Muhammad ibn Isma’il said: I fell upon my face prostrating, praising, and thanking [God]. He [Abu Shu’ayb] said: "O Muhammad, by your gratitude you have deserved increase; so speak to your brothers, but withhold this from the eavesdropper."
(460) By the chain from my sheikh from his sheikhs—may God be pleased with them—that Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Abban al-Nakha’i met our Lord Abu Shu’ayb—peace be upon him—and took from his sleeve a crystal vessel1 that had cracked. He said: "O my lord, this vessel is of great price and it has cracked, so its value is lost. I ask you to assist me with my Master if I ask Him to mend its crack and return it to how it was." Lord Abu Shu’ayb took it from Ishaq’s hand, placed it in his sleeve, then brought it out and handed it back to Ishaq. When he took it, he found it whole; Ishaq began looking at the place of the crack but found no trace of it, and the vessel returned to its original state and beauty. Some of the Shia present regarding that said: "Like a crack in glass that defies the craftsmen."
(461) Abu Nasr Muhammad narrated to me from Sheikh Abu al-Husayn Muhammad al-Jali from Lord Abu Abd Allah al-Khasibi—may God ennoble his station—from Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Asim al-Mahjub al-Kufi—may God be pleased with him—who said: When our Master al-Hasan al-Askari—exalted be his glory—vanished, the Shia disagreed. Some said: "It is not permissible for the Imam, who is the House, to vanish while the Gate stands after him. Come, let us go to Muhammad ibn Nusayr to ask him." They asked: "Who among you shall ask him?" Abu Abbad al-Basri said: "I shall ask him." They went to his house, and Abu Abbad al-Basri sought permission to enter. He was permitted, and he entered while he [Abu Shu’ayb] was sitting in a hall of his in the Nusayriyya quarter of Samarra. He offered peace, sat opposite him, and said: "O Gate of Guidance, and he who showed us the Greatest Sign and commanded us to obey the Master: the Shia are in turmoil and doubt. They ask: 'How can the Gate manifest when the Imam has transitioned?' It is likely that God has a will which no one knows."