Hadith record

4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Qasim ibn Yahya from his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Rashid from Najiyah al-‘Attar who has narrated the following: “I once travelled with abu Ja‘far (a.s.), to Makkah and he (the Imam) commanded his slave to do something but he disobeyed and abu Ja’far (a.s.), said, ‘By Allah, I will beat you, O ghulam (servant).’ I however, did not see him beating the ghulam, thus, I asked, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, you swore to beat him but I did not see you do so.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Is it not a fact that Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, says, “If you forgive it is closer to piety.” (2:237)’”

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