He replied...

He replied: “He would be that same wandering, lonely, remote and hidden from his family who would be the revenger for his father.” 5 - Narrated to us Ahmad bin Ziyad bin Ja’far Hamdani (r.a.): Narrated to us Ali bin Ibrahim bin Hashim from his father from Salih bin Sindi from Yunus bin Abdur Rahman that he said: I came to Musa bin Ja’far (a.s.) and asked him: “O son of Allah’s Messenger! Are you the Qaim bil Haqq?

He replied, “I am Qaim bil Haqq, but the Qaim who shall purify the earth from the enemies of Allah Almighty and who shall fill it with justice in the same way as it would be fraught with injustice and oppression, is my fifth descendent who will have a prolonged occultation because his life shall be in danger.

During this period (of occultation) some people will deviate from the truth but some would remain steadfast on it.’ Then he said, ‘Blessed are those of our Shias who during the occultation of our Qaim remain attached to our Wilayat (guardianship) and who are steadfast in devotion for us, who have declared immunity from our enemies. They are from us and we are from them. And indeed they have preferred us for Imamate and we have also selected them as our followers (Shia).

Congratulations to them and blessed be they (Shias). By Allah, on the Day of Judgment they shall be in our grades.” The author says: One of the causes of occultation is fear as mentioned in tradition. Imam Musa Kazim (a.s.) also used to keep his Imamate confidential from others. In the same way his Shias who had faith in his Imamate but feared the people, also did not discuss openly about his Imamate.

So much so that when Hisham bin Hakam was asked in the court of Yahya bin Khalid who the Imam of that time was, Hisham resorted to dissimulation and said: The owner of the palace, chief of believers, Harun Rashid. At that Harun Rashid was listening to this dialogue secretly. He said: By God, Allah has put a cruel ruler over us. When Hisham came to know that Harun has summoned him, he fled to Kufa and passed away there.

In compliance of his will, his bier was placed at the Kanasa highway and a slip of paper was placed in his hand on which was written: This is Hisham bin Hakam who was summoned by the ruler of the time. The chief Qadi and government officials saw this. After that, the rebellious one gave up pursuing him.