The Book of Divine Unity · Hadith 257 (#Ḥadīth #14)

14 - حدثنا أحمد بن زياد بن جعفر الهمداني رضي الله عنه، عن علي بن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن محمد بن أبي عمير، قال: رأى سفيان الثوري أبا - الحسن موسى بن جعفر عليهما السلام وهو غلام يصلي والناس يمرون بين يديه، فقال له، إن الناس يمرون بك وهم في الطواف، فقال عليه السلام: الذي أصلي له أقرب إلي من هؤلاء.

14. Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja`far al-Hamdani said, on the authority of `Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Abu `Umayr that Sufyan al-Thawri saw Abu al-Hasan Musa ibn Ja`far when he was a young boy. The Imam was praying, and people were passing in front of him. Therefore, Sufyan alThawri told him: “Verily, the people who are circumambuling (the Ka`bah) are passing in front of you.” Thus, he replied, “The One to whom I pray to is closer to me than they are.”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).