Meeting of the Senior Members of Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be Upon Them) in the Third Century

He said—meaning: Muh ammad ibn Mans u r al-Mura dī —: I was in my house in Kufa, in the year two hundred and twenty, distressed and sorrowful because of what was afflicting the Family of Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and what was afflicting their Shī ʿa; then Abu ʿAbdulla h, Ah mad ibn ʿI sa ibn Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-H usayn ibn ʿAlī (Peace be Upon Him), asked permission to enter upon me, so I received him, brought him into my house, welcomed him, and his safety from Basra pleased me.
Then, before I felt anything—while I was speaking with him, and grieving over what was afflicting the Ummah of Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace)—Abu Muh ammad, al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m ibn Isma ʿī l al-Rassī (Peace be Upon Him), asked permission to enter upon me; so I received him, brought him in, welcomed him, and I rejoiced at his safety from the Hejaz.
And we began to converse and mention what the people were suffering of injustice and transgression, and what the tyrants had dominated; until ʿAbdulla h ibn Mu sa ibn ʿAbdulla h ibn al-H asan (Peace be Upon Him) asked permission, so I went early and received him, brought him into the house, and congratulated him on his safety and his arrival sound from Levant; because he had been at Jabal Likam; and Ah mad ibn ʿI sa (Peace be Upon Him) and al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m (Peace be Upon Him) turned to him, asking him about his condition and his matter.
He said: And Abu Muh ammad, al-H asan ibn Yah ya ibn al-H usayn ibn Zayd (Peace be Upon Him), saw them, so he came to us and knocked at the door; I rose and opened for him, and he greeted the people and prayed for their safety; and he said: Praise be to Allah who gathered us and you together in the house of a wali from among our awliya ʾ.
Muh ammad ibn Mans u r said: And these are the ones who were pointed to, and whom the sultan used to be alarmed by; and they had abstained from attending them, and their gatherings, and from taking their gifts.
Muh ammad ibn Mans u r said: Then there came upon me a joy that I cannot describe well, and I was astonished, and I intended to go out and bring what they would eat.
So they said: Where are you going? You visited us and you leave us and go out?
So I said: O my masters, I will bring for you what is suitable of food.
They said: And do you have nothing?
I said: Yes indeed, but I will seek an increase.
They said: And what do you have?
I said: I have bread, salt, yugort, and Sa birī dates. They said: We adjure you: do not add to this anything, and lock the door so that we may be safe.
So I rose and locked it, and I secured the door firmly, and I presented to them a dish upon it bread and salt and vinegar and yogurt and dates; so they gathered and mentioned the name of Allah—Exalted is He—and they began to eat without reserve until they had finished, and they drank from the water of the Euphrates River that I had, and they stood and performed ablution for prayer, and they performed the prayer.
When they finished, they stretched out their legs—each one upon his mat—conversing and grieving for the Ummah of Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and what they were in of injustice and hatred; so I rose and sat on the threshold of the platform so that their group would see me, and I wept, and I said: O masters, you are the Imams, and you are the sons of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and the sons of ʿAlī (Peace be Upon Him) and Fa t imah (Peace be Upon Her)—(May Allah’s blessings be upon them all)—and you are the ones pointed to; and you are the people of reason and mindfulness, and you are the scholars and the Imams from the progeny of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and the child of the guardian (Peace be Upon Him). You have gathered, and Allah gathered you together, while we are without an Imam; so act in what brings you near to Allah—Exalted is He—and give bayʿah to one of you, the most learned among you and the strongest among you, until there is the satisfaction from you: you approve him as the Imam for me and for those like me and for the Muslims.
So, they said: You have spoken the truth, O shaykh—how excellent is what you said! And indeed, you have our faith, our flesh, and our blood; and you are from us, Ahl al-Bayt (Peace be Upon Them). And what you have spoken is correct, and we shall do it Inshallah, and by Allah’s will.
He said: So, I said: Make me rejoice, and do not depart until you conclude it, and do not delay it to another sitting; for we are not safe from events.
So Abu Muh ammad, al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m (Peace be Upon Him), came forward, and turned to Abu ʿAbdulla h, Ah mad ibn ʿI sa (Peace be Upon Him), and said: Our shaykh and our wali has spoken a true word agreed upon; and I have chosen you for the Ummah of Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace), and you are the learned and strong, able to bear this matter; I have approved you, and our companions have approved, so take up this matter. Extend your hand that I may pledge allegiance to you upon the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace)—so you are the one approved by us. What do you say, O our companions?
