Ahmad Bin Matil was sitting near his head and Abu Al-Qasim Bin Rouh was near his legs. He turned his face to Ja’far Bin Ahmad Bin Matil and said: ‘I have been ordered to appoint Abu Al-Qasim Al-Husain Bin Rouh; thus, Ja’far Bin Ahmad Bin Matil took the hand of Abu Al-Qasim Al-Husain Bin Rouh and gave him his place and he moved to sit next to his legs.
When his health deteriorated, a group of prominent Shi’a gathered and went to Abu Ja’far’s – God bless his soul – and asked him: ‘Who will be in place of you if something happens?’ He replied: ‘This is Abu Al-Qasim Al-Husain Bin Rouh Bin Abu Bahr Al-Nobakhti; he is in charge instead of me. He is the Ambassador between you and the Imam; he is trustworthy and reliable, so refer to him in your affairs and count on him in your duties. This I was ordered to announce and I just did so’
Abu Al-Qasim – God bless his soul – was considered one of the wisest people to both opponents and proponents; Abu Al-Qasim instituted Abu Al-Hasan Ali Bin Mohammad Al-Simri – God bless his soul – as he carried out what Abu Al-Qasim was doing. In his death
struggle, the Shi’a attended to ask him about the next Ambassador. He did not mention anyone because he was not ordered to do so. He revealed a script that says:
‘In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. O Ali Bin Mohammad Al-Simri. May Allah glorify your Brothers’ reward, as you will be departing in six days. So, pack up and do not appoint anyone to replace you. The Major Conceal has just taken place and there will be no revelation unless the Almighty Allah wills so. This will be in a long time after hearts are hardened and the earth is filled with injustice. Some of my Shi’a will claim seeing him, but whoever does so before the appearance of Sofyani and the Outcry, he is a fabricator of lies. There is neither strength nor power but through the Most High and Supreme Allah.’
The sheikh reports from the narrator that:‘We copied the script and left. We came back the sixth day while he was giving himself up. He was asked about his successor and his reply was that Allah has something to achieve that He made requisite; this was the last
words heard from him – God bless his soul.”.
Now, after this long presentation which is full of observations worth contemplation, have you got your answer?
Anwar:Will you mention the general observations?
Hasan:With all pleasure. Listen carefully:
· The Ambassadors are four: Abu Amr Othman Bin Sa’eed Al-Omari, Abu Ja’far Mohammad Bin Othman Bin Sa’eed Al-Omari, Abu Al-Qasim Husain Bin Rouh Al-Nobakhti and Abu Al-Hasan Ali Bin Mohammad Al-Simri. The infallible Imam had declared their names, and that they are trustworthy respectable and honorable men to Ahl Al-Bait (PBUT). This is evidence to the fact that they are exclusively worthy of becoming Ambassadors.
· Shi’a are in agreement that they are the only authorized representative and agents of the Imam and his forefathers (PBUT). These honorable people committed themselves to the orders of the Imam (PBUH) and followed his example; if they were to deviate as much as a hair's breadth, the Imam (PBUH) would remove them from their positions and ranks.
· Shi’a unanimously agree on them and they never disagreed with them.
· During the Minor Conceal, the Imam (PBUH) was supporting his representative via transcribed orders he used to send unlike the Major Conceal.
· The Ambassadors followed the orders of the Imam (PBUH) in appointing their successors; they did not act as they liked or pleased.
· When Abu Ja’far Mohammad Bin Othman Al-Omari was on his deathbed, a man named Ja’far Bin Ahmad Bin Matil was sitting near his head and Al-Husain Bin Rouh was near his legs. However, when he was told that his successor is Al-Husain Bin Rouh, Ja’far Bin Ahmad Bin Matil stood up, gave his place to Al-Husain Bin Rouh and he moved to sit next to his legs. The high moral standards and the true religion refer to the fact that things are conducted according to the Divine orders and not some personal desires.
· The Imam (PBUH) is filled with sadness and pain when the scholars and the agents pass away; that is why it is true to say: we offer our condolences to Imam Al-
Mahdi due to the departure of, for instance, scholar so and so.
· The Imam (PBUH) invokes Divine care for his representatives to support them and guide their steps; this means without his prayers and patronage, the Ambassadors would have faced difficulties performing their role.
· The miracles of the Imam (PBUH) appear through his representatives.
There are also utilizations in relation to the script revealed about the fourth Ambassador, Ali Bin Mohammad Al-Simri.
Anwar:Please, tell me about them.
Hasan:I will mention the utilizations after reciting the script so you can think deeply about it.
Anwar:All right. I am excited.
Hasan:The last Ambassador revealed a script to the people before he dies which says:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. O Ali Bin Mohammad Al-Simri! May
Allah glorify your Brothers’ reward, as you will be departing in six days. So, pack up and do not appoint anyone to replace you. The Major Conceal has just taken place and there will be no revealation unless the Almighty Allah wills so.
This will be in a long time after hearts are hardened and the earth is filled with injustice. Some of my Shi’a will claim seeing him, but whoever does so before the appearance of Sofyani and the Outcry, he is a fabricator of lies. There is neither strength nor power but through the Most High and Supreme Allah.”
Now, we come to the utilizations that some of which answer your questions:
· There is a Divine reward for those believers mourning a Brother-in-religion and accepting the Great God’s will.
· Knowing the moment of death is of the Minor Conceal affairs, as that is bestowed by the Almighty Allah to some people. So, it is not impossible to have such knowledge as some may claim.
· Choosing a successor for the Ambassador comes through the Imam’s (AHHR) order and not the Ambassador himself.
· The Major Conceal occurred after the Minor Conceal came to an end; there is, of course, a benefit to this ending of the Minor Conceal that is totally different from the Major one in regard to the possibility of communication with the Imam (PBUH), appointing the Ambassadors, issuing orders, seeing the Imam (PBUH), etc.
· There is an emphasis on Revelation of the Imam (PBUH) which will only be fulfilled when the Almighty Allah wills so. This, in fact, has two indications:
First, it is an invitation to not losing hope in the Revelation.
Second, the issue of Revelation is entirely linked to the Almighty Allah.
· It refers to the long period of the Conceal which is described with certain signs such as hardened hearts due to spread of sins as well as injustice filling the earth. Here, we need to be aware of certain things:
· The Imam (PBUH) did not ask us to fill the earth with injustice so he would be able to be revealed.
· The Imam (PBUH) did not praise injustice; it hastens the Revelation but it is always dispraised and there is nothing that can reason out the so-called theory of filling the earth with injustice to hasten the Revelation.
· The Imam (PBUH) will purify the earth from injustice and lechery along with their advocates. Thus, there is no way the Imam (PBUH) can be pleased with those encouraging immorality and corruption.
· The Imam (PBUH) emphasizes the fact that:
“Some of my Shi’a will claim seeing him, but whoever does so before the appearance of Sofyani and the occurrence of the Outcry, he is a fabricator of lies. Reasonable people understand that these dissonance voices are nothing but lies and false allegations for earthly desires”.
· In the last part, the Imam (PBUH) says:
“There is neither strength nor power but through the Most High and Supreme Allah”.