أَبِي عَنْ سَعْدٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عِيسَى بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ جَدِّهِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ أَخِيهِ مُوسَى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ إِذَا فُقِدَ الْخَامِسُ مِنْ وُلْدِ السَّابِعِ فَاللَّهَ اللَّهَ فِي أَدْيَانِكُمْ لَا يُزِيلُكُمْ أَحَدٌ عَنْهَا يَا بُنَيَّ إِنَّهُ لَا بُدَّ لِصَاحِبِ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ مِنْ غَيْبَةٍ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ عَنْ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ مَنْ كَانَ يَقُولُ بِهِ إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِحْنَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ امْتَحَنَ بِهَا خَلْقَهُ وَ لَوْ عَلِمَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَ أَجْدَادُكُمْ دِيناً أَصَحَّ مِنْ هَذَا لَاتَّبَعُوهُ فَقُلْتُ يَا سَيِّدِي مَنِ الْخَامِسُ مِنْ وُلْدِ السَّابِعِ قَالَ يَا بُنَيَّ عُقُولُكُمْ تَصْغُرُ عَنْ هَذَا وَ أَحْلَامُكُمْ تَضِيقُ عَنْ حَمْلِهِ وَ لَكِنْ إِنْ تَعِيشُوا فَسَوْفَ تُدْرِكُونَهُ

1- Ilal ash-Shara’i: Shaykh as-Saduq has narrated from his father from Saad from Hasan Ibn Isa Ibn Muhammad Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Ja’far from his grandfather Muhammad from ‘Ali Ibn Ja’far from his brother, Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far (‘a) that he said:

“When the fifth from the sons of the seventh disappears, then by Allah, by Allah, watch your religiosity. Do not allow anyone to remove it from you. O my dear son, it is necessary for the Patron of this Enterprise to disappear until many who believe in this matter turn away from it. It will be a trial from Allah, by which He will try His creation. If your fathers and grandfathers knew a creed better than this, they would have followed it.”

I said: “My master, who is the fifth from the sons of the seventh?” He said: “O my son, your intelligence is beneath understanding him and your dreams are narrower than to carry it. However, if you live, you will see him.”

In Ikmal ad-Din, Ghaybah at-Tusi, Ghaybah an-Nu’mani and Kifayat al-Athar this report is narrated through other chains of narrators as well.

2- Ikmal ad-Din: Shaykh as-Saduq has narrated from Hamadani from ‘Ali from his father from Muhammad Ibn Ziyad Azdi that:

I asked my master Musa Ibn Ja’far (‘a) about the holy Divine verse: And He has lavished His favours on you, explicit and hidden. He said: “The explicit favour is the manifest Imam and the hidden one is the hidden Imam.” I asked him, “Is there someone in the Imams who will disappear?” He said: “Yes. His person will disappear from the eyes of the people and his remembrance will not disappear from the hearts of the believers. He is the Twelfth of us. Allah will facilitate every difficult task for him and will abase every hardship for him. He will reveal the treasures of the earth for him, proximate every far for him, destroy every tyrant through him and kill the rebellious Satan on his hands.

That is the son of the mistress of the slave girls, whose birth will be hidden from the people, and mentioning him by his name will not be permissible for them until Allah manifests him and fills the earth through him with equity and justice, as it will be replete with injustice and oppression.” Shaykh as-Saduq (r.a.) says, “I have not heard this narration from anyone except Ahmad Ibn Ziyad Hamadani on my return from Hajj. He was a trustworthy, religious and a knowledgeable man.

This report is also mentioned in Kifayat al-Athar through another chain of narrators.

3- Ikmal ad-Din: Shaykh as-Saduq (r.a.) has quoted from his father from Saad from Khashab from Abbas Ibn Amir that:

I heard Imam Musa Ibn Ja’far (‘a) say, “People will say, the Master of this Affair has not been born yet.”

4- Ikmal ad-Din: It is narrated from Hamadani from ‘Ali Ibn Ibrahim from Muhammad Ibn Khalid from ‘Ali Ibn Hisan from Dawood Ibn Kathir that he said:

I asked Imam Musa al-Kazim (‘a) about the Master of this Affair. He said: “He is the castaway, the loner, away from his home, hidden from his family, the son of an un-avenged father.”

5- Ikmal ad-Din: It is narrated from the father of Shaykh as-Saduq from Saad from Ibn Isa from Bajali from Muawiyah Ibn Wahab and Abi Qatadah ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad from ‘Ali Ibn Ja’far from his brother, Imam Musa al-Kazim (‘a) that:

I asked him, “What is the interpretation of the word of Allah, the Exalted:

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَاؤُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَنْ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِمَاءٍ مَعِينٍ

“Say, ‘Have you thought? If in the morning your water should have disappeared into the earth, then who would bring you running water?” (Surah al-Mulk, 67:30).

He said: “When you lose your Imam and do not see him, what are you going to do?”

6- Ikmal ad-Din: It is narrated from Hamadani from ‘Ali from his father from Salih Ibn Sindi from Yunus Ibn Abdur Rahman that: I came to Imam Musa al-Kazim (‘a) and asked:

“O son of Allah’s Messenger, are you the Qa’im bi ‘l-Haqq (The Establisher of the Truth)?” He said: “I am the Qa’im bi ‘l-Haqq, however, the Qa’im who will clean the earth from the enemies of Allah and will fill it with equity, as it will be full of injustice, is the fifth from my sons.

He will have an occultation the length of which will be much due to his fear for his life. Many nations will apostatize in that period and the rest will remain steadfast.” Then he said: “Bliss be for Shi’a, the adherers to our love during the occultation of our Qa’im, who will remain steadfast on our adoration and detestation of our enemies. They are ours and we are theirs. They are pleased with us as Imams and we are pleased with them as Shi’a. Bliss be for them! They are, by Allah, with us in our rank on Judgment Day.”