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There is another stance for the Imam which is not without an exciting moment involving one of the main advocates of Waqfism. His stance was like a clear warning to those who created the controversy of this "sect" and promoted it; al-Bataini states:

"I said to Abul-Hassan, `Your father had informed us of his successor, and we wish you could inform us of yours.' So he took my hand and shook it, then he recited the verse: `God will not mislead people after He had guided them, in order that He may make clear to them what to fear (and avoid)'."60 The recitation of that verse came almost like a prophecy about the future of what that person and his friends would do and how they would fall into the slippery paths of misguidance; therefore, he shakes his hand and recites a verse which predicted that those folks' deviation would take place after proof had been made manifest against them. The Imam, as a matter of fact, refers clearly to the Waqfi movement after him and even reads the epitaph of the faith of those who advocate Waqfism in a narrative narrated by Muhammad ibn Sanan who says: "I visited Abul-Hassan one year before he was conveyed to Iraq, and his son was with him. He called upon me to be attentive, and I responded. Then he said, `There will be a movement this year..., but do not let it bother you.' Then he lowered his head contemplating, picking the ground, then he raised his head and recited the verse, `God leads the oppressors astray and does what He pleases.'61 I said, `And what is that, may my life be sacrificed for yours?' He said, `Anyone who denies the right of this son of mine and refuses to recognize his Imamate after me will be equal to one who denied the right of Ali ibn Abu Talib (A.S.) and did not recognize his Imamate after Muhammad (S.A.W.).' So I understood that he was implying that his death was near, and that he was appointing his son as his successor."62

Notes:

60 Al-'Ayyashi's Tafsir, Vol. 2, p. 115 of Surat al Tawba, verse 115.

61 Ibrahim:27.

62 'Uyoon Akhbar al-Rida, Vol. 1, p. 32.

Adapted from: "Imam al-Ridha (a.s.), A Historical and Biographical Research" by: "Muhammad Jawad Fadlallah"