn Hima-m from ‘Abdullah Ibn Ja‘far, saying, On a certain year after the demise of Abu Muhammad (a.s), we performed Hajj. I went to Ahmad Ibn Isha-q at the and saw Abu ‘Amr with him. I said, “This Sheikh,” pointing to Ahmad Ibn Isha-q, “and he is a trustworthy and admirable man before us, has narrated to us,” such and such.
I narrated to him all of the narrative, which we have mentioned above on the account of the eminent position of Abu ‘Amr. I said, “You are now someone whose word and truthfulness is not dubitable. I beseech you for the sake of Allah and the sake of the two Imams who have declared you trustworthy, have you seen the son of Abu Muhammad who is the Patron of the Age?” He wept and then said, “You cannot inform anyone with this regard so long as I am alive.” I said, “Sure so.” He said, “I have verily seen him and his neck is like this.” He wanted to say that he has the most beautiful and wholesome of the necks.
I asked, “And the name?” He said, “You have been all forbidden from that.” Ahmad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Nu-h Abu al-‘Abba-s al-Saira-fi narrates through the chain of narration from Muhammad Ibn Isma-‘il al-Hasi-n and ‘Ali Ibn ‘Abdillah al-Hasi-n, that the two men said, We entered upon Abu Muhammad al-Hasan (a.s) at Surra Man Ra’a-. There were a congregation of his devotees and his Shi-‘a in his presence when Badr, his servant, entered and said, “O’ my master, there is a nation, streaked in dust and with uncombed hair, at the gate.” The Imam said, “They are a congregation of our Shi-‘a from Yemen.”
قال أبو محمد الحسن بن علي قال لا يجمع على امرء ابن عثمان، وأبو عمرو، وأمر بكسر كنيته فقيل العمري. ويقال له: العسكري أيضا لأنه كان من عسكر سر من رأى ويقال له: السمان لانه كان يتجر في السمن تغطية على الأمر. وكان الشيعة إذا حملوا إلى أبي محمد (ع) ما يجب عليهم حمله من الاموال أنفذوا إلى أبي عمرو فيجعله في جراب السمن وزقاقه ويحمله إلى أبي محمد (ع) تقية وخوفا. فأخبرني جماعة، عن أبي محمد هارون بن موسى، عن أبي علي محمد بن همام الاسكافي قال: حدثنا عبد الله بن جعفر الحميري قال: حدثنا أحمد بن إسحاق ابن سعد القمي قال: دخلت على أبي الحسن علي بن محمد صلوات الله عليه في يوم من الايام فقلت: يا سيدي أنا أغيب وأشهد، ولا يتهيأ لي الوصول إليك إذا شهدت في كل وقت فقول من نقبل؟ وأمر من نمتثل؟ فقال لي صلوات الله عليه: هذا أبو عمرو الثقة الامين ما قاله الحكم فعني يقوله، وما أداه إليكم فعني يؤديه. فلما مضى أبو الحسن (ع) وصلت إلى أبي محمد ابنه الحسن صاحب العسكر (ع) ذات يوم، فقلت له: مثل قولي لابيه فقال لي: "هذا أبو عمرو الثقة الامين ثقة الماضي وثقتي في الحياة والممات، فما قاله لكم فعني يقوله، وما أدى إليكم فعني يؤديه." قال أبو محمد هارون: قال أبو علي: قال أبو العباس الحميري: فكنا كثيراً ما نتذاكر هذا القول ونتواصف جلالة محل أبي عمرو. وأخبرنا جماعة عن أبي محمد هارون، عن محمد بن همام، عن عبد الله بن جعفر قال: حججنا في بعض السنين بعد مضي أبي محمد (ع) فدخلت على أحمد بن إسحاق بمدينة السلام فرأيت أبا عمرو عنده فقلت: إن هذا الشيخ وأشرت إلى أحمد بن إسحاق وهو عندنا الثقة المرضي حدثنا فيك بكيت وكيت، واقتصصت عليه ما تقدم يعني ما ذكرناه عنه من فضل أبي عمرو ومحله وقلت: أنت الآن من لا يشك في قوله وصدقه فأسألك بحق الله وبحق الامامين اللذين وثقاك، هل رأيت ابن أبي محمد الذي هو صاحب الزمان، فبكى ثم قال: على أن لا تخبر بذلك أحدا وأنا حي؟ قلت: نعم، قال: قد رأيته (ع) وعنقه هكذا يريد أنها أغلظ الرقاب حسنا وتماما، قلت: فالاسم، قال: قد نهيتم عن هذا. وروى أحمد بن علي بن نوح أبو العباس السيرافي قال: أخبرنا أبو نصر عبد الله بن محمد بن أحمد المعروف بابن برينة الكاتب قال: حدثنا بعض الشراف من الشيعة الامامية أصحاب الحديث قال: حدثني أبو محمد العباس بن أحمد الصائغ قال حدثني الحسين بن أحمد الخصيبي قال: حدثني محمد بن إسماعيل وعلي بن عبد الله الحسينان قالا: دخلنا على أبي محمد الحسن (ع) بسر من رأى وبين يديه جماعة من أوليائه وشيعته، حتى دخل عليه بدر خادمه، فقال: يا مولاي بالباب قوم شعث غبر، فقال لهم: هؤلاء نفر من شيعتنا باليمن
