Appointed Representative / Emissary : Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman (a.r.)

And when that happens, the Hujjah is raised up and the gateway of repentance is shut. And it will not benefit any soul has it not already believed and earned good in its belief. They are the wicked of God’s creation and they are the ones that Judgment Day shall stand against them. However, I desire to increase my certitude, as Ibrahim (a.s.) asked his Lord to show him how He brings the dead back to life. He said: ‘Do you believe not? He said: Indeed; rather, for my heart to satisfy. Abu Ali Ahmad Ibne Ishaq has narrated to me from Abul Hasan (a.s.).He said: I asked the Imam, ‘With who should I transact and from whom should I learn and whose word should I accept?’ The Imam said to him, Amari is my trustworthy man. Whatever he delivers to you, he does so from me. And whatever he says to you, he does so from me. So listen to him and obey him, for he is a trustworthy and honest man.’Also Abu Ali narrated to me that he asked Abu Muhammad Hasan Ibne Ali the same question and the Imam said to him, Amari and his son are two trustworthy men. Whatever they deliver to you, they deliver from me; and whatever they say to you, they say from me. Listen to them and obey them, for they are two trustworthy and honest men.’ These are the words of two Imams of the past about you.” Abu Amr fell into prostration and tears rolled down from his eyes and then he said: “Ask.” I said to him, “Have you seen the successor of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.)?” He said: “Yes, by Allah. And his neck is like this,” and he gestured. I said to him, “I have one more question.” He said: “Bring it forth.” I said: “His name?” He said: “That is forbidden to you to ask about. I am not saying this from myself, nor am I permitted to allow or disallow.

Rather, this prohibition is from the Imam himself (a.s.). The scepter’s impression is that Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) passed away and did not leave a son behind and that his bequeaths were divided and taken over by people who were not entitled to do that. He bore patience on that. There is his household, wandering about and there is no one who has the courage to recognize them or offer them something. Should the name come out, search will be on. So fear God and hold back from that.”

Kulaini said: A Shaykh from our scholars, that my memory fails his name, said that Abu Amr was asked in the presence of Ahmad Ibne Ishaq the same question and he gave a similar answer. A group of our scholars narrated to us from Muhammad Ibne Ali Ibne Husain Ibne Musa Ibne Babawayh from Ahmad Ibne Harun Fami, saying, Muhammad Ibne Abdullah Ibne Ja’far Himyari narrated to us from his father Abdullah Ibne Ja’far, saying, A holy letter came out to Shaykh Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman Ibne Saeed Amari, may Allah sanctify his soul, consoling him for his father (a.s.). One section of the letter read: “We belong to Allah and to Him do we return, submit to His command and are pleased with His destiny. Your father lived fortuitously and died praiseworthy. May Allah have mercy on him and take him to the company of his Imams and his masters, peace be with them. He was always dedicated to their cause and diligent in what would take him near Allah, the Exalted, and the Imams. May Allah beautify his visage and forgive him his shortcomings.”

Another segment of the letter reads: “May Allah increase upon you the reward and may He adorn for you the grieving. This tragedy has struck you and has struck us. His separation has left you in fright and has left us in fright. May Allah please him in his eternal abode. Of the best of his fortuitousness was that Allah gave him a son like you, to stay behind him and take his place and perform his task and seek mercy for him. I say, All praise belongs to Allah, for breaths are sacred at your place and at what Allah has given you and placed before you. May Allah help you and strengthen you and empower you and grant you success. May He be your Guardian and Protector and Shepherd.”

Ghaibat Tusi:
A group of our scholars narrated to me from Harun Ibne Musa from Muhammad Ibne Himam, saying:

Abdullah Ibne Ja’far Himyari said to me, When Abu Amr (a.s.) passed away, letters continued to come to us with the same handwriting through which we used to receive letters on the virtue of Abu Ja’far (a.s.) taking his father’s place. On the authority of the same chain of narration from Muhammad Ibne Himam, who says, Muhammad Ibne Hemawayh Ibne Abdul Aziz Razi recounted to me in the year two hundred and eighty that Muhammad Ibne Ibrahim Ibne Mahziyar Ahwazi recounted that a letter came to him after the demise of Abu Amr that stated, “And his son, may Allah protect him, has always been our man of trust during the lifetime of his father (a.s.). He is to us like his father and in his place. He orders to our command and according to our command he acts. May Allah cherish him. Pay heed to his word. And let this assertion of ours be known.”

A group narrated to us from Abul Qasim Ja’far Ibne Muhammad IbneQulawayh and Abu Ghalib Razi and Abu Muhammad Talakbari, all of whom narrate from Muhammad Ibne Yaqub on the authority of Ishaq Ibne Yaqub,who says, I asked Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari to deliver a letter of mine,in which I had asked about some queries that had baffled me. The answer with the hand writing of our Master the Patron of the House came that stated, “As for Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari, may Allah be pleased with him and his father before him: he has my full trust and his letter is my letter.

Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated from Abul Abbas that: Hibatullah Ibne Muhammad Ibne binte Umme Kulthum binte Abi Ja’far Amari narrated to me from his teachers, who said:

The Shia always believed in the uprightness of Uthman Ibne Saeed. His son Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman performed his burial bath and took the charge and assumed leadership. The Shia were all unanimous on his uprightness and trustworthiness and honesty, due to the explicit narrations pronouncing his honesty and uprightness and commanding the people to refer to him in the lifetime of Hasan (a.s.) and after his death in the lifetime of his father Uthman Ibne Saeed.The Shia did not dispute his uprightness nor did they doubt his honesty. The letters came out through him to the Shia in their important matters during his life. They were in the same handwriting as they were in the lifetime of his father, Uthman. The Shia did not know anyone else but him in this position. Nor did they turn to anyone else but him. Many signs and miracles of theImam, which appeared through him, have been narrated. He spoke of the events to the Shia that increased their faith in this regard and they are well-known before the Shia. We will bring a fragment of them and will not prolong the discourse through their repetition, because this much is sufficient for the fair-minded investigator.

Ibne Nuh says: Abu Nasr Hibatullah Ibne binte Kulthum binte Abi Ja’far Amari said to me, Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari had a number of books. He had written them on the subject of fiqh on the basis of his learning from Abu Muhammad Hasan (a.s.) and the Patron (a.s.) and from his father Uthman Ibne Saeed, who had procured his knowledge from Abu Muhammad and from Ali Ibne Muhammad, peace be with them. They included books titled as The Books of Drinks. Kabira the mother of Kulthum the daughter of Abu Ja’far (a.s.) mentioned that the books reached Abul Qasim Husain Ibne Ruh at the time of the final will to him and they remained in his possession. Abu Nasr says, I suspect she said that they reached afterwards to Abul Hasan Saymoori.Abu Ja’far Ibne Babawayh says, Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari narrated that by Allah, the Master of this Affair attends the Hajj every year and sees the people and knows them and they see him but do not recognize him.A number of scholars narrated to me on the authority of the named narrators from Abdullah Ibne Ja’far Himyari that he said: I asked Muhammad Ibne Uthman (a.s.) “Have you seen the Master of this Affair?” “Yes,” he said:“ and my last covenant with him was at the Sacred House of God as he was saying, O Allah, fulfill to me what You promised to me.” He said: “I saw him, Divine bliss be for him, clinging to the curtains of the Kaaba in Mustajar as he was saying, O Allah, avenge Your enemies through me.” Through the same chain of narration from the father of Muhammad Ibne Ali, who said: Ali Ibne Sulaiman al Razi recounted to us on the authority of Ali Ibne Sadaqah Qummi, who said: A letter came to Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari without any inquiry from him, and commanded him to informthe people who were inquiring about the name of the Imam to either be silent and attain Paradise or either talk and be condemned to the Fire. For if they discern the name, they will spread it, and if they discover the place, they will lead others to it. Ibne Nuh narrates from Abu Nasr Hibtullah Ibne Muhammad, who narrates from Abu Ali Ibne Abi Jayyed Qummi, who narrates from Abul Hasan Ali Ibne Ahmad Dallal Qummi, who said: I came to Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman (a.s.) on a certain day to offer him my greetings. He was there and in front of him was a square frame of oak and an inscriber who was inscribing on it and writing verses of Quran and the names of the Holy Imams on its sides. I asked him, “What is this tablet for, my master?” He said: “This is for my grave; it will be in it.” He said either, “I will be placed over it” or, “I will be raised over it.” Then he said: “I am done with it, and every day, I descend into it and recite a part of Quran and come back.” Abu Ali Ibne Abi Jayyed Qummi says, I also think he said: Abu Ja’far Ibne Uthman (a.s.) took my hand and showed his tomb to me. He told me that on such and such day of the such and such month of the such and such year,“I will go towards Allah, the Exalted, and will be buried here, and this frame of oak will be with me.”When I came out from his place, all of his providential sayings came true. I was constantly watching his state. It was not long that he became ill and then he died on the very day of the month and the year he had confided in me; and he was buried there. Abu Nasr Hibatullah says, I heard this narration from someone other than Abu Ali. Also Umme Kulthum binte Abi Ja’far and another group of scholars from Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Ali Ibne Husain (a.s.) narrated to me on the authority of Muhammad Ibne Ali Ibne Aswad Qummi that Abu Ja’far Amari dug a tomb for himself and leveled it with a tablet. I inquired about it. He mentioned some reasons to the people. Then I asked him about it. He said: “I have been ordered to gather my affairs.” He died two months after that. May Allah be pleased with him and may He please him.

Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated from Abu Nasr Hibatullah that:

I found in the handwriting of Abu Ghalib Razi (a.s.) that Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari died at the end of Jamadiul Awwal of theyear three hundred and five.Abu Nasr Hibatullah Ibne Muhammad Ibne Ahmad has mentioned that Abu Ja’far Amari died in the year three hundred and four and that he undertook this duty for about fifty years. People would carry their religious dues to him and letters to them would come with the same handwriting that they came during the lifetime of Hasan (a.s.) addressing their important and vital issues of religious as well as worldly life and responding their queries with astonishing answers. May Allah please him and He be pleased with him.

Abu Nasr Ibne Hibatullah says: Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman’s grave is near that of his mother in the street of gate of Kufa in the place where his houses and quarters were, which is now in the middle of the desert. May Allah sanctify his soul.