The Book of Occultation — al-Ṭūsī · Hadith 351 (#Ḥadīth #5)
Chapter 32 | Refutation of those who stopped at the Imamate of Imam Ja’far Sadiq and said that he is the Promised Mahdi
وأما المحمدية الذين قالوا بإمامة محمد بن علي العسكري وأنه حي لم يمت،فقولهم باطل لما دللنا به على إمامة أخيه الحسن بن علي أبي القائم عليه السلام. وأيضا فقد مات محمد في حياة أبيه عليه السلام موتا ظاهرا كما مات أبوه وجده،فالمخالف في ذلك مخالف في الضرورات. ويزيد ذلك بيانا:
As for the Muhammmadiyya, who said that Muhammad Ibn Ali Askari is the Imam and that he is alive and has not died, their assertion is invalid on the basis of our proofs of the Imamate of his brother, Hasan Ibn Ali, the father of the Qaim . Furthermore, Muhammad died in the lifetime of his father and his death was apparent and visible like the death of his father and grandfather. To dispute that would amount to disputing a self-evident reality.
Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).