وَحَدَّثَنِي سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ جَابِرًا عَنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‏ {‏ فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الأَرْضَ حَتَّى يَأْذَنَ لِي أَبِي أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِي وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ‏} ‏ فَقَالَ جَابِرٌ لَمْ يَجِئْ تَأْوِيلُ هَذِهِ ‏.‏ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَكَذَبَ ‏.‏ فَقُلْنَا لِسُفْيَانَ وَمَا أَرَادَ بِهَذَا فَقَالَ إِنَّ الرَّافِضَةَ تَقُولُ إِنَّ عَلِيًّا فِي السَّحَابِ فَلاَ نَخْرُجُ مَعَ مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ حَتَّى يُنَادِيَ مُنَادٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ ‏.‏ يُرِيدُ عَلِيًّا أَنَّهُ يُنَادِي اخْرُجُوا مَعَ فُلاَنٍ ‏.‏ يَقُولُ جَابِرٌ فَذَا تَأْوِيلُ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ وَكَذَبَ كَانَتْ فِي إِخْوَةِ يُوسُفَ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏

{Thus I will never depart from the land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of Judges}[Yūsuf: 80]. Jābir said: ‘An interpretation has not come to me about these [verses]’. Sufyān said: ‘He lied’. We said to Sufyān: ‘What did he mean by this?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Indeed the Rāfiḍah say, ‘Alī is in the clouds and we will not emerge along with he who will emerge from his children [the Khalīfah] until a caller calls from the heaven, meaning Alī: ‘Ride out along with so-and-so [meaning the promised Mahdī]’. Jābir said, ‘that is an interpretation for these verses’, and he would lie as they were regarding the brothers of Yūsuf, peace be upon him’.