Hadith record

18. Ali ibn Ibrahim and others in a marfu‘ manner has narrated the following: “Once ‘Abd al-Samad came out with a group of people and he saw abu al-Hassan, Musa ibn Ja‘far, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, coming from the opposite direction on a mule. He then said to those with him, ‘Wait until I will make you laugh at Musa ibn Ja‘far.’ When close nearby he said, ‘What good is this stumper with which one cannot achieve any compensation for his losses and it is not of any use in a warfare struggle?’ Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), said, ‘I have come down from the height of the horse and stepped up from lowliness of donkeys and the best of things is that which is of the middle and balanced status.’ ‘Abd al-Samad remained speechless and could not phrase any response.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.