The narration is long. The two narrators say, Al-Hasan (a.s) said to Badr, “Go and bring ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d al-‘Amri to us.” It was not long that ‘Othma-n entered. Our master Abu Muhammad (a.s) said to him, “O’ ‘Othma-n go, for you are the representative and the reliable and entrusted man with respect to God’s money.
Take from these Yemeni gentlemen the religious dues they have brought.” Then the two narrators continue their narrative until they say, Then we all said, “O’ our Master, by Allah, ‘Othma-n is of the best of your Shi-‘a. You increased our knowledge with respect to his position in your service and that he is your representative and your reliable man in God’s money.” He said, “Yes, and bear witness for me that ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘id al-‘Amri is my representative and that his son Muhammad is the representative of my son your Mahdi.”
Abu Nasr, who is the great grandson of al-‘Amri’s daughter, narrates through his chain of narration that when al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali (a.s) passed away, ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d (a.s) attended his burial bath and served in all of his rituals of shrouding, scenting, and burial. He was ordered to be the caretaker in the superficies, and superficies cannot be rejected but through the rejection of the reality of things because of their appearances.
The letters of the Patron of the Order (a.s) to his Shi‘a and the intimate devotees of his father Abu Muhammad (a.s), containing orders and prohibitions and answers to their queries when they needed to pose questions, would come through ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d and his son Abu Ja‘far Muhammad Ibn ‘Othma-n.
These letters were in the same handwriting that used to come in the lifetime of al-Hasan (a.s). The Shi-‘a continued to recognize him as a righteous man until ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘id (a.s) died and his son Abu Ja‘far gave him burial bath and took over the task. Then onwards, all undertakings were accomplished through Abu Ja‘far and the Shi-‘a remained unanimous on his uprightness and trustworthiness and honesty due to the narration recorded during his father’s lifetime that enunciated his honesty and uprightness and commanded the Shi-‘a to refer to him in the lifetime of al-Hasan (a.s) as well as after his death.
Ahmad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Nu-h Abu al-‘Abba-s al-Saira-fi narrates on the authority of a number of named narrators in a long well-known narration, in which they all say, We gathered before Abu Muhammad al-Hasan Ibn ‘Ali (a.s) to ask him about the Hujja after him. There were forty men in the gathering. ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d Ibn ‘Amr al-‘Amri rose and said, “O’ son of the Messenger of Allah, I want to ask you about a great subject which you know better than me.” “Sit down, O’ ‘Othma-n,” he told him.
‘Othma-n rose to leave. The Imam said, “No one leaves.” None of us left. It was an hour that the Imam called ‘Othma-n. ‘Othma-n who rose on his feet. The Imam said, “Shall I inform you why you have come?” They said, “Yes, O’ son of the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “You have to ask me about the Hujja after me.” They said, “Yes.” Suddenly, there came a boy, as he were a piece of the moon and more similar to Abu Muhammad (a.s) than all the people.
