2696 – Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Hajjaj narrated to us; ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Zubayr narrated to us; ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Faqal al-Kufi narrated to us; ‘Ali ibn Asbat narrated from one of our companions, who said:

Abu Hanifah said to Abu Ja‘far—that is, Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—while Abu Ja‘far was sitting in the mosque, “May I sit?” Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali replied, “You are a well-known man, and I do not wish you to sit with me.” Abu Hanifah paid no heed to Abu Ja‘far’s words and sat down. He then asked Abu Ja‘far, “Are you an imam?” He answered, “No.” Abu Hanifah continued, “Yet there are people in Kufah who claim that you are an imam.” He responded, “What am I supposed to do for them?” Abu Hanifah said, “Write to them and inform them.” He replied, “They will not obey me. We infer the condition of those who are absent from the behavior of those who are present. I told you not to sit, and you disobeyed me; those people would act the same—were I to write to them, they would not comply.” At that, Abu Hanifah could not insert a single word into the conversation.