Qasim ibn Abdulrahman says: I was a Zaydi Muslim. When I went to Baghdad, I was there one day when I noticed people were in movement and agitation; they were running, some going up on high places, and some standing. I asked, “What’s going on?” They said, “Ibn al-Reza, Ibn al-Reza,” meaning the Imam, Jawad al-A’imma, the son of Imam Reza (peace be upon them), is coming. I said to myself, “By God, I will also stand and watch him.”
Suddenly, I saw that Imam appeared, riding on a horse. I said to myself, “May God keep the Imamiyyah away from His mercy, for they believe that God has made obedience to this young man obligatory.”
As soon as this thought passed through my mind, the Imam turned towards me and said: “O Qasim ibn Abdulrahman! (The people of Thamud said:) ‘Shall we follow a human being like ourselves? If we do so, we would certainly be in error and madness.'” (Surah Qamar, Ayah 24).
Again, I thought to myself, “He is a sorcerer.”
The Imam turned towards me again and said: “Is it that only revelation has been sent to him among us? No, he is a great liar, a lustful one!” (Surah Qamar, Ayah 25).
At that moment, when Imam Jawad al-A’imma revealed to me my thoughts, my belief became complete, and I acknowledged his Imamate and confessed that he was indeed the divine proof over God’s servants.
(Excerpted from the book “Kashf al-Ghamma”, written by Ali ibn Isa al-Arbili)[1]
In reality, Qasim ibn Abdulrahman thought that since the Ninth Imam was a human being like other people, he could not be the divine proof and his obedience was not obligatory. By reciting these noble verses, Imam al-Jawad not only made Qasim aware of his false intention but also made him realize that his thinking was similar to that of the people of Thamud regarding Prophet Saleh. In the first verse, the people of Thamud are quoted as denying Prophet Saleh because he was one of them, and they refused to follow him. Then, in the next verse, they denied the revelation sent to Saleh and considered him a lustful liar. The Quran rebukes them for denying God’s messenger.
In fact, by reciting these verses, Imam al-Jawad indirectly informed Qasim ibn Abdulrahman that, firstly, obedience to the Imam, just like obedience to a Prophet, is obligatory because the Imam is God’s appointed representative and guardian, and secondly, the Imam, through his connection with the Divine, possesses knowledge from God and is aware of the inner thoughts of people, and not like the prophecies of fortune-tellers or the magic of sorcerers.
Footnote:
[1] Volume 2, Page 363