The Book of Occultation · Hadith 252 (#Ḥadīth #12)

13 - وأخبرنا علي بن أحمد قال: أخبرنا عبيد الله بن موسى، عن رجل، عن العباس بن عامر، عن الربيع بن محمد المسلي من بني مسلية عن مهزم بن أبي بردة الأسدي وغيره، عن أبي عبد الله أنه قال: والله لتُكسرنّ تكسّر الزجاج، وإن الزجاج ليُعاد فيعود كما كان، والله لتكسرنّ تكسّر الفخار، فإن الفخار ليتكسر فلا يعود كما كان، ووالله لتغربلُنّ ووالله لتميّزنّ وواللهِ لتمحصنّ حتى لا يبقى منكم إلاّ الأقلّ، وصعر كفه.

(13) Ali bin Ahmad narrated from Obaydillah bin Musa from someone from al-Abbas bin Aamir from ar-Rabee’ bin Muhammad al-Musli from Muhzim bin Abu Burda al-Asadi and others that Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq had said: “By Allah, you are going to be broken like glass but glass is remade and it returns as before. By Allah, you are going to be broken like the breaking of pottery but pottery is never remade as before. By Allah you are going to be sifted, to be clarified and to be purified until none of you remain save the least. (He shrank his hand.)” O people of Shia, pay much attention to these traditions narrated from Amirul Mo’mineen and the infallible imams after him. Ponder on them too much. They warn strongly of turning away from their Sharia by saying: “one believes in our matter in the morning and recants it in the evening or he believes in it in the evening and when morning comes he recants it.” It is a clear evidence showing neglecting the system of the imamate with all its concerns that lead to the straight path. Then Amirul Mo’mineen gives an example when saying: “By Allah, you are going to be broken like glass but glass is remade and it returns as before. By Allah, you are going to be broken like the breaking of pottery but pottery is never remade as before.” Those, who believe in the doctrine of the infallible imams and then recant it and then they repent and return to the true belief when the mercy of Allah declares to them the purity of what they deny and the darkness of what they enter into, are like broken glass that it can be remade as before but those, who recant the true belief and remain in their confusion without repenting until death, are like broken pottery that cannot be remade as before because there is no repent after death.

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