"Escaping Humiliation": The Incident of Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, his two mawlās, and a troublesome Abbasid official.

From him (i.e. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā) from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad from Muḥammad b. Murāzim from his father. He said:

We set out together with Abī ʿAbdallāh (Jaʿfar) when he departed from Abī Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr (the Abbasid caliph) at Ḥīra. He departed the moment he was given permission and reached Sāliḥīn at the beginning of the night. An ʿāshir (tithe collector on roads) who was assigned to Sāliḥīn said to him: “I will not let you pass through.” He (i.e. Jaʿfar) implored and beseeched him, but he (i.e. the ʿāshir) refused categorically. Muṣādif and I were with him. Muṣādif said to him (privately): “May I be made your ransom, this dog has troubled you and I fear that he may return you (back to Ḥīra) in which case I do not know what Abī Jaʿfar (the caliph) may choose to do. Murāzim and I, do you allow us to strike his neck and throw him (i.e. his corpse) in the river?” He (i.e. Jaʿfar) said: "Desist, Muṣādif!" Then he (i.e. Jaʿfar) kept beseeching him (i.e. the ʿāshir) for most of the night and was (finally) given permission. He continued (the journey) and asked: “O Murāzim, is this better or what you wanted?” I said: “This (is better), may I be made your ransom.” He (i.e. Jaʿfar) said: “A man tries to escape a slight humiliation which makes him fall into much greater humiliation.”

Reference: Al-Kāfī (old edition), v. 8, p. 87, n. 49.

Commentary: How true is the wisdom found in the Imam’s ultimate statement! Haste and an inflated sense of ego can make a tense situation much worse. A pious believer, however, is always ready to undergo such discomfort and even much greater suffering without immediately thinking of retaliatory escalation.

The Imam is known to have commented that he had ten men-servants all given a name beginning with the letter mīm, and Muʿattib (who was not present here) was the best of an unruly bunch (see Rijāl al-Kashshi, nn. 465; 466).

The first two Abbasid caliphs are known to have relocated to Ḥīra outside of Kufa for a time before Baghdad was built. The Imam was summoned there from Medina on at least two occasions to keep a close tab on him and to ensure that he had no intentions of revolting.

عنه، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن محمد بن مرازم، عن أبيه قال: خرجنا مع أبي عبد الله عليه السلام حيث خرج من عند أبي جعفر المنصور من الحيرة فخرج ساعة أذن له وانتهى إلى السالحين في أول الليل فعرض له عاشر كان يكون في السالحين في أول الليل فقال له: لا أدعك أن تجوز فألح عليه وطلب إليه، فأبى إباءا وأنا ومصادف معه فقال له مصادف: جعلت فداك إنما هذا كلب قد آذاك وأخاف أن يردك وما أدري ما يكون من أمر أبي جعفر وأنا ومرازم أتأذن لنا أن نضرب عنقه، ثم نطرحه في النهر فقال: كف يا مصادف، فلم يزل يطلب إليه حتى ذهب من الليل أكثره فأذن له فمضى فقال: يا مرازم هذا خير أم الذي قلتماه؟ قلت: هذا جعلت فداك، فقال: إن الرجل يخرج من الذل الصغير فيدخله ذلك في الذل الكبير