thatMuhammadbin‘Uthmānwasappointedintheplaceofhislatefath-
er as the new special agent of the Imam.
‘AbdullāhbinJa‘faronceaskedMuhammadbin‘Uthmān,“Haveyou
seentheMasterofAffairs(Sāhibal-Amr)?”Heanswered,“Yes;mylast
meetingwith himwasbytheholyHouse ofAllāh(i.e.,Ka‘ba) whereI
heard him praying, ‘O Allāh! Fulfill for me what You have promised
me.’... ”
Muhammad bin ‘Uthmān also said that Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) is
presenteveryyearatthehajjceremonies;heseesthepeopleandrecog-
nizes them, they also see him but do not recognize him.
Husaynbin Rawhwasthe third special agent ofthe Imam. He was
greatly respectedbyall Muslims;heclosely workedwith ‘Uthmānbin
Sa‘īd.
Afewdaysbeforehisdeath,MuhammadbinUthmānhadintroduced
HusaynbinRawhtotheeldersoftheShi‘acommunityasthenextspe-
cialagentoftheImam.Ja‘farbinAhmadal-Qummiwastheclosestofall
companionstoMuhammadbin‘Uthmān,andmanyShi‘asthoughtthat
hemightsucceedMuhammadasthe nextspecialagent.At thetimeof
Muhammad’s death, Ja‘far was sitting by the head of his bed while
HusaynbinRawhwassittingbyhisfeet.(Inthatculturalcontext,sitting
bytheheadwasamorehonourableposition.)Muhammadbin‘Uthmān
turned hisface towardsJa‘far andsaid, “Ihave been ordered to hand
overthe affairs to Abul Qāsim Husaynbin Rawh.”When Ja‘farheard
this,hestoodup,wenttoHusayn,tookholdofhishandandmadehim
sit by the head of the bed while he himself sat at the feet of Muhammad.
Inaletterdated 6thShawwāl305,Imamal-Mahdi(a.s.) wroteabout
HusaynbinRawh:“Weknowhim;mayAllāhacquainthimwithallthat
isgoodforhim,andmayHe helphim.Weare awareofhisletter and
haveconfidenceandtrustin him.Hehas aposition inoureyeswhich
pleaseshim;andmayAllāhaddtoHisblessingsuponhimforHeisin-
deedthe Masterandhaspowerovereverything.AllpraiseisforAllāh
whohasnopartner,andblessingsandpeaceofAllāhuponHismessen-
ger, Muhammad, and his progeny.”