Don’t you know that the Messenger of Allah took him along to...

Don’t you know that the Messenger of Allah took him along to the cave on the night of migration due to the risk to his life, just as he was concerned for his own safety. Because he knew that he would be his caliph and successor. Therefore he wanted to protect his life like he was concerned about his own security. So that the religion may not be destroyed after him.

In those very circumstances he made Ali sleep on his bed as he knew that even if he were killed, there would be no problem for Islam in the future, because there were people among the companions who could have taken his place, therefore he did not accord much importance to his (Ali) getting killed.’” Saad says: “I replied to it but the replies were not so effective.

So he said: ‘You Rafidis say that the first and the second caliphs were hypocrites and you support it by what happened on the Lailatul Uqbah.’ Then he said: ‘Come let us see if they accepted Islam willingly and happily or it was under duress and pressure?’ Here I did not give any reply, because if I said it was under duress it would not be correct as Islam at that time was not dominant and if I said they accepted willingly it would negate their hypocrisy.

But their belief was not going to profit them when they had seen Our punishment…” (Surah Ghafir 40:84-85) I returned from this debate with a heavy heart, took a paper and wrote down forty odd questions that were difficult for me and said to myself that I must hand it over to the representative of Maula Abu Muhammad Hasan bin Ali Askari (a.s.) (that is Ahmad bin Ishaq who resided in Qom).

Replies of Imam Zaman (a.s.) to these Objections But when I went to him I learnt that he had left on a journey. I departed in his pursuit and when I reached him, I told him all that had happened. Ahmad bin Ishaq said to me: Come let us go together to Surre man Raa (Samarrah) and ask our master, Hasan bin Ali (a.s.) about this. So I accompanied him to Surre man Raa till we reached the house of our master and asked for permission to enter, which was given and we went inside.

Ahmad bin Ishaq had a leather bag that he had concealed inside his Tiberian cloak.