Our Master intended to establish the proof against Ishaq al-Ahmar and those below him, because Lord Abu Shu’ayb is His Gate and His path; he is the knowledge of the Highway and the road to the Master—exalted be his glory—and the affirmation of Gatehood for him. The "perishing one" is Ishaq al-Ahmar, because his salvation is present yet he deviates from it due to his "Adversity" and deviation from the Truth in every Cycle.

(465) My sheikh narrated to me from his sheikh from Abu Ishaq Ibrahim al-Rifa’i—may God be pleased with them—who said: Abu Abd Allah al-Khasibi—may God brighten his face—narrated to me in what he related from Ishaq al-Ahmar: that he rode one day intending for the house of our Master al-Hasan al-Askari—exalted be his glory. When he reached the house, he learned that our Master had finished receiving those in His presence. He asked regarding our Lord Abu Shu’ayb, and was told: "He has ridden to the Green Palace accompanied by a group of the Shia." He hurried to catch up with him and reached him as he had crossed the bridge intending for the garden.

He said to him: "O my lord, I have a craving for figs, yet this is not their season." Lord Abu Shu’ayb—peace be upon him—passed by a thorn-bush and said: "O Abu Muqub, turn aside and eat from it your desire." Ishaq and the Shia with him turned toward it and found it bearing figs; they ate from them. When Abu Shu’ayb sat in the garden and those present sat before him, a man among the believers said: "Our lord, this garden would be perfect if there were asparagus in it; I do not think it lacks anything else." Lord Abu Shu’ayb—peace be upon him—said: "This is the asparagus," and he pointed with his hand to a musk-scented plant (maskiyya), and suddenly it was asparagus.

(466) By the chain from my sheikh—may God be pleased with him—from his father, from his grandfather—may God’s mercy be upon them both—from our Lord Abu Abd Allah al-Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Khasibi—may God sanctify his soul—from Ja'far ibn Malik al-Fazari from Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Hasani, who said: There flickered in my soul the saying of the Prophet—exalted be his glory: "The lifespan of the believer in the Abode is eighty shirts (qamisan), and the lifespan of the adversary is seventy shirts."