Muhammad fils d'Ismail fils de Ja'far al-Sadiq

1. [1/-] al-Kafi: Ali b. Ibrahim from Muhammad b. Isa from Musa b. al-Qasim al-Bajali from Ali b. Ja’far who said: Muhammad b. Ismail [b. Ja’far] approached me when we were in Makka and had just completed the Umra in the month of Rajab – he said: O uncle, I want to travel to Baghdad but first I wish to bid farewell to my uncle Aba al-Hasan – that is Musa b. Ja’far. I would like it if you accompany me to meet him. I came out with him heading towards my brother who was in his house in Huba. We reached a little after Maghrib. I knocked the door and was answered by my brother who said: who is that? I said: Ali, he said: I am just coming – he was someone who took long in making the ablution – so I said: make haste, he said: I will. Eventually he came out wearing a lower garment [waist-wrapper] dyed in an earthish hue, knotted at his neck and proceeded to sit at the threshold [step] of the door. Ali b. Ja’far said: I bent towards him, kissed his forehead and said: I have come to you concerning a matter, if you find it to be appropriate then it is Allah who facilitated it, and if it is not [if you find it disagreeable] then how often do we err [as humans]. He said: what is it? I said: this is the son of your brother, he wishes to bid you farewell and depart towards Baghdad. He [the Imam] said to me: call him [Muhammad b. Ismail]. I called him and he was close by. He [Muhammad b. Ismail] came near him, kissed his forehead and said: May I be made your ransom, advise me, he [the Imam] said: I advise you to fear Allah concerning my blood, he replied to him: May Allah do such to whoever wishes ill for you, and he began supplicating against the one who harbors ill-feeling towards him. Then he kissed his forehead a second time and said: O uncle, advise me, he said: I advise you to fear Allah concerning my blood, he said: May Allah do such and such to whoever wishes ill for you [and He has already done so]. Then he kissed his forehead a third time and said: O uncle, advise me, he said: I advise you to fear Allah concerning my blood, so he supplicated against the one who wishes ill towards him, then he turned away from him [to depart], I too began walking away with him, but my brother said to me: O Ali, [stop] where you are. I halted, he called me and I entered [the house]. He outstretched a pouch which contained a hundred gold coins and handed it to me and said: tell the son of your brother [nephew] to make use of it on his journey. Ali said: I took it and twisted it around the hem of my cloak, then he handed me another hundred and said: give it to him, then he handed me another pouch and said: give it to him also. I said: may I be made your ransom, if you fear him doing what you described then why are you aiding him against yourself [by helping him]? he said: If I maintain my ties with him and he cuts me off then Allah will cut off his life-time. Then he took to hand a tanned leather pillow [hollowed out to store money] in which were three thousand fine silver coins and said: give this to him as well. He [Ali b. Ja’far] said: I came out and gave him the first hundred whereupon he became extremely delighted and supplicated for his uncle, then I gave him the second and the third. He became so happy that I thought he will turn back and not depart [for Baghdad]. Lastly I gave him the three thousand silver coins. Nevertheless, he departed on his mission until he went in to see Harun [the Abbasid Caliph] and greeted him by acknowledging his Caliphate [said: peace be upon you O Commander of the Faithful]. Then he said: I never thought that there could be two Caliphs on earth [at the same time] until I saw my uncle Musa b. Ja’far being greeted with the Caliphate [people referring to him as the Caliph when greeting him]. Harun sent him one hundred thousand silver coins [as a reward for his reporting about his uncle] but Allah afflicted him [Muhammad b. Ismail] with an ailment [in which an ulcer grows and chokes the passage in the throat] and he did not get the chance to even take a look at a single silver coin [that he had been gifted] let alone touch it.

Je suis venu voir Muhammad ibn Isma'il alors que nous avions accompli la 'umra de Rajab à La Mecque. Il m'a dit: "Ô mon oncle, je veux me rendre à Bagdad et j'aimerais saluer mon oncle Abu al-Hasan - c'est-à-dire Musa ibn Ja'far, que la paix soit sur lui. J'aimerais que tu viennes avec moi le voir." Je suis donc sorti avec lui vers mon frère qui était dans sa maison à al-Huba, un peu après le coucher du soleil. J'ai frappé à la porte et mon frère m'a répondu. Il a demandé qui était là, et j'ai répondu que c'était Ali. Il est alors sorti - lent dans sa purification - et je lui ai dit de se dépêcher. Il est sorti avec un pagne serré autour de lui, attaché autour de son cou, et s'est assis sous le seuil de la porte. Je me suis penché vers lui, ai embrassé sa tête et lui ai dit: "Je viens vers toi pour une affaire. Si tu la juges juste, que Dieu te guide. Sinon, combien de fois nous égarons-nous." Il a demandé de quoi il s'agissait, et j'ai dit: "C'est ton neveu qui veut te saluer avant de partir pour Bagdad." Il m'a demandé de le faire entrer. J'ai donc appelé Muhammad et il s'est approché, a embrassé sa tête et lui a dit: "Je te recommande de craindre Dieu envers mon sang." Muhammad lui a répondu: "Que Dieu fasse à quiconque me veut du mal ce qu'il mérite." Puis il est retourné l'embrasser et lui a dit la même chose. Il a répété cela trois fois, puis a invoqué la malédiction sur quiconque lui voudrait du mal. Ensuite, il s'est éloigné de lui et je suis parti avec lui. Mon frère m'a dit: "Reste ici, ô Ali." J'ai pris sa place et il est rentré chez lui. Il m'a ensuite appelé, je suis entré et il m'a donné un sac contenant cent dinars, en me disant de dire à son neveu de s'en servir pour son voyage. J'ai pris le sac, l'ai caché dans les plis de mon vêtement et il m'en a donné cent autres en me disant de les lui donner également. Puis il m'a donné un autre sac en me disant la même chose. J'ai demandé pourquoi il ne les gardait pas pour lui-même s'il avait peur de lui. Il m'a répondu que si Muhammad devait le trahir, que Dieu mette fin à sa vie. Ensuite, il m'a donné un coussin contenant trois mille dinars en or et m'a dit de le lui remettre également. Je suis donc retourné vers lui et lui ai donné les cent premiers dinars, ce qui l'a rendu très heureux et il a prié pour son oncle. Puis je lui ai donné les deux cents suivants et il était tellement ravi qu'il semblait ne plus vouloir partir. Enfin, je lui ai remis les trois mille dinars et il est parti en souriant jusqu'à ce qu'il entre chez Harun, lui rende hommage pour la califat et dise: "Je n'aurais jamais pensé qu'il y aurait deux califes sur terre jusqu'à ce que je voie mon oncle Musa ibn Ja'far lui rendre hommage pour le califat." Harun lui a alors envoyé cent mille dinars, mais il les a tous donnés en aumône sans même les regarder ni les toucher.