Imam Hasan al-Askari (peace be upon him) said: “The greatest form of orphanhood is not the orphan who has lost his father, but the orphan who has been separated from his Imam, to whom he has no access, and who is unaware of his Imam’s rulings on his religious obligations and needs…”[1]
Ahmad ibn Ubaid Allah ibn Khaghan, who had a fierce enmity towards Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and his descendants, was the administrator of the properties and taxes of the city of Qum. One day, during a gathering of his, the topic of the Alawids and their beliefs came up. He said, “In Samarra, I have not seen a man from the descendants of Ali with such conduct, dignity, purity, nobility, and high status in his family and among the Banu Hashim, as I have seen in Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad, ibn al-Reza. His family, the Banu Hashim, his generals, ministers, and all people honor him, elevating him above the elders and the nobles.”
He continued, “One day, I was standing at the side of my father, and that was the day he used to sit to receive people. Suddenly, his attendants came and said: ‘Abu Muhammad, the son of al-Ridha is at the door.’ My father said loudly: ‘Let him in.’ Then a man of fair complexion, well-built, handsome, in the prime of youth, with dignity and grandeur entered. When my father saw him, he stood up and walked a few steps to greet him, although I doubt he would have done such a thing for any other member of Banu Hashim or a high-ranking officer. When he came closer, he embraced him, took his hand, seated him on the cushion where my father had been sitting, sat beside him, paid full attention to him, and conversed with him, treating him with great respect. I was astonished by what I saw from my father…”
“After my father had performed the Isha prayer, I came and sat before him. After asking for permission, I said: ‘O father! The man you honored so greatly this morning, who you respected and revered, and for whom you sacrificed yourself and your parents, who was he?’ He replied, ‘My son, he is the Imam of the Rafidis. He is Hasan ibn Ali, known as ibn al-Ridha. Then he paused for a while and said: ‘My son, if the leadership were to be separated from the Abbasid caliphs, no one from Banu Hashim besides him would be more deserving of it. He is deserving of the caliphate because of his virtue, purity, conduct, self-restraint, piety, worship, noble character, and his worthiness…'”
(Source: Al-Kafi, Chapter on the Birth of Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ali (peace be upon them), compiled by Sheikh al-Kulayni, abridged)
Footnote:
[1] (Al-Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, Vol. 17, p. 317)