Abu al-Adyan, the servant of Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him), says:
“I was in the service of Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him), and I used to carry His letters to various cities. One day, during the illness that led to the martyrdom of Imam (peace be upon him) [due to the poisoning by al-Mu’tamid al-Abbasi], I entered upon the Imam.
The Imam (peace be upon him) had written some letters and handed them to me, saying: ‘Take these to Madain. Your journey will last 14 days, and on the fifteenth day, you will arrive in Samarra. When you enter, you will hear the sound of wailing from my house, and at that time, I will be on the bier [they will be washing my body].’
Abu al-Adyan, in a state of shock, asked: ‘My master! Who will be the Imam after you?’
The Imam (peace be upon him) replied: ‘The one who asks for the answers to my letters from you, he will be the successor after me.’
I said: ‘Guide me more.’
He said: ‘The one who prays over me, he will be the successor after me.’
I asked again: ‘Please tell me more.’
The Imam (peace be upon him) said: ‘The one who knows what is inside the purse, he will be the successor after me!’
The awe of the Imam prevented me from asking what was in the purse.
Abu al-Adyan continues: ‘I took the letters to Madain and returned with the replies. Just as the Imam (peace be upon him) had told me, I arrived in Samarra on the fifteenth day. I heard the sounds of wailing from the house of Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him), and I saw that the blessed body of the Imam was being washed. At the door of his house, his brother, “Ja’far ibn Ali,” was standing, and the people were condoling him on the martyrdom of Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him) and congratulating him for his supposed succession. I thought to myself, if this person is truly the Imam, then the Imamate is lost, for I knew his history. I approached him and offered my condolences and congratulations, but he did not ask me anything.
At that moment, someone said to Ja’far: ‘My master, your brother has been shrouded, so get up and pray over him.’
Ja’far, along with the people who had gathered, entered the house and stood over the body of the Imam to lead the prayer. When he was about to say the Takbir (the opening prayer), a wheat-colored child with curly hair and connected teeth stepped forward, grabbed his cloak, and said: ‘Uncle! Step back; I am more deserving to pray over my father.’
Ja’far, with a pale and yellowish face, stepped back. Then, that child prayed over Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him) and buried him next to the grave of his father, Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him). The child then turned to me and said: ‘O Basri [1], give me the replies to the letters you have.’ I gave him the answers, and within myself, I said: ‘These two signs have appeared, but the purse remains!’
Abu al-Adyan continues: ‘We were sitting there when a group from the city of Qum arrived, searching for Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him). When they found out about the martyrdom of the Imam and asked about his successor, the people pointed to Ja’far ibn Ali. The people of Qum greeted him, congratulated him, and asked: ‘We have letters and money here [which people have brought for Imam al-Askari (peace be upon him)], so tell us who these letters are from and how much money is there.’
Ja’far, while shaking his clothes, stood up and said: ‘Are you asking us for knowledge of the unseen?!’
At that moment, a servant entered and said: ‘The letters from so-and-so and so-and-so are with you, and also the purse, which contains a thousand dinars, with the mark of ten dinars faded.’ They gave him the letters and money and said: ‘The one who sent you to collect these is the Imam.'[2]
Thus, according to the divine will, the sacred existence of Imam al-Zamana (may God hasten his reappearance) took on the leadership of the Ummah after his noble father, at a young age, just like Prophet Yahya (peace be upon him), who, according to the verses of the Quran, was assigned his mission at a young age [3].”
(Excerpted from the book “Muntakhab al-Athar,” authored by Ayatollah Lutfi Allah Safi Golpaygani)
Footnotes:
[1] Referring to Abu al-Adyan.
[2] Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni’ma, vol. 2, p. 475; al-Khara’ij, vol. 3, p. 1101.
[3] Surah Maryam, verse 12.