في حديث طويل يسوقانه إلى أن ينتهي إلى أن قال الحسن (ع) لبدر: فامض فائتنا بعثمان بن سعيد العمري فما لبثنا إلا يسيرا حتى دخل عثمان، فقال له سيدنا أبو محمد (ع): امض يا عثمان فانك الوكيل والثقة المأمون على مال الله، واقبض من هؤلاء اليمنيين ما حملوه من المال
ثم ساق الحديث إلى أن قالا: ثم قلنا بأجمعنا: يا سيدنا والله إن عثمان لمن خيار شيعتك ولقد زدتنا علما بموضعه من خدمتك وأنه وكيلك وثقتك على مال الله، قال: نعم، واشهدوا على أن عثمان بن سعيد العمري وكيلي وأن ابنه محمدا وكيل ابني مهديكم. عنه، عن أبي نصر هبة الله بن محمد بن أحمد الكاتب ابن بنت أبي جعفر العمري قدس الله روحه وأرضاه عن شيوخه أنه لما مات الحسن بن علي (ع) حضر غسله عثمان بن سعيد (ع) وأرضاه وتولى جميع أمره في تكفينه وتحنيطه وتقبيره مأمورا بذلك للظاهر من الحال التي لا يمكن جحدها ولا دفعها إلا بدفع حقائق الاشياء في ظواهرها. وكانت توقيعات صاحب الأمر (ع) تخرج على يدي عثمان بن سعيد وابنه أبي جعفر محمد بن عثمان إلى شيعته وخواص أبيه أبي محمد (ع) بالامر والنهي والاجوبة عما تسأل الشيعة عنه إذا احتاجت إلى السؤال فيه بالخط الذي كان يخرج في حياة الحسن (ع).
فلم تزل الشيعة مقيمة على عدالتهما إلى أن توفي عثمان بن سعيد (ره) وغسله ابنه أبو جعفر وتولى القيام به وحصل الأمر كله مردودا إليه والشيعة مجتمعة على عدالته وثقته وأمانته، لما تقدم له من النص عليه بالامانة والعدالة، والامر بالرجوع إليه في حياة الحسن (ع)، وبعد موته في حياة أبيه عثمان (ره). قال: وقال جعفر بن محمد بن مالك الفزاري البزاز، عن جماعة من الشيعة منهم علي بن بلال، وأحمد بن بلال، ومحمد بن معاوية بن حكيم، والحسن بن أيوب بن نوح في خبر طويل مشهور قالوا جميعا: اجتمعنا إلى أبي محمد الحسن بن علي (ع) نسأله عن الحجة من بعده، وفي مجلسه أربعون رجلا فقام إليه عثمان بن سعيد ابن عمرو العمري فقال له: يا ابن رسول الله اريد أن أسألك عن أمر أنت أعلم به مني، فقال له: اجلس يا عثمان فقام مغضباً ليخرج، فقال: لا يخرجن أحد فلم يخرج منا أحد إلى كان بعد ساعة فصاح (ع) بعثمان فقام على قدميه فقال: اخبركم بما جئتم؟ قالوا: نعم يا ابن رسول الله قال: جئتم تسألوني عن الحجة من بعدي قالوا: نعم، فإذا غلام كأنه قطع قمر أشبه الناس بأبي محمد (ع).
The Imam said, “This is your Imam after me and my caliph over you. Obey him and do not disperse after me, lest you will perish in your religions. Behold, you will not see him after this day of yours until ages pass. So, accept from ‘Othma-n what he says and obey his order and accept his word, because he is the caliph of your Imam and the affairs are in his hands.”
Abu Nasr Hibtullah Ibn Muhammad says in a narration, The tomb of ‘Othma-n Ibn Sa‘i-d is on the western side of Baghdad in the street of the turf. It is in the beginning of the famous place in the gate known as the gate of Hubla, in the gate of the Mosque on the right side. The tomb is in the very qibla of the mosque.
Sheikh Tu-si has said, I saw his tomb in the said spot. A wall had been erected at its face at which the mosque’s mihra-b stood. On its side is a gate that goes to the tomb in a dark and small room. We used to enter that room and visit him every month. Such was my practice from the time of my arrival at Baghdad, which was at the year four hundred and eight, until the year four hundred and thirty and something.
Then the Chief Abu Mansu-r Muhammad Ibn al-Faraj tore down that wall and manifested the tomb to view and built a sepulcher over it. It is under a ceiling and anyone who desires can enter and visit it. The neighbors seek blessing by visiting him and believe that he is a virtuous man. They often say he is the son of the woman who raised the Doyen of the Martyrs al-Husain (a.s) and do not know the reality about him. This condition continues until this day of ours, which is the year four hundred and forty seven.