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Suspicions and responses
I say that the narrations he referred to are as follows:
The first narration:
It was narrated by al-Tusi in al-Ghaybah from Sa‘d ibn ‘Abd Allah, from Abu Hashim Dawud ibn al-Qasim al-Ja‘fari, who said:
“I was with Abu al-Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him) at the time of the death of his son Abu Ja‘far, to whom he had pointed and whom he had indicated. I was thinking to myself and saying: this is the story of Abu Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and the story of Isma‘il. Then Abu al-Hasan (peace be upon him) turned to me and said: Yes, O Abu Hashim, Allah has manifested a new decision (badā’) regarding Abu Ja‘far and has appointed Abu Muhammad in his place, just as He manifested a new decision regarding Isma‘il after Abu ‘Abd Allah (peace be upon him) had indicated him and appointed him. It is as your soul suggested to you, even if the falsifiers dislike it. Abu Muhammad, my son, is the successor after me; with him is what you need, and with him are the instruments of the Imamate. Praise be to Allah.” (1)
Source: p. 82. (74)
It was also narrated in al-Kafi, in the chapter on indication and explicit designation of Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him), in an abridged form, as follows:
“After his son Abu Ja‘far passed away, I was thinking to myself, wanting to say: it is as though the two—meaning Abu Ja‘far and Abu Muhammad at this time—are like Abu al-Hasan Musa and Isma‘il, the two sons of Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (peace be upon them), and that their story is like their story, for Abu Muhammad was the one hoped for after Abu Ja‘far. Before I could speak, Abu al-Hasan turned to me and said: Yes, O Abu Hashim, Allah manifested a new decision regarding Abu Muhammad after Abu Ja‘far that was not previously known, just as He manifested it regarding Musa after the passing of Isma‘il, by which his status was made clear. It is as your soul suggested to you, even if the falsifiers dislike it. Abu Muhammad, my son, is the successor after me; with him is the knowledge that is needed, and with him are the instruments of the Imamate.”
It was also narrated by Shaykh al-Mufid in al-Irshad from al-Kulaini, without the phrase: “and Abu Muhammad was the one hoped for after Abu Ja‘far.”
The second narration:
It was narrated by al-Kulaini in al-Kafi from ‘Ali ibn Muhammad, from Ishaq ibn Muhammad, from Shahawayh, from ‘Abd Allah al-Jallab, who said:
“Abu al-Hasan wrote to me in a letter: You wanted to ask about the successor after Abu Ja‘far, and you were anxious about that. So do not grieve, for Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, says: ‘And Allah would not lead a people astray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should fear’ (al-Tawbah: 115). Your companion after me is Abu Muhammad, my son, and with him is what you need. Allah brings forward whatever He wills and delays whatever He wills: ‘Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or similar to it’ (al-Baqarah: 106). I have written to you with what contains clarification and sufficiency for one who possesses an alert intellect.” (1)
It was also narrated by al-Tusi in his book al-Ghaybah from al-Kulaini with the same chain of transmission, with an addition in which the narrator says:
“I had narrated reports from Abu al-Hasan al-‘Askari (peace be upon him) regarding his son Abu Ja‘far that indicated him. When Abu Ja‘far passed away, I became anxious and remained confused, neither advancing nor retreating. I feared writing to him about it, not knowing what would happen. So I wrote to him asking for supplication and that Allah, the Exalted, relieve us from matters on the part of the ruler that were causing us distress regarding our servants. The reply came with supplication, and the servants were returned to us.” (2)
References:
(1) al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 328.
(2) Kitab al-Ghaybah, p. 201. (76)
