I quoted this tradition and I swear by Allah that I heard him saying...

I quoted this tradition and I swear by Allah that I heard him saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Abu Abdullah al-Husayn bin Ali saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Abdullah bin Ata al-Harawi saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Abdurrahman bin Ubayd al-Bayhaqi saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Abu Abdullah al-Husayn bin Muhammad ad-Daynawari saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Ahmad bin Abdullah ash-Shi’iy saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Abu Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad saying: I swear by Allah that I heard my father Ali bin Musa ar-Redha saying: I swear by Allah that I heard my father Ja’far saying: I swear by Allah that I heard my father Muhammad saying: I swear by Allah that I heard my father al-Husayn bin Ali saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Ali bin Abu Talib saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Muhammad (a.s.) saying: (I swear by Allah that I heard Gabriel saying:) I swear by Allah that I heard Michael saying: I swear by Allah that I heard Israfel saying: I swear by Allah… that I heard Allah saying: “A drinker of wine is like a worshiper of idols.” Abu Nu’aym al-Fadhl bin Dakeen said, ‘This is a true tradition narrated by the pure progeny and narrated by some men from the messenger of Allah (a.s.).’[^3] Traditions On Religious Rulings Narrators narrated many traditions on religious questions that Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) was asked about.

Worth mentioning is that these traditions came through letters which showed the great pressure that the imam was surrounded with by the Abbasid government, where ‘Ulama’ could not associate with him except through correspondence. The following are some of those questions: Muhammad bin al-Hasan as-Saffar wrote to Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) asking him about the specified quantity (of water) that a dead one should be washed with.

It was narrated that a junub[^4] should wash with six rotls of water, and a menstruating woman with nine rotls, so what would be the limit of water for a dead person to be washed with?

Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) replied, ‘A dead should be washed until he would be pure, insha’Allah.’ Abu Ja’far as-Saduq said, ‘This reply is with me among a collection of replies by his handwriting (peace be upon him) in a book.’[^5] This reply shows that there is no limit in the water that a dead person should be washed with, but he should be washed until he becomes pure.