عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ عُقْبَةَ الْاَسَدِيِّ عَنْ اَبِيهِ قَالَ قَالَ لِي اَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِؑ يَقُولُونَ بِاَمْرٍ ثُمَّ يَكْسِرُونَهُ وَ يُضَعِّفُونَهُ يَزْعُمُونَ اَنَّ اللهَ احْتَجَّ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ بِرَجُلٍ ثُمَّ يَحْجُبُ عَنْهُ عِلْمَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ لَا وَ اللهِ لَا وَ اللهِ لَا وَ اللهِ قُلْتُ فَمَا كَانَ مِنْ اَمْرِ هَؤُلَاءِ الطَّوَاغِيتِ وَ اَمْرِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّؑ فَقَالَ لَوْ اَنَّهُمْ اَلَحُّوا فِيهِ عَلَى اللهِ لَاَجَابَهُمُ اللهُ وَ كَانَ يَكُونُ اَهْوَنَ مِنْ سِلْكٍ فِيهِ خَرَزٌ انْقَطَعَ فَذَهَبَ وَ لَكِنْ كَيْفَ اِنَّا اِذاً نُرِيدُ غَيْرَ مَا اَرَادَ اللهُ
Saaleh Ibn Uqbah al-Asadi reports from his father, “Imam Abu Abdillah (al-Sadeq a.s.) told me,
‘They believe in an affair (i.e. Imamate), then they break it and weaken it. They think that Allah has completed His argument upon His creatures with a man but has hidden from him the knowledge of the heavens and the earth. No, by Allah! No, by Allah! No, by Allah! (this is not so).’
I asked, ‘Then what is the reason for this incident between these devils and the issue of al-Husain Ibn Ali (peace be upon him)? (If these divine proofs were so important, why Allah has allowed these devils (i.e. Bani Umayyah) to perpetrate the tragedy of Aashuraa?)’.
Imam (peace be upon him) replied,
‘If they (viz. Imam Husain and his companions) would have prayed to Allah to prevent the incident of Aashuraa, He would have certainly answered their prayers and this was easier than a thread, in which there’s a bead, which breaks and the bead disappears. But how would such a thing happen? For, we (Ahle Bait a.s.) don’t intend except whatever Allah intends’.”
References:
1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 26, p. 152, H. 39
2. Al-Kharaaej wa al-Jaraaeh, vol. 2, p. 871