Hadith 47-42

حَدَّثَنا أَحْمَدِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَحْيَى العَطَّار رَضِىَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قالَ حَدَّثَني أَبي عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحاق الكُوفِي عَنْ عَمِّهِ أَحْمَدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّه بْنِ حارثة الكرخي قالَ كانَ لا يَعِيشُ لِي وَلَدٌ وَتُوُفِّيَ لِي بَضْعَةَ عَشَرَ مِنَ الْوُلْدِ فَحَجَجْتُ وَدَخَلْتُ عَلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَافَخَرَجَ إِلَيَّ وَهُوَ مُتَأَزِّرٌ بِإِزَارٍ مُوَرَّدٍ فَسَلَّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ وَقَبَّلْتُ يَدَهُ وَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ مَسَائِلَ ثُمَّ شَكَوْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مَا أَلْقَى مِنْ قِلَّةِ بَقَاءِ الْوَلَدِ فَأَطْرَقَ طَوِيلاً وَدَعَا مَلِيّاً ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي: إِنِّي لارْجُو أَنْ تَنْصَرِفَ وَلَكَ حَمْلٌ وَأَنْ يُولَدَ لَكَ وَلَدٌ بَعْدَ وَلَدٍ وَتَمَتَّعَ بِهِمَا أَيَّامَ حَيَاتِكَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَسْتَجِيبَ الدُّعَاءَ فَعَلَ وَهُوَ عَلى‏ كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ قَدِيرٌ قَالَ فَانْصَرَفْتُ مِنَ الْحَجِّ إِلَى مَنْزِلِي فَأَصَبْتُ أَهْلِي ابْنَةَ خَالِي حَامِلاً فَوَلَدَتْ لِي غُلاماً سَمَّيْتُهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ثُمَّ حَمَلَتْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَوَلَدَتْ غُلاماً سَمَّيْتُهُ مُحَمَّداً وَكَنَّيْتُهُ بِأَبِي الْحَسَنِ فَعَاشَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ نَيِّفاً وَثَلاثِينَ سَنَةً وَعَاشَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ أَرْبَعاً وَعِشْرِينَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ إِنَّهُمَا اعْتَلا جَمِيعاً وَخَرَجْتُ حَاجّاً وَانْصَـرَفْتُ وَهُمَا عَلِيلانِ فَمَكَثَا بَعْدَ قُدُومِي شَهْرَيْنِ ثُمَّ تُوُفِّيَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ فِي أَوَّلِ الشَّهْرِ وَتُوُفِّيَ مُحَمَّدٌ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ ثُمَّ مَاتَ بَعْدَهُمَا بِسَنَةٍ وَنِصْفٍ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَعِيشُ لَهُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ وَلَدٌ إِلا شَهْراً.

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar (a.s.) - may God be pleased with him - narrated that his father quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Kufi, on the authority of his uncle Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Haritha al-Karkhi, “None of my children survived. I had lost between ten to fifteen children. Once I went on the Hajj pilgrimage and then went to see Abil Hassan Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). He came out approaching me in some colorful clothes. I greeted him, kissed his hands and asked him a few questions. Then I expressed my grief about the death of my children. The Imam (a.s.) pondered over this for a while and prayed a lot. Then he (a.s.) told me, ‘I hope that when you return you will have a child. And then you will have another child after that. You can enjoy them during your lifetime. In fact, if the Sublime God wishes to fulfill a prayer, He does so. He has power over all things.’ When I returned home from the Hajj pilgrimage, I saw that my wife, who was also my niece, was pregnant. She delivered a boy whom we named Ibrahim. A few years later she got pregnant again, delivered a boy whom we named Muhammad and we nicknamed him Abil Hassan. Ibrahim lived for thirty and so many years. Muhammad lived for twenty-four years. Then they both fell ill. I went on the Hajj pilgrimage again. When I returned, they were still ill. Two months after I returned from Hajj, Ibrahim passed away. Then Muhammad died at the end of the same month.” The narrator added, “Ahmad ibn Abdullah ibn Karkhi himself (the boy’s father) lived only one and a half years more. Then he died. Before these two sons were born, none of his children survived for more than a few months.”