٥ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ بِلالٍ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ بَسَّامٍ الْجَمَّالِ عَنْ رَجُلٍ قَالَ كُنْتُ مَعَ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَم) فِيمَا بَيْنَ مَكَّةَ وَالْمَدِينَةِ فِي شَعْبَانَ وَهُوَ صَائِمٌ ثُمَّ رَأَيْنَا هِلالَ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ فَأَفْطَرَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ أَمْسِ كَانَ عَنْ شَعْبَانَ وَأَنْتَ صَائِمٌ وَالْيَوْمُ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ وَأَنْتَ مُفْطِرٌ فَقَالَ إِنَّ ذَاكَ تَطَوُّعٌ وَلَنَا أَنْ نَفْعَلَ مَا شِئْنَا وَهَذَا فَرْضٌ فَلَيْسَ لَنَا أَنْ نَفْعَلَ إِلاَّ مَا أُمِرْنَا. 
5. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ali ibn Bilal from al-Hassan ibn Bassam al-Jammal from a man who has said the following: “I once was with abu ‘Abd Allah , between Makkah and al-Madinah in the month of al-Sha‘ban and he (the Imam) was fasting; then we saw the crescent of the month of Ramadan and he (the Imam) stopped fasting. I then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, yesterday was of the month of al-Sha‘ban and you were fasting, but today is of the month of Ramadan and you are not fasting. He (the Imam) said, ‘That was optional and it is up to us to do what we want, but this is obligatory and we have no choice but to do what we are commanded to do.’” 