They allsaid: we’re satisfied.
So Ah mad ibn ʿI sa (Peace be Upon Him) said: No, by Allah—while you, O Abu Muh ammad, are present: if you are present, it is not permissible for anyone to precede you or be chosen over you; and you are more entitled to the bayʿah than I.
So, al-Qa sim (Peace be Upon Him) said: O Allah, forgiveness; O Allah, forgiveness. I approve you and I ask you to undertake the matter of the Ummah of Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace)—and you turn it back upon me?
So, he said: That will not be, while you are present.
He said: Then al-Qa sim (Peace be Upon Him) turned to ʿAbdulla h ibn Mu sa (Peace be Upon Him) and said: O Abu Muh ammad, you have heard what occurred; Abu ʿAbdulla h has refused to accept what I pointed to, and you are for us the approved one, and I have approved you for your knowledge and your asceticism.
So, he said: O Abu Muh ammad, we do not choose anyone over you; and Abu ʿAbdulla h was correct in what he said—so you are the approved one for us all.
So, al-Qa sim said: “O Allah, forgiveness—have you turned it back upon me as well? Why do you all abstain from undertaking the responsibility of overseeing the affairs of the nation of your father Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) and of the people in general?”
Then he turned to al-H asan ibn Yah ya ibn al-H usayn ibn Zayd (Peace be Upon Him) and said: “So you, O Abu Muh ammad, accept this matter, for you are worthy of it, and you are strong in overseeing it, and the land is your land, and you know from the affairs of the people what we do not know.”
He replied: “O Abu Muh ammad, by Allah, no one who steps forward before you is anything but mistaken; you are the Imam, and you are the one approved, and we have all approved you.”
So al-Qa sim said: “O Allah, forgiveness; O Allah, forgiveness.”
He said: Then Ah mad ibn ʿI sa (Peace be Upon Him) turned to the people and said: “Indeed Abu Muh ammad is approved for us, and I have approved him.”
ʿAbdulla h ibn Mu sa (Peace be Upon Him) and al-H asan ibn Yah ya (Peace be Upon Him) said: “You have spoken the truth, O shaykh.”
Muh ammad ibn Mans u r said: And I feared that the time of the afternoon prayer would pass while they had not yet concluded the matter, until Ah mad ibn ʿI sa (Peace be Upon Him) seized al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m (Peace be Upon Him), took his hand, and said: “I have pledged allegiance to you upon the Book of Allah—Exalted is He—and the Sunnah of His Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace), and you are the one approved.” And al-Qa sim kept saying: “O Allah, forgiveness; O Allah, forgiveness.”
Then ʿAbdulla h ibn Mu sa (Peace be Upon Him) and al-H asan ibn Yah ya (Peace be Upon Him) pledged allegiance to him and approved him, and they said to me: “Pledge allegiance.”
So I rose and pledged allegiance to al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m (Peace be Upon Him) upon the Book of Allah—Exalted is He—and the Sunnah of His Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace).
Then al-Qa sim said to me: “Rise, O Abu ʿAbdulla h, and call the adha n, and say in it: ḥayya ʿalā khayr al-ʿamal; for thus did Jibrī l (Peace be Upon Him) descend with it upon our grandfather Muh ammad (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace).”
So I rose, gave the adha n, bowed, and established the prayer; then al-Qa sim (Peace be Upon Him) stepped forward and led us in congregation in the afternoon prayer. And they spent that night with me, and he led us in congregation in the sunset and night prayers.
When morning came, they dispersed: al-Qa sim ibn Ibra hī m went to the H ija z, Ah mad ibn ʿI sa to Bas ra, ʿAbdulla h ibn Mu sa to Syria, and al-H asan ibn Yah ya returned to his home; and they were upon the pledge of allegiance to al-Qa sim (Peace be Upon Him). End.
How excellent a station is his! He gathered the proofs of Allah over mankind, from the illustrious family of Prophethood—upon them be prayers and peace.
[Lawāmiʿ al-Anwār fī Jawāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wa al-Āthār, by the Imam who renewed the religion, Majd al-Dīn ibn Muh ammad al-Muʾayyidī (Peace be Upon Him), 7/2]